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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

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Illustration of a robotic nanodevice navigating in a blood vessel with red and white blood cells.

essayFuture of technology

Techno-pipe dreams

Thirty years ago, nanotech was about to change everything. Let’s not get tricked again by Silicon Valley’s magical thinking

Philip Ball

Painting of a black bird with a red tail on a white tree branch set against a blue sky and yellow landscape.

videoNature and landscape

Scenes from Aboriginal Australian pottery chart the turn of the seasons

7 minutes

People relaxing in a lush garden with inflatable flamingos and laptops by a pool.

essayProgress and modernity

Authenticate thyself

Data has created a new and paradoxical social order: the promise of emancipation is made possible by classifying everything

Marion Fourcade & Kieran Healy

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

A lively classroom with smiling people, one person standing while holding a paper, posters in the background.

essayKnowledge

Socrates would be pleased

With a class of college students and inmates, teaching philosophy in prison is a rowdy, honest and hopeful provocation

Jay Miller

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

videoHistory

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.

videoArchitecture

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.

videoHistory

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.

essayNations 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.

videoHistory 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.

essayAnimals 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.

videoLove 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.

essayBiography 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.

videoThinkers 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.

essayPolitics 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.

essayAnthropology

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.

essayThe 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.

videoMedicine

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.

essayHuman 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.

videoNature 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.

essayAnimals 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.

videoProgress 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.

videoArt

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.

essayReligion

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