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Essays

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Longform Essays written by serious and creative thinkers on philosophy, psychology, science, society and culture

Three ancient human skeletons laid side by side in an archaeological excavation site.

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Archaeology

Deep time and the revenant

In enigmatic burials, crafted to bind the bodies within, we can see how truly ancient our fears of the undead must be

Rebecca Batley

Aerial photo of turquoise ocean with a sinuous sand-coloured formation running diagonally, creating a striking contrast.

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Oceans and water

An oceanic tempo

An appreciation of the immensity embedded in the ocean’s cycles offers a way to reimagine our relationship with time

James Bradley

A young person with curly hair and glasses, wearing a backpack, indoors in what appears to be a school setting, with a green door and soft lighting, other children in background.

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Neurodiversity

Our diverse togetherness

While initiatives for inclusive education mean well, schools fail to provide neurodivergent students what they need to flourish

Chelsea Wallis

Infrared image of the Milky Way shows a glowing red band of stars across a blue background, indicating cosmic dust and gas.

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History of science

The light beyond sight

Only a tiny sliver of the Universe’s light can be seen by human eyes. But today we’re catching glimpses of the invisible

Corey S Powell

Street food vendor cooking skewers on a grill as people gather to eat and buy in a bustling outdoor setting.

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Comparative philosophy

A cure for individualism

It runs deeply through the Western outlook, hailed and condemned in equal measures. For a corrective, look to Confucius

Tim Connolly

Mosaic of a man in a red coat and wide brimmed hat holding a scythe with three workers in the background on a patterned brick wall.

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Human rights and justice

Levelling the world

Gerrard Winstanley led a small band of radicals whose vision of justice encompassed the globe and continues to inspire

Rowan Wilson

A rocky cliff with natural caves and green vegetation growing on the surface.

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Human evolution

The other Homo sapiens

We are just one branch of a diverse human family tree. Aside from Neanderthals, who were they – and why did we replace them?

Nick Longrich

Painting of a man on a rocky cliff overlooking a foggy mountainous landscape, with a walking stick in hand.

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Art

Out of the fog

It’s a ‘failed painting’ that obscures the profound power of German Romanticism. Why do we love the ‘Wanderer’ so much?

Gianluca Didino

People collecting water from a makeshift station in a camp, surrounded by orange netting and tents in the background.

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Ethics

Moral refuge

You can believe in border control yet protect those fleeing to safety. So what is our ethical obligation to refugees?

Bradley Hillier-Smith

A murmuration of starlings forming a large, swirling shape in the early evening sky above silhouetted trees.

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Neuroscience

The entangled brain

The brain is much less like a machine than it is like the murmurations of a flock of starlings or an orchestral symphony

Luiz Pessoa

A silhouetted figure sitting on a chair behind frosted glass partitions in a waiting room with overhead lights.

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Illness and disease

Permission to be ill

It took months for my functional neurological disorder to finally be diagnosed. It’s a condition that must be recognised

Kevin Aho

A colourful underground car park with numbered pillars and painted lanes with directional arrows.

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Cities

Cars beneath the ground

The explosion of automobiles shaped cities and lives. But an enduring problem remains: where to put them when they’re parked

Alfie Robinson