The underground university
During the Cold War, Oxford philosophers worked together to aid dissidents behind the Iron Curtain. I was one of them
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Philosophy of science
Elusive but everywhere
A new theory argues that unseen ‘fields’ guide all goal-directed things in the Universe, from falling rocks to voyaging turtles
Daniel W McShea & Gunnar O Babcock
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Beauty and aesthetics
Is beauty natural?
Charles Darwin was as fascinated by extravagant ornament in nature as Jane Austen was in culture. Did their explanations agree?
Abigail Tulenko
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Food and drink
The flavour of mechanisation
Olive oil was revered and cherished by the ancients. But its distinctive peppery taste is really a modern invention
Massimo Mazzotti
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Technology and the self
We need raw awe
In this tech-vexed age, our life on screens prevents us from experiencing the mysteries and transformative wonder of life
Kirk Schneider
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Metaphysics
Many worlds, many selves
If it’s true that we live in a vast multiverse, then our understanding of identity, morality and even God must be reexamined
Emily Qureshi-Hurst
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The ancient world
Petty squabbles and bloody battles – the life of an ancient Roman soldier
18 minutes
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Biography and memoir
A grief with no name
As a child, I was torn from a culture that I never knew. It is a loss that defines me, even as I struggle to define the loss
Jelena Markovic
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Childhood and adolescence
The police camp where tween girls enter a sisterhood of law and order
28 minutes
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Astronomy
The remarkable innovations inspired by our need to know the night sky
5 minutes
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Thinkers and theories
Who can claim Aristotle?
The endless battle over his legacy testifies to his great authority – and the power of his thought to make the world better
Edith Hall
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Philosophy of religion
Compassionate time
On his final journey through Asia, Thomas Merton found some peace in the dialectic between refusing the world and loving it
Drew Calvert
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Knowledge
Why it takes more than a lifetime to truly understand a single meadow
11 minutes
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Nations and empires
What is decolonisation?
There’s more talk of decolonisation than ever, while true independence for former colonies has faded from view. Why?
Lydia Walker
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Physics
Groundbreaking visualisations show how the world of the nucleus gives rise to our own
10 minutes
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War and peace
‘She is living on in many hearts’ – Otto Frank on the legacy of his daughter’s diary
12 minutes
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Biology
Could humans hibernate?
Hibernation allows many animals to time-travel from difficult times to plenty. Could humans learn how to do it too?
Vladyslav Vyazovskiy
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Bioethics
The cochlear question
As the hearing parent of a deaf baby, I’m confronted with an agonising decision: should I give her an implant to help her hear?
Abi Stephenson
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Art
Why Diego Velázquez needed a lifetime to paint his enigmatic masterpiece
31 minutes
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Philosophy of science
The nature of natural laws
Physicists and philosophers today have formulated three opposing models that explain how laws work. Which is the best?
Mario Hubert
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Earth science and climate
There’s a ‘climate bomb’ ticking beneath the Arctic ice. How can we prepare?
8 minutes
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Food and drink
The flavour of mechanisation
Olive oil was revered and cherished by the ancients. But its distinctive peppery taste is really a modern invention
Massimo Mazzotti
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Political philosophy
The radical activist couple who fought for social change in the courtroom
21 minutes
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Technology and the self
We need raw awe
In this tech-vexed age, our life on screens prevents us from experiencing the mysteries and transformative wonder of life
Kirk Schneider
video
Physics
To change the way you see the Moon, view it from the Sun’s perspective
5 minutes
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Nations and empires
Utopia brasileira
Within less than a decade, Brazil will have as many evangelicals as Catholics, a transcendence born of the prosperity gospel
Alex Hochuli
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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
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Beauty and aesthetics
Is beauty natural?
Charles Darwin was as fascinated by extravagant ornament in nature as Jane Austen was in culture. Did their explanations agree?
Abigail Tulenko
video
Technology and the self
A haunting scene from ‘Minority Report’ inspires a voyage into time and memory
7 minutes