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Last 24 hours

1. 1.  The nasty babble which stigmatises depression | Tanya Gold
2. 2. US election: whoever wins on Tuesday, the impact will be profound | Jonathan Freedland
3. 3. Who is the worst civil liberties president in US history? | Glenn Greenwald
4. 4. Boris Johnson and the politican's awkward moment: six of the best | Hugh Muir
5. 5. Jimmy Savile was an emperor with no clothes – and a celebrity cloak | Deborah Orr
6. More most viewed

Last 24 hours

1. A cure for America's corruptible voting system | Naomi Wolf
2. US election: whoever wins on Tuesday, the impact will be profound | Jonathan Freedland
3. Barack Obama and the paradox behind his African American support base | Gary Younge
4. Breaking the two-party stranglehold that is killing American democracy | Gary Johnson
5. The nasty babble which stigmatises depression | Tanya Gold
6. More zeitgeist
   What is Zeitgeist?

   Zeitgeist is an experiment in showing trending news, topics and articles from the Guardian. Find out more in our blog post.

Last 24 hours

1. 1.  Feel the farce: Star Wars reimagined
2. 2. Barack Obama and the paradox behind his African American support base | Gary Younge
3. 3. Breaking the two-party stranglehold that is killing American democracy | Gary Johnson
4. 4. Will the government support my move against modern-day slavery? | Michael Connarty
5. 5. A cure for America's corruptible voting system | Naomi Wolf
6. All today's stories

Selected contributors

• James Berkeley

  on racial equality

  Racial inequality is as sharp as ever, yet efforts to tackle it have been undermined by the coalition
  

• James Ball

  on geeks

  The James Bond boffin Q becomes a trendy, cardigan-wearing techie in Skyfall. It's not hard to see why geeks have gone mainstream
  

• Ian Jack

  on Penguin

  With Penguin now largely German-owned, English-language publishing is now more than ever a European concern
  

• Polly Toynbee

  on the EU

  In tough times it is only right that the EU budget be trimmed, but the left must never forget the benefits of membership
  

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Poll

Would you stay in the Ryugyong hotel?

The 105-storey Ryugyong hotel in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, could soon be taking reservations. Its extravagance in a country beset by food shortages has been much criticised. But the regime is hoping hotel will boost tourism and bring in foreign currency. Would you book a room?

Yes

No

US

• Barack Obama and the paradox behind his African American support base

  
  3 Nov 2012, 16:44 GMT:

  Gary Younge: The ascent of the first black president has coincided with a steep descent in the economic fortunes of black Americans. But that hasn't impeded their optimism about Obama

• Breaking the two-party stranglehold that is killing American democracy

  
  3 Nov 2012, 14:58 GMT:

  Gary Johnson: We the people have the power to end this dysfunctional, corrupting duopoly of Democrats and Republicans. Vote with me

Europe

• The EU budget needs to be increased, not cut or frozen

  John Palmer: When it comes to the EU budget, political discourse quickly reverts to the most basic and ill-informed populism

• EU budget: Ed Miliband twisted the knife but the Tory right held the handle

  Richard Seymour: On Europe, Miliband has shown that he can be opportunistic, but that's all he can hope for from his side of the house

The Joris Luyendijk banking blog

• 'Solidarity – is that word even used in English?'

  After years with a US firm, Sebastian moved to a big German bank. He believes he has much to be grateful for in Frankfurt

• Occupy, the global brand

  

  A trio of Germans explain their plans to help the international protest movement enter the mainstream

New Political Economy Network

• What Lord Heseltine doesn't say about the regions

  Karel Williams: London stands in the way of Britain's ex-industrial regions and their stranded populations. Heseltine offers little new thinking

• George Osborne's shares-for-rights scheme doesn't add up

  Simon Caulkin: This idea is absurd. Greater protection improves performance, and UK workers already have relatively poor protection

Belief

• Pakistan and Indonesia's blasphemy laws have no basis in the Qur'an

  1 Nov 2012, 14:24 GMT: Ali Khan Mahmudabad: It is ironic that the very Muslims who criticise the west often end up imitating alien aspects of western thought

• Stonewall's 'bigot of the year': careful with overusing that word

  
  31 Oct 2012, 16:29 GMT: Andrew Brown: If all opponents of gay marriage are branded bigots, the word loses its force and risks becoming a jokey badge of pride

Middle East

• A two-state solution is the most practical route for Israel and Palestine

  

  David Wearing: Those calling for a single bi-national state are in the ascendancy but this would entail the end of Israel, which is not realistic

• Kuwait's protests remind us of the Arab spring's true spirit

  David Hearst: The ferment in Kuwait isn't about poverty or sectarianism – but democracy. Blaiming it on Egyptian Islamists is a risky strategy