Inside the mind of Daniel Radcliffe

Ex-boy wizard, Beat Poet, spooked lawyer, Frankenstein’s assistant, right-wing extremist (kind of) and now a corpse: after Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe could take his pick of Hollywood roles, and he chose challenging, meaty, dead (literally) off-beat characters. Find out why – and also hear what he thinks about being centre of a ‘twitterstorm’ after one of his old Big Issue interviews was dug up and reheated.

The rise, fall and rise again of podcasts…

When iPods were first invented podcasting was hailed the next big media ‘thing’. Most weren’t very good and they quietly mumbled off. But in 2016 they’ve been reborn and now rule the digital airwaves with millions of listeners downloading or streaming them daily, weekly and repeatedly. Find out why with podcasting gurus Harry Shearer, Adam Buxton, Miranda Sawyer, Scroobius Pip, Ann Friedman and our own Robin Ince.

Bright lights rekindled…

Jay McInerney shook up book publishing with Bright Lights, Big City 32 years ago, but the one-time enfant terrible has been laying low lately. With the release of his first novel in 10 years he reveals – exclusively to The Big Issue – that deeply personal, long-buried family scandals are what influenced his new book Bright, Precious Days.

Also in this week’s magazine:

Children in Syria have spent their entire lives, a short handful of years, under constant attack. We profile four who survived; their stories are heartbreaking, inspirational and throw in sharp relief the vicious futility of that conflict.

Life of Pi author Yann Martell tells his Younger Self that religion is like art, both require suspension of disbelief.

Robin Ince finds that Union Jack Radio is not a jingoistic flag-wavers’ feast but more of a 1980s Raiders of the Pop Charts compilation.

Our classical rundown previews Hatfield Festival with trumpet star Alison Balsom among the artists performing.

The Lovers and the Despot, an extraordinary tale of North Korean state control and propaganda, is reviewed by Ed Lawrenson in Film.

The Koestler Trust’s new Awards exhibition of art created by prisoners and ex-offenders is featured in The Enlightenment, and next week read more online at bigissue.com from poet Benjamin Zephaniah who curated the exhibition.

Much-loved 1990s comedy-drama Cold Feet has returned to TV with huge acclaim, and new star Leanne Best tells us why it’s still special.

Pause and learn to love your microbes, the millions and millions that we all carry. There’s extra good news for dog-owners!

John Bird makes the connection between composer Benjamin Britten and Britain’s revolutionary fighting spirit.

Lord Cashman explains why he’s fighting to keep homelessness on the agenda in the House of Lords, and why LGBT youth are among the most vulnerable and need support.

Our My Pitch vendor is Adrian, who hit a very low point after losing his mum last year. Now selling the magazine in Leamington Spa he finds the people there have helped lift him back up again. He tells us it has lovely Georgian architecture to enjoy, too.