Sam Haselby

Senior Editor, Aeon+Psyche

X (Formerly Twitter)

Sam is a historian of early America with a particular interest in religion and politics. He was a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows and has been a faculty member at the American University of Beirut, the American University in Cairo and at Columbia University in New York City. He was a Senior Executive Producer at Al Jazeera America and is the author of The Origins of American Religious Nationalism (paperback, 2016). @samhaselby

Edited by Sam Haselby

Photo of flight crew in blue uniforms waving in front of a parked aeroplane on a runway, with people in the background.
CIVIC LIFE

We’re losing trust in civic institutions – can we get it back?

Historically, trust in institutions freed us to do extraordinary things. They can be flawed, but we lose them at our peril

by Ros Taylor

Street scene in India with people, bullock carts and shops, showing a bustling atmosphere.
CIVIC LIFE

Tolerance isn’t just nice, it’s a civic virtue we all can build

At a time of rising intolerance, the century-old work of C E M Joad reminds us what tolerance really is and why we need it

by Kiran Kumbhar

A woman wearing a black gown and veil, and gold and turquoise jewellery raises her harms with eyes closed; musicians wearing headdresses play drums in the background in a dimly lit setting.
ANXIETY

What rituals from the past teach us about panic and anxiety

In the sensory and communal modes of healing that people have used throughout history, there is guidance for today

by Mariem El-Kady

A person crossing a busy city street holding a Louis Vuitton bag with other pedestrians in the background.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

How luxury brands engineer desire with behavioural economics

From scarcity to market architecture, luxury fashion is manipulating our tastes. But a vintage countermovement has begun

by Charlotte Wren

Sketch of a woman in historic attire with hands clasped, head bowed, drawn on gridded paper.
SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE

For the Puritans, embracing God’s will could get dangerous

The group at the heart of American origin stories had a complex relationship with despair – and a need to reckon with it

by Alexandra M Lord

Photo of cars covered in protective plastic inside a showroom with reflections of bare trees in the glass facade.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Asteroid economics: why we’re shopping our way through Armageddon

We must escape the psychological trap where grave warnings about existential threats trigger ever more destructive behaviour

by M I Krueger

Early 20th-century colour photo of a family sitting and standing outside a rustic building on a cobblestone street.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

The history of family offers a liberating view of custom and love

Chronicling the families of the past shows just how much family values, feelings and decision-making can morph over time

by Katie Barclay

Painting of a girl with flowing hair holding books, standing on a windy path under a grey sky.
MEMORY AND NOSTALGIA

Before it was ‘bittersweet’, nostalgia was seen as a parasite

Early modern ideas about nostalgia, infused with the elements of horror, invite us to think more deeply about human longing

by Jac Lewis