Typos, tricks and misprints
Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology
Arika Okrent
essay
Ethics
Forget morality
Moral philosophy is bogus, a mere substitute for God that licenses ugly emotions. Here are five reasons to reject it
Ronnie de Sousa
video
Biology
Watch the elegant flow of a sheep herd, seen from the sky above Israel
1 minute
essay
Childhood and adolescence
We’re all teenagers now
Adolescence isn’t a time of life so much as a frame of mind. Liberating yet damaging, it’s transformed the US and the world
Paul Howe
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video
Physics
How would a piano sound on Mars? Embark on an interplanetary sonic journey
20 minutes
video
Work
Emergency first responders meet chaos with dissonant calm in this gripping short
9 minutes
essay
Stories and literature
The divine Dante
At 700, Dante’s Divine Comedy is as modern as ever – a lesson in spiritual intelligence that makes us better at being alive
Mark Vernon
video
The ancient world
Not a lost kingdom but a parable – how to read Athens in Plato’s story of Atlantis
24 minutes
essay
Cosmology
A non-Standard model
Most cosmologists say dark matter must exist. So far, it’s nowhere to be found. A widely scorned rival theory explains why
David Merritt
essay
Childhood and adolescence
Attached
From cradle to grave, we are soothed and rocked by attachments – our source of joy and pain, and the essence of who we are
Mostafa El-Kalliny & Zoe R Donaldson
Popular this month
essay
Global history
Plagues and empires
What can the decline of the Roman Empire and the end of European feudalism tell us about COVID-19 and the future of the West?
John Rapley
essay
Ethics
Forget morality
Moral philosophy is bogus, a mere substitute for God that licenses ugly emotions. Here are five reasons to reject it
Ronnie de Sousa
essay
Political philosophy
How important is white fear?
It’s become a commonplace that demographic anxiety is driving white voters to the far Right. This is dangerously wrong
Mark R Reiff
essay
Virtues and vices
Lies and honest mistakes
Our crisis of public knowledge is an ethical crisis. Rewarding ‘truthfulness’ above ‘truth’ is a step towards a solution
Richard V Reeves
video
Meaning and the good life
Albert Camus built a philosophy of humanity on a foundation of absurdity
6 minutes
essay
Nations and empires
Vast early America
There is no American history without the histories of Indigenous and enslaved peoples. And this past has consequences today
Karin Wulf
video
Public health
When two punk bands came to a psychiatric hospital, beautiful chaos ensued
27 minutes
essay
Global history
Plagues and empires
What can the decline of the Roman Empire and the end of European feudalism tell us about COVID-19 and the future of the West?
John Rapley
video
Design and fashion
Gear up for a stylish celebration of vintage motorcycle design
6 minutes
essay
Social psychology
A good scrap
Disagreements can be unpleasant, even offensive, but they are vital to human reason. Without them we remain in the dark
Ian Leslie
essay
Thinkers and theories
A just and loving gaze
Simone Weil: mystic, philosopher, activist. Her ethics demand that we look beyond the personal and find the universal
Deborah Casewell
video
The ancient world
A balanced account of Nero’s life reveals the ‘editing and destruction’ of history-making
27 minutes
essay
Death
Is grandad on the moon?
We no longer have a clear sense of how to introduce our children to death. But their questions can help us face up to it
Pragya Agarwal
video
Biology
An ode to the humble rotifer – one of nature’s simplest and strangest creatures
9 minutes
essay
Mental health
World wide open
Deep brain stimulation not only treats psychiatric disease – it changes the whole person, boosting confidence and openness
Julian Kiverstein, Erik Rietveld & Damiaan Denys
video
Film and visual culture
Shoddy filmmaking meets the miracle of life in a police training film turned cult classic
11 minutes
essay
Virtues and vices
Lies and honest mistakes
Our crisis of public knowledge is an ethical crisis. Rewarding ‘truthfulness’ above ‘truth’ is a step towards a solution
Richard V Reeves
essay
Space exploration
Riches in space
Asteroids could pay for so much space exploration. We just need to mine those valuable resources – and duck a direct hit
Martin Elvis
video
Mathematics
Check in to the Hilbert Hotel, and learn why some infinities are bigger than others
6 minutes