Did you know that Thomas Müntzer, leader of the German Peasants’ War in 1525, used a rainbow flag to rally his followers? It’s an aptly exuberant image for the radical charisma of Müntzer, and for the

In 1976, the revolutionary singer-songwriter LAURA NYRO returned from self-imposed exile. But her comeback confounded expectations, shifting away from the impassioned intimacies of her early albums to embrace more radical perspectives. Fifty years on, Nyro’s collaborators revisit her striking second act. “She was a hip American from the Bronx,” one friend and producer tells Rob Hughes. “But her soul was old.”

From her humble beginnings in Tennessee, Dolly Parton has used her creative gifts to chronicle the American experience and make a widespread cultural impact...

Best books… Elizabeth Gilbert The author of the ...

Our pick of the best titles about photography published this year – each one will make an ideal festive season gift for lovers of the medium…

Pictures BBC, UKTV, ITV, Sky, Netflix My Life ...