Society
video
Demography and migration
How the world’s harshest lockdown hit India’s millions of migrant workers
27 minutes
essay
Archaeology
The pharaoh’s trumpet
The truly wondrous treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb are not made of gold. They are the mundane things of everyday life
Toby Wilkinson
video
Art
Edward Hopper came of age with cinema. As an artist, he left a lasting mark on it
12 minutes
essay
History of science
Where God dwelt
For hundreds of years, Christians knew exactly where heaven was: above us and above the stars. Then came the new cosmologists
Stephen Case
essay
Global history
Geopolitics is for losers
The concept of geopolitics comes from German and Russian attempts to explain defeat and reverse loss of influence
Harold James
video
The ancient world
What did the Rosetta Stone’s inscription actually communicate?
17 minutes
essay
Stories and literature
The honesty of pornography
Often vilified as a weapon of male supremacy, pornography in fact has much to tell us about ourselves and our culture
Kathleen Lubey
essay
The ancient world
Wanderlust of the ancients
The Roman Empire enabled an early version of globalisation that offered travellers adventure, novelty and opportunity
Fabio Fernandes
video
Subcultures
The cast of ‘misfit toys’ who keep life on an idyllic tourist island afloat
7 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
What Akiko saw at the centre of the Hiroshima blast, and the indelible mark it left
15 minutes
video
Biology
To understand the limits of human senses, look to the wild world of animal cognition
45 minutes
video
Design and fashion
From sheep to sea – an ode to the iconic sweater that warms Cornish sailors
4 minutes
essay
War and peace
Trenches in Chernobyl
Disturbing and inhaling radioactive dust, in their haste Russian soldiers unburied the wrecked, undead Earth itself
Michael Marder
video
Art
The revolutionary artist who propelled the Black Panther movement with imagery
8 minutes
essay
Anthropology
Keeping the score
The gifts we exchange are both generous and yet fraught with social rules and obligations. Marcel Mauss explained why
Gili Kliger
essay
Economic history
Jesuits in the boardroom
As corporations struggle to survive in a more uncertain world, they should look to the success of the Society of Jesus
Paolo Quattrone
essay
History
The doxxing of Rose Mainville
When a young street vendor found her name in a guidebook to the sex workers of Paris, she couldn’t live with the shame
Amanda E Herbert & David N Woodworth
video
The ancient world
Sappho’s homoerotic poetry was beloved in ancient Greece – and burned centuries later
5 minutes
essay
Ethics
The lethal act
The Buddha taught not to kill, yet his followers have at times disobeyed him. Can murderers still be Buddhists?
Martin Kovan
essay
Thinkers and theories
The generous philosopher
Bruno Latour showed us how to think with the things of the world, respecting their right to exist and act on their own terms
Stephen Muecke
video
Human rights and justice
Beyond ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ – could a range of verdict options be more just?
9 minutes
essay
Comparative philosophy
Medieval but not Christian
It’s shocking that histories of medieval philosophy celebrate only Christian thinkers, ignoring Islamic and Jewish thought
Yitzhak Y Melamed
video
Food and drink
From set-up to close, a day at the farmers market is a whirlwind sensory feast
10 minutes
video
Dance and theatre
From calluses to burnt shoes, the elegance of ballet is built from the ground up
4 minutes