Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. We publish in-depth essays, incisive articles, and a mix of original and curated videos — free to all.

At HowTheLightGetsIn we bring together speakers debating the big ideas and pushing their discipline forward.

Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. We publish in-depth essays, incisive articles, and a mix of original and curated videos — free to all.

We've announced our full programme of debates for HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2019. From the Higgs boson to mental health, particle theory to patriarchy, our debates have it all. Tribal Truths and New…

Philosophy need not be arcane, argued Aristotle, as he led by example, writing treatises for peers and public alike

Keeping African art in Western museums while deporting migrants from these countries is about patrimony, not heritage

What if your neighbourhood was its own tiny planet? And in orbit with your miniscule globe, an entire solar system of tiny planets, each a single neighbourhood? This is the universe imagined by Jonas…

In Singapore's bustling Little India stands a small photography studio that specialises in helping young men – primarily migrant workers from India – find brides back home. The hundreds of portraits…

The hormone system works like a democracy: every tissue in the body is an endocrine organ asserting its needs and demands

In a new fragment of ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’, becoming human hinges on lovemaking, dialogue and contributing to social life

Folding T-shirts is not a path toward contentment: Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is only the latest misuse of Eastern ideas

‘Being 97 has been an interesting experience.’By the time of his death, the US philosopher Herbert Fingarette (1921-2018) had lived what most would consider a full and meaningful life. His marriage to…

In living memory, geologists believed that the earth was slowly shrivelling, little guessing how vibrantly alive it truly is

From the meticulous geometric framing of Wes Anderson to the droll deadpan of Bill Murray, the influence of Buster Keaton’s comedy still ripples throughout popular culture. This video essay is part of the US filmmaker Tony Zhou’s Every Frame a Painting series, and it details how Keaton’s work helped to

In recent decades, the international community has made impressive strides against hunger and undernourishment, as amply evidenced by the data from the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Between 1990 and 2014, for example, th...

Science can’t stop talking in terms of ‘purposes’, but if the universe cares about us, it has a funny way of showing it

The ancients had pyramids to tame the sky’s mystery. We have Star Axis, a masterpiece forty years in the making

While your dreams might feel strange or random, and unique to you (if you even remember them at all), an ongoing project by the US psychologist Kelly Bulkeley offers some insight into our most common…

When a parent dies by suicide, how the children are told casts a permanent shadow on their understanding of life and loss

Bhiwani Junction follows Himanshu Nain, a 12-year-old aspiring boxer who trains at the well-regarded Bhiwani Boxing Club. Intelligent, soft-spoken and small, Himanshu is a skilled athlete who is…

Society will be much improved by loosening the stranglehold of top universities on the education of elites. But how?

Europeans domesticated cattle 2,000 years earlier than archaeologists previously thought. Here’s how we figured it out

Endless love: if your family ensnares you in constant group texts and emails that cause anxiety, set some boundaries

The theoretical astrophysicist Katie Mack at North Carolina State University is known for her work on dark matter, as well as her science-outreach efforts. In this short video essay, Mack weaves…