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Psychology

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

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video

Personality

Why one man spent 15 years in ‘self-imposed’ island exile

7 minutes

An older man stands proudly in front of his house near Leipzig, east Germany after reunification in 1990. A German flag hangs from a ground floor window.
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essay

Economic history

Deservingness

In post-communist eastern and central Europe, history is intensely personal and economics is saturated with moral feeling

Till Hilmar

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video

Biography and memoir

The busboy who comforted Robert F Kennedy as he lay dying shares his story

3 minutes

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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

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video

Social psychology

Social contagions can cause genuine illness, and TikTok may be a superspreader

10 minutes

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essay

Ethics

Through the eyes of another

It’s impossible to shed our individual biases. So the best way to establish objectivity is by taking on new perspectives

Heidi Maibom

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essay

War and peace

The will to fight

Throughout history, the most effective combatants have powered to victory on commitment to core values and collective resolve

Scott Atran

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video

Social psychology

A harrowing account of a 1970 ‘leadership seminar’ spotlights self-help’s dark side

11 minutes

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essay

Social psychology

A good scrap

Disagreements can be unpleasant, even offensive, but they are vital to human reason. Without them we remain in the dark

Ian Leslie

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video

Anthropology

Sitting by the fire with a nomadic tribe, a physicist ponders the many shapes of wisdom

2 minutes

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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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video

Social psychology

Feeling connected to objects is a fundamental – and fraught – part of human nature

5 minutes

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video

Ethics

Does everyone deserve a respectful burial? How a terrorist’s body divided a city

22 minutes

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video

Social psychology

Disturbed loner? Gentle recluse? Opinions on an infamous Maine hermit run the gamut

23 minutes

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video

Film and visual culture

‘From dream to reality!’ The 1960s spoof that marked the dawn of self-aware advertising

9 minutes

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idea

Love and friendship

Dating on the rebound – when looking for love can be a lifesaver

Claudia Brumbaugh

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video

Music

The violinist staging a concert of unity at the border between North and South Korea

18 minutes

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video

Social psychology

Do you feel like a fraud after a success? It can mean you’re doing something well

4 minutes

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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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video

Childhood and adolescence

‘I want to take the bullet and save my friends’ – the grim reality of safety drills in US schools

3 minutes

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video

Human rights and justice

‘They told us to stay put’: the South Korean ferry disaster that sank lives and trust

29 minutes

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video

War and peace

The eerie serenity of a summer’s day by water, before one of history’s bloodiest battles

4 minutes

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video

Social psychology

What ultranationalism offers working-class teens in England’s north

16 minutes