Aeon Magazine

In Japanese philosophy, unlike the atomised Western self, we are ‘ningen’ (人間), each enmeshed with other humans and nature. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, sc...

The metaphor of rewiring offers an ideal of engineered precision. But the brain is more like a forest than a circuit board. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scie...

In Southeast Asia’s scam compounds, workers are being enslaved but the boundary between victim and perpetrator is blurred. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scien...

Images of vast ‘canals’ rippling across the red planet inspired fears of alien ‘engineers’ and changed science forever. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science,...

Scientific progress depends on disagreement. So why are vaccine sceptics and other science critics not worth listening to?. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scie...

Despite associations with the idle rich, the fact that inheritances are rising is a sign of a healthy, growing economy. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science,...

The 17th-century town Cacheu was a hub of West African and European cultures, languages and beliefs (and run by women). Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science,...

As struggles over the human body escalate, we should return to the work of cinema’s greatest anatomist: David Cronenberg. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scienc...

As Pax Americana ends, a multipolar order is emerging. The history of Southeast Asia holds lessons for what’s to come. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science,...

As AI’s endless clichés continue to encroach on human art, the true uniqueness of our creativity is becoming ever clearer. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scien...

Young Europeans join far-Right movements less out of grievance than out of a profound yearning to believe and belong. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science, p...

The life of Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose illuminates how scientific genius can emerge from the most unexpected quarters. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy,...

Economic republicanism shows us how to achieve authentic freedom: citizens require economic as well as political power. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science,...

In the 19th century, the linear idea of time became dominant – with profound implications for how we experience the world. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scien...

In 1752, David Hume discerned that wealth was becoming untethered from land. Here lies the origin of our political divisions. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, sc...

Many people today want to commit their remains to rejuvenating the planet. But are these green deaths just greenwashing?. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scienc...

In order to better understand our human nature, we must attempt to build a robot capable of robust subjective experiences. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scien...

All our laws and rules to protect coral reefs now stand in the way of radical action to save them from heat death. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science, psyc...

How the persecuted Vietnamese philosopher became one of the first theorists of the divide between colonised and coloniser. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scien...

For people with chronic illnesses, the relief and recognition of online communities can set up a toxic psychological trap. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scien...

A lush translation of this late-discovered lesbian poet added to the legacy of Sappho, but there was a trickster at work. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scienc...

It took centuries for people to embrace the zero. Now it’s helping neuroscientists understand how the brain perceives absences. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy,...

Condemned to death by firing squad, French resistance fighters put pen to paper. Their dying words can teach us how to live. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, sci...

Nurses experience deep suffering when they can’t act according to their moral compass. Our research shows a way forward. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science...

All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, scie...