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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

Vintage black-and-white photo of a colonial-era courtroom with seated officials and standing West African defendants in traditional attire.

essay

Human rights and justice

What’s in the rule of law?

The British Empire used a great democratic ideal to manufacture racial difference and rationalise colonial domination

Kanika Sharma

Black and white photo of a large group of boys and a few adults standing on bare ground, all dressed in 1960s attire.

essay

Education

A valiant experiment

The progressive and remarkably innovative Woodmead School briefly flourished amid the viciousness of apartheid South Africa

David Dyzenhaus

Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit holding a mug, sitting next to a chimpanzee in an enclosure.

essay

Human evolution

The eugenicist of UNESCO

Why did Julian S Huxley, first director of the UN agency, think eugenics held the key to a more evolved, harmonious world?

Stefan Bernhardt-Radu

Illustration of a child holding a shell to their ear with a bird singing on a branch amidst abstract greenery and flowers.

essay

Bioethics

The cochlear question

As the hearing parent of a deaf baby, I’m confronted with an agonising decision: should I give her an implant to help her hear?

Abi Stephenson

Black-and-white photo of a man speaking into microphones held by the press outside a building, with a woman smiling at him in the background.

video

Political philosophy

The radical activist couple who fought for social change in the courtroom

21 minutes

A woman with glasses and a colourful African headscarf is holding a child. They are outdoors in a rocky, hilly landscape. The path ahead appears scattered with small white stones.

video

Human rights and justice

When a burial for slave trade victims is unearthed, a small island faces a reckoning

29 minutes

Photo of a soldier in camouflage standing on a busy market street surrounded by people and colourful fabrics.

essay

Nations and empires

Colonies of former colonies

India’s ongoing subjugation of Kashmir holds portentous lessons about the nature of contemporary colonialism

Hafsa Kanjwal

Photo of a desert scene with tall cacti and a person standing, set against a sunlit rocky hill.

video

Human rights and justice

Can providing humanitarian aid be illegal? A troubling case from the US-Mexico border

17 minutes

Photo of a white temple with modern design features, a golden statue on top and a bright double rainbow in the cloudy sky.

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

Photo of a street sign reading ‘Gipsy Lane’, mounted on a brick wall with green foliage behind, and a car in the background.

video

History

There are fragments of Romani Gypsy history all over the UK – if one knows where to look

3 minutes

A colourful mural depicting a Mexican American family, a Mexican American woman being tackled by a white policeman, and a stadium resembling a U F O descending from the sky.

video

Art

The sprawling mural that depicts an unflinching people’s history of Los Angeles

7 minutes

A woman in a purple jumper, named María Victoria Maldonado, picking berries in a lush green forest.

video

Human rights and justice

An unarmed Indigenous group aims to protect their native lands in this stirring portrait

15 minutes

Wooden model of a sailing ship with multiple masts and detailed rigging on a white background.

video

Art

A prisoner in Guantánamo finds some escape in building intricate model ships

6 minutes

Photo of a light beige woven fabric with black and red borders on the sides, frayed edges at the bottom, and a black background.

essay

Political philosophy

Citizens and spinning wheels

For Indians to be truly free, Gandhi argued they must take up traditional crafts. Was it a quixotic hope or inspired solution?

Benjamin Studebaker

Person in a wheelchair with a laptop, wearing a monitoring cap, and a doctor in a lab coat standing nearby in a clinical setting.

essay

Illness and disease

Empowering patient research

For far too long, medicine has ignored the valuable insights that patients have into their own diseases. It is time to listen

Charlotte Blease & Joanne Hunt

A black-and-white photo of soldiers in uniform checking documents of several men standing outdoors, with laundry hanging in the background.

essay

Psychiatry and psychotherapy

Decolonising psychology

At times complicit in racism and oppression, psychology has also been a fertile ground for radical and liberatory thought

Rami Gabriel

Silhouettes of four construction workers in hard hats standing on a beam against a sunset or sunrise sky. One worker is crouching and appearing to weld, emitting sparks.

essay

Mental health

The last great stigma

Workers with mental illness experience discrimination that would be unthinkable for other health issues. Can this change?

Pernille Yilmam

a crowd of women dressed in black face the camera

essay

Politics and government

India and indigeneity

In a country of such extraordinary diversity, the UN definition of ‘indigenous’ does little more than fuel ethnic violence

Dikshit Sarma Bhagabati

Five young men leaning against a wall at night.

essay

Human rights and justice

My elusive pain

The lives of North Africans in France are shaped by a harrowing struggle to belong, marked by postcolonial trauma

Farah Abdessamad

A bustling 19th-century cityscape featuring a wide street with construction activity, carriages and pedestrians. Hills and a bridge are also visible under a cloudy sky.

essay

Religion

Conscientious unbelievers

How, a century ago, radical freethinkers quietly and persistently subverted Scotland’s Christian establishment

Felicity Loughlin

Four smiling flight attendants in bright-blue uniforms and matching hats, wearing identification badges, stand in a row saluting. They are indoors against a neutral background.

essay

Ethics

The scourge of lookism

It is time to take seriously the painful consequences of appearance discrimination in the workplace

Andrew Mason

A surreal artwork depicting floating items, including a woman, child, chair, bullets, and a photo of a family, all set in a dark abstract background.

video

Human rights and justice

A reporter orphaned by night raids in Afghanistan investigates their cruel legacy

17 minutes

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

Several deaf inmates sit on chairs in a circle, engaged in an ASL conversation. Room has white walls, white chairs, flags and a podium in the background.

video

Human rights and justice

‘I know that change is possible’ – a Deaf prison chaplain’s gospel of hope

18 minutes