Current UK higher education policies, which treat students as consumers, are not only killing thinking but also likely to lead to a financial crisis. And yet, academia is a beautiful vocation, with the power to transform lives year in, year out. University of London professor, Les Back, picks the best books on academia.

Recycling is more than just a blue and green bin in your pantry, says journalist Adam Minter – it’s a global trade with centuries of history that stretches from American scrapyards to Chinese e-waste recycling villages

The author of True Wealth suggests how we can rethink our patterns of consumption and approach our relationship with nature in a new, less damaging, way