Sex
Is this the end of monogamy as we know it?
As couples move away from the traditional binds of marriage, Julie Bindel wonders whether heterosexuals are soon to become the new sexual outlaws
More sad than naughty
A BDSM book by a group keen to challenge gender norms is oddly conventional
Kisses in the dark
Choose ambience over aphrodisiacs for Valentine’s Day says Felipe Fernández-Armesto
Rise of the sex robots
Moral boundaries are being eroded by the rise of sex robots that claim to be “the perfect companion”
Sex tips from Semele
Opera was the tinder of Renaissance Venice, says Robert Thicknesse
The real facts of life
A welcome intervention by an author determined to return some rationalism to the trans discussion
A little bit of curve
In praise of pop smut
J K Rowling is not transphobic
Is it transphobic to say women get periods? Don’t be daft, says Ella Whelan
Culture club
A cherished hub of post-colonial Indian life in London is under threat of closure
Letter from Washington: In defence of American sport(s)
Would the super league have made football more American? If only.
Take the slow train
Tom Chesshyre on the joy and rattle of Spain’s local lines
Nollywood comes of age
Christopher Silvester explains how censorship has suppressed Nigerian films that have won international acclaim
Blood on the tracks
Patrick Galbraith bags an unlikely deer: a roadkill roe buck
Brandon’s sausage victory
Brandon Lewis’s approach signals Michael Gove’s waning influence
What a waste
Arlene Foster’s coulda, woulda, shoulda leadership of the DUP
The talk of the track
Nick Cohen compiles a phrase book for neophyte runners
Im Abendrot (DG)
The baritone Matthias Goerne sings with a voice like brushed velvet and diction clearer than iced vodka in this five-star album
The sphinx who reshaped Europe
The key to Europe’s future lies with Mario Draghi, the technocrat who sidelined politicians and saved the Euro, but who now needs them to succeed as Italy’s PM