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Society

Essays and videos on social issues, history, political life and the future

Animals and humans Anthropology Archaeology Automation and robotics Cities Demography and migration Economic history Economics Education Environmental history Fairness and equality Future of technology Gender Global history History History of technology Human rights and justice Information and communication Making Nations and empires Politics and government Poverty and development Progress and modernity Public health Race and ethnicity Religion The ancient world The environment The future War and peace Work

LatestPopular

Vintage painting of a man with glowing eyes surrounded by floating spheres on a decorative background.

essay

Stories and literature

Merveilleux-scientifique

With brain swaps and death rays, a little-known French sci-fi genre explored science’s dark possibilities a century ago

Fleur Hopkins-Loféron

Photo of a woman in a floral headscarf with a man in the background against a rural autumn landscape under a clear sky.

video

Home

Life moves slowly in a Romanian mountain village, shaped by care and the seasons

13 minutes

A person in a hi-vis vest sitting outdoors at a table with a drink, looking into the distance.

essay

Technology and the self

The unseen

Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being

Allison J Pugh

Black birds flying over snowy mountains with dramatic cloudy skies in the background.

essay

Evolution

Empire of flight

They have big brains, long childhoods and sociable, curious minds. So why haven’t birds developed complex culture?

Antone Martinho-Truswell

Weathered hands holding a small, carved stone tool with intricate details, set against a blurred background.

video

Archaeology

At a prehistoric pigment mine, researchers glimpse our earliest moments in the Americas

25 minutes

Medieval painting of a circular walled city with towers and a large lamb statue on a roof, surrounded by countryside.

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Political philosophy

The allure of autarky

Liberal thinkers are shocked that nations are once again isolating from the world. The real surprise would be if they didn’t

Ben Chu

A beaver dam on a calm lake surrounded by dense evergreen forest with mountains faintly visible in the background.

essay

Animals and humans

Animals taught us culture

Prehistoric humans didn’t create art and architecture out of nothing. They took inspiration from the nonhuman world

Sarah Newman

Photo of an older man with white hair and beard in a cityscape with tall modern buildings in the background.

video

Economics

A tour of New York’s gaudiest neighbourhood with the Marxist geographer David Harvey

13 minutes

Abstract painting of textured forms resembling fibres and foliage overlaid on an antique map background.

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Art

Defying classification, fantastical artworks reframe the racism of Carl Linnaeus

8 minutes

Futuristic digital artwork of Earth with two large transparent rings arching over it in space.

video

Engineering

Building a prosperous future demands bold ideas. These are some of the boldest

40 minutes

Aerial photo of a large circular crater with a dark centre in a brown landscape, resembling an impact site.

video

Environmental history

In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests

13 minutes

Three ancient human skeletons laid side by side in an archaeological excavation site.

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Archaeology

Deep time and the revenant

In enigmatic burials, crafted to bind the bodies within, we can see how truly ancient our fears of the undead must be

Rebecca Batley

Aerial photo of turquoise ocean with a sinuous sand-coloured formation running diagonally, creating a striking contrast.

essay

Oceans and water

An oceanic tempo

An appreciation of the immensity embedded in the ocean’s cycles offers a way to reimagine our relationship with time

James Bradley

A young person with curly hair and glasses, wearing a backpack, indoors in what appears to be a school setting, with a green door and soft lighting, other children in background.

essay

Neurodiversity

Our diverse togetherness

While initiatives for inclusive education mean well, schools fail to provide neurodivergent students what they need to flourish

Chelsea Wallis

Photo of a young woman in a pink hijab skateboarding on a ramp, with a building and a flag visible in the background.

video

Sports and games

Young Palestinians find fleeting moments of freedom at a West Bank skate park

13 minutes

Infrared image of the Milky Way shows a glowing red band of stars across a blue background, indicating cosmic dust and gas.

essay

History of science

The light beyond sight

Only a tiny sliver of the Universe’s light can be seen by human eyes. But today we’re catching glimpses of the invisible

Corey S Powell

Black and white photo of a woman cycling down a street with a wicker basket on the bike. She wears a checked coat.

video

History of science

Meet the Quaker pacifist who shattered British science’s highest glass ceilings

14 minutes

Mosaic of a man in a red coat and wide brimmed hat holding a scythe with three workers in the background on a patterned brick wall.

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Human rights and justice

Levelling the world

Gerrard Winstanley led a small band of radicals whose vision of justice encompassed the globe and continues to inspire

Rowan Wilson

A rocky cliff with natural caves and green vegetation growing on the surface.

essay

Human evolution

The other Homo sapiens

We are just one branch of a diverse human family tree. Aside from Neanderthals, who were they – and why did we replace them?

Nick Longrich

Engraving of a classroom with children sewing, some highlighted in red, teachers stand at the front with windows above.

video

Illness and disease

Humanity eradicated smallpox 45 years ago. It’s a story worth remembering

25 minutes

Painting of a man on a rocky cliff overlooking a foggy mountainous landscape, with a walking stick in hand.

essay

Art

Out of the fog

It’s a ‘failed painting’ that obscures the profound power of German Romanticism. Why do we love the ‘Wanderer’ so much?

Gianluca Didino

A painting of a mythical forest scene with centaurs, satyrs and wild animals in a chaotic setting.

video

Nature and landscape

‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden

5 minutes

People collecting water from a makeshift station in a camp, surrounded by orange netting and tents in the background.

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Ethics

Moral refuge

You can believe in border control yet protect those fleeing to safety. So what is our ethical obligation to refugees?

Bradley Hillier-Smith

A colourful underground car park with numbered pillars and painted lanes with directional arrows.

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Cities

Cars beneath the ground

The explosion of automobiles shaped cities and lives. But an enduring problem remains: where to put them when they’re parked

Alfie Robinson