Essays
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Global history
Reconstructed hemisphere
In the 19th century, civil wars tore apart the US, Mexico and Argentina. Then came democracy’s fight against reaction
Evan C Rothera
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Language and linguistics
Our language, our world
Linguistic relativity holds that your worldview is structured by the language you speak. Is it true? History shines a light
James McElvenny
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Information and communication
How to hate
The manifesto was always a hotheaded call to arms. Then it got a slick, digital makeover in the cause of coldblooded hate
Tyler Thier
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Philosophy of language
The geometry of other people
Some friends are ‘close’. Others are ‘distant’. But our spatial descriptions of social life are more than just metaphors
David Borkenhagen
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Global history
The Asian world order
Before modern Europe existed there was a grand, interconnected political world, rich in scientific and artistic exchange
Ayşe Zarakol
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Space exploration
Capturing the cosmos
When self-replicating craft bring life to the far Universe, a religious cult, not science, is likely to be the driving force
Jay Olson
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History of science
The missing conversation
To the detriment of the public, scientists and historians don’t engage with one another. They must begin a new dialogue
Lorraine Daston & Peter Harrison
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Religion
Indomitable Sufis
Once a centre of Afghan culture, Sufism seems to have disappeared in the maelstrom of war and upheaval. But still it survives
Annika Schmeding
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Thinkers and theories
We’ll meet again
The intrepid logician Kurt Gödel believed in the afterlife. In four heartfelt letters to his mother he explained why
Alexander T Englert
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Thinkers and theories
Dancing and time
For Rachel Bespaloff, philosophy was a sensual activity shaped by the rhythm of history, embodied in an instant of freedom
Isabel Jacobs
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Architecture
The subtle art of elevation
Architectural drawing speaks of mathematical precision, but its roots lie in the theological exegesis of a prophetic book
Karl Kinsella
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Stories and literature
Saved by Infinite Jest
Bereft and suicidal, I lay on my sofa. Only David Foster Wallace’s novel kept me tethered to life, and still does
Mala Chatterjee