Essay/Politics & Government Democracy needs politeness Autocrats shouted, cursed, and bullied, while American revolutionaries used politeness as a tool of radical politics Steven Bullock
Essay/Economics What is human capital? Human capital theory was invented as an ideological weapon in the Cold War. Now it is helping to Uberise the world of work Peter Fleming
Idea/Rituals & Celebrations How to get your kicks in the hermit kingdom of North Korea Laya Maheshwari
volume_up play_arrow pause Idea/Politics & Government How Robert Nozick put a purple prose bomb under analytical philosophy Brad Baranowski
Essay/Political Philosophy Join the party of love Love is not just a feeling given or received, it is an action too. It could be a radical force in politics Max Harris
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/Politics & Government Age of sincerity In politics, as in militant religion, the performance of sincerity is everything, no matter whether right or wrong Faisal Devji
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/History of Ideas What is good rhetoric? Plato said we ought to be suspicious of persuasive speakers and the appeal to emotions. But rhetoric can be a civic good Tushar Irani
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/History A much-maligned Mughal The great king Aurangzeb is among the most hated men in Indian history. A historian claims he’s been unjustly demonised Audrey Truschke
Video/War & Conflict ‘Semper paratus’ – how the organisation of the Roman army made it always ready for war 3 minutes
volume_up play_arrow pause Idea/Values & Beliefs ‘Free speech’ is a blunt instrument. Let’s break it up Robert Simpson
volume_up play_arrow pause Idea/Politics & Government It wasn’t just hate. Fascism offered robust social welfare Sheri Berman
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/Politics & Government When nations apologise National apologies are a big deal: they acknowledge the past to help move everyone forward. No wonder they’re so hard Edwin Battistella
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/Fairness & Equality In defence of hierarchy As a society we have forgotten how to talk about the benefits of hierarchy, expertise and excellence. It's time we remembered Stephen C Angle, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Julian Baggini and others
Essay/Political Philosophy The last hollow laugh Since Francis Fukuyama proclaimed ‘The End of History’ 25 years ago, he has been much maligned. His work now seems prophetic Paul Sagar
Idea/Politics & Government There’s a Green Card-holder at the heart of Greek philosophy David V Johnson
Idea/Politics & Government Why bureaucrats matter in the fight to preserve the rule of law Melissa Lane
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/Political Philosophy The power thinker Original, painstaking, sometimes frustrating and often dazzling. Foucault’s work on power matters now more than ever Colin Koopman
Essay/Subcultures Going underground Subterranean metaphors have been a powerful tool of political resistance. Today, is there anywhere left to hide? Terence Renaud
volume_up play_arrow pause Idea/Political Philosophy Simone de Beauvoir’s political philosophy resonates today Skye C Cleary
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/History The new authoritarians Last century’s dictators wanted to reinvent their subjects as ‘new men’. This century’s strongmen just don’t care. Why? Holly Case
Essay/History What is global history now? Historians cheered globalism with work about cosmopolitans and border-crossing, but the power of place never went away Jeremy Adelman
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/Subcultures Utopia Inc Most utopian communities are, like most start-ups, short-lived. What makes the difference between failure and success? Alexa Clay
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/Politics & Government Fire, hatred and speed! The glamour, bullying and violence of the libertarian alt-Right has a direct political ancestor, and it’s not Nazi Germany Jay Griffiths
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/Religion Christians were strangers How an obscure oriental cult in a corner of Roman Palestine grew to become the dominant religion of the Western world Michael Kulikowski
volume_up play_arrow pause Idea/Politics & Government Sovereignty can be bought and sold like a commodity Steven Press
Video/War & Conflict How 60 ambiguous words gave the United States’ president unprecedented war power 7 minutes
volume_up play_arrow pause Idea/Ethics Why rape cases should not be subject to reasonable doubt Christopher Wareham & James Vos
volume_up play_arrow pause Essay/History Revolutionary heroes If the sultan of Mysore had had a bit more luck, George Washington might be known as the Haider Ali of North America Blake Smith
Idea/Political Philosophy What would Leibniz say about the schisms in Europe today? Maria Rosa Antognazza