Bay of smokes
When smog descended upon Los Angeles in 1943, it was mistaken for a Japanese attack. The real culprit was closer to home - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Aeon | a world of ideas
Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. We publish in-depth essays from the world’s most incisive and ambitious thinkers, and a mix of original and curated videos — free to all.
The joy of autism
Yes, we’re in a world of our own: for the autistic mind, it’s a place of intense curiosity, deep focus and sensory delight - by Sarah Hendrickx Read on Aeon
What shape is the Earth?
The extraordinary challenge of determining the true shape of Earth reveals the deep value of measurement to scientific progress - by Miguel Ohnesorge Read on Aeon
The steam engine
The science behind the revolutionary engine that became the bedrock of global energy – born of a curiosity from 130 BCE - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Artist of sympathy and cruelty
Mozart’s genius lay in writing music of such power that he could draw his audience into morally wrenching predicaments - by Dorian Bandy Read on Aeon
Life recombined
In the early 1970s, genetic engineers launched the most controversial revolution in science since the atomic bomb - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Flickering Enlightenment
Attacked by the Left and Right, the Enlightenment can only be saved through use of its greatest legacy: permanent critique - by Eliane Glaser Read on Aeon
The meatseller
Selinna is 15 when she leaves her home in Nigeria, bound for Italy, a journey as perilous as it is transformative - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
The embattled witnesses
The UN’s special rapporteurs are experts charged with a singular mandate: to monitor the world’s worst human rights abuses - by Alvina Hoffmann Read on Aeon
This is my island
Life on this small, off-the-grid island offers closeness to land and community for those willing, and able, to work for it - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Can ecosystems malfunction?
We are told the natural world is ‘breaking down’. But forests don’t work like airplanes or human hearts - by John Drake Read on Aeon
Being small
Nobody quite recovers from being a child: the asymmetry of power between parents and children always leaves a trace - by Tom Wooldridge Read on Aeon
Aloha ʻāina
It’s marketed as a holiday destination, but the true meaning of Hawai’i lies in the connections between land and people - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Make immigration boring
The fiercest political battle of our age needs less moral drama and more hard thinking about numbers and fair tradeoffs - by Alan Manning Read on Aeon
Looking for a donkey
After two arrests and a national uproar, why is it so tricky to find the donkey once likened to Venezuela’s president? - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Maritime China
Far from turning its back on the sea, the fate of Qing China was tied as much to tides and storms as to cavalry and walls - by Ron Po Read on Aeon
Mathematics is out there
Sergiu Klainerman spent years proving that black holes won’t fly apart; and arguing that maths is not a human invention - by Steve Nadis Read on Aeon
How death came to Earth
Why must humans die? According to an ancient Indian folktale, death first came to Earth through an ill-fated love affair - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Gen Z but two centuries ago
A generation of young people with ‘full hearts in an empty world’ sought hope in the face of insurmountable malaise - by Emily Herring Read on Aeon
Silvesterchlausen
‘We’re not sure what it means or how it started’ – the enigmatic ritual that has existed in Switzerland for centuries - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
