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Our Young Writer Investigates as the First Nottingham Youth Climate Assembly Approaches

Citizens assemblies are a way of addressing thorny issues participatively, through an educational and democratic process that involves affected communities in shaping political responses. Nottingham Climate Assembly was formed to host such initiatives around climate change and environment issues; this July they launch their Lottery Heritage-funded Nottingham Youth Climate Assembly for 15-18 year olds (though young people up to age 25 can help out). Twenty-year-old writer Emily Giddings finds out more about our city’s first ever citizen’s assembly.

Floods, Wildfires and Storms. We Learn About How To Channel Our Climate Anxiety Into Good

Melting ice caps. Flooding cities. It’s no wonder more and more people are suffering from climate anxiety. But what’s at the root of the issue? How’s it impacting people? And what can we do to steady the quickly growing feelings of dread? Our Environment Editor Adam Pickering takes a deep dive into the topic, and gives some advice on how to channel your fear into a force for change…

Notts Art Collective INSTAR Dig Into the Role Flora and Fauna Have Played in Our Collective Cultural Past

From modern tales like The Princess and the Frog, through to ancient literature in the form of The Epic of Gilgamesh, humans have been fascinated by the wonders of mythical flora and fauna. Yet our natural world is perhaps more incredible than anything in a fairy tale…

Film Review: Revolution of Our Times

Hong Kong filmmaker Kiwi Chow exhibits the months of mass demonstrations against the 2019 proposed extradition law in this political documentary that has broken a box office record in Taiwan…

100 Notts Writers Speak Out On Library Closures

Over a hundred local or locally connected writers, together with some local publishers and bookshops, have signed a joint letter opposing Nottingham City Council's planned closure of Aspley, Basford and Radford/Lenton libraries.

We Hear From Four Notts Minds Who Are Helping to Protect Our Planet

With our universities and businesses starting to come up with innovative and exciting methods for protecting our planet, Nottingham now finds itself at the forefront of the fight against climate change. We hear from four local minds who are helping to lead this fight…

Exhibition Review: Our Silver City, 2094 at Nottingham Contemporary

Sci-Fi and contemporary art join together in Nottingham Contemporary's first exhibition of the 2022 season, Our Silver City, 2094. A time machine to a future Nottingham, where remnants of an old world exist in a vision of the city shaped by an all too familiar climate crisis... 

Out of Time: How King Henry VIII’s Reformation Triggered a Rebellion That Put Nottingham at the Heart of a National Power Struggle

In keeping with our Seven Deadly Sins issue, we look back at a definitive turning point in the history of religion in England, exploring how King Henry VIII’s Reformation fuelled the Pilgrimage of Grace, a Northern rebellion that placed Nottingham at the centre of a power struggle for the soul of a nation…

Sloth: By Our Hands We Make Our Way's Martin Sommerville on Life in the Slow Lane

After spending years ruled by rise and grind hustle culture, lockdown left us with no choice but to slow down. We investigate the growing trend of slow living and talk to Martin Sommerville from By Our Hands We Make Our Way woodworking studios about intentional living, building a sense of community, and the joy that comes with taking it easy...

Best Crime Films: Our Favourite Movies About Sins On Screen

Words for Wellbeing Coach Samantha Gray on Her Work With Nottingham Writers’ Studio and Why You Should Get a Journal

Writing can be a transformative experience. For this month’s Wellness Section, we chat with Words for Wellbeing coach Samantha Gray about therapeutic writing, her work with Nottingham Writers’ Studio, and why you should get a journal…

Best Musical Biopics: Our Favourite Films About Icons

The Best Boxing Films: Our Favourite Movies That Pack a Punch

Tracy Neale of Extinction Rebellion Nottingham on the Fight for the Future

A self-proclaimed rebel, Tracy Neale is on the front line in the fight for our future in her role with Extinction Rebellion. I spoke to Tracy about her active role in the XR Nottingham faction and beyond in order to understand a movement which is so much bigger than any individual...

Food on Film: Our Favourite Food Scenes on the Big Screen

8 Rebels From Around the World Who Channelled Their Inner Robin Hood

Whether he was a real man or not, the figure of Robin Hood inspired countless acts of rebellion against injustice all over the world. So much so, in fact, that the name Robin Hood became a moniker for those who mirrored many of the legend’s tropes: robbing from the rich to give to the poor, standing up against tyranny or being a talismanic hero in the face of adversity. While the list of latter day Hoods is endless, we’ve rounded eight of the best stories of Robin Hoods from around the world…

Historical Films: Our Favourite Movies About the Past

With our latest issue of the mag focusing on Nottingham Castle, an iconic landmark throughout the city's history, we thought we'd discuss our favourite films depicting the past... 

Feelgood Films: The Movies That Lift Our Spirits

Movies have long been a way to lift the spirits, providing heartwarming moments and tonnes of laughs, fist-pumping action and that ugly happy-cry you do when star-crossed lovers finally end up together. To tie in with our recent self-care issue of the mag, the LeftLion screen team dive into their favourite feelgood films of all time...

Generations of Film: The Movies That Shaped Our Lives

Films have the power to shape our identities and the way we see the world, as well as transporting us back to simpler times. We asked our screen section writers to each share three movies that left an impact on them at three different stages over the course of their lives...

Follow the Rebel Writers Trail on World Book Day

Can you find all thirteen plaques?

Why Zelda’s Hyrule Is Secretly Nottingham: A Link To Our Town

Teo Eve docks a deerstalker hat, picks up his magnifying glass and investigates the links between Robin Hood, Peter Pan and The Legend of Zelda...

Notts Rebels: Eric Irons

In celebration of the Nottingham Castle Trust’s #VoicesofToday campaign, our Notts Rebels series continues with the story of Britain's first black magistrate: Eric Irons...

An XR Rebel in Notts

What it's really like to be a part of one of the most controversial groups in the UK... 

Notts Rebels: John Deane

Despite a long and illustrious naval career that saw him interact with the likes of Robert Walpole and Peter the Great, as well as being a key figure in the capture of Gibraltar, Wilford-born John Deane would always be associated with the events on Boon Island. For all the heroics and accolades he received afterward, it would be those 24 days of deception, shipwreck, murder and cannibalism that would haunt Captain Deane until the day he died…

Notts Rebels: William Brewster

Our Notts Rebels series continues with William Brewster and his Separatists, a group from North Nottinghamshire who fled England in search of religious freedom, sailing aboard the Mayflower to found the Plymouth Colony in America…