essay
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
essay
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
video
Knowledge
Why it takes more than a lifetime to truly understand a single meadow
11 minutes
video
War and peace
‘She is living on in many hearts’ – Otto Frank on the legacy of his daughter’s diary
12 minutes
video
Art
Why Diego Velázquez needed a lifetime to paint his enigmatic masterpiece
31 minutes
essay
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
essay
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
essay
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
video
Family life
The stream-of-consciousness thoughts and memories that emerge while cooking a meal
5 minutes
essay
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
video
Film and visual culture
A lush animated opus evokes the frenzied pace of modern life
4 minutes
video
Family life
The precious family keepsakes that hold meaning for generations
10 minutes
essay
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
essay
Home
The joy of clutter
The world sees Japan as a paragon of minimalism. But its hidden clutter culture shows that ‘more’ can be as magical as ‘less’
Matt Alt
essay
Anthropology
Witches around the world
The belief in witches is an almost universal feature of human societies. What does it reveal about our deepest fears?
Gregory Forth
essay
Subcultures
An undulating thrill
Once lauded as a wonder of the age, cocaine soon became the object of profound anxieties. What happened?
Douglas Small
video
Art
A puppeteer makes sense of an overwhelming world by shrinking it down to size
5 minutes
essay
Ethics
Main character syndrome
Why romanticising your own life is philosophically dubious, setting up toxic narratives and an inability to truly love
Anna Gotlib
video
Anthropology
Does Mogi’s future lie with her horses on the Mongolian steppe, or in the city?
16 minutes
essay
Food and drink
The joy of foraging
Offering an escape from industrial foods, foraging nourishes the soul and body, but it needs democratic access to the land
Nikita Sud
video
Art
The sprawling mural that depicts an unflinching people’s history of Los Angeles
7 minutes
essay
Design and fashion
When luxury is good
The waste and exploitation of fast fashion shouldn’t blind us to the joys of making beautiful clothing with care
Roger Tredre
video
Art
In his poem ‘London’, William Blake crafted a bleak vision of the city he loved
9 minutes