Liquid animals: Why getting into water feels so good
Humans have been experiencing the benefits of bathing and swimming for millenia. However, until very recently, science hadn’t studied this in detail
Two hundred years of cement: The story of the building material that changed the world
Portland cement, registered 200 years ago by a bricklayer who named it after his native island, has come to symbolize capitalist logic. We are at a paradigm shift, but lack new material for this new constructive culture
Daron Acemoglu, the economist who says technological innovation does not equal prosperity
The Turkish-American researcher dismantles clichés. He argues that capitalism is based on the mistaken idea that human beings need to consume, when what they really need is to participate
A new Cold War? The nuclear threat resurfaces in books, series and movies
Numerous works reflect the similarities of the current geopolitical situation with the Cold War era in parallel to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
The concept of genocide came to light at a conference in Madrid in 1933. And it is still relevant today
Its promoter, the Polish-Jewish jurist Raphael Lemkin, warned of the ‘contagious nature of any social psychosis’
Is war inevitable for human beings?
The essential moral rule is do no harm. But as a species we are capable of both the best and the worst
The Oxford Quartet: Women who brought philosophy back to life
80 years ago, four thinkers refused to teach classes in skirts and challenged academic orthodoxy between clandestine parties and cigarettes
The invisible clitoris: The historical erasure of an organ that defies patriarchy
New research and experiments reveal its past invisibility, a parable of patriarchal culture. The complete anatomy of the organ that gives women pleasure was not known until 1998
On second thought, it is funny: Comedians and philosophers find common ground
The success of a certain type of monologue and the new attention that the academy pays to humor refresh his old and intimate relationship with thought.
Hypatia of Alexandria, the ‘pop star’ of antiquity that resists oblivion
The philosopher, mathematician and astronomer was murdered during dogmatic times. But her path of freedom lives on
‘1984’: How George Orwell’s Big Brother was born during the Spanish Civil War
Spain would represent a major point of rupture in the British author’s life. The novel takes place in London, but its seeds were planted during armed conflict in the streets of Barcelona
Emma Goldman: The world’s most dangerous idealogue
The Lithuanian-born American anarchist is still lauded as an iconic feminist leader more than 80 years after her death
Fear and loathing in racist America: The true story of Dr. Gonzo
Hunter S. Thompson’s companion in his unhinged chronicle of a drug-soaked road trip to Las Vegas was Oscar Zeta Acosta, a Mexican American activist
From Bob Dylan to Etta James: Philosophy’s greatest (sung) hits
In verses that are almost philosophical capsules, numerous artists have summarized the human condition
Hegel is very much alive: Just ask Slavoj Žižek, Judith Butler or Byung-Chul Han
For a long time the late 18th-century German philosopher was considered a ‘dead dog,’ yet his influence over popular contemporary thinkers remains evident
Spain’s nudist beaches: a niche market with more appeal to foreigners?
Catalonia’s 50 naturist areas are mainly used by visitors from Germany, France and the Netherlands