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Philosophy

Essays and videos on philosophy, the history of ideas, ethics and life’s big questions
Microscopic view of various microorganisms and particles in a blue liquid, showing a large oval-shaped microorganism amidst smaller particles.
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video

Biology

An elegy for a dying microbe explores what we really mean by ‘death’

9 minutes

A colourful, abstract image featuring a large, black and white bird in flight. The background is a swirling mix of purple, orange, and yellow hues. A small figure of a child walks in the distance, casting a long shadow.
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essay

Ageing and death

Peregrinations of grief

A friend and a falcon went missing. In pain, I turned to ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ – and found a new vision of sorrow and time

Emily Polk

A person stands in a sunlit forest, holding a compound bow, and wearing outdoor gear with a backpack.
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video

Death

A hunter’s lyrical reflection on the humbling business of being mortal

6 minutes

Black-and white photo of a man wearing glasses and a suit sitting in a chair in front of a blackboard in a classroom.
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essay

Thinkers and theories

We’ll meet again

The intrepid logician Kurt Gödel believed in the afterlife. In four heartfelt letters to his mother he explained why

Alexander T Englert

A figure is silhouetted in an older style apartment block window at night. In the distance are taller modern tower block apartments
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essay

Cities

The haunting of modern China

In Nanjing, Hong Kong and other Chinese cities, rapid urbanisation is multiplying a fear of death and belief in ghosts

Andrew Kipnis

A person in a lab coat holds an alligator hand puppet and a mouse hand puppet, mimicking an interaction between them.
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video

Death

Even in modern secular societies, belief in an afterlife persists. Why?

9 minutes

People walking towards a crashed aeroplane in a snowy field with trees in the background.
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video

Meaning and the good life

The world turns vivid, strange and philosophical for one plane crash survivor

16 minutes

Three rams with large curved horns standing on grass near a wooden fence and a small tree in the background.
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video

Death

Toby ponders the inner lives of the sheep that roam atop his parents’ graves

6 minutes

Close-up of a tabby cat sleeping with its paws tucked in, showing a peaceful expression with closed eyes and striped fur.
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essay

Animals and humans

Goodbye Pixel

Although it felt more like bereavement for a person than the loss of a thing, the death of a pet isn’t exactly like either

Julian Baggini

Elderly couple sitting outdoors, both wearing glasses and light-coloured shirts, with greenery in the background.
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video

Ageing and death

When his elderly parents make a suicide pact, Doron struggles to accept their choice

19 minutes

Abstract painting with swirling blue tones and a bright yellow centre, resembling a starry night sky. A dark form lies to the left.
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video

Rituals and celebrations

In a Mongolian wind burial, a body falls on land before getting swept up to the heavens

6 minutes

A person in black clothing and rubber gloves preparing a coffin adorned with a floral arrangement.
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video

Values and beliefs

A funeral director takes in bodies that social stigma leaves unclaimed

11 minutes

Abstract art with subtle silhouettes of a person and white flowers, blending into a misty, ethereal background.
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video

Ageing and death

How an end-of-life doula found her vocation as a companion for the dying

7 minutes

Three children looking curiously at an object covered with a translucent cloth in a dimly lit room.
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essay

Death

Is grandad on the moon?

We no longer have a clear sense of how to introduce our children to death. But their questions can help us face up to it

Pragya Agarwal

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essay

Meaning and the good life

Final thoughts

Do deathbed regrets give us a special insight into what really matters in life? There are good reasons to be sceptical

Neil Levy

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video

Mood and emotion

Grieving Kobe Bryant, Conor wonders: why do untimely celebrity deaths hit so hard?

6 minutes

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idea

Meaning and the good life

Sooner or later we all face death. Will a sense of meaning help us?

Warren Ward

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idea

Meaning and the good life

Marcus Aurelius helped me survive grief and rebuild my life

Jamie Lombardi

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essay

Death

This mortal coil

The fear of death drives many evils, from addiction to prejudice and war. Can it also be harnessed as a force for good?

Jeff Greenberg

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idea

Psychiatry and psychotherapy

It’s complicated – why some grief takes much longer to heal

Marie Lundorff

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essay

Rituals and celebrations

Death by design

We can choose how we live – why not how we leave? A free society should allow dying to be more deliberate and imaginative

Daniel Callcut

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idea

Meaning and the good life

Thinking about one’s birth is as uncanny as thinking of death

Alison Stone

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video

Animals and humans

‘When it comes to the end, we all want the same things.’ Why animals need a good death

15 minutes

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video

Death

‘Where is it that we are?’ A poet conjures a journey along the waters of the afterlife

4 minutes