The neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene wants to bring four decades of findings on how the brain learns into the classroom. But evidence alone can’t overcome the politics in education

When a relationship provokes both strong positive and negative feelings in you, it can take a toll – here’s what’s going on

We all have parts of ourselves others know but we don’t. Gain greater self-awareness by seeing yourself from the outside in

Etymology unravels the mysteries of language and the hidden webs that link people across the world. Here’s how to dive in

Set aside the philosophical debates and act as if there is no free will. It leads to less blaming and better questions

A mediation on what we can discover about ourselves and the world if we truly wander aimlessly, free from distractions

After a painful breakup, I found myself agreeing to perform in a surreal play, dressed in my pyjamas

For Hegel, your thoughts aren’t trapped in a cerebral box: they act on the world, making meaning and expressing your freedom

Handwritten letters seem like a remnant of pre-online life, but they connect us to ourselves and each other like nothing else

In Studs Terkel’s oral history ‘Working’, some of the people happiest with their work have something in common

After a painful breakup, I found myself agreeing to perform in a surreal play, dressed in my pyjamas

It’s often assumed people lose their minds in a crowd. Research on riots, festivals and sports tells a more uplifting story

Bringing to life her charming cast of vintage figurines, an Argentinian artist finds humour and sorrow in absurdity

For Hegel, your thoughts aren’t trapped in a cerebral box: they act on the world, making meaning and expressing your freedom

That moment of sweet immersion in the task at hand: that’s flow. With some strategy, you can experience it more often

There’s more to virtue than how we treat other individuals. ‘Structure-facing virtues’ tie the personal to the big picture

When I took up indoor climbing, I didn’t anticipate the special appeal it held for someone with ADHD

There’s more to virtue than how we treat other individuals. ‘Structure-facing virtues’ tie the personal to the big picture

That moment of sweet immersion in the task at hand: that’s flow. With some strategy, you can experience it more often

As a security guard and childbirth doula, Teddy challenges stereotypes of masculinity with knowledge, calm and care

An animal rights group offered a rare job opportunity. How hard could it be to play along?

Long stranded between ‘low’ and ‘high’ art, to rescue the middlebrow from cultural condemnation, we must first ask what it is

Far from being a waste of time, the regrets that haunt you reveal more about who you are than your successes ever could

The chaotic and joyful musical moment in 1978 when two punk bands played a gig at a psychiatric hospital in California

Learning about the Korean concept of ‘jeong’ helped me understand the importance of my not-quite-friends at the gym

‘All this stuff is my trauma’: one woman’s experience of the much misunderstood and stigmatised hoarding disorder

For 19 years, the NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony mastered the version of himself the world demanded. Retired from basketball, he confronts a harder question: who is he now?

Far from being a waste of time, the regrets that haunt you reveal more about who you are than your successes ever could

The chaotic and joyful musical moment in 1978 when two punk bands played a gig at a psychiatric hospital in California

Diagnoses of muscle dysmorphia or ‘bigorexia’ are rising. A psychoanalytic lens offers an explanation – and a healthier path

Close the intention-action gap and live the way you want, using insights from the cognitive neuroscience of habits

A filmmaker turns an exchange with his grandfather about his memories of the Second World War into an affecting animation

As a girl, I felt I should change my voice. Anne Carson’s writing on the ancient Greeks shows how old that pressure is

Your anxiety may never fully recede. Here’s five research-backed strategies to help you live a life bigger than your fear

Chronic exposure to the world’s horror has a mental cost. Being an effective witness requires a more sustainable approach

Close the intention-action gap and live the way you want, using insights from the cognitive neuroscience of habits

A filmmaker turns an exchange with his grandfather about his memories of the Second World War into an affecting animation

Psychedelics and neuroscience seem to support his ideas about ancestral dreams and fears – but with an evolutionary twist

I wanted to outrun my thoughts. But in the stillness of prison, I had no choice but to face myself

No rent, no mortgage: rejecting easy comfort, a revolutionary homebuilder has found his own version of a successful life

As a child, you knew the thrill of conjuring with a pencil. Reclaim that pleasure with these activities (no talent needed)

Psychedelics and neuroscience seem to support his ideas about ancestral dreams and fears – but with an evolutionary twist

No rent, no mortgage: rejecting easy comfort, a revolutionary homebuilder has found his own version of a successful life

In my therapy room, I’ve seen the costs of the controlling impulse. Winnicott and Rogers show us healthier alternatives

As a child, you knew the thrill of conjuring with a pencil. Reclaim that pleasure with these activities (no talent needed)

At a crossroads in life? No matter how much you deliberate, one unknowable remains: the person you will be on the other side

Reminiscing with her brother’s bandmates, a filmmaker pieces together a life of music, friendship, dreams and addiction

A mislabelled concerto and other errors and tricks show that reputation affects how art is perceived, sometimes radically