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Abstract sketch of a cityscape with buildings, cars and patterns in pencil and ink.

Witty wotty dashes

Doodles are the emanations of our pixillated minds, freewheeling into dissociation, graphology, and radical openness

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Abstract sketch of a cityscape with buildings, cars and patterns in pencil and ink.

essay

Art

Witty wotty dashes

Doodles are the emanations of our pixillated minds, freewheeling into dissociation, graphology, and radical openness

James Reath

Popular this month

Illustration of an ancient Greek temple with the golden ratio spiral overlay, featuring bright colours and clear skies.

video

Mathematics

Spiral into the ‘golden ratio’ – and separate the myths from the maths

4 minutes

Photo of three people in traditional robes, two holding wooden staffs, standing outside a wooden building in sunlight.

essay

Rituals and celebrations

A life in Zen

Growing up in countercultural California, ‘enlightenment’ had real glamour. But decades of practice have changed my mind

Anshi Zachary Smith

Painting of ancient Roman ruins with people, cattle and trees under a blue sky with clouds.

essay

Nations and empires

The rewards of ruin

Societal downfalls loom large in history and popular culture but, for the 99 per cent, collapse often had its upsides

Luke Kemp

Photo of two polar bears exploring a decaying wooden building, one looks out a window, the other stands on the porch steps.

essay

Animals and humans

Humanlike?

Interpreting the emotional lives of animals requires a subtler and more nuanced understanding of anthropomorphism

Mike Dacey

Black and white photo of a thoughtful woman and two children, one holding a crying baby, indoors near wooden doors.

essay

Ethics

Why love matters most

For Iris Murdoch, morality is not about duties and rules but stopping our ego fantasies and attending to others with love

Cathy Mason

Photo of an elderly woman resting her forehead on a large stone bust outdoors near a decaying concrete structure.

video

History

In Stalin’s home city in Georgia, generations clash over his legacy

20 minutes

A surfer in a wetsuit emerging from a large turquoise wave with white foam crashing around.

essay

Sports and games

The secret

At the heart of surfing, whether you’re a kook or a famous charger, is the pursuit of moments so pure they clean you out

M M Owen

Photo of a person in white walking along a cliffside path near a stone structure with a scenic landscape view.

video

Architecture

Steep climbs lead to sacred spaces carved high into the cliffs of Ethiopia

9 minutes

Watercolour and ink collage with a portrait, handwritten text saying ‘Hey, I’m important’ and a small beach photo on top right.

video

Consciousness and altered states

How an artist learned to ‘co-live’ with the distressing voice in her head

6 minutes

Abstract digital art with geometric shapes in various colours, forming the shape of a person’s head and shoulders, featuring black glasses in the centre.

essay

Ethics

The incompleteness of ethics

Many hope that AI will discover ethical truths. But as Gödel shows, deciding what is right will always be our burden

Elad Uzan

Sketch of person holding a pink phone to their ear with minimal facial detail.

video

History

In the face of denial, this film uncovers the hidden scars of Indonesia’s 1998 riots

21 minutes

A person in a brown coat sitting alone at a picnic table in an autumn park with fallen leaves around.

essay

Consciousness and altered states

A simple shift in focus

Life is often experienced as a demanding, ongoing story. But with a little practice, a new space opens for peaceful presence

James Carmody

Illustration of a brain with a tap attached, with yellow liquid flowing out against a grey background.

video

Ethics

What’s an idea worth? How prominent thinkers have understood intellectual property

6 minutes

Painting of ancient Roman ruins with people, cattle and trees under a blue sky with clouds.

essay

Nations and empires

The rewards of ruin

Societal downfalls loom large in history and popular culture but, for the 99 per cent, collapse often had its upsides

Luke Kemp

Illustration of a blue dragonfly, a green leaf insect and a brown butterfly wing on a light background.

video

History of science

Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful

8 minutes

A stork and chicks in a nest on a metal pylon above a grassy landscape with a river in the background.

essay

Animals and humans

To build a nest

Throughout the animal kingdom, the parents of newborns must strive to create snug sanctuaries in a hazardous world

Helen Jukes

Photo of three people in traditional robes, two holding wooden staffs, standing outside a wooden building in sunlight.

essay

Rituals and celebrations

A life in Zen

Growing up in countercultural California, ‘enlightenment’ had real glamour. But decades of practice have changed my mind

Anshi Zachary Smith

Photo of a woman sleeping, resting her head and hand on a large dog, creating a cosy atmosphere.

video

Love and friendship

What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?

13 minutes

Black and white photo of a man in a suit speaking passionately at a podium with microphones.

essay

Biography and memoir

The story of Malcolm X

Alex Haley co-wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X but Haley left out some profound elements of Malcolm’s political thought

Alex White

Photo of a woman wearing sunglasses, gesturing in front of a large stone monument with carved figures.

video

Thinkers and theories

The prison abolitionist who dares to envision a world without ‘unfreedoms’

16 minutes

Photo of a large conference with a speaker on stage in traditional attire and an audience seated facing a large curved screen.

essay

Politics and government

How to run the world

We need new forms of global diplomacy to transcend the current pathetic bargaining of national and commercial interests

David Van Reybrouck

3D heat map graph with peaks in red and valleys in blue showing data variation.

video

Music

A riveting audiovisual dive into what makes sounds harmonious, or not

28 minutes

A round pot encircles a hole in the soil, around the hole are dried leaves, a stone and a stick.

essay

Anthropology

Spider divination

Life is complicated. In Cameroon, initiated diviners read the messages of spiders to untangle possible futures

David Zeitlyn

A crocodile underwater with mouth open wide showing teeth in a cloudy green environment.

essay

The environment

Beyond food and people

Nietzsche shows us how to embrace our connection with nature – without denying its essential conflict, strife and suffering

Nicholas E Low

Photo of two women hugging at an indoor event, one holding a piece of paper

video

Life stages

Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers

15 minutes

Abstract digital art of a web-like cosmic structure with purple and orange filament patterns, resembling a universe simulation.

essay

Cosmology

Rivers of galaxies

What are the largest shapes in the Universe? The answer might be found in the most unassuming places here on Earth

Mark Neyrinck

Illustration of three people, one with wide eyes and mouth open, another holding their head, third timing with a pocket watch.

video

Medicine

Drinking wine from toxic cups was the 17th century’s own dubious ‘detox’ treatment

11 minutes

A person in a hospital gown sitting on a bed in a bright patient room, large window and privacy curtain visible.

essay

Human rights and justice

Knowledge and justice

Any legal system that fails to compensate people for epistemic harm is unjust. Their damage must be named and remedied

Mitch Woolery