The Joy of Six 1361

"The thing is, I work for The Guardian, right? So I've got this sort of somewhat misplaced belief that the public sector is great, and will always sort you out. And that's true, you know, if you break your leg. We had some idea that they would sort us out with whatever autism entails; but that just wasn’t the case. The paediatrician said 'Come back in a few years and we'll really know what we're dealing with'. Terrible." Dave Haslam interviews John Harris about his book Maybe I'm Amazed.

Over a decade ago, the Coalition government placed many of England and Wales's inland waterways in the hands of the Canal & River Trust. As it struggles with increasing financial pressure and a furious row with part of the boating community, Alan White asks if the experiment has failed.

Madeleine Bunting reviews a history of the Roma People in Europe: "The persecution continued under Mary I whose law required Roma to give up their nomadic lifestyle. If they refused they were to be rounded up, put on boats and deported to Scandinavia."

Sara King celebrates the rewilding pioneers who've helped bring beavers back to Britain’s landscapes.

"Almost a year ago, I stumbled into a weird rabbit hole, trying to outsmart AI. Since I moderate a number of very large subreddits, I started noticing certain patterns in posts that felt just a little too polished or off. One tell in particular kept showing up no matter what, the em dash." Brent Csutoras on one way AI gives itself away.

Mitchell Beaupre watches Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer: "The end product is an exquisite dissection of a particular breed of All-American Man that mystified audiences upon release and has gained in esteem in the decades since. Its simple plot belies the many philosophical and existential musings that lurk underneath, with each dip in the pool washing away more of Ned’s facade until there’s nothing left."