A subset $X$ of a Polish group $G$ is called Haar null if there exists a Borel set $B \supset X$ and Borel probability measure $\mu$ on $G$ such that $\mu(gBh)=0$ for every $g,h \in G$. We prove that there exist a set $X \subset \mathbb R$ that is not Lebesgue null and a Borel probability measure $\mu$ such that $\mu(X + t) = 0$ for every $t \in \mathbb R$. This answers a question from David Fremlin's problem list by showing that one cannot simplify the definition of a Haar null set by leaving out the Borel set $B$. (The answer was already known assuming the Continuum Hypothesis.) This result motivates the following Baire category analogue. It is consistent with $ZFC$ that there exist an abelian Polish group $G$ and a Cantor set $C \subset G$ such that for every non-meagre set $X \subset G$ there exists a $t \in G$ such that $C \cap (X + t)$ is relatively non-meagre in $C$. This essentially generalises results of Bartoszyński and Burke-Miller.

Using ideas from Shelah's recent proof that a completely separable maximal almost disjoint family exists when $\mathfrak{c} \lt {\aleph}_{\omega}$, we construct a weakly tight family under the hypothesis $\mathfrak{s} \leq \mathfrak{b} \lt {\aleph}_{\omega}$. The case when $\mathfrak{s} \lt \mathfrak{b}$ is handled in $\mathrm{ZFC}$ and does not require $\mathfrak{b} \lt {\aleph}_{\omega}$, while an additional PCF type hypothesis, which holds when $\mathfrak{b} \lt {\aleph}_{\omega}$ is used to treat the case $\mathfrak{s} = \mathfrak{b}$. The notion of a weakly tight family is a natural weakening of the well studied notion of a Cohen indestructible maximal almost disjoint family. It was introduced by Hrušák and García Ferreira, who applied it to the Katétov order on almost disjoint families.

We throw some light on the question: is there a MAD family (a maximal family of infinite subsets of $\mathbb{N}$, the intersection of any two is finite) that is saturated (completely separable \emph{i.e.,} any $X \subseteq \mathbb{N}$ is included in a finite union of members of the family \emph{or} includes a member (and even continuum many members) of the family). We prove that it is hard to prove the consistency of the negation: (i) if $2^{\aleph_0} \lt \aleph_\omega$, then there is such a family; (ii) if there is no such family, then some situation related to pcf holds whose consistency is large (and if ${\mathfrak a}_* \gt \aleph_1$ even unknown); (iii) if, \emph{e.g.,} there is no inner model with measurables, \emph{then} there is such a family.

We study the cardinal invariants of analytic $P$-ideals, concentrating on the ideal $\mathcal{Z}$ of asymptotic density zero. Among other results we prove $ \min\{ \mathfrak{b},\cov\ (\mathcal{N}) \} \leq\cov^{\ast}(\mathcal{Z}) \leq\max\{ \mathfrak{b},\non(\mathcal{N}) \right\}. $

We prove that it is relatively consistent with $\ZFC$ that in any perfect Polish space, for every nonmeager set $A$ there exists a nowhere dense Cantor set $C$ such that $A\cap C$ is nonmeager in $C$. We also examine variants of this result and establish a measure theoretic analog.