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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

A woman in casual attire walking by a large weaving loom with black threads in a bright, clean room

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

A person in a workshop uses a tool to smooth wood. Wood shavings are scattered on the workbench.

video

Making

Forging a cello from pieces of wood demands its own form of virtuosity

27 minutes

A black-and-white photo of a person riding a horse in, with a close-up of another horse in the foreground under bright sunlight.

essay

Anthropology

Your body is an archive

If human knowledge can disappear so easily, why have so many cultural practices survived without written records?

Helena Miton

Close-up of a hammer, metal pot, and three copper spheres on a stone surface, with a hand holding the hammer.

video

Making

Trek to a remote Himalayan village where artisans craft teapots fit for kings

11 minutes

Colourful illustration of the Mad Hatter holding a clock showing 13 o’clock. His eyes are spirals. The background is filled with small images of the same character.

essay

Consciousness and altered states

Acid media

How perforated squares of trippy blotter paper allowed outlaw chemists and wizard-alchemists to dose the world with LSD

Erik Davis

Person carving angel figures in stone with various chisels and brushes on a dusty table.

video

Art

From a pencil sketch to cherubs dancing in stone – recreating a Donatello work

7 minutes

A traditional Noh theatre mask lies on a table, surrounded by pottery and art supplies in a workshop. A person works in the blurred background.

video

Dance and theatre

How a Noh mask-maker summons a lifelike face from a single block of wood

16 minutes

Man in a pottery studio assembling large ceramic pieces, shelves with tools and books, a desk lamp, and equipment in the background. Black and white image.

video

Design and fashion

Refined towards imperfection – a ceramic artist recreates a rare Korean treasure

15 minutes

A person wearing a dark jacket is focused on working with a pencil and ruler on a wooden box in a cluttered workshop.

video

Making

From log to Go board – the world’s oldest game, made the old-fashioned way

20 minutes

Hands squeezing dyed yarn over a container of dark liquid, with dye dripping from the yarn.

video

Design and fashion

From sheep to sea – an ode to the iconic sweater that warms Cornish sailors

4 minutes

Overhead view of a bustling outdoor market with red and white striped umbrellas, various fruits and vegetables on display, and shoppers browsing stalls.

video

Food and drink

From set-up to close, a day at the farmers market is a whirlwind sensory feast

10 minutes

Person holding molten metal with tongs near a furnace at night.

video

Rituals and celebrations

From roaring fire and molten glass an artist creates a healing ritual

13 minutes

Person arranging pottery vases in a line on a sandy surface against a clear blue sky.

video

Making

Ceramic designs spin to life in a tactile meditation on the art of pottery

9 minutes

Three people constructing a traditional bamboo hut in a the highlands of Ethiopia, surrounded by trees.

video

Architecture

How the Dorze in Ethiopia make ‘beehive’ houses from bamboo that last a lifetime

35 minutes

Close-up of a person using a utility knife to cut a material adorned with intricate white symbols, with a measuring tape on top.

video

Technology and the self

‘Perfection is for the gods,’ and this sculptor gets to a thousandth of an inch of it

14 minutes

A brush paints red over a map of the world on a frosted glass surface, highlighting continents and countries.

video

Information and communication

There are many ways to make a flat map of the world – each of them a unique distortion

10 minutes

Close-up of a person’s glasses showing the reflection of a rocket launch on a screen, with blue and grey colours dominant.

video

Making

How sky-high dreams launched one man’s audacious life in homemade rocketry

5 minutes

A smoke-filled tent in a snowy landscape with people and sledges under a clear blue sky.

video

Architecture

Cultural wisdom begets cozy temporary homes for the Nenets of the Siberian Arctic

32 minutes

Ancient, tattered linen shirt displayed on a white mannequin against a black background, showing signs of wear and ageing.

essay

Archaeology

The clothing revolution

What if the need for fabric, not food, in the face of a changing climate is what first tipped humanity towards agriculture?

Ian Gilligan

A painting of a woman holding a baby in a boat with a man rowing across a blue lake, with green trees and buildings in the background.

essay

Art

Changed by art

Gazing at a painting feels like an almost magical encounter with another mind but what real effects does art have on us?

Ellen Winner

Close-up of a hand painting intricate golden designs on a black surface with a fine brush.

video

Design and fashion

Pre-Hispanic and colonial traditions combine in Mario’s uniquely Mexican artworks

6 minutes

An older woman with blonde curly hair reading a book titled “Reflexiones para la Vida” into a microphone with a TV behind her.

video

Work

The last of her kind, Gricel regales Cuban cigar-rollers with readings and good humour

10 minutes

A hand placing a lid on a jar of homemade sauerkraut on a cluttered kitchen counter with cabbage and a grater.

video

Food and drink

Making sauerkraut is a spiritual matter for the ‘fermentation fetishist’ Sandor Katz

12 minutes

A photo of a hand painting orange and black heart shapes and circles on a grey surface with a thin brush.

video

Design and fashion

The only thing more entrancing than a marbled book cover is the process that creates it

13 minutes