IDLER MAGAZINE: This Christmas special of The Idler (issue 113) mixes the seasonal with the quirky, promising the secrets of churchyard lichens, a tale of Dickens’ favourite outlaw, the oyster thief, John Harris on why he hates whistling, an explanation of why fitness gadgets fail, a new Bullshit Detector column with Murray Lachlan Young, and a first-person story of becoming a chimney sweep, plus Georgia Mann, Rowley Leigh and Arthur Smith, a Yayoi Kusama exhibition, a Cinderella story, spies on screen, walks around old York, lunch in Whitstable, scientists in sheds, a car turned into canvas, allotments, cassoulet, saving with sumo and Christmas ukulele albums.

Gardening: Leaf Them To It

Don’t rake them away, let them decay. Autumn’s fallen leaves will enrich your garden’s soil – or you can turn them into multi-purpose leaf mould, says Graham Burnett

Look at the trees nearest to where you are right now. Whether in your back garden, local park, woodland or out of a train window, they don’t seem to be doing much, do they? But trees are far from idle, even though much of their activity happens in ways imperceptible to our senses.

Since early spring, tap roots have been constantly pumping underground water and soil nutrients to the highest branches of the leafy canopy. Each of those tens of thousands of individual leaves is a highly efficient solar panel carrying out the magic of photosynthesis.

A Drink with the Idler | Sarah O’Connor on How AI and Robotics are Transforming the Way We Work

Join “A Drink with the Idler” as we chat to journalist Sarah O’Connor about the future of work in a world with AI, the perils and the potential.

Sarah O’Connor talks to Idler editor Tom about how AI and robots can change the ways we work, in both sinister and useful ways, and how we can harness new technology and shape its development in a way that makes jobs better, safer and more enjoyable.

Join Sarah and Tom as they discuss the ideas in her book We Are Not Machines, which is inspired by stories from nineteenth-century English cotton mills to twenty-first century Swedish mines, and how we can fight for work which is more respectful of our limits, and more worthy of our minds.

The discussion between Sarah and Tom will be followed by a live Q&A when you will be given the chance to ask Sarah your own questions.

We’ll have a philosophical “Thought for the Week” from Dr Mark Vernon and the event will be hosted by Idler Academy director Victoria Hull.

How the Stoics Can Help You Get Happy with Tom Hodgkinson

Welcome to How the Stoics Can Help You Get Happy. Over six lessons, Idler editor Tom will teach you how to apply Stoic wisdom to your outlook on life. Drawing on the ideas of ancient Greek philosophers from Zeno to Socrates and Plato, and touching on themes of politics, love, freedom and death, Tom will show you how the Stoics can help you live a happier life.