Theresa May’s post-Brexit speech in which she declared that anyone who was not a citizen of Britain was a “citizen of nowhere” chimes eerily with Stalin’s “rootless cosmopolitan”, a euphemism for Jews. Didn’t she realise that? No, reports Behr. He asked her aides and they said as much. Western science tends to say: 'We're fact-based, we should lead in decision-making,'" says Courtois. "There's not always a recognition of equivalency of indigenous science to that. And while some may say that they believe in indigenous science, where Western science and indigenous science clash, guess who wins in this system?" And there would likely be many more – if the money was there. At the last intake, Courtois says demand for guardians programmes far outweighed available funding. In Canada, where there are feelings among many that colonialism is a historical problem but one still rooted in the present, centring conservation with the country's original stewards is allowing indigenous people to reconnect to their land and culture. It is also reshaping relations between indigenous nations and non-indigenous Canada, presenting an opportunity for genuine reconciliation.

There are chapters about ideology, Europe, Brexit, culture wars, conspiracy theory, polarisation, radicalisation, the way those forces are accelerated by digital technology, the ways political journalism fails to meet the challenges of populism. It’s also about the need to keep those things in some historical perspective; everything you need to know about, in fact, plus, neuroscience, some jokes and a dose of cardiology. True, there were always “diligent antisemites” who pointed out Behr’s Jewishness irrespective of its irrelevance to him and his work.Witnessing their ancestor's knowledge in action was, she recalls, a profound moment that deepened her interest in medicinal plant knowledge. "We [once] used all these plants. That's what they were made for, to help us," she says. By collecting data on water quality in streams and rivers, they help determine if companies are adhering to regulations. Across the country, First Nations have proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) – which are rooted in indigenous laws, governance and knowledge systems – that together could conserve over 500,000 sq km (193,000 sq miles), with more proposals continuing to be made.

But even before any data is gathered, Meness and her colleague are on the look out for indications that something is off. Seeing an unusually high amount of sand in streams – which leaks into the water from logging roads – is one sign they look out for, based on indigenous knowledge, says Meness. But it's not just about lines on a map," says Courtois. "What really matters is our relationship with those places." We know these areas because our survival has depended on them for thousands of years, in my nation's case for at least 10,000 years," says Courtois. "Clearly, we're doing something right, having been a sustainable society for all that length of time. There's a real opportunity to share that knowledge [and] for knowledge gaps to be filled."My only counter to Behr’s account of how awful things have become is the observation that the fall and folly of prime ministers has all happened so openly you could take pride in British democracy’s transparency as much as lament its toxicity. But perhaps that is an overly optimistic view.

I couldn't love Rafael Behr's writing more. This is a beautifully written journey through personal and political history that leads you to a wonderful place: hope. Passionate, clever, and often very funny, you couldn't wish for a more eloquent guide to the landscape of the permacrisis. But as well as being able to explain how things got broken, Behr helps you believe that they can be fixed - and that there is, meantime, a way to stay sane along the way. -- Marina Hyde If you want to understand what turned British politics toxic there is no better guide - or antidote. -- David Baddiel Rafael Behr's writing always illuminates even the most complicated of political chaos and this book does this and so much more: it explains our entire era and how we can bear it. Enlightening, entertaining and a delight to read. -- Hadley Freeman I'm telling you it is a must-read. Quite apart from the subject matter, Rafael Behr is such an elegant writer. -- Nigella Lawson A wonderful meditation on populism, nationalism, politics and truth - rich with imaginative aphorisms, alert to the most unusual connections across time and space - weaving the personal and the global - a great work of political analysis. -- Rory Stewart, The Rest Is Politics podcast's Non-Fiction Book of the Year For too many of us, politics has become an exercise in anguish. And few people have absorbed and endured as much toxicity and despair as political writer Rafael Behr, who in recent years has found himself documenting a national nervous breakdown at the same time as experiencing a near-fatal cardiac crisis. The resulting book could have been solipsistic, but it's not. As Behr rehabilitates physically, he does so intellectually and politically too, producing a book which is at once hopeful, restorative, universal and true. It feels like political Prozac. -- Sathnam Sanghera, bestselling author of EMPIRELAND Fascinating and hugely enjoyable, it reassured me that I'm not going mad and any book which does that is appreciated. Wide-ranging and ludicrously readable, eminently thoughtful and sane. -- Robert Webb How can we still care about politics without being driven to despair or madness? This is an urgent question for citizens everywhere and Rafael Behr answers it with both passion and panache in this wonderfully engaging book. Written with all the verve and wit that make Behr one of the great stylists of contemporary journalism, thisWe have to more than double the national network of these areas to meet our targets by 2030," says Valérie Courtois, a member of the Ilnu Nation and director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. "The only way that Canada is going to be able to do that is by enabling, supporting and financing the work of indigenous peoples." Indigenous protection models are not new, says Alison Woodley, senior strategic advisor for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, "But the elevation and recognition of [them] in society and by crown governments are fairly recent." People are actually listening now," she says. "Being a guardian means to me that [indigenous] people will never go away. We'll always be here. Stop trying to go against us and start working with us." In turn, Meness now offers medicine walks and workshops, and aims to play an integral role disseminating this knowledge to others in her community. Like elsewhere, this biodiversity is threatened by habitat loss and degradation, over-exploitation, pollution and climate change. The most recent national assessment found 20% of measured species face some level of risk of extinction, with 873 of these species critically endangered mainly due to human activities encroaching their habitat.

We can go to them and say: 'You're not doing your job properly, you're destroying creeks when you're logging, you're not following your own rules,'" says Meness. Stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean and encompassing 15 terrestrial ecozones, Canada is blessed with ecological wealth. The country contains 28% of the world's boreal forest, while 25% of global temperate forests are located in the province of British Columbia alone. The country is home to an estimated 80,000 species, 25% of the planet's wetlands, 20% of global surface freshwater and the world's longest coastline. Serving as the "eyes and ears" on traditional territories, guardians are trained experts responsible for helping indigenous nations steward their lands and waters. Guardians manage protected areas and restore wildlife and plants. They are central to creating land-use and marine-use plans. And they test water quality and monitor resource development.If you want to understand what turned British politics toxic there is no better guide - or antidote. - David Baddiel Working as a guardian has enriched Meness' life with new experiences and knowledge. From elders she has learnt how to build birch bark canoes and identify medicinal plants. Once, in a remote camp, a woman had been burnt and Meness, given this expertise, was called upon to help. Gathering yarrow, which has cooling effects, and winter green, which soothes inflammation and pain, she mashed them together in a bowl, thinning the mixture ever so slightly with river water. A few minutes after applying the paste to the burn, the woman felt relief, says Meness. Courtois hopes Canada can serve as a model to other parts of the world – on the art of the possible when it comes to decolonisation and reconciliation. But she cautions against the indigenous-led conservation movement being used to reinforce a colonial apparatus. We live in an age of fury and confusion. A new crisis erupts before the last one has finished: financial crisis, Brexit, pandemic, war in Ukraine, inflation, strikes. Prime Ministers come and go but politics stays divided and toxic. That appeal for nuance pervades this beautifully written, persuasive plea to bridge our political divides. It is also a warning of the dangers if we don’t.