The Joy of Six 1150

"One of the leaders of the German branch of the QAnon movement - a conspiracy founded on the belief that Donald Trump was doing battle with a cabal of Satanic paedophiles led by Hillary Clinton and George Soros, among others - was at first best known as the author of vegan cookbooks." James Ball maps the path that leads from concern for your health to conspiracy theories and then fascism.

Pen Hemingway on the horrors of the prison hulks: "By the turn of the 20th century, it was thought the hulks were a ridiculous concept; degrading, repellent, best sunk in the past. Who'd have thought they'd make a comeback."

"The UK's division of government powers and functions between the centre and local government has for decades been recognised as a major source of our inefficiency.  Germany, where the massive powers  reserved to the Lander have long been one of the reasons for its economic pre-eminence, is seen as the example to follow.  France, despite its Napoleonic inheritance, has followed suit and devolved considerable  powers to its regional governments and town councils." Power in Britain is too centralised, argues Peter Wrigley.

Mindfulness in schools doesn’t improve mental health and the best way to find effective interventions for young people is to work with them, says Willem Kuyken.

Peter Greenaway is interviewed about his career as a film director: "Yes, I had an agent after the success of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. There were people knocking on my door all the time. And looking back, do you remember a film called Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I was the first director asked to actually film that. Would you believe that?"

Amy Boucher takes us to Shropshire to tell the story of the phantom monk of Linley Hall.