Somewhere between the worlds of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Philadelphia lies Mr Gay World, rank with the stench of hypocrisy, fetid with bigotry and homophobia, adrift in an ocean of ambivalence and fighting for dignity and rights. It happened in Johannesburg on Easter Sunday. By KARYN MAUGHAN.

It is 20 years since a peaceful demonstration in Sarajevo turned ugly and marked the beginning of a brutal, four-year war. Yugoslavia turned on itself and we watched it tear itself apart on TV every night. A peace accord was finally brokered, but have the changes been all for the good? By J Brooks Spector.

Émilie du Châtelet could possibly be one of the greatest female intellectuals, mathematicians and thinkers in history, but the love of Voltaire’s life who contributed significantly to the Enlightenment all but vanished from the history books. That is until science author David Bodanis stumbled across her and decided to ensure she wouldn’t be forgotten. By MANDY DE WAAL.

Meet “Dr.” Loren Cordain, from Colorado State University’s department of health and exercise science. He has assembled the “science” behind the paleo-diet fad, which encourages postmodern humans to eat as our caveman ancestors ate. Turns out, our forebears may have had a more sophisticated culinary repertoire than Doc Cordain and his acolytes assumed. By RICHARD POPLAK.

Samantha Brick earned her 15 minutes of infamy last week by writing a Daily Mail column which caused an extraordinary outpouring of public ridicule. REBECCA DAVIS takes a look at why this self-proclaimed beauty became a lightning rod for anger and derision. 

A salutary story of how a young man climbs a beanstalk and finds untold wealth. A South African folktale, as told by CHRIS GIBBONS. 

Perhaps you have to have lived through apartheid to fully appreciate a Pieter-Dirk Uys show. The latest production by this icon of South African theatre is Adapt Or Fly, and it is a dark material. By LESLEY STONES.

The Grahamstown National Arts Festival can offer up some surprising contradictions. This year the festival runs from 28 June to 8 July in the middle of Grahamstown’s infamous winter weather. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

With the release in the last few weeks of his third book, The Crisis of Zionism, Peter Beinart has brought upon himself the anger of the Jewish American establishment. Could this son of South African immigrants be the one to finally break the ideological stranglehold of a few rich, pro-Netanyahu philanthropists? KEVIN BLOOM provides the background to an intellectual and journalistic phenomenon.

What comes to mind when you think of Stellenbosch? Graceful Cape Dutch buildings, rolling vineyards, perhaps the university. But you may have to update your mental entry to include being the first municipality in Africa to offer free wireless Internet access. REBECCA DAVIS had a look at its new wi-fi coverage.

Microsoft invented the art of the long, tough interview process for humans who aspired to be computing deities. Google has perfected it. MANDY DE WAAL speaks to William Poundstone, who’s just written the book on what it takes to perfect an interview with the search-engine leviathan.

Monday saw the release of the last 10 military and police hostages held captive by Colombian rebel group FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The move has sparked hopes that peace may be on the horizon for Latin America’s longest-running insurgency, but it’s certainly not all over yet. By REBECCA DAVIS.

In the latest drive to save Africans from the perils of life on the ever-dark continent, British charity Oxfam has launched the Big Bra Hunt campaign. No, they are not hunting down Blighty’s biggest bras. Instead, Oxfam is calling on British women to donate their unwanted bras to charity – for the betterment of Africa. By KHADIJA PATEL.

Has @helenzille, a Twitter enfant terrible the likes of which hasn't been seen since Nonhle Thema, turned a corner? Indications are that after weeks of steadfastly defending her choice of words to describe the effects of the Eastern Cape education crisis, she’s capitulated. And, in the process, learned valuable lessons. By OSIAME MOLEFE.

The refusal of bail to three men who allegedly helped the so-called “Modimolle Monster” rape and torture his estranged wife was not unexpected. It was a crime that outraged the nation, the grim details of which kept a senior state prosecutor up at night. ALEX ELISEEV survived a small flood and the local Wimpy in Modimolle to bring you some insight.

The Sunday Times is getting fat and dominates the Sunday print market, but that doesn’t mean it can become complacent. Media24 knows a thing or two about the online space, and  it has the resources to give Avusa a wake-up call. By MANDY DE WAAL.

The time has come to let go of the attractive but circular logic found in this catchy binary, writes KAVISH CHETTY in a review of Niall Ferguson’s Civilization: The West and the Rest (Allen Lane, 2011).

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, April Fools’ jokes in the media show no signs of going anywhere. REBECCA DAVIS had a peek at this year’s round of gags.

New Yorker writer Kathryn Boo has written a powerful indictment of slumworld inequality. What can South African readers learn from it? Everything, writes RICHARD POPLAK.

With big guns like Zwelinzima Vavi, George Bizos and Thuli Madonsela opposing the Protection of State Information Bill, the State Security Agency has embarked on a propaganda offensive. But the campaign may hit the wall because it appears government has exceeded its mandate. By MANDY DE WAAL.

With service delivery protests breaking out around the country, and the Auditor-General's revelations on the horror show that is municipal finances in SA, wondering what your local mayor is worth might be a burning question. Thanks to a data-journalism tool created by Media 24 Investigations you can now find out, and do something about it if she or he isn’t worthy every cent they’re getting. By MANDY DE WAAL.

Public anger and inappropriate meltdowns, which have always been high on the list of editors’ news-making hierarchies, have just provided the media with a bonanza week. From a captain flipping out on a commercial airliner in the US to Israel’s “Day of Rage”, people everywhere seem a lot more pissed off. What gives? By KEVIN BLOOM.

The TV programme you can expect to hear everyone talking about for the next few months is the inaugural series of Masterchef SA. REBECCA DAVIS spoke to director Donald Clarke.

Yet again out of synch with its alliance partners, Cosatu was forced to clarify its position on Thursday at the hearings into the Protection Of State Information Bill. It said historical values tied to the Freedom Charter informed its view and told its partners that, in its current form, the bill would reverse gains made by the democratic movement. By OSIAME MOLEFE.

A century ago, Britons reacted to the news of the deaths of pioneering Antarctic explorers with an outpouring of national grief. In the aftermath of his death, Robert Falcon Scott became an iconic hero in Britain – his story of self-sacrifice and the elegant clipped phrases of his diary were used as a kind of encouragement for sacrifice in the two world wars that followed. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

Initiated in 1866, London’s blue plaques still say as much about the city as Hollywood’s Walk of Fame says about Los Angeles. So how do we interpret the British capital now that a fictional transvestite alien has been commemorated alongside its greatest poets, philosophers and explorers? By KEVIN BLOOM.

Editors and spin-doctors met on Wednesday to debate the ethical state of South African journalism. The panel and high profile audience were unanimous on one thing: we need a renewed focus on ethics in South African newsrooms. But just what’s the problem and how can we address it? By GREG NICOLSON.

Are atheists losing their battle for public favour due to perceived arrogance? REBECCA DAVIS examines the latest episode in the unending culture wars between believers and non-believers.