Aeon Magazine
Science & Ideas
About
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 share knowledge and insight with everyone, everywhere. Discover essays and videos at Aeon.co. Aeon essays are only ever written and edited by human experts. We use AI for audio narration only.
Episodes
- Children are apprentices
This episode explores how children learn essential emotional and practical skills for adulthood through guided experiences with discomfort and stress. It is a narrated essay from Aeon Magazine.
- The eye in your pocket
This episode explores the function of digital devices in tracking user movement. It is a narrated essay presented by Aeon magazine.
- The origins of Indians
This episode from Aeon Magazine explores the origins of Indians. It discusses how genetic studies and historical arguments support ancient India as a place of migration and mixture.
- Embrace the edge!
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses the idea that brilliance and kindness, like nature, thrive away from the comfortable center. It explores profound ideas through narrated essays from leading thinkers.
- Reality emerges
This Aeon Magazine episode explores the concept of reality and the fundamental constituents of the Universe, questioning if particles are truly fundamental. It features an essay that discusses big questions in philosophy, science, psycholo…
- To be is to participate
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses Lucien Lévy-Bruhl's idea that a person is defined by their interactions with others, emphasizing "we before I." It explores profound concepts through a narrated Aeon essay.
- The Ethiopian running secret
This Aeon Magazine episode investigates the Ethiopian running secret. It contrasts highly personalized, data-driven training with the training methods that produce marathon winners.
- Hunting ‘Man the Hunter’
This episode discusses the theory of "Man the Hunter" and its recurring presence in the study of human origins. It aims to disentangle the theory's different meanings to provide clarity.
- The Black executioner
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses how medieval art portrayed bodies in relation to politics and hierarchy. It explores how these artistic depictions influenced the perception of social roles.
- White-collar sweatshops
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses how professional workplaces evolved into demanding environments. It explores profound and relevant ideas through essays that provide insight into ourselves and the world.
- Does reading do us any good?
This episode from Aeon Magazine explores the value of reading and literature. It discusses how literature can aid in the search for truth. The content is presented through a narrated essay.
- No nature without fear
This Aeon Magazine episode discusses Aldo Leopold's idea relating the absence of fear of nature to its potential destruction. The podcast features a narrated essay from Aeon, a non-profit digital magazine.
- Justice is geometric
This episode from Aeon Magazine is titled "Justice is geometric." It explores the concepts of African fractal systems and their emphasis on circulation, reciprocity, and return, contrasting them with the extraction models of centralized so…
- Fuel for thought
This episode of Aeon Magazine, titled "Fuel for thought," explores the bioenergetic foundations of the brain. It features a narrated essay that delves into profound ideas from various experts.
- The invention of the soul
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses the idea that humans invented the soul through language, transforming sentience into something sacred. It features a narrated essay exploring this concept.
- Join the dots
This episode from Aeon Magazine explores astronomers' discoveries regarding the origins of our universe, focusing on anomalous observations. It delves into profound ideas through narrated essays concerning philosophy, science, psychology,…
- You’ve lived this life before
This episode of Aeon Magazine explores Nietzsche's concept of eternal recurrence. It discusses how this idea suggests that life must be lived in a particular way, according to leading thinkers on philosophy.
- The sterilisation-seekers
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses the history of eugenics, focusing on the unexpected perspectives of some disabled people who sought sterilization. It explores complex ideas and challenging histories.
- Patterns without desires
This Aeon Magazine episode discusses whether AI could supplant human art experts in the museum and auction world. It explores the significance of art experts and the potential impact of AI on their role.
- Living without my self
This episode of Aeon Magazine explores the concept of "no-self existence" in relation to Robert Musil. The episode features a narrated essay discussing this topic.
- The antibiotic trap
This Aeon Magazine episode discusses how easy access to drugs in India has accelerated the antimicrobial resistance crisis. It explores the global implications of this issue, as presented in an narrated essay.
- Playing in flatland
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses anyons, a theoretical class of particles that physicists believe can only exist in two dimensions.
- When trauma becomes trope
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses the ethical challenges and complexities of humanitarian journalism and its role in documenting human suffering. It examines the potential for trauma to become a trope within this field.
- The house is a work of art
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses the life and work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, focusing on his architectural philosophy and personal struggles. It is part of a series exploring profound and relevant ideas through narrated ess…
- Banking beyond the law
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses a centuries-old network of secret codes and shadowy brokers that operates outside state-controlled financial systems. The podcast explores profound and relevant ideas through narrated essays from lea…
- The hypercurious mind
This episode from Aeon Magazine explores ADHD not as a dysfunction, but as an impulsive motivational drive for novel information. It features a narrated essay that delves into expert concepts and stories to provoke and enrich understanding…
- Medieval moons
Aeon Magazine discusses medieval views of the Moon. Some saw it as representing creation and the divine, while others viewed it as divine itself.
- Sleep is delicious
This episode from Aeon Magazine explores the idea that reducing sleep to an efficient minimum is flawed. It features a narrated essay discussing this concept.
- Catastrophe markets
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses the moral and social costs associated with catastrophe markets in the United States. It explores the implications of betting on natural disasters like wildfires, floods, and storms.
- One China, one world
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses China's national unity and international harmony. It explores whether this stance is an imperial posture.
- The clock in our genes
This episode discusses biologist Victoria Foe's discovery of a timing device within "junk" DNA. This discovery could offer insights into the evolution of complex life.
- An African philosophy
This episode from Aeon Magazine explores Lansana Keita's rejection of Eurocentric ideas, tracing the philosophical tradition back to African Kemet or ancient Egypt. Aeon audio features narrated essays that delve into profound and relevant…
- Desert survivors
This episode of Aeon Magazine explores the impact of environmental scarcity on elephant families, known for their matriarchal and caring social structures. The podcast features a narrated essay discussing concepts and stories that aim to p…
- Cosmic imposters
This episode of Aeon Magazine, "Cosmic Imposters," discusses the idea of black holes potentially hiding something beyond their horizons. It features a narrated essay exploring profound and relevant ideas in science.
- Bitch: a history
This episode explores the history of the word "bitch," tracing its evolution from noun to verb and its application across genders. It examines how the word's meaning and usage have changed over time.
- Geist in the machine
This episode from Aeon Magazine, titled "Geist in the machine," explores the possibility of building artificial souls. It re-examines the 18th-century conflict between mechanism and romanticism in this context.
- Abandoning ourselves
This episode of Aeon Magazine explores the concept of regret related to life choices. It discusses how regret is inherent in choosing one path over others and emphasizes the significance of the future one creates.
- Unbounded
This Aeon Magazine episode discusses Emmy Noether's mathematics from the early 20th century. Aeon audio explores profound ideas through narrated essays by leading thinkers.
- From cells to selves
This episode of Aeon Magazine explores the relationship between the body, the immune system, and the development of thought. It features a narrated essay discussing profound ideas from philosophy, science, and psychology.
- A wondrous brew
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses the global proliferation of ayahuasca, contrasting its use by corporate managers in China with shamans in Peru. The podcast explores profound ideas through narrated essays by leading thinkers on vari…
- A duty to oneself
This episode of Aeon Magazine explores African philosophical values of harmony and vitality. It discusses how these values can inform our understanding of our duties to ourselves.
- Reversing extinction
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses how technologies for preserving and reviving organisms are redefining the meaning of life, death, and extinction. It features a narrated essay from the magazine.
- Does culture make emotion?
This episode of Aeon Magazine explores the link between culture and emotion, referencing Franz Boas. It discusses whether emotions originate within individuals or from the surrounding culture.
- Nothing alive is alien to me
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses the philosophical concept of a moral community, drawing on the ideas of the Greek philosopher Empedocles, who believed that all life belongs to this community. The episode explores profound ideas t…
- Not in our name
This episode of Aeon Magazine discusses the decision to go to war without public consent, viewing it as a flaw in democracy. It explores profound ideas through narrated essays from leading thinkers.
- Savage care
This episode from Aeon Magazine features a narrated essay titled "Savage care," which explores the ethical principles encountered by doctors in hospital settings. The podcast aims to illuminate profound ideas and big questions about life.
- On her own terms
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses Doris Lessing's novel "The Golden Notebook." It explores the book's themes as a dazzling experiment in living as a woman.
- The insurance catastrophe
This episode from Aeon Magazine discusses the global issue of regions becoming uninsurable and the resulting economic uncertainty. It explores potential solutions to this problem.
- Who is Walter Mignolo?
This Aeon Magazine episode discusses Walter Mignolo, a prominent figure in decolonial theory. The episode explores his analysis of European colonial issues.
- Our phosphorescent world
This episode discusses the life-giving element phosphorus and its disrupted ancient cycle. Aeon audio explores profound ideas through narrated essays.