Rights require money
Talk as much as you like about human rights, nothing will change until the architecture of global finance is reformed - by Attiya Waris Read 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.
Idle warriors
How a public health initiative to reduce air pollution has created ‘full-time citizen complainants’ who patrol the city - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Beneath our human shallows
We need a new imagination for the whole Earth, linking the power of the deep planet with the vitality of the surface - by James Dinneen Read on Aeon
Classroom 4
In this award-winning short, inmates and college students explore the history of incarceration from inside a US prison - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Children are apprentices
The emotional and practical skills of adulthood can only be learned from (appropriate) levels of discomfort and stress - by Niklas Serning & Nina Lyon Read on Aeon
The eye in your pocket
Things have jobs: pillows are made for comfort, scissors are sharp, and digital devices are made to track your every move - by Carissa Véliz Read on Aeon
Nature’s hardware store: building the future with biology
What if the tools for sustainable space exploration could be found in cellular life on Earth? A NASA astrobiologist explains - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
The origins of Indians
Genetic studies support what historians have argued for decades: ancient India was a place of migration and mixture - by Kiran Kumbhar Read on Aeon
Sarnevesht (Daughter)
In rural Iran, Sahar faces a stark choice: stay at home to look after her father, or go to the city to pursue her education - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Embrace the edge!
Brilliance and kindness shine brightest when far from the comfortable centre. Even nature is more generative there too - by Charles Foster Read on Aeon
Democracy by lottery
Ancient Athenians chose leaders by lottery rather than elections. Could this solve the problems facing democracy today? - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Reality emerges
Particles are nature’s smallest constituents, but that doesn’t mean they’re fundamental. So what is the Universe made of? - by Felix Flicker Read on Aeon
To be is to participate
For Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, a person is not self-contained, but the outcome of a lifelong process of living with others: we before I - by João de Pina-Cabral Read on Aeon
Who invented bad guys?
The good-vs-evil paradigm of most pop-culture storytelling is a relatively recent effort to promote social cohesion - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
The Ethiopian running secret
One school of training is highly personalised, technical and data-driven. The other is the one that wins marathons - by Michael Crawley & Geoff Burns Read on Aeon
1,000 years of Japanese swords
From weapon to icon – a riveting history lesson in the many meanings of the samurai sword that’s also just plain cool to see - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Hunting ‘Man the Hunter’
For a century, this theory of human origins has died and returned. To free it from limbo, we must disentangle its many meanings - by Vivek V Venkataraman Read on Aeon
The Black executioner
Medieval artists depicted bodies as vehicles for politics and hierarchy. Repeated enough, these roles began to appear natural - by Denva Gallant Read on Aeon
Africa’s cultural landmarks: Ọṣun-Òṣogbo Sacred Grove, Nigeria
Deep inside a luscious grove in Nigeria, a community of artists preserves otherworldly monuments to Yorùbá spirituality - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Does reading do us any good?
Stripped of easy moralising, literature makes us relish the search for truth in an age when many believe truth to be dead - by Flora Champy Read on Aeon
