Society
essay
Stories and literature
Do liberal arts liberate?
In Jack London’s novel, Martin Eden personifies debates still raging over the role and purpose of education in American life
Nick Romeo
video
Anthropology
Why are witchcraft accusations so common across human societies?
4 minutes
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
essay
History of ideas
Reimagining balance
In the Middle Ages, a new sense of balance fundamentally altered our understanding of nature and society
Joel Kaye
essay
History
What would Thucydides say?
In constantly reaching for past parallels to explain our peculiar times we miss the real lessons of the master historian
Mark Fisher
video
Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes
essay
The environment
Emergency action
Could civil disobedience be morally obligatory in a society on a collision course with climate catastrophe?
Rupert Read
essay
Home
Return of the descendants
I migrated to my ancestral homeland in a search for identity. It proved to be a humbling experience in (un)belonging
Jessica Buchleitner
video
Rituals and celebrations
A whale hunt is an act of prayer for an Inuit community north of the Arctic Circle
8 minutes
essay
Economic history
Credit card nation
Americans have always borrowed, but how exactly did their lives become so entangled with the power of plastic cards?
Sean H Vanatta
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
essay
Religion
Conscientious unbelievers
How, a century ago, radical freethinkers quietly and persistently subverted Scotland’s Christian establishment
Felicity Loughlin
video
Politics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
33 minutes
essay
History of technology
Why America fell for guns
The US today has extraordinary levels of gun ownership. But to see this as a venerable tradition is to misread history
Megan Kang
essay
Ethics
The scourge of lookism
It is time to take seriously the painful consequences of appearance discrimination in the workplace
Andrew Mason
video
Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
essay
Economic history
The southern gap
In the American South, an oligarchy of planters enriched itself through slavery. Pervasive underdevelopment is their legacy
Keri Leigh Merritt
video
The ancient world
The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death
5 minutes
essay
Thinkers and theories
Our tools shape our selves
For Bernard Stiegler, a visionary philosopher of our digital age, technics is the defining feature of human experience
Bryan Norton
video
Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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
video
Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
video
Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
essay
Bioethics
The dangers of AI farming
AI could lead to new ways for people to abuse animals for financial gain. That’s why we need strong ethical guidelines
Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert & Jonathan Birch