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

Penchants of the polymaths

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

essayHistory of science

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

Mariam Sabri

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A woman in a red top walking past a large poster of a face, with bold shadows on a sunlit background.

essayCognition and intelligence

The fog of hunger

From childhood, women are trained to restrict their appetite. And there’s a huge, hidden, cognitive price to pay for it

Sarah Berg

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

Illustration of two people embracing while riding through green waters on a pink river dolphin wearing a hat, with houses and trees in the background.

essayAnthropology

Dolphins and other lovers

The Andoque of the Amazon know what we have forgotten: the forest’s most beautiful creatures are also its most dangerous

Eliran Arazi

Illustration of a chaotic procession with figures in historical costume, each with exaggerated expressions and dialogues.

essayPolitical philosophy

In praise of zealotry

Early feminists like Mary Astell and Catharine Macaulay refused their male peers’ advice to remain polite in debate. Why?

Geertje Bol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

essayCognition and intelligence

The fog of hunger

From childhood, women are trained to restrict their appetite. And there’s a huge, hidden, cognitive price to pay for it

Sarah Berg

Abstract painting with blurred blue, yellow and black shapes creating a soft, dreamlike texture.

videoMetaphysics

‘Repulsion, at the core of attraction’ – on the paradox of touch

7 minutes

essayAnthropology

Dolphins and other lovers

The Andoque of the Amazon know what we have forgotten: the forest’s most beautiful creatures are also its most dangerous

Eliran Arazi

Photo of a large petrified log with vivid red and brown hues in a desert setting with grass and a blue sky.

videoValues and beliefs

Thieves of ‘cursed’ rocks pen letters of remorse to a national park

14 minutes

essayPolitical philosophy

In praise of zealotry

Early feminists like Mary Astell and Catharine Macaulay refused their male peers’ advice to remain polite in debate. Why?

Geertje Bol

Photo of two dressed-up rodents in a salon, one holding a comb with a speech bubble that reads, “I’m a beautician not a magician,” behind the other holding a mirror.

videoProgress and modernity

Torrington has some 240 residents – and one unusual tourist attraction

14 minutes

Illustration of a worm underground beneath grass and wildflowers showing roots in a cross-section view.

essayEcology and environmental sciences

Worm munch matters

The lives that slither and scurry beneath the soil’s surface are vital for ecological health: now we can listen in to them

Ella Browning

Watercolour painting of a rustic house with clothes drying on a balcony clothesline against a textured wall.

essayHome

The neverending house

The self-built homes of Santiago are precarious and ever changing. They are, always and at once, being and becoming

Consuelo Araos

Silhouette of a pyramid at night with a starry sky in the background.

videoNature and landscape

In the remote desert, an awe-inspiring artwork collapses time and space

24 minutes

Aerial photo of Mecca’s Great Mosque at night, filled with pilgrims.

essayRituals and celebrations

Mecca and the mall

In a bid for spiritual renewal, I made a pilgrimage to Islam’s holy city. Almost everything I expected to see was gone

Azania Imtiaz Patel

Photo of two shirtless men lying on a blue inflatable structure, eyes closed, one wearing shorts with patterned stripes.

videoFamily life

A tale of brotherhood, bouncy castles and the American dream

20 minutes

Painting of five women in a living room reading papers, with posters for women’s liberation and feminism on the walls.

essaySex and sexuality

A second sexual revolution

Until Shere Hite’s Report, even the most daring sexologists refused to listen to what women desired and hated in sex

Rosa Campbell

Sepia-toned photo of an ornate building with spires surrounded by a fence, set on a grassy area under a clear sky.

videoGlobal history

The strange, circuitous history of Europe’s oldest Buddhist temple

19 minutes

A brown dog with ears up and tongue out running on grass towards the camera.

essayKnowledge

How we meet the future

If we couldn’t make generalisations, we would be paralysed by the world’s complexity. Does that ever excuse stereotyping?

Tom Ralston