Six of the Best 681

"There is a tension between the individualisation of social risks pursued by British political parties over the last two decades and the call to create social capital." Emanuele Ferragina and Alessandro Arrigoni look at the failure of David Cameron's 'Big Society'.

Miles Richardson discusses an academic paper that shows that words connected with nature have been used less and less in popular culture since the 1950s.

Drinks Maven explains the craft beer revolution.

"Depending on your cultural touchstones, you might find a hint of Diment in Austin Powers, or perhaps Peter Wyngarde’s turn as crime-novelist-turned-secret-agent Jason King from Department S." David Barnett on the writer Adam Diment, a Sixties sensation who disappeared from sight.

The New River opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water from the River Lea. Nick Young walks it between Enfield and Alexandra Palace.

Backwatersman was there for the start of the cricket season: "By August, you might be planning a circuitous route around the ground to avoid those dreadful bores X and Y; in March you are relieved to find that they are still alive."