In the Michaelmas issue of CAM we discover the dark side of Charisma, discuss student politics with past and present JCR officers and investigate the importance of the most humble of scientific instruments - the Petri dish.

Highlights include:

On charisma: Anxious times call for charismatic leadership – but could charisma actually be bad for us?

Machine learning: Artificial learning is shaping our world – which is why you need to understand how it works.

Root and branch: The economist turned geographer Professor Bhaskar Vira says that the natural world is good for us.

In vitro: The humble Petri dish remains at the cutting edge of scientific discovery.

This house believes: The Junior Common Room – or JCR, or Student Union, or, at Peterhouse, Sex Club – is the beating heart of politics.