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Painting of two anthropomorphic peacocks in 18th-century attire in front of a stately home surrounded by trees.

Is beauty natural?

Charles Darwin was as fascinated by extravagant ornament in nature as Jane Austen was in culture. Did their explanations agree?

A sea turtle swimming underwater in clear turquoise water with sunlight shimmering on the surface.

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Philosophy of science

Elusive but everywhere

Everything in the Universe, from wandering turtles to falling rocks, is surrounded by ‘fields’ that guide and direct movement

Daniel W McShea & Gunnar O Babcock

A woman with glasses and a colourful African headscarf is holding a child. They are outdoors in a rocky, hilly landscape. The path ahead appears scattered with small white stones.

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Human rights and justice

When a burial for slave trade victims is unearthed, a small island faces a reckoning

29 minutes

Illustration of a person reading a book with glowing hot air balloons and mountains emerging from the pages.

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Physics

The city of wisdom

Don’t be intimidated by physics: it is made of stories and metaphors. Learn these and the field will open up to you

Jamie Zvirzdin

A man views a holographic projection of a child in shorts running in a forest setting; office equipment surrounds him.

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Technology and the self

A haunting scene from ‘Minority Report’ inspires a voyage into time and memory

7 minutes

Illustration of a saucepan on a stove with raw meat and ginger, a pot lid is nearby on the right.

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Family life

The stream-of-consciousness thoughts and memories that emerge while cooking a meal

5 minutes

Photo of a soldier in camouflage standing on a busy market street surrounded by people and colourful fabrics.

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Nations and empires

Colonies of former colonies

India’s ongoing subjugation of Kashmir holds portentous lessons about the nature of contemporary colonialism

Hafsa Kanjwal

Aerial view of a coastal area at dusk with multiple streaks of red light travelling over water and land, illuminating the landscape.

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Ecology and environmental sciences

GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds

6 minutes

Black and white photo of a vintage propeller aircraft flying in a clear sky.

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Philosophy of science

The forces of chance

Social scientists cling to simple models of reality – with disastrous results. Instead they must embrace chaos theory

Brian Klaas

Photo of a desert scene with tall cacti and a person standing, set against a sunlit rocky hill.

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Human rights and justice

Can providing humanitarian aid be illegal? A troubling case from the US-Mexico border

17 minutes

Painting of a man and woman in elegant 18th-century attire sitting on a pink sofa with ornate decoration.

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History of ideas

Settling accounts

Before he was famous, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was Louise Dupin’s scribe. It’s her ideas on inequality that fill his writings

Rebecca Wilkin

Photo of shattered glass with multiple cracks against a black background.

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Philosophy of mind

Rage against the machine

For all the promise and dangers of AI, computers plainly can’t think. To think is to resist – something no machine does

Alva Noë

A chimpanzee in a space suit inside a capsule with human hands assisting, suggesting space exploration preparation.

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Space exploration

The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space

12 minutes

Ancient mosaic depicting two figures with instruments on a blue stone background.

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Food and drink

The fermented crescent

Ancient Mesopotamians had a profound love of beer: a beverage they found celebratory, intoxicating and strangely erotic

Tate Paulette

Painting of people playing dodgeball around a square pool with ripples in vibrant colours, long shadows cast on the ground.

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Film and visual culture

A lush animated opus evokes the frenzied pace of modern life

4 minutes

Photo of two grey birds on a rock by water, one standing and the other appearing to crash land into the rock, neck bent with wings raised; green reeds in background.

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Philosophy of science

Life makes mistakes

Hens try to hatch golf balls, whales get beached. Getting things wrong seems to play a fundamental role in life on Earth

David S Oderberg

A painting of two girls with long hair each holding peacock feathers standing in front of a textured, muted background.

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Family life

The precious family keepsakes that hold meaning for generations

10 minutes

Blurry photo of a person lying back with head tilted, set against a red and dark background.

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Sex and sexuality

Sex and death

Our culture works hard to keep sex and death separate but recharging the libido might provide the release that grief needs

Cody Delistraty

A street with an American flag a mural of a vintage town scene and a black pickup truck passing by.

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Politics and government

The spectre of insecurity

Liberals have forgotten that in order for our lives not to be nasty, brutish and short, we need stability. Enter Hobbes

Jennifer M Morton

3D rendering of a green, abstract, textured structure resembling dense tangled fibres on a black background.

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Neuroscience

This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience

2 minutes

Black and white photo of a group of people standing outdoors on a slope by a pond with trees and bushes in the background.

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Religion

The script creator

Pau Cin Hau dreamt of an alphabet for a language that had never been written down. So began the religion of Laipianism

Bikash K Bhattacharya

Black and white photo of ancient Egyptian artefacts in storage, including statues, chests, chairs, and bundles, within a room.

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Archaeology

What did the first people who entered Tutankhamun’s tomb see?

5 minutes

Photo of a galaxy with a bright centre emitting a blue jet of energy against a background of numerous stars in space.

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Cosmology

Stars behaving absurdly

For centuries, the only way in which to illuminate the mysteries of black holes was through the power of mathematics

Steve Nadis & Shing-Tung Yau

Photo of a silver inflatable balloon floating in the sky over a blurred brownish background, resembling a flying saucer.

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Information and communication

Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news

17 minutes

A Pacific National train engine in yellow and blue with “Make time to ask R U OK?” message on its side.

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Mental health

Constant confession

Mental health campaigns place huge trust in people’s ability to act as therapists. But when should professionals step in?

Aaron Neiman