Despite climate, war and Covid, is everything actually … getting better?
The psychologist Steven Pinker has long believed we should be more optimistic – and even current crises do not dissuade him
November 2021
Can history teach us anything about the future of war – and peace?
A decade on from psychologist Steven Pinker’s declaration that violence is declining, historians show no sign of agreeing a truce
October 2021
The Audio Long Read
Pinker’s progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars – podcast
How the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker became one of the world’s most contentious thinkers
Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker review
Our powers of reason have undoubtedly made the world a better place. So why are we so in thrall to fake news?
Book of the day
Rationality by Steven Pinker review – it all stands to reason
The cognitive psychologist makes perfect sense in his defence of rational thinking and why our brains often lead us astray
September 2021
The long read
Pinker’s progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars
The long read: How the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker became one of the world’s most contentious thinkers
August 2021
Self and wellbeing
Can ‘smart thinking’ books really give you the edge?
Trust your gut, boost your memory, de-bias your decision making… can we train our brains to perform better?
May 2021
Observer TV reviews
The week in TV: The Violence Paradox; Blinded: Those Who Kill; Ian Wright: Home Truths and more
A reminder that we live in peaceful times; searing insights into domestic abuse from Ian Wright; and Johnny Vegas’s heart-warming love of an old school bus
July 2020
Rowling, Rushdie and Atwood warn against ‘intolerance’ in open letter
Harper’s letter asserts way to ‘defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion’, but critics accuse authors of censorious mentality
February 2020
Further reading
The best books about new beginnings
Uplifting titles from Tara Westover’s memoir Educated to Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City offer escape and inspiration
January 2019
Bill Gates says poverty is decreasing. He couldn’t be more wrong
Jason Hickel
An infographic endorsed by the Davos set presents coerced proletarianisation as a triumph, says the academic Jason Hickel
April 2018
Book of the day
Seven Types of Atheism by John Gray review – is every atheist an inverted believer?
An impressively erudite work, ranging from St Augustine to Joseph Conrad, embraces an atheism that finds enough mystery in the material world
March 2018
You can deny environmental calamity – until you check the facts
George Monbiot
Rosy worldviews that rely on avoiding inconvenient truths should always set alarm bells ringing, writes George Monbiot
Climate consensus - the 97%
Stop blaming ‘both sides’ for America’s climate failures
Dana Nuccitelli: The fault lies entirely with the GOP. Focus on fixing it, not laying blame where it doesn’t belong
Science Weekly
Cross Section: Steven Pinker – Science Weekly podcast
We ask Prof Steven Pinker whether today’s doom and gloom headlines are a sign we’re worse off than in centuries gone by, or if human wellbeing is at an all-time high
February 2018
Further reading
Steven Pinker recommends books to make you an optimist
There’s hope for the environment, human progress is dazzling – and the world, according to PG Wodehouse, is beautiful
Letters: inequality makes poverty even worse
Steven Pinker dismisses our unequal society too easily – the poorest are being left further behind than ever before
Book of the day
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker review – life is getting better
Steven Pinker: ‘The way to deal with pollution is not to rail against consumption’
‘Reason is non-negotiable’: Steven Pinker on the Enlightenment
