video
Human rights and justice
Can providing humanitarian aid be illegal? A troubling case from the US-Mexico border
17 minutes
essay
History of ideas
Settling accounts
Before he was famous, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was Louise Dupin’s scribe. It’s her ideas on inequality that fill his writings
Rebecca Wilkin
essay
Philosophy of mind
Rage against the machine
For all the promise and dangers of AI, computers plainly can’t think. To think is to resist – something no machine does
Alva Noë
video
Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
12 minutes
essay
Food and drink
The fermented crescent
Ancient Mesopotamians had a profound love of beer: a beverage they found celebratory, intoxicating and strangely erotic
Tate Paulette
video
Film and visual culture
A lush animated opus evokes the frenzied pace of modern life
4 minutes
video
Family life
The precious family keepsakes that hold meaning for generations
10 minutes
essay
Politics and government
The spectre of insecurity
Liberals have forgotten that in order for our lives not to be nasty, brutish and short, we need stability. Enter Hobbes
Jennifer M Morton
essay
Religion
The script creator
Pau Cin Hau dreamt of an alphabet for a language that had never been written down. So began the religion of Laipianism
Bikash K Bhattacharya
video
Archaeology
What did the first people who entered Tutankhamun’s tomb see?
5 minutes
video
Information and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
17 minutes
video
Childhood and adolescence
Marmar is living through a devastating war – but she’d rather tell you about her new dress
8 minutes
essay
Human rights and justice
Utah is so gay!
The Mormon state is seen as deeply homophobic. Yet, from polygamy to pride, Mormons themselves are a distinctly queer lot
Kristi Rhead
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
essay
Anthropology
Witches around the world
The belief in witches is an almost universal feature of human societies. What does it reveal about our deepest fears?
Gregory Forth
video
History
There are fragments of Romani Gypsy history all over the UK – if one knows where to look
3 minutes
essay
Values and beliefs
My leap across the chasm
After years of debate and contemplation, I’ve come to think a heretical form of Christianity might be true. Here’s why
Philip Goff
video
Biology
Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings
3 minutes
video
Anthropology
Does Mogi’s future lie with her horses on the Mongolian steppe, or in the city?
16 minutes
video
Genetics
Why it took a century to work out that humans interbred with Neanderthals
22 minutes
essay
Food and drink
The joy of foraging
Offering an escape from industrial foods, foraging nourishes the soul and body, but it needs democratic access to the land
Nikita Sud
video
Art
The sprawling mural that depicts an unflinching people’s history of Los Angeles
7 minutes
essay
Design and fashion
When luxury is good
The waste and exploitation of fast fashion shouldn’t blind us to the joys of making beautiful clothing with care
Roger Tredre
essay
Race and ethnicity
The forging of countries
Two distinct and conflicting forms of nationalism – civic and ethnic – helped create the nation-states of Europe
Luka Ivan Jukić