There Is No Next

Thirty years after Michael Jordan’s first NBA game comes an oral history of his legendary career, told by the men who played with him and against him, coached him, and witnessed first-hand the iconic greatness of the most dominant athlete sports has ever seen. Featuring interviews with: Larry Bird • Magic Johnson • Phil Jackson • Reggie Miller • Isiah Thomas • Reggie Theus • Chris Mullin • Doug Collins • Dominique Wilkins • Steve Kerr • John Paxson • David Stern • Gregg Popovich • Derek Harper • Bill Walton • Karl Malone • Horace Grant • Joe Dumars • Danny Ainge • B.J. Armstrong • Marv Albert • Grant Hill • Jerry Colangelo • Bill Cartwright • Jerry Reinsdorf • Johnny Bach • Rod Thorn • Rick Barry • Kevin Loughery • David Axelrod • President Barack Obama • and many more! Written by Sam Smith—author of the New York Times bestseller THE JORDAN RULES and recent inductee into the NBA Hall of Fame—THERE IS NO NEXT assembles a cast of Hall-of-Famers, teammates, opponents, coaches, and others who experienced the ferocious drive and unparalleled greatness that defined Jordan’s career. Packed with previously untold stories and stunning insight into Jordan and his six championships, THERE IS NO NEXT is the last word on why there has never been, and will never be, another Michael Jordan.

"During my first post-lockdown massage, I willingly engaged in the requisite chit chat about lockdown experiences with my therapist. He gushed behind his mask: ‘Oh man. It was so great. Every day I woke up, drank coffee, read, rode my bike...’ My therapist’s description did sound pretty great. But it was nothing like my own anxiety-ridden ordeal... Had I done the lockdown wrong?” In Next Time There’s a Pandemic, artist Vivek Shraya reflects on how she might have approached 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic differently, and how challenging and changing pervasive expressions, attitudes, and behaviours might transform our experiences of life in—and after—the pandemic. What might happen if, rather than urging one another to “stay safe,” we focused instead on being caring? What if, instead of striving to “make the best of it” by doing something, we sometimes chose to do nothing? With generosity, Shraya captures the dissonances of this moment, urging us to keep showing up for each other so we are better prepared for the next time...and for all times.

This anthology of to all appearances light and flippant verse with a sketch here and there has a topical flavor, as the title indicates. It may have a few serious things to say as well.

Edward Bond Plays:8 brings together recent work by the writer of the classic stage plays Saved, Lear, The Pope's Wedding, and Early Morning. The volume comprises five new plays and two prose essays: Two Cups: introductory essay Born: the third play in the Colline Tetralogy (the first two of which appear in Edward Bond Plays:7); premiering at the Avignon Festival in July 2006. People: the fourth play in the Colline Tetralogy Chair: first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2000. Existence: first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2002. The Under Room: first staged by Big Brum in October 2005; 'an intricate puzzle that is compelling in both its intellectual and emotional intensity'5 stars (Guardian) Freedom and Drama: an extended disquisition on the relationship of drama to the self and society in which Bond argues that drama alone can create human meaning.

Ziauddin Sardar questions the question mark that is always placed in front of Pakistan, Robin Yassin-Kassab asks why Pakistan has not imploded, Taimur Khan breaks bread with the gangsters and bookies of Karachi, Muhammad Idrees Ahmad revisits Peshawar, Mahvish Ahmad tracks down the separatist in Quetta, Ehsan Masood watches Pakistani television, Merryl Wyn Davies deconstructs 'imaginariums' of Pakistan, Aamer Hussein discusses Pakistani modern classic fiction, Bina Shah asks if there is boom in Pakistani literature, Bilal Tanweer listens to 'Coke Studio', Muneeza Shamsie discovers the literary secrets of her family, Taymiya R. Zaman overcomes her fear of talking about Pakistan, Ali Maraj assesses Imran Khan, Shazia Mirza tells rude jokes in Lahore, and a fake novel by Ibn-e-Safi is spotted in Bahwalnagar. Plus a new translation of an old short story by A R Khatoon, a new story by Yasir Shah, poems by Ghalib, John Siddique and Zehra Nigah, Atia Jilani's Quranic art, photographs by Ayesha Malik, and 'Ten Things We Love About Pakistan'. About Critical Muslim: A quarterly publication of ideas and issues showcasing groundbreaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world. Each edition centers on a discrete theme, and contributions include reportage, academic analysis, cultural commentary, photography, poetry, and book reviews.