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Society Explained

Evergreen context on society, distilled into calm, readable pulses.

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The forces that shape how societies organize — norms, institutions, demographic shifts — are usually invisible until a news story forces them into view, and by then there's rarely space to explain the underlying dynamic. Briflio's Society hub covers those dynamics directly: the slower-moving structures behind faster-moving headlines, explained on their own terms.

Can people truly walk away from terrorism? Inside the slow work of rehabilitation

Walking away from terrorist offending is far more complicated than simply quitting a group or a cause.

The next frontier is not artificial intelligence, it’s artificial societies

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We need to stop worrying about intelligent machines and start building intelligent societies.

Medieval mental health

Medieval mental health

Saffron and ostrich liver were prescribed but so were exercise, gardens, animals, socialising, and music - by Katherine Harvey Read on Aeon.

The Chinese room

The Chinese room

Can we test for AI consciousness when we don’t understand our own? Getting into John Searle’s ‘Chinese room’ experiment - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Making revisions

Making revisions

Indigenous knowledge and art overwrite colonial cartography to correct the historical record in Central Australia - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Our eloquent hands

Our eloquent hands

Physicians reject palmistry as nonsense.

The planet is… up to something

The planet is… up to something

An astronaut’s image of Earth from the 2026 lunar flyby reveals not our profound smallness but our growing significance - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

United States Census Bureau headquarters building

A Census Does More Than Count People

A national census records population size, but governments also use it to understand where people live and basic characteristics such as age, household structure and housing. Those numbers influence decisions about schools, transport, health services, political representation and funding. Because census data becomes a planning baseline, missing groups can have consequences for years. Counting is therefore not a neutral administrative exercise. Who gets measured, how categories are defined and how accurately people are located can shape how public resources and political power are distributed.

Continental divide

Continental divide

A century ago, the Pan-American road promised a new era of fraternity between the two continents.

People waiting in an orderly queue

Why Social Norms Work Even When No Law Enforces Them

Many everyday rules are not written into law: how closely to stand to a stranger, when to queue, what counts as rude or which clothes fit a situation. Social norms work because people anticipate approval, embarrassment, exclusion or criticism from others. The enforcement is distributed through ordinary interaction rather than a formal authority. Norms can make coordination easier, but they can also preserve unfair behaviour when 'everyone does it' becomes its own justification. Society is partly governed by rules that exist because people expect other people to expect them.

Chart illustrating stages of demographic transition

Why Population Growth Often Slows as Countries Develop

In many countries, death rates fell before birth rates did. Better sanitation, food security and medicine reduced mortality while families initially continued having many children, causing population growth to accelerate. Later, fertility also tended to fall as child survival improved, education expanded and economic circumstances changed. This broad pattern is called the demographic transition. It explains why development can first speed population growth and then contribute to slower growth as family size changes. Prosperity does not produce one simple, permanent effect on population.

Visualisation of a social network with many connected people

Why Weak Social Ties Can Be Surprisingly Powerful

Close friends often know many of the same people and information you do. Weak ties—acquaintances, former colleagues, neighbours or people you see occasionally—can connect you to parts of society your closest circle does not reach. Sociologist Mark Granovetter showed why these looser links matter for opportunities such as jobs and information. The surprising lesson is that social strength does not come only from intimacy. A relationship can be emotionally light yet structurally valuable because it acts as a bridge between otherwise separate networks.

Two hands shaking as a symbol of trust and cooperation

Trust Lets Societies Do Things Contracts Cannot Cover

No contract can specify every possible future situation. Businesses, institutions and ordinary people therefore rely on trust: an expectation that others will broadly follow rules, keep promises or behave predictably even when nobody is watching. Higher trust can reduce the cost of checking, monitoring and enforcing every interaction. But trust is fragile because violations can spread beyond one relationship and damage confidence in a whole institution. Social cooperation depends partly on formal rules and partly on the belief that those rules will usually be respected without constant coercion.

Upend the trickle-down

Upend the trickle-down

Neoliberal policies have hollowed out democracies and spawned unchecked oligarchs.

Neuroqueering on the lawn

Neuroqueering on the lawn

Hans Christian Andersen’s tantrum in Charles Dickens’s garden was a case of ‘too muchness’, emotions bursting past respectability - by Siobhan Unwin & Kathryne Ford Read on Aeon.

More nothing now

More nothing now

We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly.

The Singapore strategies

The Singapore strategies

The nation’s water is secure, but its food is another matter: lessons from the city-state in efficiency versus self-sufficiency - by Peter A Coclanis Read on Aeon.

The fog of hunger

The fog of hunger

From childhood, women are trained to restrict their appetite.

Dolphins and other lovers

Dolphins and other lovers

The Andoque of the Amazon know what we have forgotten: the forest’s most beautiful creatures are also its most dangerous - by Eliran Arazi Read on Aeon.

A vocabulary for the future: touch

A vocabulary for the future: touch

A mesmerising blend of words and images make touch a doorway into the deepest questions in physics and philosophy - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

The conscience files

The conscience files

The sorrows and redemptions of visitors who mailed their ‘souvenirs’ back to Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

In praise of zealotry

In praise of zealotry

Early feminists like Mary Astell and Catharine Macaulay refused their male peers’ advice to remain polite in debate.

Worm munch matters

Worm munch matters

The lives that slither and scurry beneath the soil’s surface are vital for ecological health: now we can listen in to them - by Ella Browning Read on Aeon.

The World Famous Gopher Hole Museum

The World Famous Gopher Hole Museum

In this bittersweet portrait of a farm town in Canada, taxidermied gophers preserve a place that no longer exists - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

The neverending house

The neverending house

The self-built homes of Santiago are precarious and ever changing.

Mecca and the mall

Mecca and the mall

In a bid for spiritual renewal, I made a pilgrimage to Islam’s holy city.

Where the earth meets the sky

Where the earth meets the sky

After half a century in the making, an observatory in New Mexico lets viewers peer 13,000 years into the future and the past - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Bouncy brothers

Bouncy brothers

Two brothers struggle to keep a bouncy house business afloat in this nuanced portrait of family and the pursuit of success - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

A second sexual revolution

A second sexual revolution

Until Shere Hite’s Report, even the most daring sexologists refused to listen to what women desired and hated in sex - by Rosa Campbell Read on Aeon.

How we meet the future

How we meet the future

If we couldn’t make generalisations, we would be paralysed by the world’s complexity.

Khosheutovsky khurul

Khosheutovsky khurul

The oldest Buddhist temple in Europe is an architectural anomaly, built in memory of the Kalmyk regiment that fought Napoleon - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Sasquatch science

Sasquatch science

The hunt for Bigfoot sounds like the opposite of good science, but those pursuing the creature are often serious empiricists - by Andrew Bartlett & Jamie Lewis Read on Aeon.

Culture clash

Culture clash

C P Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’ lecture provoked a savage response from fellow critic F R Leavis.

The great arc

The great arc

A striking meditation on inequality via the bold sculptures that sit amongst skyscrapers in Paris’s business district - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

The last ice age

The last ice age

Retracing his grandparents’ journey to Iceland’s Vatnajökull glacier, a writer draws on storytelling to grasp climate change - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Towards an AI for Africa

Towards an AI for Africa

Western-developed AI rides roughshod over Ubuntu values of connection and community that animate African ethical life - by Fainos Mangena Read on Aeon.

Thucydides the perspicacious

Thucydides the perspicacious

Far from thinking that ‘might makes right’, the great historian’s analysis of war identifies a vice common to all states - by David Polansky & Daniel Schillinger Read on Aeon.

Ani Liu: eye heart womb

Ani Liu: eye heart womb

A scientist, artist and mother, Ani Liu contemplates how power and control shape the body in her taboo-breaking artworks - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Resist the technocrats

Resist the technocrats

Through international organisations, they wield power under the pretence of simply following the experts.

How art invented humanity

How art invented humanity

When early humans first painted cave walls, they began to find out who they really were: our minds emerged from our images - by J F Martel Read on Aeon.

Mud below, sun above

Mud below, sun above

Meet Bể, part of Vietnam’s vital but overlooked network of recyclers – a workforce predominantly made up of elderly women - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

How do teens living with disabilities in Ghana view their future? We asked them to show us

Ghanaian adolescents with disabilities often face hostile experiences that contribute to negative self-perceptions.

How to spot pseudoscience

How to spot pseudoscience

We are living in a golden age of pseudoscience.

The light narrows

The light narrows

My father’s death sent me to the jiu-jitsu mat.

The taming of Black thought

The taming of Black thought

Black philosophers now feature on Western curricula, but the European tradition diminishes their radicalism into reassurance - by Takeshi Morisato Read on Aeon.

In search of the northern cassowary

In search of the northern cassowary

Join the search for the elusive cassowary, a big bird that plays an outsized role in maintaining its rainforest home - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Signal then storm

Signal then storm

Allan Basbaum has spent 50 years searching the nervous system for the places where pain begins – and where it can be stopped - by Stephani Sutherland Read on Aeon.

The savage bites back

The savage bites back

Rooted in Brazilian modernism, anthropophagy devours and transforms culture, subverting colonial fears of cannibalism - by Sofía Cándano Read on Aeon.

All the Queens houses

All the Queens houses

To the trained eye, the personalised homes of Queens, NYC, evoke everything from a Venetian streetscape to a Chinese temple - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Can cells think?

Can cells think?

Inside the lab of a biologist who is seeking to understand intelligence by focusing on problem-solving, not neurons - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

The people’s atheist

The people’s atheist

Jean Meslier, a rural French priest, argued that religion is designed to produce subjects who will automatically obey - by Nidal Taibi Read on Aeon.

Beyond Greece and Rome

Beyond Greece and Rome

A dramatic shift in perspective is producing a much bigger, broader and more exciting view of ‘the ancient world’ - by Carlos Noreña Read on Aeon.

The Skinner revolution

The Skinner revolution

A 1979 doc examining the life and ideas of B F Skinner, with a focus on his radical, controversial behaviour experiments - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Critical thinking has become an AI-era buzzword. But what does it actually mean, and how do we teach it?

Critical thinking is touted as the educational counterpoint to AI and algorithms, but our definitions of it need an update.

Transit of wonder

Transit of wonder

Every 122 years, Venus crosses the Sun as a black and fleeting teardrop, kindling the awe of all those who dare to know - by Ananya Palivela Read on Aeon.

Loitering towards war

Loitering towards war

While Vienna’s coffeehouses bred modernism, in Belgrade’s kafanas grew conspiracy and rage.

What remains

What remains

In an ingenious restoration project, the humble oyster shell is transformed into a powerful tool to halt coastal erosion - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

The diffusion pilot

The diffusion pilot

What does it mean to make art in the age of inexhaustible AIs? An animator ponders his purpose and reclaims some control - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

The looting of science fiction

The looting of science fiction

Tech titans claim the genre inspired them.

Unmothered

Unmothered

We are each a living story, written with those who raised us.

Patricia Evangelista on journalism

Patricia Evangelista on journalism

The ‘worst’ and ‘best possible’ job at once: what it’s like to dedicate your life to documenting crimes against humanity - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Pittsburgh’s new romance bookstores sell more than happily-ever-afters

Two romance bookstores opened in Lawrenceville in early 2026.

Lore of the rings

Lore of the rings

Trees contain an archive – tales of planetary shifts, cosmic events, historical pivots – that we’re only just unlocking - by Valerie Trouet Read on Aeon.

How to offset your brain

How to offset your brain

From confirmation bias to loss aversion, everyone suffers from cognitive biases.

Africa’s cultural landmarks: rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia

Africa’s cultural landmarks: rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia

Most buildings rise from the bottom up, stone by stone.

Sangre violenta / sangre violeta

Sangre violenta / sangre violeta

Confronted with the horrifying reality of gendered violence, radically different people unite in resistance and protest - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

‘The emperor is far away’

‘The emperor is far away’

Ming Dynasty China left us copious texts, but these veil the lives of the vast majority of its people from our view - by Craig Clunas Read on Aeon.

Skill nostalgia

Skill nostalgia

Is all the beekeeping, baking and leatherwork just escapist fantasy or the start of a radically human approach to work? - by Joshua Habgood-Coote Read on Aeon.

Begone dull care

Begone dull care

Let this exuberant melding of jazz and animation from 1949 blur your senses as abstract visuals interpret the music - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Abyss

Abyss

The testimonies of Ukraine’s war widows reveal the mortal risk of love and the possibility of dying while alive: a black pain - by Julie Reshe Read on Aeon.

The memories of others

The memories of others

How a Japanese war photographer became one of the most insightful chroniclers of the Troubles in Northern Ireland - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

How public celebrations quietly remake what it means to be American

From a synagogue’s 5K to Appalachia’s Hillbilly Days, shared celebrations pull strangers together.

Some victim-survivors take their own lives. We need to better understand how suicide and family violence are linked

New research points to ways systems could be improved so we have a better idea of how domestic violence is affecting suicides.

Hustle, muscle and grift: how the manosphere has grown into a money-making machine

No longer relegated to an obscure corner of the internet, manfluencers have found ways to expand their audiences and exploit them for profit.

The Australian media is more concentrated than ever. Here are the 3 moments that got us here

With news of a proposed merger between Seven West and Southern Cross, media laws are back in the spotlight, and so too are the glaring holes in the regulations.

Urbanization

Urbanization is the process by which human settlements are formed and become larger as more people live, recreate and work in cities and towns.

Collective action

Collective action

Collective action refers to action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective.

Noguchi’s New York animations

Noguchi’s New York animations

Hand-painted animations bring to life Isamu Noguchi’s ideas for playgrounds that could integrate art with everyday life - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Reset: Hat

Reset: Hat

This portrait of a life reimagined is a meditation on identity, happiness and the balance between freedom and conformity - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Who are the fire-tamers?

Who are the fire-tamers?

From remote farmhouses to oncology clinics, a secret world of French healers works in parallel with conventional medicine - by Susanna Crossman Read on Aeon.

Public good

In economics, a public good is a commodity, product or service that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous and which is typically provided by a government and paid for through taxation.

Network effect

In economics, a network effect is the phenomenon by which the value or utility a user derives from a good or service depends on the number of users of compatible products.

Karl Hess: toward liberty

Karl Hess: toward liberty

‘Society, in fact, is neighbourhoods’ – how Karl Hess transformed from a Republican speechwriter into a radical welder - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Fewer friends, more time stress: the essential charts from this year’s HILDA survey

The survey examines how the lives of Australians have changed over the past 20 years.

The violence specialists

The violence specialists

Every society depends on violence workers, but what makes young men take a job that risks their lives and harms others? - by Raúl Zepeda Gil Read on Aeon.

Ghanaian celebrities are dealing with mental illness stigma behind closed doors – why speaking up matters

Celebrity stories show that prayer plays a central role in how celebrities and Ghanaians cope with mental illness.

Neanderthal 1

Neanderthal 1

The 16 bones that would rewrite history – on the site in Germany where we began to understand Neanderthals, and ourselves - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Dangerous, overpriced, crammed full: poor housing for seasonal workers revealed

Seasonal workers are often considered to be expendable, cheap labour.

A historic court victory has upheld transgender rights in Australia. A legal academic explains why

The landmark case, known as Tickle v Giggle, has been going for years.

Words, words, words

Words, words, words

Strong resistance to AI among writers is understandable.

Demographic transition

Demographic transition

Demographic transition is a phenomenon and theory in the social sciences referring to the historical shift from high to low rates of birth and death, as societies attain several attributes: more technology, education, and economic development.

Illegible benefits

Illegible benefits

The costs of transformative innovations are immediately clear: it’s the longterm gains that are hardest to understand - by Carlo Cordasco Read on Aeon.

From violence to sexism, the manosphere is doing real-world harm

Normalising violence, worsening body image and sexist attitudes are among the manosphere beliefs that are bleeding into relationships and workplaces.

From the manosphere to tradwives - why are young women embracing traditional gender roles?

New analysis of young Australians in 2010 and again in 2024 show women have become more supportive of stereotypical gender roles.

NSW Police lost a huge strip search lawsuit. It has national implications

Police across the country have been put on notice after the lead plaintiff in a class action has been awarded $93,000, with thousands more pay outs likely.

No one is self-made

No one is self-made

The idea that success is deserved has great traction in the world.

The measure of flourishing

The measure of flourishing

Human prosperity depends on nature, but no global metric has captured this with precision.

And Granny would dance

And Granny would dance

Woven from memories of her childhood in Iran, an animator recalls her Granny’s story of loss, love and friendship - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Four victims, no remorse: Erin Patterson given a life sentence for mushroom murders

One of the most high-profile court cases in Australian history has ended in the maximum sentence.

Female philosophers: Héloïse

Female philosophers: Héloïse

Morality is rooted in love, not institutions: the enduring impact of Héloïse’s 12th-century romance with Abelard - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Timelapse of the Universe

Timelapse of the Universe

When 13 billion years of the cosmos get condensed into 10 epic minutes, when in the timelapse do you think humans appear? - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

Nudge theory was all about taking responsibility – but it allowed big business to look the other way

Not all problems are caused by personal choices.

The anguish of choice

The anguish of choice

In the shattered aftermath of war, Sartre delivered a formidable lecture on freedom and meaning.

Social contract

Social contract

In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is an idea, theory, or model that usually, although not always, concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual.

Our neighbors, the peacocks

Our neighbors, the peacocks

A portrait of the pristine suburb of Arcadia, where hundreds of feral peacocks are embraced by some, despised by others - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon.

It takes a village to raise a child, but not everybody gets the support

New research into the communities of support for Australian families show the benefits of social connection – but some are missing out.

Just 6% of mass murders are by women. Here’s how, when and why they kill

Erin Patterson, who received a life sentence for murdering three people, is one of just a handful of female killers.

How Denver’s Northeast Park Hill community reduced youth violence by 75%

A neighborhood coalition identified risk factors for youth violence and prevention strategies.

Paris grapples with the remembrance of terrorist attacks, from 1974 to November 13, 2015

Of the nearly 150 attacks that have taken place in Paris since 1974, only a few have left a mark on its ‘urban memory’.

Disability and access to justice in four African countries: strong laws, weak in practice

Structural barriers such as inaccessible infrastructure and lack of transport options affect South Africa’s reputation as a disability-friendly country.

Therapy for billionaires

Therapy for billionaires

As my grandfather’s money taught, wealth can be a poison.

What is this rock?

What is this rock?

Not natural, not quite unnatural, the strange new rocks of the Anthropocene stretch the boundaries of geology - by John MacDonald Read on Aeon.

NSW is ditching good character references in sentencing. Will the rest of the country follow?

Convicted criminals won’t be able to use references from family and friends to get more lenient sentences in NSW, but more widespread change could be hard.

The first Australian war crimes case in 30 years is going to trial. It raises big questions

Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz has pleaded not guilty to the war crime of murder.

A philosophy of home

A philosophy of home

The household is a community, as much as the state, and ancient philosophy had much more to say about it than we think - by Sandrine Bergès Read on Aeon.

What does halal mean? It’s about more than just food

Halal is not just avoiding certain foods and drinks.

Robodebt compensation is a win for victims, but now we may never know the full story

The government will pay hundred of thousands of robodebt victims more than $500 million.

The government wants more of us living in high rises. Here’s why Australians don’t want to

Governments have been pushing the construction of apartment towers for years to help housing affordability and availability, but people don’t want to live in them.

Female baboons keep family bonds strong: research reveals the benefits

Understanding how female baboons benefit from social bonds helps humans understand their own origins.

Trauma creep

Trauma creep

From a broken life to a broken nail, ‘trauma’ has been bleached by overuse.

Clergy wives in Ghana can be powerful – but it takes constant bargaining with men

Ghanaian clergy wives constantly bargain for space.