Andrew Brown



Profile:
Full name: Andrew Brown

Area of interest: Biology, Religion, Technology (especially where they overlap)

Journals: The Guardian

Email: [mailto:authordespammed@darwinwars.com authordespammed@darwinwars.com]

Personal website: http://www.darwinwars.com

Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/andrewbrown

Blogs: Helmintholog | Cif/Andrew Brown's blog (about) | Cif/belief

Representation: Capel and Land

Networks:



Biography:
About:

Education:

Career: The Spectator: Scandinavian correspondent and chief reporter, early 1980's; The Independent: Religious Affairs Correspondent, also wrote parliamentary sketches, leaders, and assorted think pieces, 1986/1996; full-time freelance journalist, 1996-present, having written for The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, The Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Church Times

Current position/role: Freelance journalist, author. Editor of Comment is free / Belief


 * also writes/has written for:

Other roles:

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: Who am I? (darwinwars.com)

Broadcast media:

Video: Wrote and presented BBC Radio 4's Analysis programme, see also BBC Radio 4 'Analysis' Database kept by (The Arts and Humanities Data Service)

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours: While at The Independent, won the inaugural John Templeton European Religion Writer of the Year Award, 1994 - given for religious writing in the secular press; shortlisted for the Aventis science book prize for 'In the beginning was the worm'

Scoops:

Other: 

Books & Debate:

 * Watching the detectives OCLC 18869864, 1988
 * The Darwin wars: the scientific battle for the soul of man OCLC 42699842, 2000
 * In the beginning was the worm: finding the secrets of life in a tiny hermaphrodite OCLC 52251313, 2003

Latest work: Sweden: The Future that Disappeared OCLC 243938747, 2008

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: 

The Guardian.co
Column name:

Remit/Info: religious issues

Section: Guardian.co articles and print articles

Role:

Pen-name:

Email:

Website: Comment is free / Andrew Brown

Commissioning editor:

Day published:

Regularity:

Column format:

Average length:


 * see also: Cif/Andrew Brown's blog | Comment is free/belief



Articles: 2011

 * Antibiotics can't cure colds – but a placebo may - The overprescribing of antibiotics by under-pressure GPs to a public convinced they cure colds could prove fatal in the long run - 19th November
 * Anders Breivik's spider web of hate - An analysis of the Norwegian killer's manifesto reveals the online network that features in his paranoid universe - 8th September
 * The law that listens to Catholic nurses on abortion - The law takes no account of some religious views. Why did it heed two nurses who refused to work in an abortion clinic? - 17th August
 * UK riots: You can't have the broom army without the 'feral animals' brigade - An uprush of decency has been accompanied, confusingly, by people calling for live ammunition to be used on rioters - 15th August
 * Libya's front-page casualties have not suffered the most tragic fate - Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, the two photojournalists killed in Libya, deserve admiration – but pity is more complex - 22nd April
 * The News of the World's dinners with the Met are part of the gossip game - There is an elaborate professional code governing interactions at which information is exchanged over food - 23rd February
 * Lady Warsi and the concept of extremism - Warsi says that 'extremely Muslim' does not mean 'extremist Muslim'. This is true, but won't get her what she wants - 20th January



Articles: 2010

 * visit: Moral absolutes and crumbling empires'' - Rebellion against the pope was the foundational act of English power yet now the pope stands in Westminster Hall - 18th September
 * and the archbishop'' - Installing the openly gay Jeffrey John as bishop would be a decisive victory for Rowan Williams. But if he's beaten, he's finished - 6th July
 * multicultural Christian right'' - The launch of a Christian programme for the general election and beyond is a significant political development, not a good one - 6th April
 * pontiff is not so potent'' - The shape of the world's oldest living bureaucracy, the Catholic church, is very much misunderstood - 31st March
 * feeling for snow'' - There is a distinct shortage of romance and excitement about snow in countries, such as Sweden, where it's common - 6th January



Articles: 2009

 * church not so gay-friendly'' - Church of Sweden members have voted to allow gay weddings, but it's not quite the liberal breakthrough it seems - 26th October
 * prosperity'' - At a charismatic meeting in north London, Pastor Dollar spread the word that poverty was a demon whose back could be broken - 22nd August
 * of creationism may be hindering science teachers'' - A US judge's ruling is a warning to those who want to teach real science in schools that they need to change their tactics - 12th May
 * last consolation'' - For heaven's sake, let the dying have their hospital chaplains - 8th April
 * fish called Colin'' - Clever of Sainsbury's to reel in the media with its rebrand of pollack, but supermarket white fish all tastes the same anyway - 7th April
 * King Google'' - Newspapers are peasants in the digital kingdom - at least its ruler appears to be fairly benevolent - 11th March
 * The secret of Twitter's success - The most social of social networking sites offers gossip without distractions – which turns out to be surprisingly valuable - 18th February 2009
 * You can't teach the Bible as literature - The Bible can't be taught as culture: either it is a living store of myth or it will shrivel, to be replaced by other myths - 17th February 2009



Articles: 2008

 * Greed is not good, says God - Bishops denouncing the government are nothing new. But people are now listening to sermons on the evil of debt - 29th December 2008
 * Goodbye herons, hello celebrity - The new version of the Oxford Junior Dictionary, which favours creeps over chapels, makes depressing reading - 10th December 2008
 * the resurrection'' - Not long ago, organised faith seemed to be on its last legs. Now it is again a force to be reckoned with - 28th October 2008
 * A comment policy for Cif belief - 27th October 2008
 * Welcome to the belief blog - Hello, and welcome to the wonderful wacky world of God. This is a blog about believers and the workings of belief in the world - 1st October 2008
 * red archbishop?'' - Rowan Williams takes a different stand to Marx, but they share one unshakeable conviction: that capitalism tends towards evil - 25th September 2008
 * schools: is there really a better option?'' - Not unless we want to see some children achieve less than they otherwise might for the sake of social cohesion - 1st September 20008
 * debts do us part?'' - Modern weddings are more expensive than ever. Why? Because nothing says I love you like a dress that costs as much as a car - 23rd August 2008
 * empathy'' - It is ridiculous to demand that we feel the pain of people of whom we know nothing - and to blame religion for human 'selfishness' - 16th August 2008
 * religion of politics'' - For some, the notion of an amoral world is not in conflict with hope. But what happens when politics appropriates faith and morality? - 12th August 2008
 * Williams' contortions'' - The Archbishop of Canterbury can argue with simplicity and force, but his approach to homosexuality is hopelessly tangled - 7th August 2008
 * Super-bishops fly in - I don't agree with opponents of female bishops. But their anger is understandable, given the promises they were made - 7th July 2008
 * Pennies for heaven - The Church of England relies heavily on its collection plate to fund each diocese – but a threat to solvency is threatening tolerance - 5th July 2008
 * Meet the Focas - They want you to like them. But are they the kind of people liberal Anglicans will be able to have a nice cup of tea with? - 30th June 2008
 * The Anglican culture wars - Gafcon's bishops have chosen to shout about homosexuality yet again. But are they also gearing up for a clash with Islam? - 24th June 2008
 * uses of unreason'' - I disagree with Robert Skidelsky: we will need more than rationality to manage our future resources. A quasi-religious common purpose is vital - 21st May 2008
 * Literacy before laptops -Technology alone cannot lift people out of poverty, as the collapse of a well-meaning computer scheme shows - 18th May 2008
 * Faithless Einstein - The physicist did not believe in God - but nor did he really believe in atheism - 13th May 2008
 * Prayers for the fearful - It's not necessarily faith that makes people attend church. In the past, a sense of threat has also kept the numbers up - 8th May 2008
 * A misunderstood urinal - Duchamps made people reconsider art - but as a recent court case underlines, not in the way he hoped - 5th May 2008
 * Science for citizens - We talk of the need for informed debate, but debates about science can't be informed if we don't know what a photon is - 11th April 2008
 * Particulaly divine? - Physicists are on the verge of discovering a particle that may unlock the secrets of the universe. But it won't bring us closer to God - 9th April 2008
 * Va va vroom - The sex scandal that has engulfed formula one's boss isn't going to require his departure because the sport is already morally hollow - 4th April 2008
 * Religious standards - Of course teaching creationism as fact is wrong, but multifaith schools could take the best from many moral compasses - 25th March 2008
 * Can the Dalai Lama resign? - How can someone recognised as the reincarnation of the Buddha of compassion "resign"? - 20th March 2008
 * Who should civilise children? - If children are lacking basic moral guidance, how can parents or schools, provided with little themselves by government, show by example? - 11th March 2008
 * Faith, hope and human rights - Those who say the teaching of religious belief to the young is a form of child abuse are blinded to human rights - 26th February 2008
 * We need the Church of England - Only an established church, with a duty to everyone in this country, can truly dampen conflicts and division - (series: The Islamic law debate) - 21st February 2008
 * A very Anglican resurrection - After three days of being buried in opprobrium for his remarks about sharia, Rowan Willams has risen again to fight another day - (series: The Islamic law debate) - 11th February 2008
 * Misjudgment that made martyrs of others - 9th February 2008
 * Laws of the land - Dr Rowan Williams is interested in what sharia actually says. The rest of the country is more interested in whether and how it might be enforced - (series: The Islamic law debate) - 7th February 2008
 * The naked truth - In Liberia, a former general has found God and admitted the error of his previous, murderous ways. Is it really that simple? - 29th January 2008
 * Cif and the end of civilisation - Does the breakdown of manners in Britain, especially on the internet, really mean we are a more selfish society? - 28th January 2008
 * Living on a prayer - Divine providence riles me, but I must accept my friend's belief in God's purpose because the evidence is woven into his life - 20th January 2008
 * A narrow church - The Church of England has lost its traditional social framework. It may yet come to stand for an England that is, above all, not a Muslim country - 7th January 2008
 * Dither on, Williams - The Archbishop of Canterbury was never one for diktats. Now his inaction has let those who would split the church get into a fine mess - 3rd January 2008



The Guardian:
Column name: Read me first

Remit/Info: Technology and the internet and arising issues for users (columns from Nick Carr, Seth Finkelstein and Andrew Brown) - for recent articles goto: Read me first

Section: Technology news and features section

Role: Columnist

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:tech@guardian.co.uk tech@guardian.co.uk]

Website: Read me first

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Thursday

Regularity: Weekly, with Andrew Brown contributions every third week

Column format:

Average length: 650/700 words



Articles: 2009

 * isn't making us dumb – or smart. That's the problem'' - Far from dumbing us down, the constant ebb and flow of information on the internet is forcing us to change our habits - 2nd July
 * buying secondhand should become part of the PC process'' - Buying a secondhand PC shouldn't leave you searching for the processing power you want - 11th June
 * a puzzle: why don't more of us burst the bubble of online ads?'' - Users will install software to do something fun and worthwhile, but they won't change software just to make computers less annoying - 21st May
 * Sun ain't gonna shine on OpenOffice any more'' - The takeover of Sun by Oracle should concentrate our minds on what open-source software means - 30th April
 * only way to protect our privacy online is to conceal our true selves'' - Everything we do is going up into the cloud, and once it's there, it no longer belongs to us - 9th April
 * is still an adventure game, but now it's really worth playing'' - 19th March
 * Pirate Bay trial is the collision of 'can I?' and 'should I?' cultures'' - The Pirate Bay trial is part of a global problem in which we all are implicated - 26th February



Articles: 2007/2008

 * worried that my phonebook is going to end up on Facebook'' - All that my phone won't do is ... keep a phonebook - 11th December 2008
 * online FT should be pink with embarrassment over its redesign'' - 20th November 2008
 * love-hate relationship with working in offices'' - 30th October 2008
 * last, technology is making photography better, not worse'' - 9th October 2008
 * way for scientific knowledge to be decentralised yet trustworthy'' - 11th September 2008
 * discussion of religious differences online is not a game'' - 14th August 2008
 * Sod the advanced encryption, I'll just scribble it down instead - 24th July 2008
 * Can low-cost 'laptots' stand up to their more pricey competitors? - 12th June 2008
 * Programming is destroying my capacity for reflective thought - 22nd May 2008
 * Drugs and Adblock Plus shouldn't be in the hands of everyone else - 1st May 2008
 * Why do people become so stingy once they're online? - 8th November 2007
 * Sue the libraries - they're letting people get content on the cheap - 18th October 2007
 * A childlike pleasure can be derived from a computing catastrophe - 6th September 2007
 * A death penalty for spammers? No, the solution is social change - 16th August 2007
 * Bad ideas spread like wildfire, so why didn't a good one catch on? - 26th July 2007
 * Irony is too serious a business for most of the internet - 5th July 2007
 * No amount of collaboration will make the sun orbit the Earth - 14th June 2007
 * It only takes one weak link to unleash a chain of trouble online - 24th May 2007
 * We all helped to speed the demise of professional photographers - 3rd May 2007
 * Why Linux is the perfect system for people who hate computers - 12th April 2007
 * The fat lady is clearing her throat and getting ready to sing for Opera - 22nd March 2007
 * Beware the backwards-looking patents that can stifle innovation - 1st March 2007
 * Don't be held to ransom by antivirus mafia tactics - 8th February 2007
 * We are too busy with computers to be organised by computers - 18th January 2007



news & updates:


Links:

 * Welcome to the belief blog The Guardian, 1st October 2008