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Psychology

Essays and videos offering insights into the self, relationships, cognition and neuroscience
AddictionAgeing and deathChildhood and adolescenceCognition and intelligenceConsciousness and altered statesFamily lifeGender and identityLanguage and linguisticsLife stagesLove and friendshipMental healthMood and emotionNeurodiversityNeurosciencePersonalityPleasure and painPsychiatry and psychotherapySelf-improvementSex and sexualitySleep and dreamsSocial psychologySpiritualityTeaching and learningTechnology and the selfWellbeing
LatestPopular
Residential street with terraced houses and power plant cooling towers in the background, one of which has a mural depicting a sun and mountains.
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video

Food and drink

Local tensions simmer amid a potato salad contest at the Czech-Polish border

14 minutes

Newborn baby being held by a person wearing blue gloves, with another masked individual looking at the baby in a medical setting.
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essay

Human reproduction

Baby talk

When babies are born, they cry in the accent of their mother tongue: how does language begin in the womb?

Darshana Narayanan

A person with a prosthetic leg stands in a room filled with plastic-wrapped prosthetics and limbs, showcasing orthopaedic supplies.
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video

Technology and the self

A filmmaker finds a tactile beauty in the creation of her prosthetic leg

11 minutes

A black-and-white photo of soldiers in uniform checking documents of several men standing outdoors, with laundry hanging in the background.
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essay

Psychiatry and psychotherapy

Decolonising psychology

At times complicit in racism and oppression, psychology has also been a fertile ground for radical and liberatory thought

Rami Gabriel

Old photograph of a girl sleeping in a chair, a ghostly boy kneeling before her, and a ghostly girl standing by a wall with a religious tapestry.
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video

Technology and the self

How the magic of photography brought Victorian England closer to the spirit realm

16 minutes

Close-up of a dog with blue and brown eyes, grey and white fur, looking directly at the camera.
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video

Neuroscience

Dog vision is a trendy topic, but what can we really know about how they see?

11 minutes

A young girl in a pink dress stands on a step, holding the hand of an adult. Four adults are partially visible around her.
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essay

Biography and memoir

The adoption paradox

Even happy families cannot avoid the reality – my reality – that adoption is predicated on transacting the life of a child

Fiona Sampson

Painting of a person in a striped dress, resting their head on their hand, sitting next to a table with bottles, and a green background.
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essay

Pleasure and pain

Me versus myself

I work against myself through procrastination, distraction and addiction. Why do I consistently sabotage my own life?

Eliane Glaser

Silhouette of a soldier with glowing eyes and helmet, holding a rifle, with a blurred, colourful background.
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video

War and peace

A century later, can poetry help us make sense of the First World War’s horrors?

9 minutes

Elderly couple holding hands while standing in the street. The woman holds a colourful fan partially covering her face. A man in casual attire walks by on the right. Two trees and a white building with large windows are in the background, with three people looking out of one of the windows.
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essay

Ethics

Moral progress is annoying

You might feel you can trust your gut to tell right from wrong, but the friction of social change shows that you can’t

Daniel Kelly & Evan Westra

Illustration of two people high-fiving, with colourful abstract shapes around them representing conversation and connection.
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video

Language and linguistics

The little Peruvian guide to public speaking that conjures up a grandiose world

7 minutes

A detailed pencil sketch depicts a chaotic scene with fallen bodies, horses, and a broken chariot, with distressed figures in the foreground.
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video

Life stages

What Michelangelo’s late-in-life works reveal about his genius – and his humanness

13 minutes

Close-up image of a jumping spider showing its detailed features, including multiple eyes, hairy legs, and fangs. The spider is facing forward with a white background.
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essay

Evolution

What is intelligent life?

Our human minds hold us back from truly understanding the many brilliant ways that other creatures solve their problems

Abigail Desmond & Michael Haslam

Mist-covered city skyline with a calm, reflective body of water in the foreground under a grey sky.
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essay

Pleasure and pain

Eulogy for silence

Tinnitus is like a constant scream inside my head, depriving me of what I formerly treasured: the moments of serene quiet

Diego Ramírez Martín del Campo

Four young girls in dresses smile outside, with one holding a small cat.
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video

Biography and memoir

Preserving memories of a Japanese internment camp, and the land where it stood

8 minutes

Sepia photograph of the poet with long curly hair and a full beard and moustache. He wears a white shirt and dark suit, and has a thoughtful expression.
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video

Stories and literature

To capture grief in poetry is to describe the ineffable. Here’s why Tennyson did it best

8 minutes

A person with light blonde hair, wearing a dark hoodie, stands on a cliff by the sea, holding a bird. The sea is rough with waves crashing against the rocks, and several rock formations are visible in the misty background.
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video

Childhood and adolescence

The unique fellowship between teens and young puffins on a remote Icelandic island

20 minutes

A young woman and a man, both dressed formally, sit at a table with an electronic device in front of them. The woman is engaging with the device, which has several buttons and dials, while the man observes attentively. The setting appears to be an office or classroom. The image is in black and white.
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essay

Technology and the self

Tomorrow people

For the entire 20th century, it had felt like telepathy was just around the corner. Why is that especially true now?

Roger Luckhurst

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

Open books arranged in a grid with pages featuring bright, hand-painted floral designs, around a drawing of a loaf of bread.
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video

Rituals and celebrations

Flirtation, negotiation and vodka – or how to couple up in 1950s rural Poland

5 minutes

A person and a dog look out from a window of a blue house during snowfall. The house has an external staircase covered with snow on the left, and a snow-covered porch on the right. The scene is set on a snowy day, with visible accumulation on the ground and surfaces.
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video

Technology and the self

In the town once named Asbestos, locals ponder the voids industry left in its wake

16 minutes

Silhouettes of four construction workers in hard hats standing on a beam against a sunset or sunrise sky. One worker is crouching and appearing to weld, emitting sparks.
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essay

Mental health

The last great stigma

Workers with mental illness experience discrimination that would be unthinkable for other health issues. Can this change?

Pernille Yilmam

Colourful hand-drawn illustration of a busy market scene. Background shows fruit stall and vendor. A yellow sign reads DO NOT LITTER.
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video

Cities

A lush, whirlwind tribute to the diversity of life in a northern English county

3 minutes

A serene landscape of snowy trees and hills set against a backdrop of a yellow sky and blue mountain range, with a bird flying by.
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video

Stories and literature

Robert Frost’s poetic reflection on youth, as read in his unforgettable baritone

5 minutes