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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

Photo of an elderly woman resting her forehead on a large stone bust outdoors near a decaying concrete structure.

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History

In Stalin’s home city in Georgia, generations clash over his legacy

20 minutes

Photo of a person in white walking along a cliffside path near a stone structure with a scenic landscape view.

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Architecture

Steep climbs lead to sacred spaces carved high into the cliffs of Ethiopia

9 minutes

Sketch of person holding a pink phone to their ear with minimal facial detail.

video

History

In the face of denial, this film uncovers the hidden scars of Indonesia’s 1998 riots

21 minutes

Painting of ancient Roman ruins with people, cattle and trees under a blue sky with clouds.

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Nations and empires

The rewards of ruin

Societal downfalls loom large in history and popular culture but, for the 99 per cent, collapse often had its upsides

Luke Kemp

Illustration of a blue dragonfly, a green leaf insect and a brown butterfly wing on a light background.

video

History of science

Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful

8 minutes

A stork and chicks in a nest on a metal pylon above a grassy landscape with a river in the background.

essay

Animals and humans

To build a nest

Throughout the animal kingdom, the parents of newborns must strive to create snug sanctuaries in a hazardous world

Helen Jukes

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

video

Love and friendship

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

13 minutes

Black and white photo of a man in a suit speaking passionately at a podium with microphones.

essay

Biography and memoir

The story of Malcolm X

Alex Haley co-wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X but Haley left out some profound elements of Malcolm’s political thought

Alex White

Photo of a woman wearing sunglasses, gesturing in front of a large stone monument with carved figures.

video

Thinkers and theories

The prison abolitionist who dares to envision a world without ‘unfreedoms’

16 minutes

Photo of a large conference with a speaker on stage in traditional attire and an audience seated facing a large curved screen.

essay

Politics and government

How to run the world

We need new forms of global diplomacy to transcend the current pathetic bargaining of national and commercial interests

David Van Reybrouck

A round pot encircles a hole in the soil, around the hole are dried leaves, a stone and a stick.

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Anthropology

Spider divination

Life is complicated. In Cameroon, initiated diviners read the messages of spiders to untangle possible futures

David Zeitlyn

A crocodile underwater with mouth open wide showing teeth in a cloudy green environment.

essay

The environment

Beyond food and people

Nietzsche shows us how to embrace our connection with nature – without denying its essential conflict, strife and suffering

Nicholas E Low

Illustration of three people, one with wide eyes and mouth open, another holding their head, third timing with a pocket watch.

video

Medicine

Drinking wine from toxic cups was the 17th century’s own dubious ‘detox’ treatment

11 minutes

A person in a hospital gown sitting on a bed in a bright patient room, large window and privacy curtain visible.

essay

Human rights and justice

Knowledge and justice

Any legal system that fails to compensate people for epistemic harm is unjust. Their damage must be named and remedied

Mitch Woolery

Painting of a vast landscape featuring rocky hills, a woman with a child and distant snow-capped mountains under a cloudy sky.

video

Nature and landscape

After independence, Mexico was in search of identity. These paintings offered a blueprint

15 minutes

Photo of two polar bears exploring a decaying wooden building, one looks out a window, the other stands on the porch steps.

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Animals and humans

Humanlike?

Interpreting the emotional lives of animals requires a subtler and more nuanced understanding of anthropomorphism

Mike Dacey

Photo of a woman in a red coat gazing out a foggy window with a contemplative expression.

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Progress and modernity

Moving from Tibet to Beijing, Drolma reconciles big dreams with harsh realities

31 minutes

Vintage photo of people erecting tall structures in a tropical setting with palm trees and a thatched building.

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Art

A young Rockefeller collects art on a fateful journey to New Guinea

7 minutes

Black and white photo of Adolf Hitler greeting two clergymen surrounded by a crowd in front of a Gothic building.

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Religion

An unholy alliance

In the 1930s, the rise of Nazism brought centuries of animosity between Europe’s Catholics and Protestants to an end. Why?

Udi Greenberg

3D rendering of an ancient water clock with zodiac signs and blue water flowing into a container on a wooden surface.

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Engineering

How water-based clocks revolutionised the way we measure time

10 minutes

An elderly person lying in a hospital bed in a bright room with a walker and a window nearby.

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Death

Freedom over death

Death is a certainty. But choosing how and when we depart is a modest opportunity for freedom – and dignity

Michael Cholbi

Black and white photo of a woman sitting in front of a bookshelf wearing a light blouse and speaking.

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Anthropology

Margaret Mead explains why the family was entering a brave new world in this 1959 film

29 minutes

A large white cathedral with golden domes near a river, surrounded by trees with autumn colours.

essay

Architecture

The replica and the original

Architectural copies of lost structures require reckoning with history and heritage. At what cost is the past rebuilt?

Elizabeth Kostina

Illustration of a crab using a laptop, captioned “Homo-crustaceous digitalis” on a textured background.

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The future

Homo crustaceous

‘Everything becomes crab’ is more than an absurd meme. The crab is a deep symbol of our devil’s bargain with technology

Michael Garfield