Three adults with babies seated in a waiting room, smiling and interacting, with colourful posters on the wall.

We’re learning just how early in life empathy starts to move us

What contagious crying, comforting hugs and other cute behaviour in infants tells us about the roots of emotional connection

by Zanna Clay & Carlo Vreden

A cyclist on a yellow bike passing a closed fast food shop with a yellow and maroon facade and a one-way sign.

A detour home, through Portuguese

Losing my mother tongue was painful and humiliating. Could learning a new language help me heal?

by Frances Nguyen

A cremation ceremony at night on a riverbank, surrounded by fires, people and historical buildings.

They keep the Hindu funeral pyres burning, but at what cost?

For the men and boys of the Dom community in Varanasi, sacred cremations demand a lifetime of exhausting, dangerous labour

by Radhika Iyengar

A person using a Minibank ATM next to a Celine advert with an electric scooter parked nearby.

Why we choose to avoid information that’s right in front of us

by Jeremy L Foust

Medieval manuscript illustration of three figures talking: a man, a knight with a shield and a shovel-bearer, set in an ornate border.

How the nature of friendship has changed through the centuries

by Bénedicte Sère

Guides

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A person with long blonde hair in a beanie and coat, facing away from the camera, wearing a brown backpack in a blurred busy street.

How to anticipate and cope with mania

If you have bipolar disorder, you can learn to play an active role in managing your symptoms and live a fulfilling life

by Kim Pape & Sheri Johnson

A man with crossed arms and a serious expression wearing an apron stands in the doorway of a restaurant with checkered curtains and menu on display.

What to do when someone goes on the defensive

Our natural impulses often make matters worse. Here’s an approach that works, grounded in conflict resolution and psychology

by Adar Cohen & Nick Wignall

Life stories

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A person with a backpack hiking through a dense forest towards a rocky riverbank.

In the hole

A metaphor for depression became a catalyst, and I started to reinvent my approach to suffering

by Tasha Eichenseher

Editor’s picks

Vintage poster art with a stylised red figure holding a wine bottle and glass; text reads “Le Vin Parfait” on a teal background.

How to choose a bottle of wine

Bite into a strawberry, talk to a wine geek, pore over a map: forget wine snobbery and develop your own distinctive taste

by Natasha Hughes

Two scuba divers swimming underwater with sunlight filtering through the surface.

Exposure

Wracked with unknown fear, I’d never been able to sleep through the night. Then I went scuba diving

by Lindsay Lee Wallace

Latest videos

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Photo of a person holding a tortoise above a container with leaves against a tiled wall.
Psyche Exclusive

High in the Alps, Kathleen takes extraordinary steps to keep a pet safe through the winter

Directed by G Anthony Svatek

Two people lying on a snowy road in winter clothing with a forested landscape in the background.
GRIEF

Frøydis faces an impossible problem – how to grieve a father she hated and loved

Abstract illustration of a head with an open mind in blue and gold tones with blurred background.

The (surprisingly new) science of aphantasia – the inability to ‘see’ mental imagery

Photo of a hiker with a backpack and two dogs on a mountain peak at sunset, above the cloudline and overlooking a valley.
Psyche Exclusive

A former office worker charts his own path, herding sheep high into the Pyrenees

Illustration of a scoreboard at Barclays Center showing a man with raised arms, surrounded by an arena.

A dancing NBA superfan on the joy of spaces that let us go wild and get weird

Notes to self

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A group of office workers turned to face a colleague, clapping and smiling, in a modern meeting room setting.

Are you saying ‘thank you’ too effusively?

by Christian Jarrett

People dancing at an outdoor festival, colourful tents in background, clear blue sky overhead.
MUSIC

The beats that make us want to move

by Matt Huston

Popular

A man with crossed arms and a serious expression wearing an apron stands in the doorway of a restaurant with checkered curtains and menu on display.

What to do when someone goes on the defensive

Our natural impulses often make matters worse. Here’s an approach that works, grounded in conflict resolution and psychology

by Adar Cohen & Nick Wignall

People on a boat deck taking a selfie against a city skyline with clear blue sky, towels and sun hats visible.

Plato warned that some pleasures separate us from reality

The contemporary obsession with feeling good might mean we’re losing sight of what makes life genuinely meaningful

by Derek van Zoonen

A group of people outdoors looking serious, with one woman wiping her eyes in the centre. Trees and buildings in background.

The hidden calculations that determine whether you will cry

We think of tears as an overflow of emotion, but an evolutionary lens shows they’re a rational form of social signalling

by Daniel Sznycer & Debra Lieberman

A person using a Minibank ATM next to a Celine advert with an electric scooter parked nearby.

Why we choose to avoid information that’s right in front of us

Knowing the reasons people opt not to know – and the consequences of that choice – could help us see when it’s problematic

by Jeremy L Foust

Medieval manuscript illustration of three figures talking: a man, a knight with a shield and a shovel-bearer, set in an ornate border.

How the nature of friendship has changed through the centuries

The metamorphosis of this special bond from feudal to modern times reveals much about the aspirations of different societies

by Bénedicte Sère

Photo of a waiting room with focus on a black hat. A woman reads papers and another looks at her phone in the background.

How to chat with almost anyone

It can be awkward at first, but people are more open to conversation than you think – and it could lead to deeper connection

by Michael Yeomans

Photo of a person carrying a child with blue star shorts on their back, walking on a path lined with green plants.

A sister who wasn’t ours

We were her foster family for two and a half years. We had no claim to her, but she became part of us

by Kelsey Day

Black and white photo of two elderly women sitting on a wooden bench in a chapel with heads bowed, one has a handbag beside her.

Find meditation really boring? You’re not the only one

Other practices like sermons, yoga and retreats can also trigger ‘spiritual boredom’. Here’s why it’s normal and even useful

by Thomas Goetz

Explore: Sex and sexuality

Illustration of a simple cartoon figure with a bob haircut wearing a green crop top and red skirt on a light background.

Growing pains, bras, size, sex – a group of women get candid about all things boobs

A film by Subarna Dash and Vidushi Gupta

Painting of a seated man looking at a small dog, which has its paw on his knee in a room with a decorated door.

How the law soothed broken hearts in 19th-century America

by Jinal Dadiya

Illustration of two female anthropomorphic bears in a romantic embrace sitting on a window sill, with trees in the background and a red bird beside them.

Sweet illustrations capture women’s stories of first-time queer attraction

A film by Diane Obomsawin

Photo of a casino scene with people, poker chips on a table, and a man lighting a cigar. A woman in a blue top smiles.

The ways Sugar Babies navigate two roles: lover and employee

by Brynn Valentine

A Chinese middle-aged woman tending plants on a rooftop garden with residential buildings and a blue sky in the background.

Shuli’s mother has known he was gay for years. Can they finally talk about it?

A film by Shuli Huang

Medieval painting of three musicians playing instruments, seated under arches with colourful robes and curly hair.
MUSIC

Courtly love songs are a window into medieval sex lives

by Elizabeth Eva Leach

Abstract blue and white line drawing of multiple nude female figures, seen from various angles, arranged in a pattern.

A minotaur shifts shapes and sexes in this ferociously original animation

A film by Chaerin Im