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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 interconnected neurons with red, spiky dendrites on a blurred orange background.

essayNeuroscience

The empty brain

Your brain does not process information, retrieve knowledge or store memories. In short: your brain is not a computer

Robert Epstein

Medieval painting depicting a battle scene with knights on horseback wearing armour and helmets against a colourful backdrop.

essayLanguage and linguistics

English is not normal

No, English isn’t uniquely vibrant or mighty or adaptable. But it really is weirder than pretty much every other language

John McWhorter

An empty room with a chair against a wall on the right, scrunched paper on the floor by a bin, and electrical sockets on the wall.

essayWork

Fuck work

Economists believe in full employment. Americans think that work builds character. But what if jobs aren’t working anymore?

James Livingston

A large group of people in bikinis and swimwear, body-painted in bright colours, posing and flexing muscles outdoors.

essayGender and identity

Gender is not a spectrum

The idea that ‘gender is a spectrum’ is supposed to set us free. But it is both illogical and politically troubling

Rebecca Reilly-Cooper

Illustration of an astronaut in an orange spacesuit running on a red-orange alien planet with a blue trail beneath him.

essayCosmology

Exodus

Elon Musk argues that we must put a million people on Mars if we are to ensure that humanity has a future

Ross Andersen

A woman in a yellow saree standing among large piles of colourful clothes outdoors, with trees in the background.

videoBeauty and aesthetics

This is the final resting place of your cast-off clothing

14 minutes

Close-up of a woman with brown eyes and long hair smiling, showing noticeable dental issues and freckles on her face.

essayFairness and equality

Poor teeth

If you have a mouthful of teeth shaped by a childhood in poverty, don’t go knocking on the door of American privilege

Sarah Smarsh

A giant video screen displaying a face in a snowy city park, with two people under a red umbrella nearby.

essayKnowledge

Escape the echo chamber

First you don’t hear other views. Then you can’t trust them. Your personal information network entraps you just like a cult

C Thi Nguyen

Four people with bicycles watch an aeroplane take off, seen from behind under a cloudy sky.

essayFuture of technology

The golden quarter

Some of our greatest cultural and technological achievements took place between 1945 and 1971. Why has progress stalled?

Michael Hanlon

Adolf Eichmann in court with headphones, wearing a suit and tie, looking to the side, against a plain background.

ideaWar and peace

What did Hannah Arendt really mean by the banality of evil?

Thomas White

A man sitting on a bed in a damaged room, looking outside where debris lies on the floor and a red building is visible through a broken window

essayMaking

Chabuduo! Close enough …

Your balcony fell off? Chabuduo. Vaccines are overheated? Chabuduo. How China became the land of disastrous corner-cutting

James Palmer

A busy open-plan office with workers at desks using computers. Decor includes colourful artificial plants and toys.

essayEconomics

Are coders worth it?

In today’s world, web developers have it all: money, perks, freedom, respect. But is there value in what we do?

James Somers

Close-up photo of a human eye with the word “Google” reflected on the pupil, showing the website’s homepage on a computer screen.

essayInformation and communication

The new mind control

The internet has spawned subtle forms of influence that can flip elections and manipulate everything we say, think and do

Robert Epstein

Black and white photo of a lively gathering, people laughing and conversing around a table with wine bottles and glasses.

essayMeaning and the good life

The meanings of life

Happiness is not the same as a sense of meaning. How do we go about finding a meaningful life, not just a happy one?

Roy F Baumeister

A naked woman in a bed with a man partially visible, in a room with red walls and a wooden bed frame, clothes on the floor and a light fixture on the wall.

essaySex and sexuality

Pornucopia

Critics say that porn degrades women, dulls sexual pleasure, and ruins authentic relationships – are they right?

Maria Konnikova

Medieval painting of three individuals in robes, one holding a sword and shield, another stirring a pot over a fire, while the third person watches on.

ideaHuman rights and justice

Why the trial by ordeal was actually an effective test of guilt

Peter T Leeson

Medieval manuscript depicting a nude woman riding a green, phallic-shaped animal, surrounded by Latin text.

essayHistory

The salacious Middle Ages

Medieval people feared death by celibacy as much as venereal disease, and practiced complex sexual health regimens

Katherine Harvey

Man in a blue shirt and cap playing a cello in a forest setting.

videoEcology and environmental sciences

Yo-Yo Ma performs a work for cello in the woods, accompanied by a birdsong chorus

4 minutes

Colourised photo of an elderly Black man with a stern expression, wearing a blue jacket, red cravat and a blue headscarf, holding a cane.

essayHistory

Muslims of early America

Muslims came to America more than a century before Protestants, and in great numbers. How was their history forgotten?

Sam Haselby

A man with a beard sitting in a large, well-lit room with a high ceiling during an official meeting or conference.

essayEconomics

The new astrology

By fetishising mathematical models, economists turned economics into a highly paid pseudoscience

Alan Jay Levinovitz

Painting of a bearded man in traditional Chinese attire holding a scroll and walking through a mountainous landscape with trees and rocks.

essayHistory of ideas

Western philosophy is racist

Academic philosophy in ‘the West’ ignores and disdains the thought traditions of China, India and Africa. This must change

Bryan W Van Norden

A painting of five labourers working on a construction site with tools and machinery, while a scenic landscape is seen in the background.

ideaSocial psychology

A belief in meritocracy is not only false: it’s bad for you

Clifton Mark

Close-up of a vintage book titled “Dictionary, Interpreting all such Hard Words of Whatsoever Language, now used in our refined English Tongue.”

essayLanguage and linguistics

Typos, tricks and misprints

Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology

Arika Okrent

A child in a helmet riding a scooter in a wet, empty school playground with a building, playground equipment and hills in the background.

essayEducation

An inconvenient child

My six-year-old son was suspended as a danger to others. His crime? A disability you could find in any classroom

Michael Graziano