The Joy of Six 1125

Nick Cohen gives Matt Goodwin both barrels: "Democracy depends on holding the powerful to account so that an informed electorate can judge them. But in the professor’s formulation, criticising Boris Johnson and Michael Gove meant criticising the people who voted for him. Performing your democratic duty became anti-democratic; holding the elite to account became elitist."

"Given the terrible ordeal that Kara-Murza faces, the resources of courage, conviction and determination that he must have summoned to make this statement, defy comprehension. He knows that Putin’s regime will bury him alive and yet he refuses to flinch." Adam Tooze salutes the courage of the historian Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Karen Shannon on Yuri Gagarin's visit to Manchester.

"Buffalo Bill went in for a drink and expressed concern about having to drink in the pub with a black man, so Charlesworth ordered Buffalo Bill out. It's quite a well known local tale in Glossop." Andrew Aloia tells the story of Charles Ollivierre, the black West Indian cricketer who played for Derbyshire in the game's Edwardian golden age.

Micah Tillman explores what Nirvana can tell us about the philosophy of history.

"Quite fun, involving little more than successfully collecting and dropping off three passengers without being interrupted by Blakey by means of dice, cards, a zany road map, and chunky plastic buses and punters." Tim Worthington remembers the days when sitcoms were turned into board games.