Rachael Jolley – författare

Historian Tom Holland, actor Simon Callow, Brazil's controversial director Roberto Alvim and Bollywood's Aparna Sen all talk Shakespeare, protest and dissent in the latest issue of Index on Censorship.

The magazine takes a look at how staging Shakespeare has allowed directors to tackle issues that would have otherwise been censored in countries around the world. Also John McNamara, scriptwriter for new film Trumbo, talks about what Hollywood will and won't screen today.

Plus Argentina 40 years after the coup and interviews with singers Ramy Essam and Fermin Muguruza.

In this issue, we ask whether we are letting our emotions cloud our judgement when we weigh up decisions and if this is anything new. Has the world become more unreasonable? Writers including Julian Baggini, Timandra Harkness and Sarah Ditum weigh up our attitudes to argument and what matters. We interview BBC presenter Evan Davis about whether the world puts up with more bullshit and TV presenter and campaigner Trevor Phillips weighs in on whether journalists are self censoring what they report. Plus is first-person writing damaging reporting, and Ian Rankin's brand new short story on a world without books.

When Hong Kong passed the National Security Law at the end of June, many things disappeared in the city overnight. Some were long-held principles of democracy and free speech; others were more tangible things, as Oliver Farry writes, like books on the protest movement, posters promoting an independent Hong Kong, and people who either fled the city or were arrested. But Hong Kong is not the only place in the world where things are disappearing. Across the border in China, Rushan Abbas does not know where her sister is, a Uighur who has vanished in China's vast network of concentration camps. In Europe, countless perish in the Mediterranean Sea, their graves unmarked, as Alessio Perrone investigates. Some are trying to find answers. Laura Silvia Battaglia speaks to a film director whose new documentary on Syria's disappeared traces two heart-breaking stories. And some are trying to stop answers being out of reach, as Jessica Ni Mhainin explores when she talks to people from Ireland who are fighting to keep archives about historic child abuse open. Outside the special report we have a new short story from Lisa Appignanesi, we ask Donald Trump voters from 2016 whether he has listened to those "forgotten Americans" and a look at how street art has been used during Covid-19 for important political statements. ---publisher's website

This issue’s special report looks at development and the access of minority voices to free expression, and why their rights need to be defended, whether it’s the rural poor, women in Egypt or LGBT communities. What obstacles and discrimination do these groups face?  We examine how and if they are able to communicate their ideas, views and the needs of their community.   Authors include: Philip Pullman Peter Kellner Amartya Sen Shubhranshu Choudhary Nic Dawes The magazine’s “In Focus” section will look at free expression among Afghan women as foreign military forces prepare to depart;  press freedom in Honduras in Colombia; and powerful photography from Azerbaijan.

Our special report looks at freedoms to study and research around the world, with reports from Turkey, South Africa and China, along with new fiction from Turkmenistan, plus poetry from Angola and the UK.