Menu
Aeon
DonateNewsletter
SIGN IN

Culture

Essays and videos on the arts, literature, travel, rituals and celebrations
Save

video

Language and linguistics

Messages born of melody – hear the whistled language of the Hmong people

18 minutes

Save

video

Music

‘Dun dun dun duuun!’ Why Beethoven’s Fifth sticks in the head and stirs the heart

5 minutes

Save

video

Mood and emotion

An Oceanic lullaby, ‘Gimme Shelter’ and more elucidate how music taps into our emotions

58 minutes

A close up picture of hands playing a silver brass flute with a shallow depth of field such that the foreground fingers and keys are more in focus
Save

essay

Music

To the tune of dystonia

One day, my hand stopped speaking to my brain. As a doctor and flute player, I had to understand this strange affliction

Lynn Hallarman

Save

video

Physics

A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet

9 minutes

Two Asian film actors are fighting kung-fu style on the beach dressed in 1970s style casual clothes
Save

essay

Film and visual culture

Fighting kung fu

From chopsocky films to disco earworms, Asian caricatures have proliferated since the 1970s. Can Hollywood kick the habit?

Stephanie Wong

Save

video

Physics

A dreamy tribute to the music of Brian Eno, rendered in paint, soap and water

2 minutes

Save

video

Music

Electronic gloves and even potted plants make music in a playground for sound innovation

6 minutes

Save

video

Biology

A dazzling slice-by-slice exploration of wood exposes hidden patterns and hues

2 minutes

Save

video

Music

As a pianist strikes a chord, visualisations of his notes appear in real time

5 minutes

Save

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

Save

essay

Music

Enter the conductrice

Will a new generation of women on the podium perpetuate the tyrannical charisma of their male predecessors or overturn it?

Xenia Hanusiak

Save

essay

Global history

Black King of Songs

His communism brought the great American singer Paul Robeson trouble in the US, but helped make him a hero in China

Gao Yunxiang

Save

video

Ecology and environmental sciences

Yo-Yo Ma performs a work for cello in the woods, accompanied by a birdsong chorus

4 minutes

Save

video

Music

Nick ponders the life of the mysterious girl whose used CDs shaped his teenage years

5 minutes

Save

video

Music

Before the Beatles dropped acid, a BBC workshop was creating far-out sounds

6 minutes

Save

video

Subcultures

Bad puns, regrettable costumes, and other joys of collecting kitschy album art

13 minutes

Save

video

Stories and literature

A musician and a storyteller collaborate in a daily duet of words and music

5 minutes

Save

video

Dance and theatre

Absorb the infectious rhythms of Setapa – a joyous dance from southern Africa

7 minutes

Save

video

Nature and landscape

Honouring the caribou, in dreams and memories from an Innu singer-songwriter

5 minutes

Save

essay

Music

Songs of conquest

From Tallis’s choral beauty to the unnerving bells of Mexico City, early modern power created a whole new world of sound

Thomas Irvine & Christopher J Smith

Save

video

Biography and memoir

Meet the Liverbirds! The bittersweet tale of Liverpool’s all-female answer to the Beatles

16 minutes

Save

video

Music

Take in the sounds of silence via this unique performance of John Cage’s infamous piece

5 minutes

Save

video

Race and ethnicity

Seeking authenticity in a Chinatown built for tourists and Hollywood movies

23 minutes