video
Earth science and climate
The only man permitted in Bhutan’s sacred mountains chronicles humanity’s impact
22 minutes
essay
Public health
It’s dirty work
In caring for and bearing with human suffering, hospital staff perform extreme emotional labour. Is there a better way?
Susanna Crossman
essay
Social psychology
The magic of the mundane
Pioneering sociologist Erving Goffman realised that every action is deeply revealing of the social norms by which we live
Lucy McDonald
essay
Stories and literature
The real Miss Julie
Victoria Benedictsson assumed a male identity, achieved literary stardom, and took her own life. Then Strindberg stole it
Elisabeth Åsbrink
video
The ancient world
An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub
2 minutes
video
Love and friendship
After his son’s terrorist attack, Azdyne seeks healing – and his granddaughter
25 minutes
essay
Language and linguistics
Cathedrals of convention
Humans have a strong impulse to see things that are arbitrary or conventional as natural and essential – especially language
Reuben Cohn-Gordon
essay
Neuroscience
Rethinking the homunculus
When we discovered that the brain contained a map of the body it revolutionised neuroscience. But it’s time for an update
Moheb Costandi
essay
Gender and identity
Silencing of the girls
Girls are still in a bad bargain with patriarchy: the price of relationship is keeping their true thoughts to themselves
Carol Gilligan
video
Art
More than breathtaking, ‘The Birth of Venus’ signalled an aesthetic revolution
19 minutes
video
Childhood and adolescence
Striking shadow puppetry illuminates a skater kid’s memories of Boy Scout camp
12 minutes
video
Values and beliefs
A Zen Buddhist priest voices the deep matters he usually ponders in silence
5 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
Meet the entrepreneur whose business is crafting perfect peak experiences
12 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
A reporter orphaned by night raids in Afghanistan investigates their cruel legacy
17 minutes
video
Work
Does capitalism make ‘non-playable characters’ of us all? An uncanny exploration
21 minutes
essay
Stories and literature
The best stories smell
When scents are used to intensify a narrative, they heighten young readers’ emotions and enrich their memory banks
Natalia Kucirkova
video
Technology and the self
A ‘virtual outing’ on Google Maps reveals a treasured image from Diego’s past
6 minutes
essay
Philosophy of language
Metaphors make the world
Woven into the fabric of language, metaphors shape how we understand reality. What happens when we try using new ones?
Benjamin Santos Genta
video
Design and fashion
The ornate, the aromatic, the cruel – Valentine’s cards before the age of Hallmark
16 minutes
essay
Mental health
The right to bathe
Water is a great healer. Can New York’s public pools and ‘blue spaces’ be engineered for collective hydrotherapy?
Rebecca Hayes Jacobs
video
Love and friendship
Naira pitches a new sport to her husband in this strange, sweet portrait of marriage
5 minutes
essay
Genetics
Artists of our own lives
The genome is the starting point for a performance we enact over a lifetime, not a blueprint we’ve got to follow
Richard O Prum
essay
Animals and humans
An animal myself
When we imagine ourselves as another creature, we become more attuned to the world around us – and better at being human
Erica Berry
video
Biography and memoir
As her world unravels, Pilar wonders at the ‘sacred geometry’ that gives it structure
20 minutes