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Publications

Aeon

Politics Science

How Vulnerable Is the World?

Sooner or later a technology capable of wiping out human civilization might be invented. How far would we go to stop it?

Nick Bostrom, Matthew van der Merwe Aeon Feb 2021 15min Permalink

Pippi and the Moomins

The antics in postwar Nordic children’s books left propaganda and prudery behind. We need this madcap spirit more than ever.

Richard W Orange Aeon Oct 2020 10min Permalink

Science

In the Beginning

The schism at the heart of cosmology.

Ross Andersen Aeon May 2015 35min Permalink

History Health

The Happiness Ruse

How did feeling good become a matter of relentless, competitive work; a never-to-be-attained goal which makes us miserable?

Cody Delistraty Aeon Nov 2019 15min Permalink

Health

There Is No Shame Worse Than Poor Teeth in a Rich World

Life in America without dental care.

Sarah Smarsh Aeon Oct 2014 15min Permalink

A Theory of Jerks

So you’re surrounded by idiots. Guess who the real jerk is.

Eric Schwitzgebel Aeon Jun 2014 15min Permalink

Sports

Rules of Ascent

For mountaineers, it’s not enough just to get to the top—it’s how you get there that matters.

Paul Sagar Aeon May 2017 15min Permalink

World

ISIS Is a Revolution

An ethnography.

Scott Altran Aeon Dec 2015 40min Permalink

Science Religion

User Behaviour

Websites and apps are designed for compulsion, even addiction. So why aren’t they regulated like drugs or casinos?

Michael Schulson Aeon Nov 2015 15min Permalink

History Science

English Is Not Normal

How English became the weirdest major language in modern use.

John McWhorter Aeon Nov 2015 15min Permalink

Science

Climate of Doubt

The art and science (or lack thereof) of water dowsing.

Lois Parshley Aeon Oct 2015 15min Permalink

Sex

Pornucopia

Will watching too much pornography ruin sex?

Maria Konnikova Aeon Jun 2015 15min Permalink

Science

The Art of Butchery

We are disgusted by butchery, even as we eat more meat than ever.

Amanda Giracca Aeon 15min Permalink

Religion

Like a Prayer

Squeamish though they might be about God, even the totally irreligious can find some comfort in praying.

Heather Havrilesky Aeon Mar 2015 10min Permalink

Crime

Framed By Forensics

Junky, out-of-date science fuels jury errors and tragic miscarriages of justice. How can we throw it out of court?

Douglas Starr Aeon Dec 2014 15min Permalink

Science Tech

The Golden Quarter

Why the boom in scientific progress stalled.

Michael Hanlon Aeon Dec 2014 Permalink

My Daughter, Myself

A mom on hitting menopause as her daughter hits adolescence.

Marina Benjamin Aeon Oct 2014 15min Permalink

Science

Exodus

Elon Musk’s dreams of colonizing Mars.

Read more

"Fuck Earth!" Elon Musk said to me, laughing. "Who cares about Earth?"

Ross Andersen Aeon Sep 2014 30min Permalink

Sex Media

Lock Up Your Wives!

Marital advice columns from the past.

Rebecca Onion Aeon Sep 2014 15min Permalink

Science

The Great Forgetting

On childhood amnesia, or why we don’t remember much before age seven.

Kristin Ohlson Aeon Jul 2014 15min Permalink

Arts Food

Sacrament

On wine’s sacred and profane history.

Ross Andersen Aeon May 2014 25min Permalink

Science

Animal Magnetism

Why humans love to watch other creatures.

David P Barash Aeon May 2014 15min Permalink

Politics

A Libertarian Utopia

At a high-profile Libertarian conference, everyone agrees government should be smaller, but what should replace it is much more contested.

Livia Gershon Aeon Apr 2014 15min Permalink

Arts Science Music

One More Time

Why we love repetition in music.

Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis Aeon Mar 2014 10min Permalink

Science

Acid Trap

How warming and acidifying oceans endanger the entire marine food chain.

Peter Brannen Aeon Feb 2014 10min Permalink

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