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Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. Psyche is a sister site magazine, focused on the human condition. Free to all.

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Born 100 years ago today, Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh spent a lifetime teaching us how to be truly present.⁠
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On his centenary, his wisdom offers a vital lens for our most complex contemporary environment: the digital world.⁠
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Thích Nhất Hạnh understood that information is something we actively ingest. Every swipe and scroll leaves a nutrient or a toxin in our consciousness. He didn't urge us to escape the network, but to change our relationship to it.⁠
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Discover thought-provoking Essays and Videos on philosophy, science, society, culture and more at aeon.co – free for all. by @aeonmag

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5 hours ago

Iranian filmmaker Yaser Talebi brings human stories to the screen with care and empathy, poetically framing the lives of ordinary people. This sensibility shapes his short documentary ‘I Won’t Remain Alone’. Set in northern Iran, the film tells the story of an elderly couple in a small village whose son has been pronounced brain dead after a tragic accident. ⁠
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When doctors approach them about authorising his organs to be donated, they’re left with an agonising decision: to let their son go so that someone else’s life might continue. Talebi stays close to the couple as they weigh the choice, capturing the grief that envelops their lives and the impact of their ultimate decision.⁠
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Watch the full documentary in the link in bio 🔗⁠
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@yasertalebi by @aeonmag

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13 hours ago

‘The nationalist, in this age of a world society, may well be as obsolete as the dynast on the verge of the age of democracy.’ – Barbara Ward, 1965⁠
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A remarkable thinker and public intellectual, Barbara Ward imagined a ‘planetary’ politics grounded in ecological interdependence, moral responsibility and global cooperation. At a time when women’s voices were marginalised on the world stage, Ward approached industry leaders at the UN Conference on the Human Environment to propose a strategy for economic growth which protected the biosphere. Her planetary view was not just about a world scale, but also about paying attention to the long-term impact of political choices on the physical conditions of our planet. ⁠
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In today’s Essay, the history professor Or Rosenboim argues that Ward’s distinctive vision offers insights into some of the most pressing challenges that continue to dominate political debates today.⁠
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Read more at the link in our bio. 🔗⁠
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Image: Barbara Ward at the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. Courtesy UN Photo by @aeonmag

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3 days ago

As the Nobel Prizes once again turn the spotlight on individual scientific achievement, is the idea of the lone scientific genius increasingly out of date?⁠
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Modern science is an extraordinarily collaborative enterprise: major discoveries can involve hundreds, or even thousands, of researchers. Yet a Nobel Prize can still be shared by no more than three people.⁠
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In this Essay, physicist Brian Keating argues that science’s most prestigious prize no longer reflects how scientific breakthroughs actually happen, asking whether it’s finally time for the Nobels to change.⁠
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Read the full Essay for free at the link in bio. 🔗 by @aeonmag

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3 days ago

From the homeland of the Lenape people to the global cultural capital it’s become today, the island of Manhattan has undergone extraordinary transformations over several centuries. Rendered in 3D animation without the use of AI, this video from the YouTube channel City 3D Timelapse chronicles how this island of around just 22.7 square miles has evolved.⁠
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Watch in full now at the link in our bio. ⁠🔗 by @aeonmag

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4 days ago

Taking readers deep into the walled-off ‘geto novo’ neighbourhood of 16th-century Venice, the eminent Renaissance scholar Alexander Lee provides a fascinating account of the world’s first Jewish Ghetto at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Established by Venetian city authorities to contain the cities’ Jews, the Ghetto was their way to find a ‘balance’ between their profound antisemitism and simultaneous deep reliance on Jewish moneylenders. And, as Lee shows, both the name and practice soon became a blueprint for numerous cities across the continent.⁠
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Detailing the constant push and pull between hatred and reliance, Lee's Essay provides remarkable insight into the cascade of decisions that ultimately led all the way to modern-day antisemitism. ⁠
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Read it in full by clicking the link in bio. 🔗 ⁠
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Photo: Ghetto Novo, Venice, by Antonio Violi/Alamy by @aeonmag

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4 days ago

In Yaser Talebi's documentary 'I Won't Remain Alone', the Iranian filmmaker follows Iranian parents seeking the recipient of their late son's heart.⁠
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Set in northern Iran, the elderly couple's son has been pronounced brain dead after a tragic accident. When doctors approach them about authorising his organs to be donated, they’re left with an agonising decision: to let their son go so that someone else’s life might continue. Talebi stays close to the couple as they weigh the choice, capturing the grief that envelops their lives and the powerful consequences of their ultimate decision.⁠
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Exclusive to Aeon, watch the video for free at the link in bio. 🔗⁠
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@yasertalebi by @aeonmag

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4 days ago

When people talk about an action they deem immoral, it’s not uncommon to hear them use the same descriptors as if they had just bitten into a rotten apple – calling it ‘gross’, ‘revolting’ or ‘disgusting’. That’s why this reaction is labelled ‘moral disgust’, and like its physical counterpart, it’s a strong, instinctive emotion that resonates deep in our bodies. But what purpose does it serve – and is it a reliable indicator of how we ought to act? ⁠
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In this Psyche Idea, the philosopher Brandon Yip dives into the potential evolutionary, philosophical and social explanations behind moral disgust, proposing that this strong emotion plays an important role in warning us of ‘socially corrosive’ behaviours: ‘For example, if a political leader engages in corruption or an employer openly flirts with his employees, then the norms that govern that society or that workplace will be undermined as long as such behaviour goes unchecked.’⁠
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Read the Idea in full on our sister site @psyche.the.magazine by clicking the link in bio. 🔗⁠
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Photo by Samuel Nacar/Panos Pictures by @aeonmag

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5 days ago

From the algorithmic flux of short form content on socials to the increasingly complex ecosystem of paid streaming platforms, deciding what to watch has never been so overwhelming. ⁠
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Enter Aeon Video: An evergreen collection of over 2000 expertly curated, high-quality videos, on a range of topics, from global history and architecture to earth science and wellbeing – there is something for everyone to enjoy. ⁠
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Aeon’s Head of Video, Adam D’Arpino, reveals a behind the scenes look at his role – attending film festivals, working with filmmakers, looking for fresh voices and sometimes even creating videos – and invites you to explore the archive for free today at at the link in bio. 🔗 by @aeonmag

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5 days ago

Is drinking coffee good or bad for you? Does psychotherapy really work or is it all just the placebo effect? Reading popular science coverage, it’s easy to come away with the impression that science is constantly flip-flopping between contradictory findings. What's actually happening, though, is not a back-and-forth, but rather an enormous chorus of knowledge production, with more than 19,000 new studies published every day – thus making the contradictory results a statistical certainty rather than a surprise.⁠
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At the link in our bio, the science journalist Helen Pearson argues that what’s needed to find actual clarity is not more flashy results, but a commitment to make sense of the knowledge we’re already producing: the knotty work of synthesis, achieved through methods like meta-analysis and systematic review. As she shows, this is what allows us to know which interventions actually work – with potentially life-saving and even planetary implications.⁠
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Read the Essay in full at the link in bio. 🔗⁠
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Photo by Stefan Wermuth/Reuters by @aeonmag

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5 days ago

To celebrate World Teachers' Day, we look back at UK documentarian Anna Snowball's study of the Netherlands' comprehensive sex-education system. ⁠
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In the European nation, students learn about sexuality gradually, starting as young as age four. This expansive sex-ed model has been credited with some of the world’s best outcomes for teen sexual health. Known as ‘Spring Fever’, the programme is centred around a week each March in which students learn about sex, love and relationships in a ‘shame-free’ environment. ⁠
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The documentary follows a group of pre-teens during Spring Fever as they attend lessons, engage in open discussions and submit anonymous questions for their teacher to address. Alongside an introduction to the curriculum, the film offers a charming window into to the awkward adolescent years – and all the giggling, camaraderie and self-discovery they entail.⁠
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Watch the full documentary for free at the link in bio 🔗⁠
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Director: Anna Snowball @anna__snowball⁠
Producer: Julia Ton by @aeonmag

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6 days ago

Once used by hunters to indicate success, the traditional Inuit game known as the one-foot high kick demands extraordinary strength, balance and control. It requires competitors to leap from both feet to strike a suspended target before landing on the same foot used to kick, with the target rising after each successful round.⁠
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In the experimental short ‘All-around Junior Male’, the Inuk filmmaker Lindsay McIntyre stylishly captures the Nunamiut athlete Sean Uquqtuq in an immersive, dreamlike portrait, combining monochrome, hand-processed film and an ambient score.⁠
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Watch the Video in full by clicking the link in bio. 🔗⁠
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@tiny_moving_pictures by @aeonmag

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7 days ago