Look who’s back. The Big Issue meets The Doctor

This week we speak to Peter Capaldi, a Doctor more for parents than their Doctor Who loving kids. He talks about the oddness of his increased fame, strikes out with a powerful defence of the BBC and working class voices in drama and explains why the bank is bouncing his cheques. That he still uses cheques is reason enough for applause.

As focus continues on the refugee crisis, we carry an eye-opening diary piece from a man who just a couple of weeks ago helped a family from Aleppo seek sanctuary in Europe. Having seen the humanitarian drama unfold he decided to drive them himself from Greece up towards Hungary.

Our Letter To My Younger Self is with Sanjeev Bhaskar. Growing up obsessed with Cary Grant, Elvis and The Beatles he has some interesting lines about ideas of community, identity and belonging. He is optimistic and very likeable.

This week John Bird considers the work of The Big Issue over the last 24 years. This magazine and its new way of thinking that he created has been in existence almost 24 years, which is quite something. Looking ahead, the mass global displacement of people is a humanitarian challenge we have to get to grips with, he says.

Our featured vendor in My Pitch this week is Jeff Arnold, who sells near Station Road in Hastings. Once you get used to living on the streets, says Jeff, it’s a difficult thing to shake off. After years on the streets, The Big Issue has helped him earn enough to get a deposit on a flat. That is a victory worth celebrating.

We also look into the rise of vastly out of proportion court fines for minor thefts, such as the woman in Kidderminster who was so hungry she stole a 75p pack of Mars bars and ended up with £330 in fines. There is growing volume of similar cases.

Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters talks about her obsession with robots, in Books Andy Bannister bridles against New Atheism and don’t forget our Spot The Ball.