Shows / Aeon Magazine
Aeon Magazine
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, psychology, society and culture. Each episode features a narrated Aeon essay, a journey into expert concepts and stories that provoke, enrich and expand our horizons. Aeon is a nonprofit digital magazine publishing…
Episodes
Aeon MagazineThe shape of time
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…
Aeon MagazineLandholder vs stockholder
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…
Aeon MagazineHow to become a tree
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…
Aeon MagazineThe synthetic self
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…
Aeon MagazineRed tape on a blue planet
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…
Aeon MagazineThe tragedy of Trần Đức Thảo
How the persecuted Vietnamese philosopher became one of the first theorists of the divide between colonised and coloniser. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineThe spiral of suffering
For people with chronic illnesses, the relief and recognition of online communities can set up a toxic psychological trap. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineThe erotic poems of Bilitis
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…
Aeon MagazineWhy nothing matters
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…
Aeon MagazineThe last letter
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…
Aeon MagazineMoral resilience
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…
Aeon MagazineThere are no pure cultures
All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineReality is evil
Everything eats and is eaten. Everything destroys and is destroyed. It is our moral duty to strike back at the Universe. Aeon audio explores the most profound…
Aeon MagazineThe other Homo sapiens
We are just one branch of a diverse human family tree. Aside from Neanderthals, who were they – and why did we replace them?. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineIncandescent anger
Politics today is driven by grievances that can never be assuaged. For democracy’s survival, we must grapple with this dynamic. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineAre doctors replaceable?
Medical error kills hundreds of thousands yearly. If AI is sophisticated enough to help, doctors must not stand in the way. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazinePhilosopher of pride
For Mandeville, humankind has a bottomless need to be liked: it is this perennial craving that forms the foundation of society. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineLong live the aeonophiles!
The discovery of organisms that have been alive for many thousands of years requires a revolution in how we understand life. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineA life of joy and work
I am banned from working now, but as I look back on my long, challenging career in Afghanistan I feel hope for the future. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineGreen dominion
Coursing through Catholicism is a radical tradition of environmental justice that will help combat the climate crisis. Aeon audio explores the most profound…
Aeon MagazineUndefinable yet indispensable
Despite centuries of trying, the term ‘religion’ has proven impossible to define. Then why does it remain so necessary?. Aeon audio explores the most profound…
Aeon MagazineCan machines suffer?
We once denied the suffering of animals in pain. As AIs grow more complex, we run the danger of making the same mistake. Aeon audio explores the most profound…
Aeon MagazineThe empty ideology
Liberalism hasn’t delivered on its promises in Africa. The alternative will be found in ideas rooted in Africa’s own soil. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineMaternal paradox
‘Scientific motherhood’ promised to create high standards for child-rearing. But it’s really a system designed to police women. Aeon audio explores the most…
Aeon MagazineThe world without hegemony
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…