Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR

PETER MASON is exhilarated by an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to the great Trinidadian instrument

CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album

SIMON PARSONS applauds the timely revival of a play about solidarity and betrayal within Britain’s Pakistani community

New releases from The Mountains Goats, Ed O’Brien, and YHWH Nailgun

RON JACOBS enjoys a great tale, told by a US communist, of the lives of working-class New Yorkers

The Odyssey is a tale of evasions and half-truths; this reflects the effects of traumatic ‘moral injury’ common to war veterans, suggests STEPHAN BLUM

by Alistair Findlay

BRENT CUTLER searches a new history of contemporary Iran for an understanding of the Islamic Republic, finding both interesting detail and glaring omissions

PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by the lives of Charles and Mary Bagot, and the insight this biography shines on the morals of pre-Victorian society

KENNY MacASKILL is disappointed by a polemical, rather than factual, account of the Lone Star State and its political path since the civil war

SYLVIA HIKINS welcomes a an in-depth study of environmental activism that shows how governments work against citizens who put community before profit

ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review On The Sea, A Useful Ghost, Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, and Pinocchio Unstrung

MARIA DUARTE recommends the true story of the remarkable woman who sued Donald Trump for sexual assault not once, but twice

GORDON PARSONS appreciates fine performances and a feel for ambiguity, but misses the music of the dialogue

Chris Searle speaks to British pianist ZOE RAHMAN

by Mike Jenkins

DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy

GORDON PARSONS is intrigued by a pessimistic novel in which Hitler is removed from history, to little effect

New releases from Old Spot, Chris Marksberry, and Clementine Lovell

STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error

DIANE WATT argues that while evidence of sex is not there, a 16th‑century lesbian poet could be Scotland’s answer to Gentleman Jack

JAN WOOLF relishes an extensive history of our long relationship to trees in Britain that underlines the current emergency

RON JACOBS recommends an important book that enhances the oppositional theories put forth by Fanon and, in doing so, remakes psychology itself

MIK SABIERS revels in a band that ploughs an idiosyncratic furrow of expletive laden, guitar-driven alt rock

The bard invites readers to a gig, raps for Clacton, and lays out the Burnham-Hurzeler conundrum

ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity,  Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London

 MARIA DUARTE admires the scale of Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer

By Clive Branson

KEITH RICHMOND relishes a superbly conceived modern version of Aeschylus’ drama of murderous family succession

CHRIS SEARLE urges you to listen to two new albums by the US Indian pianist VIJAY IYER

DENNIS BROE recommends two new series on Apple TV for their examination of inequality and skewed morals

MICHAL BONCZA recommends a minimalist installation that prompts intriguing connotations

FIONA O’CONNOR questions the achievement of this year’s Orwell prize winner for political fiction

LEO BOIX reviews two powerful Latin American novels in which myth and crime fiction expose the deadly consequences of patriarchy, clandestine abortion and state violence

CHRISTIAN KNOBLAUCH is thrilled by the response of children to the presence of artefacts from the British Museum in their classrooms

New releases from Laura Veirs, The Waterboys, and Yard Act

GLENN FOSBRAEY recommends a biography worth reading for both existing George Michael fans and those yet to be converted

FRANCIS DEVINE introduces a new collection of essays that draws on Pease McKenna’s example to indicate future paths for the movement

ANGUS REID considers the power of the podcast as a vehicle for consensus building in opposition to mainstream media narratives

PAUL FOLEY revels in the coolest, most joyful piece of theatre you’ll get this summer

Ron's rages are sincere and — according to his wife — healthily cathartic. But can these splenetic outbursts loosen the grip of capitalism at its most monstrous?  

ALEX HALL treasures a meticulous examination of international institutions that have given in to Israeli pressure during their still unfolding campaign of genocide

KEVIN DONNELLY and MARIA DUARTE review Shoot the People, The Last One For The Road, Rosebush Pruning, and Moana

JAMES WALSH recommends an exceptional documentary about the experience of Western doctors in Gaza

by Rosie Jackson

CHRIS SEARLE speaks to US saxophonist CAROLINE KRAABEL

KEVIN DONNELLY suggests that the task of transforming cultural spaces is far from over and that photography still has a key role to play

RITA DI SANTO talks to Scottish-Irish filmmaker MARK COUSINS about his new panorama of world cinema The Story of Documentary Film

ALAN MORRISON welcomes a new collection from the most imaginative and committed ecopoet of our time

CAL McBRIDE relishes the lyrical truth of an unstable identity in an over-tidy and conventional social realist treatment

MATTHEW HAWKINS checks out the centenary performance of Rambert Dance Company

New releases from Shearwater, Florry, and Navy Blue

ANDY HEDGECOCK welcomes an entertaining, useful guide to the threats and promises of mathematical rationality

GAVIN O’TOOLE is enthralled by the colourful portrait of a woman who pioneered a path into the tough, magical world of journalism

STEVE ANDREW appreciates the unusual story of a family childhood spent on the run from the state and its police

JENNIE WALSH reviews an urgent political intervention by physicist Carlo Rovelli at a time of escalating militarisation and war

STEVE JOHNSON speaks to London singer/songwriter MADDY CARTY

In verse and polemic, the bard points out that he is a poet and musician, not a political party

CHRIS SEARLE welcomes a startling vision of contemporary Newport from a veteran photographer of the British working class