There are times when we shouldn’t be ashamed of public shaming
When our self-respect, status and social identity are threatened, we ought to defend ourselves and shame our wrongdoers
by James Edgar Lim
Relate
The bonds that tie us: family, friendships, love and community
What helps you feel better might depend on where you grew up
Research on the common strategies used to deal with emotions suggests their usefulness differs from culture to culture
by Mark Chen
Why we’re falling out of love with our AI confidants
Chatbots make us feel uniquely seen and heard, but then the ‘empathy gap’ kicks in and the relationship turns sour
by Joe Mullich
The hard art of comfort
Sick in a London hospital, I understood the Book of Job and his rage at all the miserable comforters
by Lisa Simone Kingstone
The cage
In a heterosexual breakup, the script is clean: loss, anger, distance. Ours refused that narrative
by Margie Sarsfield
Guides
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How to build team spirit
The glue, or spirit, that binds certain teams is not mystical – you can cultivate it by changing how you work together
by Leigh Thompson
How to talk to yourself
Self-talk is a proven way to boost motivation, think clearly and process your emotions. These tips will help you use it well
by Maryellen MacDonald
Popular
How to talk to yourself
Self-talk is a proven way to boost motivation, think clearly and process your emotions. These tips will help you use it well
by Maryellen MacDonald
Curious about a digital ‘detox’? Here’s what you should know
For many who are chronically connected, a break from tech sounds appealing. Research is uncovering when and how it helps
by Kostadin Kushlev
Dignity isn’t bestowed, it must be continually practised
Reckoning with the complex history of dignity reveals its fragility and what Hannah Arendt recognised as its conditionality
by Christa Teston
My chatbot therapist
Constant access, near-perfect memory, analytic reach – ChatGPT provides things a therapist never could
by Sabela Guravich
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
Why we’re falling out of love with our AI confidants
Chatbots make us feel uniquely seen and heard, but then the ‘empathy gap’ kicks in and the relationship turns sour
by Joe Mullich
Loafing around at Rikers
What making – and breaking – bread in jail taught me about work and friendship
by J V
Popular
View allHow to talk to yourself
Self-talk is a proven way to boost motivation, think clearly and process your emotions. These tips will help you use it well
by Maryellen MacDonald
Curious about a digital ‘detox’? Here’s what you should know
For many who are chronically connected, a break from tech sounds appealing. Research is uncovering when and how it helps
by Kostadin Kushlev
Dignity isn’t bestowed, it must be continually practised
Reckoning with the complex history of dignity reveals its fragility and what Hannah Arendt recognised as its conditionality
by Christa Teston
Notes to self
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Videos
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An unlikely chat transforms a father-daughter relationship
A film by Jeanne Paturle and Cécile Rousset
Why you lose your cool during arguments, and how to reclaim it
A modern ‘cave man’ on the business of living authentically
More than laissez-faire love – demystifying modern polyamory
Memories of home adopt surreal shapes in a Sudanese expat’s art
More than just a feeling, love can guide our moral compasses
‘Sonic branding’ and other ways food marketing keeps you hooked
‘Each of us has a song’
Burhan Sönmez, now the president of PEN International, was a rising human rights lawyer in Turkey. A brutal assault nearly killed him – and propelled him to a life in literature
by Kaya Genç
Thicker than blood
When polio left me unable to walk, my parents put me in a disability centre. There, I met Mommy
Sauda Bashir, as told to Kiprop Kimutai
Dignity isn’t bestowed, it must be continually practised
Reckoning with the complex history of dignity reveals its fragility and what Hannah Arendt recognised as its conditionality
by Christa Teston
My life as an alien
I know the cost of being misread – first as too Black, then as too white, and never as just myself
by Pamela Swanigan
Curious about a digital ‘detox’? Here’s what you should know
For many who are chronically connected, a break from tech sounds appealing. Research is uncovering when and how it helps
by Kostadin Kushlev
My chatbot therapist
Constant access, near-perfect memory, analytic reach – ChatGPT provides things a therapist never could
by Sabela Guravich
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
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
Loafing around at Rikers
What making – and breaking – bread in jail taught me about work and friendship
by J V
The kids forgotten by calls to ban phones
Campaigns calling for smartphone-free childhoods might be well meaning, but the choice is not so simple for all families
by Alice Gregory
The empathy lie
In medicine, empathy came easy. In friendship, it fell apart. An autism diagnosis helped me understand why
by Zoë Read
What comfort can images give us when someone we love is gone?
Directed by Natalie A Chao
The existential struggle between being a ‘we’ and an ‘us’
Sartre’s phenomenology reveals how a shift from subject to object (and back) is not merely a matter of grammar
by Tris Hedges
Fight like a mother
Doctors said my son would die. I wouldn’t believe them, raised millions of dollars and travelled the world for a cure
Amber Freed, as told to Lina Zeldovich
My cousin Anna
As a Korean adoptee, I’d never expected to meet a blood relative. Then a 23andMe email landed in my inbox
by Andrew Lee