Psychology
essay
Social psychology
Don’t let them fool you
The fear of being duped is ubiquitous, but excessive scepticism makes it harder to trust one another and cooperate
Tess Wilkinson-Ryan
video
Human evolution
Far from frivolous, cuteness is a powerful – and still mysterious – force of nature
6 minutes
essay
Economic history
Matrimony and the market
The sexual revolution promised new norms of intimacy based on egalitarianism. So far, only the rich have cashed in
Daniel Tutt
video
Family life
On a whirlwind morning, a couple learns if they’re facing an unplanned pregnancy
7 minutes
essay
Stories and literature
The sonnet machine
A sonnet contains an emotional drama of illusion and deception, crisis and resolution, crafted to make us think and feel
Timothy Hampton
video
Philosophy of mind
Do we have good reasons to believe in beliefs? A radical philosophy of mind says no
5 minutes
video
Love and friendship
When drawing your muse hundreds of times becomes an exercise in love
7 minutes
essay
Philosophy of religion
Reckoning with compassion
After an abuse scandal destroyed my Buddhist community, I had to reconsider what it means to live an ethically attuned life
Jessica Locke
essay
Mood and emotion
The joy of sulk
Full of implicit rules and paradoxes, sulking is a marvellous example of intense communication without clear declaration
Rebecca Roache
video
Family life
In Rwanda, Sébastien finds traces of personal history in the wake of national tragedy
21 minutes
essay
Neuroscience
A thickness in the air
The spooky sensation that someone or something else is right there haunts us all. But what does this felt presence mean?
Ben Alderson-Day
video
Love and friendship
A decade after his wife was swept away in a tsunami, Yasuo still searches the sea
9 minutes
essay
History of ideas
Self-satisfaction
The ancient Cynics taught that masturbation is about more than pleasure: it suggests how to live simply and autonomously
M D Usher
essay
History of ideas
Disorient yourself
Now associated with childhood fun, the swing has a near-universal history of ritual transgression and transformation
Javier Moscoso
video
Philosophy of mind
We may never settle the ‘free will’ debate, but tapping into it is still worthwhile
32 minutes
essay
Mood and emotion
In praise of irritation
Unlike anger, irritation has neither glamour nor radicalism on its side. Yet it might just be the mood we need right now
Will Rees
essay
Biology
Octopus time
We humans are forward-facing, gravity-bound plodders. Can the liquid motion of the octopus radicalise our ideas about time?
David Borkenhagen
video
Politics and government
Join the spirited debate at a women’s hair salon before a pivotal election in Tunisia
19 minutes
essay
Consciousness and altered states
Animal, vegetable, mineral
Cruel and unscientific, the ‘vegetative state’ diagnosis stems from a hierarchical and bigoted view of all living things
Ben Platts-Mills
video
Language and linguistics
A master palindromist spells out his 40-year ‘love affair with reversibility’
6 minutes
video
History of technology
The long-awaited arrival of TV to Shetland sparks debate in this vintage clip
9 minutes
essay
Family life
Honey, I sold the kids
We have laws to protect children from factory work. Why aren’t they protected from parents who monetise their lives online?
Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore
essay
Metaphysics
Are coincidences real?
I am an unequivocal rationalist and yet I still want to see something strange and wonderful in life’s weird coincidences
Paul Broks
essay
Education
Unschooling
It takes nerve to go against the grain and take your child out of school. But, for some, that’s when learning really starts
Naomi Fisher & Heidi Steel