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Mood and emotion

Essays and videos offering insights into the self, relationships, cognition and neuroscience

Addiction Ageing and death Childhood and adolescence Cognition and intelligence Consciousness and altered states Family life Gender and identity Language and linguistics Life stages Love and friendship Mental health Mood and emotion Neurodiversity Neuroscience Personality Pleasure and pain Psychiatry and psychotherapy Self-improvement Sex and sexuality Sleep and dreams Social psychology Spirituality Teaching and learning Technology and the self Wellbeing

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Blurry night photo through car window showing police lights and a figure, creating a dramatic scene with blue lighting.

videoDemography and migration

The volunteers who offer a last line of care for migrants at a contentious border

30 minutes

Photo of a woman sleeping, resting her head and hand on a large dog, creating a cosy atmosphere.

videoLove and friendship

What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?

13 minutes

Photo of two women hugging at an indoor event, one holding a piece of paper

videoLife stages

Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers

15 minutes

Photo of a man lying on a bed with white sheets, looking peaceful against a blue background.

videoConsciousness and altered states

What do screens depicting serene natural scenes mean to those living in lock-up?

12 minutes

A white playroom with a boy in a tent and his mother reading to him holding stuffed animals, toys scattered around.

videoFamily life

A mother and child bond in an unusual prison visitation space in this poignant portrait

11 minutes

A cupcake with pink icing topped with mealworms, surrounded by other cupcakes.

essayFood and drink

Adjust your disgust

The future of food is nutritious and sustainable – if we can overcome our instinctual revulsion to insects and lab-grown meat

Alexandra Plakias

Photo of a crowd with a focused young woman looking to the side, surrounded by blurred faces in the foreground.

essayPersonality

The highly sensitive person

Those with this little-known trait think more deeply and feel more empathy. But they also deal with significant challenges

Elaine Aron

Black and white photo of British and German First World War soldiers wearing winter uniforms and hats, one with a cigarette, looking at the camera.

videoWar and peace

A frontline soldier’s moving account of the fabled ‘Christmas truce’ of 1914

12 minutes

A man views a holographic projection of a child in shorts running in a forest setting; office equipment surrounds him.

videoTechnology and the self

A haunting scene from ‘Minority Report’ inspires a voyage into time and memory

7 minutes

Illustration of a saucepan on a stove with raw meat and ginger, a pot lid is nearby on the right.

videoFamily life

The stream-of-consciousness thoughts and memories that emerge while cooking a meal

5 minutes

Illustration of four adult giraffes, and a young one lying down, with Mount Kilimanjaro and acacia trees in the background.

videoAgeing and death

We’re not the only animals that appear to grieve. What are the implications?

6 minutes

A busy beach scene with children on donkeys, people in the sea, a man reading on a sun lounger, and a dog urinating on a sun shade.

essayVirtues and vices

Make it awkward!

Rather than being a cringey personal failing, awkwardness is a collective rupture – and a chance to rewrite the social script

Alexandra Plakias

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

videoWar 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.

essayEthics

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

A weary looking medical staff member in scrubs and face mask sits at a desk in a hospital room surrounded by medical paraphernalia

essayPublic 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

Black and white illustration of a man with short curly hair and a beard, wearing a toga-like garment with detailed textures and folds.

videoThe ancient world

An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub

2 minutes

Line drawing of a woman with short hair and a man with curly hair looking at each other against a plain background.

videoLove and friendship

Naira pitches a new sport to her husband in this strange, sweet portrait of marriage

5 minutes

A blurred view through a car window at night with distorted bright lights

essayPsychiatry and psychotherapy

Trauma on a loop

I was the victim of a carjacking. The trauma from that experience was unendurable. Then I discovered eye movement therapy

Madison McLoughlin

Painting of a person holding a conductor’s baton standing on rocks with arms raised, facing away towards a sunrise or sunset over distant mountains in a misty, pastel-coloured landscape.

videoMusic

‘Dun dun dun duuun!’ Why Beethoven’s Fifth sticks in the head and stirs the heart

5 minutes

A group of people dancing energetically in pairs on a dimly lit outdoor pavement, casting long shadows.

videoMood and emotion

An Oceanic lullaby, ‘Gimme Shelter’ and more elucidate how music taps into our emotions

58 minutes

A person in a pink shirt reading in a store, surrounded by shelves of bottled water, olive oil, and other products. A Tropic Fanta bottle is in the foreground.

videoMood and emotion

Moments of poetry pierce through the mundane at a small-town grocery

13 minutes

Charcoal drawing of an older person’s face, showing wrinkles and a serious expression, on a light-coloured paper background.

essayMood and emotion

When grief doesn’t end

Suffering the sudden death of a loved person leaves some survivors stuck in grief. Can they win their lives back – and how?

Martin W Angler

Cartoon of a yellow character with pink hair buns, holding a small blue puppy, set against a light blue background.

videoHuman evolution

Far from frivolous, cuteness is a powerful – and still mysterious – force of nature

6 minutes

Woman holding a pregnancy test in a bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror with a thoughtful expression.

videoFamily life

On a whirlwind morning, a couple learns if they’re facing an unplanned pregnancy

7 minutes