Our rigid eating habits date to the Industrial Revolution – it’s time to embrace culinary spontaneity

Forget dirty nappies. In Silicon Valley, there’s increasing chatter about virtual offspring

Technological interventions face huge financial or practical challenges. Why not embrace the Earth’s feedback loops?

We tend to think of intelligence like height – and imagine ourselves being overtaken. That misses the point

Leaders have thrown up walls and barriers throughout history – but their effects are unpredictable

Our minds evolved to minimise unpredictability. But if we learn to live with doubt, a world of opportunities opens up

New technologies of reproduction are plundering the art world – and getting away with it

As medieval sages understood, putting things off – done well – can open the doors to creativity and purpose

Well-intentioned laws designed to safeguard nature frequently have the opposite effect

It’s tempting to dismiss the proliferation of labels as a fad, but there’s more to this phenomenon than a simple culture-war reading allows

Monogamy may be held up as an ideal, but evolution has other ideas

Faced with economic coercion, Europe has trodden carefully. My experience tells me that’s not enough

From building resilience to boosting artistic creativity, there are unexpected benefits to being rebuffed

Allowing payments to organ donors would undoubtedly save lives. So what are the psychological – and political – impediments?

Big tech treats our attention like a resource to be mercilessly extracted. The fightback begins here

Forget puritanical self-discipline – the way to really make a new habit stick is to lace it with instant gratification