Masham and me
Were it not for her friendship with John Locke, the radical feminist gems of philosopher Damaris Masham might be unknown
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Archaeology
Children of the Ice Age
With the help of new archaeological approaches, our picture of young lives in the Palaeolithic is now marvellously vivid
April Nowell
essay
Ethics
The ethics of human extinction
Why would it be so bad if our species came to an end? It is a question that reveals our latent values and hidden fears
Émile P Torres
essay
Ethics
If not vegan, then what?
A vegan diet can be hard to adopt, even if you’re convinced it’s the right thing to do. What are the next-best options?
Peter Godfrey-Smith
essay
Archaeology
What the tablets say
Some 3,700 years ago, an enslaved girl, a barber, and a king crossed paths in a city by the Euphrates. This is their story
Amanda H Podany
essay
Anthropology
Lessons from the foragers
Hunter-gatherers don’t live in an economic idyll but their deep appreciation of rest puts industrialised work to shame
Vivek V Venkataraman
video
Quantum theory
Why aren’t our everyday lives as ‘spooky’ as the quantum world?
7 minutes
essay
Music
Give the drummer some
As AI drum machines embrace humanising imperfections, what does this mean for ‘real’ drummers and the soul of music?
Jack Stilgoe
video
Global history
The strange journey of the Parthenon Marbles to the British Museum
10 minutes
video
Animals and humans
Laura fights to protect the magnificence of wild horses running free
6 minutes
essay
History
Medieval babycare
From mansplaining about breastfeeding to debates on developmental toys, medieval parenting was full of familiar dilemmas
Katherine Harvey
essay
Politics and government
Wielding death
When everyday life is marked by oppression and violence, can a martyr’s death truly be an act of freedom and resistance?
Umar Lateef Misgar
video
Film and visual culture
The old-time cinema experience endures in a quiet corner of Japan
5 minutes
essay
Computing and artificial intelligence
What has feelings?
As the power of AI grows, we need to have evidence of its sentience. That is why we must return to the minds of animals
Kristin Andrews & Jonathan Birch
video
Space exploration
Burning ice, metal clouds, gemstone rain – tour the strangest known exoplanets
31 minutes
essay
Psychiatry and psychotherapy
The space between us
In order to understand and heal mental distress, we must see our minds as existing in relationships, not inside our heads
James Barnes
video
Gender and identity
‘I didn’t fall in love with a couple of body pieces’ – on marriage and transition
3 minutes
essay
Ethics
The ethics of human extinction
Why would it be so bad if our species came to an end? It is a question that reveals our latent values and hidden fears
Émile P Torres
essay
Bioethics
Selected before birth
Embryo risk screening could lower the odds of illnesses ranging from depression to diabetes. Can it be ethically done?
Todd Lencz & Shai Carmi
video
Logic and probability
Chew over the prisoner’s dilemma and see if you can find the rational path out
6 minutes
essay
Mental health
Secrets hurt their holders
Holding back the truth can take a huge toll on your relationships and your mental health. Why? And is there a better way?
Michael Slepian
video
Architecture
The radically impractical 18th-century architect whose ideas on beauty endure
19 minutes
essay
Environmental history
Disturbance
How atomic doomsday experiments, fuelled by Cold War fears, shaped then shook ecologists’ faith in self-healing nature
Laura J Martin
video
Making
From log to Go board – the world’s oldest game, made the old-fashioned way
20 minutes
essay
Archaeology
Children of the Ice Age
With the help of new archaeological approaches, our picture of young lives in the Palaeolithic is now marvellously vivid
April Nowell
essay
Ethics
If not vegan, then what?
A vegan diet can be hard to adopt, even if you’re convinced it’s the right thing to do. What are the next-best options?
Peter Godfrey-Smith
video
Stories and literature
The key to a vampire’s immortality? Meeting the anxieties of the moment
15 minutes
essay
Archaeology
What the tablets say
Some 3,700 years ago, an enslaved girl, a barber, and a king crossed paths in a city by the Euphrates. This is their story
Amanda H Podany
video
Biology
The idea that life on Earth originated elsewhere is not as far out as it seems
6 minutes