Issue 1480

Ones to watch 2023
We take our annual look at the rising sports stars of the North. Who might make their big breakthrough in 2023? Neil Tague finds out.

Spring walks
These four great spring walks from Roger Ratcliffe take in the wild garlic and bluebells of the season, of course, but also literary haunts, intriguing weavers’ flagstones and a dale so tranquil even a whisper would sound rowdy.

Plague and progress
Animal herding, the overturn of feudalism and public health projects were some of
humanity’s great leaps forward. As Jonathan Kennedy, author of a new book, describes, they were prompted by infectious diseases.

Plus
Local elections - the key battlegrounds, Antonia Charlesworth on how online porn is harming children, comedian Jon Richardson’s letter to his younger self, and Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed returns to his Yorkshire roots.