1. Railing against older age

“The most gangster granny to ever live,” says photographer Jack Currie of this portrait of ‘Margaret from Edinburgh’ balancing expertly on a skate park’s rail. It’s surprising, joyous and impressed judges at the Portrait of Britain enough to make its latest shortlist, despite being not quite as it seems.

Currie explained on an Instagram caption that the woman pictured is his “very own amazing granny” adding: “some slight photoshop may have been involved”.

Photograph:  Portrait of Britain vol. 7 Shortlist © Jack Currie

2. Co-collaborating with nature

We caught up with musician and composer Cosmo Sheldrake this issue to ask him about making music with the more-than-human world. It’s part of an exploration of the concept of nature rights, which those in the know expect to boom in 2025. Proponents ask: what would change if forests, waterways and wildlife were recognised as more than just resources?

Sheldrake has established a reputation for using the sounds of nature in his work. Chopping and tweaking samples captured on a field recorder, he gives centre stage to the creative power of wild spaces and the more-than-human world, including the song of a skylark, a cow’s moo and – most recently – the sounds captured while high up in Ecuador’s Los Cedros cloud forest.

Photograph: Jack Thompson-Roylance

3. A moment of reflection for Amanda Knox

“Prison really hones down what it is that you ultimately have control over – which is your own mind, the immediate moment,” says Amanda Knox in our revealing interview with her this issue. She delves deep into how practices like meditation and Stoicism have helped her and opens up about challenges such as recounting her tumultuous past in an age-appropriate way to her children Eureka and Echo.

This portrait by Meron Menghistab, and the article by Robin Eveleigh, help to reveal a little-known side to Knox – a name and face that’s known around the world.

Photograph: Meron Menghistab

4. Preparing to go deep in search of ‘ghost’ fishing gear

Lost or discarded fishing nets present a grave threat to marine life. But teams of volunteer divers are determined to retrieve this ‘ghost gear’. Among them is volunteer Phoebe Hudson, who is pictured here in the shadow of the Rampion offshore wind farm near Brighton, UK.

Studying for a doctorate in oceanography at the University of Southampton, Hudson enjoys having a good dive and feeling as though she’s accomplished something. But more, as she explains to our writer who accompanied volunteers on an expedition for this feature, it helps to start conversations with people. “Whether you eat fish or not, all this stuff being down there doesn’t help anyone,” she says. 

Photograph: Emma Critchley

5. Carving out a way for blind and partially sighted people to enjoy books

In his garage workshop, 88-year-old Len Webb uses a chisel to sculpt the underwater creatures that were originally illustrated by Axel Scheffler for Julia Donaldson’s picture book, Tiddler. Having previously worked in set design, Webb has been volunteering for Living Paintings for more than 20 years. He’s described by the Living Paintings’ charity’s head of communications, Nick Ford, as “an absolute diamond”.

For over 30 years, Living Paintings has been helping blind and visually impaired people enjoy art through touch and sound. In our photo essay, we explore the hard work involved in adapting a two-dimensional book for its readers – and why they say it’s crucial in sharing the joy of reading with all.

Photograph: Harry Lawlor

Main image: Amanda Knox photographed for Positive News by Meron Menghistab