Praying is a cognitive practice full of problem-solving resources. You can learn from it even if you don’t want to do it

From Afghanistan to Virginia – the Muslims who fought in the American Civil War

22 minutes

Why history is always political

In his work on republicanism as a living idea, J G A Pocock showed that contesting history is part of a robust civic life

Rosario López

Visit the small Texas community that lives in the shadow of SpaceX launches

14 minutes

What’s in the rule of law?

The British Empire used a great democratic ideal to manufacture racial difference and rationalise colonial domination

Kanika Sharma

A frontline soldier’s moving account of the fabled ‘Christmas truce’ of 1914

12 minutes

A valiant experiment

The progressive and remarkably innovative Woodmead School briefly flourished amid the viciousness of apartheid South Africa

David Dyzenhaus

Replicating Shakespearean-era printing brings its own dramas and comedy

19 minutes

A linkless internet

In creating anonymous summaries, AI flattens out all the fascinating architecture of thought that makes the internet hum

Collin Jennings

The wild tale of a young animal keeper, an angry tiger and a torn circle net

10 minutes