Aeon Magazine

40 Episodes
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By: Aeon

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 essays and videos that seek to illuminate the big questions of life. Free to read and now free to listen, Aeon’s mission is to sh...

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Paternity is poetical
Paternity is poetical episode artwork
Today at 10:00 AM

The notion that fatherhood and creativity are at odds is plain wrong, as both poetry and neuroscience are showing us.

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...


Chasing la dolce vita
Chasing la dolce vita episode artwork
Last Saturday at 4:00 PM

Homecomings, fantasies, food and ghosts – how the myth of eternal return keeps the Italian diaspora in a state of longing.

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 es...


Reasoning together
Reasoning together episode artwork
Last Friday at 10:00 AM

JĂźrgen Habermas, the great defender of deliberative democracy, lived up to its demands: he never feared changing his mind.

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 e...


Where a land ethic blooms
Where a land ethic blooms episode artwork
Last Thursday at 10:00 AM

Caring for this planet entails decisions that are intimate, about our farms, our homes, our human and our wild neighbours.

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...


Toadstools and toxins
Toadstools and toxins episode artwork
Last Tuesday at 10:00 AM

When I found the mushroom Amanita muscaria being sold in candy wrappers, I uncovered legal loopholes, dangerous dosages and more.

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...


He was probably right
He was probably right episode artwork
09/21/2026

Cicero’s life and thought are a testament to the idea of probabilia: we should be confident in our beliefs, but never certain.

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 di...


Cosmic amnesia
Cosmic amnesia episode artwork
09/18/2026

A black hole rings like a struck bell, then settles into silence, forgetting almost everything about its history. Why?.

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 essays...


Who will taste the cherries?
Who will taste the cherries? episode artwork
09/17/2026

The computist has one dream: to debug the subjectivity out of all of human knowledge, creating a pure, frictionless 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, 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...


The bombarding of childhood
The bombarding of childhood episode artwork
09/14/2026

It’s not just screen time: the problem with children’s media is that it has become relentlessly hectic, loud and bright.

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 maga...


Penchants of the polymaths
Penchants of the polymaths episode artwork
09/11/2026

The fathers of Islamic science hold lessons for students: breadth over specialisation, and never let constraints get in the way.

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...


Medieval mental health
Medieval mental health episode artwork
09/10/2026

Saffron and ostrich liver were prescribed but so were exercise, gardens, animals, socialising, and music.

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 essays and videos that seek...


Our eloquent hands
Our eloquent hands episode artwork
09/08/2026

Physicians reject palmistry as nonsense. But reading the creases of our palms for hidden meaning is what doctors have always done.

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...


Continental divide
Continental divide episode artwork
09/07/2026

A century ago, the Pan-American road promised a new era of fraternity between the two continents. Did it succeed?.

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 essays...


Upend the trickle-down
Upend the trickle-down episode artwork
09/04/2026

Neoliberal policies have hollowed out democracies and spawned unchecked oligarchs. Grasping their structure points to a fix.

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 essays and videos...


Neuroqueering on the lawn
Neuroqueering on the lawn episode artwork
09/03/2026

Hans Christian Andersen’s tantrum in Charles Dickens’s garden was a case of ‘too muchness’, emotions bursting past respectability.

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 essays a...


More nothing now
More nothing now episode artwork
09/01/2026

We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly. Gamification risks atrophying that most precious capacity.

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 essays and videos...


The Singapore strategies
The Singapore strategies episode artwork
08/31/2026

The nation’s water is secure, but its food is another matter: lessons from the city-state in efficiency versus self-sufficiency.

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 es...


Beyond food and people
Beyond food and people episode artwork
08/29/2026

Nietzsche shows us how to embrace our connection with nature – without denying its essential conflict, strife and suffering.

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 essays and vi...


Empire of flight
Empire of flight episode artwork
08/23/2026

They have big brains, long childhoods and sociable, curious minds. So why haven’t birds developed complex culture?.

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 essays and vi...


The planetary fix
The planetary fix episode artwork
08/22/2026

Despite decades of inaction we can avert the climate Hellocene and restore the atmosphere to keep our world habitable.

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 essays...


The fog of hunger
The fog of hunger episode artwork
08/21/2026

From childhood, women are trained to restrict their appetite. And there’s a huge, hidden, cognitive price to pay for it.

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 pu...


Dolphins and other lovers
Dolphins and other lovers episode artwork
08/20/2026

The Andoque of the Amazon know what we have forgotten: the forest’s most beautiful creatures are also its most dangerous.

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 pu...


In praise of zealotry
In praise of zealotry episode artwork
08/18/2026

Early feminists like Mary Astell and Catharine Macaulay refused their male peers’ advice to remain polite in debate. Why?.

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 essays an...


Worm munch matters
Worm munch matters episode artwork
08/17/2026

The lives that slither and scurry beneath the soil’s surface are vital for ecological health: now we can listen in to them.

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 di...


Where did the grandeur go?
Where did the grandeur go? episode artwork
08/16/2026

Superlative things were done in the past century by marshalling thousands of people in the service of a vision of the future.

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...


Natural-born existentialists
Natural-born existentialists episode artwork
08/15/2026

Ethics cannot be based on human nature because, as evolutionary biology tells us, there is no such thing.

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 essays and...


The neverending house
The neverending house episode artwork
08/14/2026

The self-built homes of Santiago are precarious and ever changing. They are, always and at once, being and becoming.

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 essays...


Mecca and the mall
Mecca and the mall episode artwork
08/13/2026

In a bid for spiritual renewal, I made a pilgrimage to Islam’s holy city. Almost everything I expected to see was gone.

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 di...


A second sexual revolution
A second sexual revolution episode artwork
08/11/2026

Until Shere Hite’s Report, even the most daring sexologists refused to listen to what women desired and hated in sex.

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 pu...


How we meet the future
How we meet the future episode artwork
08/10/2026

If we couldn’t make generalisations, we would be paralysed by the world’s complexity. Does that ever excuse stereotyping?.

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 essa...


Sasquatch science
Sasquatch science episode artwork
08/07/2026

The hunt for Bigfoot sounds like the opposite of good science, but those pursuing the creature are often serious empiricists.

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...


Culture clash
Culture clash episode artwork
08/06/2026

C P Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’ lecture provoked a savage response from fellow critic F R Leavis. What was at the heart of it all?.

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 nonp...


Towards an AI for Africa
Towards an AI for Africa episode artwork
08/04/2026

Western-developed AI rides roughshod over Ubuntu values of connection and community that animate African ethical life.

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 essays and videos that...


Thucydides the perspicacious
Thucydides the perspicacious episode artwork
08/03/2026

Far from thinking that ‘might makes right’, the great historian’s analysis of war identifies a vice common to all states.

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 publis...


Resist the technocrats
Resist the technocrats episode artwork
07/31/2026

Through international organisations, they wield power under the pretence of simply following the experts. Don’t believe them.

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 essays and vi...


How art invented humanity
How art invented humanity episode artwork
07/30/2026

When early humans first painted cave walls, they began to find out who they really were: our minds emerged from our images.

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...


The light narrows
The light narrows episode artwork
07/28/2026

My father’s death sent me to the jiu-jitsu mat. Then came defeat, low testosterone and the lure of a chemical cheat code.

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 di...


The taming of Black thought
The taming of Black thought episode artwork
07/27/2026

Black philosophers now feature on Western curricula, but the European tradition diminishes their radicalism into reassurance.

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 essays and videos that...


Signal then storm
Signal then storm episode artwork
07/24/2026

Allan Basbaum has spent 50 years searching the nervous system for the places where pain begins – and where it can be stopped.

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 pu...


The savage bites back
The savage bites back episode artwork
07/23/2026

Rooted in Brazilian modernism, anthropophagy devours and transforms culture, subverting colonial fears of cannibalism.

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 essays and videos that seek to...