Our planet was once a harsh, alien, icy world. Yet this deep freeze may have shaped you, me and all life on Earth- by Graham ShieldsRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Good institutions are social technologies that scale trust from personal relations to entire nations. How do they work?- by Julien Lie-PanisRead on Aeon | Continue reading
David’s handcrafted figurines pay tribute to cultural icons. His latest project takes on his greatest hero, his late brother- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
In their visions of the underworld Dante and Milton were truly subversive, incorporating predecessors into their own repudiation- by Charlie EricsonRead on Aeon | Continue reading
A jaunty song calls for greater appreciation of Indian wool, as imports undermine the livelihoods of local herders- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
The vision of solarpunk: joining nature with technology in vibrantly inclusive ways to create a world that truly blooms- by Yogi Hale HendlinRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Is time a property of the Universe? Yes, if you conceive of it as heat: a mind-boggling yet oddly comforting perspective- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Sea pandas or sadistic killers? These enigmatic creatures invite contradictory labels that say far more about us than them- by Jason ColbyRead on Aeon | Continue reading
An age-old debate about human nature is being energised with new findings on the tightrope of cooperation and competition- by Jonathan R GoodmanRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Rising far above the desert, the walls of these magnificent hills carry the ancient story of humanity’s creative spark- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
In Japanese philosophy, unlike the atomised Western self, we are ‘ningen’ (人間), each enmeshed with other humans and nature- by Takeshi MorisatoRead on Aeon | Continue reading
To master our own lives, we must venture beyond the rules and embrace risk – Heidegger’s philosophy grounded in real life- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
The metaphor of rewiring offers an ideal of engineered precision. But the brain is more like a forest than a circuit board- by Peter LukacsRead on Aeon | Continue reading
It was a rust bucket, sure, but this car delivered the most precious good to a group of friends in 1980s Poland: freedom- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
In Southeast Asia’s scam compounds, workers are being enslaved but the boundary between victim and perpetrator is blurred- by Ivan Franceschini & Ling LiRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Where does the mind go in solitary confinement? An evocative animation exploring three individual experiences- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Despite associations with the idle rich, the fact that inheritances are rising is a sign of a healthy, growing economy- by Daniel WaldenströmRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Light is fundamental to the workings and laws of our Universe – but why does it exist in the first place?- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
The 17th-century town Cacheu was a hub of West African and European cultures, languages and beliefs (and run by women)- by Toby GreenRead on Aeon | Continue reading
For India’s travelling stunt drivers, who risk their lives for a living, freedom lies on the other side of fear- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Physicists believe a third class of particles – anyons – could exist, but only in 2D. What kind of existence is that?- by Elay ShechRead on Aeon | Continue reading
As AI’s endless clichés continue to encroach on human art, the true uniqueness of our creativity is becoming ever clearer- by Richard BeardRead on Aeon | Continue reading
A documentary connecting two Singapores: the Asian country expanded on imported sand and a town in Michigan buried by dunes- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Young Europeans join far-Right movements less out of grievance than out of a profound yearning to believe and belong- by Agnieszka PasiekaRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Most people live as though death is undesirable. But would immortality be a blessing – or an interminable curse?- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
The life of Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose illuminates how scientific genius can emerge from the most unexpected quarters- by Somaditya (Soma) BanerjeeRead on Aeon | Continue reading
From fluffing feathers to washing skins, a museum taxidermist shows the hidden art behind creating an ‘illusion of life’- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Economic republicanism shows us how to achieve authentic freedom: citizens require economic as well as political power- by Sean IrvingRead on Aeon | Continue reading
In the 19th century, the linear idea of time became dominant – with profound implications for how we experience the world- by Emily ThomasRead on Aeon | Continue reading
How do you capture something invisible? A blustery short revels in the sights and sounds of a windswept day on the coast- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
In 1752, David Hume discerned that wealth was becoming untethered from land. Here lies the origin of our political divisions- by Catherine NicholsRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Spinning imaginative tales, a father wrapped his daughter in a protective layer of love all the way from an island gulag- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Many people today want to commit their remains to rejuvenating the planet. But are these green deaths just greenwashing?- by Hannah Gould & Georgina RobinsonRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Fish helmets and coconut suits – how the islanders of Oceania built suits of armour without any metal- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
In order to better understand our human nature, we must attempt to build a robot capable of robust subjective experiences- by Tony J PrescottRead on Aeon | Continue reading
All our laws and rules to protect coral reefs now stand in the way of radical action to save them from heat death- by Irus BravermanRead on Aeon | Continue reading
A dazzling visualisation of how the body’s specialised proteins repair damaged DNA by using an intact copy as a template- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
How the persecuted Vietnamese philosopher became one of the first theorists of the divide between colonised and coloniser- by Rory O’SullivanRead on Aeon | Continue reading
For a tar player, each strum offers a connection with Iranian classical music, some of which was lost after the revolution- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
For people with chronic illnesses, the relief and recognition of online communities can set up a toxic psychological trap- by Siddhant Ritwick & Tomi KoljonenRead on Aeon | Continue reading
A documentary on the patient labour of building a home away from home and the courage it takes to open oneself to new bonds- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
A lush translation of this late-discovered lesbian poet added to the legacy of Sappho, but there was a trickster at work- by Cat LambertRead on Aeon | Continue reading
In a town park in Portugal, prizes dangle just out of reach up a greasy pole. How will the local teens manage to get them?- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Politics today is driven by grievances that can never be assuaged. For democracy’s survival, we must grapple with this dynamic- by Paul KatsafanasRead on Aeon | Continue reading
In rare interviews, Russians speak candidly about their lives in the presence of war – animated to protect their identities- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading
Medical error kills hundreds of thousands yearly. If AI is sophisticated enough to help, doctors must not stand in the way- by Charlotte BleaseRead on Aeon | Continue reading
For Mandeville, humankind has a bottomless need to be liked: it is this perennial craving that forms the foundation of society- by Andrea BranchiRead on Aeon | Continue reading
Why the stunning rhinoceros hornbills are the farmers of the rainforest and a powerful avian symbol of regeneration- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon | Continue reading