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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

Fisheye photo of a man in a suit leaning close to camera in a laundrette, with two people talking in the background.

video

Gender

A catchy tune explains the world’s ‘isms’ – according to your mum doing the laundry

5 minutes

Abstract image of a woman’s face with vivid swirls of blue, green, red and yellow on a black background.

video

Human rights and justice

Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home

10 minutes

Painting of two armoured warriors confronting three hooded witches under a turbulent sky, with one warrior holding a spear.

video

History

Hags, seductresses, feminist icons – how gender dynamics manifest in witches

13 minutes

Black and white photo of oil workers handling equipment on a rig, with oil splashing out from the pipe they are holding.

essay

Gender

Does testosterone make men?

In probing whether there are basic sex differences in humans, a psychologist and a biologist agree to seriously disagree

Cordelia Fine & Carole Hooven

Four girls sitting on a riverbank, sitting in two groups of two; three upright and one lying down, with backpacks and bags nearby.

essay

Neurodiversity

Autism’s missing women

Long believed to be particularly associated with males, new research is revolutionising our understanding of autism

Gina Rippon

Collage image of a smiling woman in patterned dress with colourful wavy borders set on a beach background.

video

Love and friendship

Never marry a man you love too much, and other views on romance in Sierra Leone

5 minutes

Sepia-toned photo of a person in formal Victorian attire, standing with a slightly tilted head, against an ornate backdrop.

essay

Gender and identity

Requeering Wilde

Oscar Wilde is an icon of gay liberation from secrecy. But his life and his sexuality were not so simple – nor so binary

Sam Mills

Black and white photo of people gathered by the Berlin Wall, a couple embracing in the foreground.

essay

Thinkers and theories

The necessity of Nussbaum

Martha Nussbaum’s philosophy is dynamic and challenging, but also elegant and lucidly written: she is the thinker of our time

Brandon Robshaw

A young woman and an older woman in a living room face the camera, one of them pointing towards it. The image has a webcam recording interface.

video

Gender

A filmmaker responds to Lars von Trier’s call for a new muse with a unique application

16 minutes

A woman walking on a dimly lit street pavement at night with a parked scooter and two men walking in the background, one appearing to follow her; the woman looks downcast, the man appears to be smiling.

essay

Human rights and justice

Did you think you were safe?

When I moved to India for work, I found that rape was a feature of the country, as deeply embedded as caste

Evelyn Fok

Colourful painting depicting a range of people eating, drinking and engaging in other activities, with floral patterns.

essay

Art

Threads of resistance

Knitting and embroidery are laden with stereotypes of domestic femininity – and the subversive potential for protest

Gemma McKenzie

A woman on a sofa injecting her abdomen surrounded by stuffed toys on a shelf.

video

Technology and the self

Why single Chinese women are freezing their eggs in California

24 minutes

Painting of a man and woman in elegant 18th-century attire sitting on a pink sofa with ornate decoration.

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

Painting of two clothed men and a naked woman picnicking in a forest, with another woman in the background near a pond.

video

Art

Creating art that was aware of itself – and the viewer – made Manet the first modernist

15 minutes

A historical painting of a woman in a detailed blue and silver gown with lace sleeves. She wears a pearl necklace and a hat adorned with white and pink flowers. The background features a golden tapestry and dark pillars.

essay

Stories and literature

Her blazing world

Margaret Cavendish’s boldness and bravery set 17th-century society alight, but is she a feminist poster-girl for our times?

Francesca Peacock

Two people with backpacks reach towards each other with extended arms but are not touching. The text on the image reads ‘How do we touch when we can’t?’

video

Film and visual culture

‘Bags here are rarely innocent’ – how filmmakers work around censorship in Iran

8 minutes

A person with black hair and glasses, in a teal T-shirt with VIBES in rainbow text, and a backpack stands smiling in a garden with flowers and trees.

video

Wellbeing

Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest

11 minutes

A group of women, some wearing hijabs and masks, hold up signs with handwritten text in Arabic script during a protest.

video

Politics and government

How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power

33 minutes

Illustration of a female group in white togas and red headbands, standing with arms raised before a flaming brazier in a Roman temple with columns.

video

The ancient world

The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death

5 minutes

Artwork depicting a family group composed of angular lines and triangles, some but not all coloured, on a paper background

essay

Family life

A patchwork family

After my marriage failed, I strove to create a new family – one made beautiful by the loving way it’s stitched together

Lily Dunn

A group of girls walk past the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, DC

essay

Gender and identity

Silencing of the girls

Girls are still in a bad bargain with patriarchy: the price of relationship is keeping their true thoughts to themselves

Carol Gilligan

A woman with grey hair lies down, partially covered with a colourful, patterned blanket against a textured wall.

video

Human rights and justice

Witch hunts persist as a horrifying, deadly reality in pockets of rural India

24 minutes

Two stick figures, one purple and one white, touching heads with scribbled lines above them, depicting a heated argument.

video

Gender

When aggression is viewed as brilliance, it hurts women in science, and science itself

5 minutes

Ancient Roman fresco depicting two figures engaging in an intimate moment on a bed, with a background of earthy tones and visible cracks in the surface.

essay

The ancient world

The horrors of Pompeii

The name ‘Eutychis’ was etched into a wall 2,000 years ago. Finding out who she was illuminates the dark side of Rome

Guy D Middleton