Black and white photo of a man in glasses animatedly speaking to a group gathered around him in an indoor setting.

Reasoning together

Jürgen Habermas, the great defender of deliberative democracy, lived up to its demands: he never feared changing his mind

essayThinkers and theories

Reasoning together

Jürgen Habermas, the great defender of deliberative democracy, lived up to its demands: he never feared changing his mind

Emilie Prattico

Popular this month

A lively snowball fight with people in winter clothing throwing snow outside amidst a snowy background.

essaySports and games

More nothing now

We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly. Gamification risks atrophying that most precious capacity

Justin Neuman

A suited man near a construction site, view of tall building and streetlight through wooden scaffolding.

essayPolitics and government

Upend the trickle-down

Neoliberal policies have hollowed out democracies and spawned unchecked oligarchs. Grasping their structure points to a fix

Les Coleman

Medieval painting of a man in a bath, attended by various people under a tree with heart-shaped leaves.

essayHistory

Medieval mental health

Saffron and ostrich liver were prescribed but so were exercise, gardens, animals, socialising, and music

Katherine Harvey

Two children engrossed in watching a cartoon on TV in a dimly lit room with curtains and a table.

essayChildhood and adolescence

The bombarding of childhood

It’s not just screen time: the problem with children’s media is that it has become relentlessly hectic, loud and bright

Natalia Kucirkova

A lush green landscape with hills and distant cattle under a cloudy sky, suggesting a tranquil rural setting.

essayNature and landscape

Where a land ethic blooms

Caring for this planet entails decisions that are intimate, about our farms, our homes, our human and our wild neighbours

Craig Maier

Photo of an airship labelled R101 flying above a grassy field with cows and a tall structure in the background.

videoHistory of technology

Before the Hindenburg there was R101 – Britain’s ill-fated airship

17 minutes

Dried red mushrooms with textured, wrinkled caps and visible gills, creating a detailed natural composition.

essayPublic health

Toadstools and toxins

When I found the mushroom Amanita muscaria being sold in candy wrappers, I uncovered legal loopholes, dangerous dosages and more

Eric Leas

Vintage-style photo of a cowboy in a saloon drinking from a mug held by a saloon girl holding a gun at the bar.

videoRituals and celebrations

At an Old West theme park, tourists play in a past that never existed

14 minutes

Photo of a man with closed eyes wearing headphones, appearing focused, against a blurred green background.

videoProgress and modernity

Indonesia is building a new capital city. What’s being lost?

19 minutes

Classical marble busts in a museum setting with focus on a detailed male figure in the background.

essayKnowledge

He was probably right

Cicero’s life and thought are a testament to the idea of probabilia: we should be confident in our beliefs, but never certain

Massimo Pigliucci

Abstract painting of a swirling black hole in space with colourful cosmic dust and light patterns.

essayAstronomy

Cosmic amnesia

A black hole rings like a struck bell, then settles into silence, forgetting almost everything about its history. Why?

Richard Dyer

Painting of a spectacled owl with bright yellow eyes against a dark background, highlighting its feathers and beak.

videoMetaphysics

The alien worlds beside our own – a journey into animal eyes

14 minutes

Vintage photo showing a woman in a retro futuristic kitchen operating a round appliance with a clear dome lid.

essayComputing and artificial intelligence

Who will taste the cherries?

The computist has one dream: to debug the subjectivity out of all of human knowledge, creating a pure, frictionless world

Liam Spradlin

Marble painting of a peacock beside a pedestal with a sphere, abstract shapes in the background.

videoHistory of technology

The millennia-long history of our obsession with fake marble

22 minutes

Painting of a man walking on a path through a hilly landscape away from a town, with a bird flying overhead, both casting long shadows on the ground.

essayDemography and migration

Chasing la dolce vita

Homecomings, fantasies, food and ghosts – how the myth of eternal return keeps the Italian diaspora in a state of longing

Ben Faccini

Photo of a scene from a film showing a soldier in muddy gear behind sandbags in a jungle, reflected on an iPad screen.

videoTechnology and the self

Are we ever really done seeing a movie? On ‘Platoon’ and memory

10 minutes

essayChildhood and adolescence

The bombarding of childhood

It’s not just screen time: the problem with children’s media is that it has become relentlessly hectic, loud and bright

Natalia Kucirkova

Medieval painting of two men riding a donkey, a man is in a window, script beneath, with decorative clouds overhead.

essayHistory of science

Penchants of the polymaths

The fathers of Islamic science hold lessons for students: breadth over specialisation, and never let constraints get in the way

Mariam Sabri

Illustration of a robot reading with a thought bubble showing ancient cave paintings of hunters and a deer.

videoPhilosophy of mind

Could there ever be a viable test for artificial consciousness?

6 minutes

essayHistory

Medieval mental health

Saffron and ostrich liver were prescribed but so were exercise, gardens, animals, socialising, and music

Katherine Harvey

Painting of three figures with a flag on a dot-patterned background in red, yellow, purple and white.

videoArt

Meet the Aboriginal Australian artists painting over the colonial past

11 minutes

The imprint of a hand, made with black ink on beige paper, showing both the thin and wide creases on the palm and fingers.

essayHistory of science

Our eloquent hands

Physicians reject palmistry as nonsense. But reading the creases of our palms for hidden meaning is what doctors have always done

Alison Bashford

Photo of Earth from space showing clouds, oceans and land masses against a starry black background.

videoSpace exploration

Is this Artemis II timelapse the ‘Pale Blue Dot’ for our times?

11 minutes

A lorry on a long desert road with rocky terrain and mountains in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

essayHistory

Continental divide

A century ago, the Pan-American road promised a new era of fraternity between the two continents. Did it succeed?

Shawn Miller

essayPolitics and government

Upend the trickle-down

Neoliberal policies have hollowed out democracies and spawned unchecked oligarchs. Grasping their structure points to a fix

Les Coleman

Collage of two vintage photos featuring historic figures, one tipping a hat, the other in a thoughtful pose.

essayStories and literature

Neuroqueering on the lawn

Hans Christian Andersen’s tantrum in Charles Dickens’s garden was a case of ‘too muchness’, emotions bursting past respectability

Siobhan Unwin & Kathryne Ford

essaySports and games

More nothing now

We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly. Gamification risks atrophying that most precious capacity

Justin Neuman

Lush green gardens with tall tree-like structures and a glass dome in the background under a cloudy sky.

essayNations and empires

The Singapore strategies

The nation’s water is secure, but its food is another matter: lessons from the city-state in efficiency versus self-sufficiency

Peter A Coclanis