They didn’t come from outer space
We've been primed by popular culture to expect a close encounter at any moment, governments have made preparations and the tin-hat brigade say they're already here. But now ufology is…
Science & Technology
Tech heretic
Jaron Lanier is a digital pioneer who has collaborated with Microsoft and Google. So why is he warning that technology is making us dependent and redundant? JP O’Malley logs on
What do you want from a rationalist community?
Our new online rationalist community has 2350 members, which is a great start. Now we have to decide how to develop it, what it stands for and what it should…
Book review: The Heretics by Will Storr
A new exploration of why people believe unprovable and outlandish things is enlivened by a healthy dose of scepticism towards scepticism, finds Andrew Mueller
What is at the end of the tunnel?
Do the thousands of reports of spiritual near death experiences prove the existence of the soul, as some psychologists claim? Dale DeBakcsy burrows into the science
Home sweet home
It’s not the biggest or the most spectacular, but our little galaxy suits Marcus Chown just fine
Facing the future: an interview with Jim Al-Khalili
Theoretical physicist and star science presenter Jim Al-Khalili has just become the President of the British Humanist Association. Caspar Melville finds out what we can expect from his tenure
I love Dawkins but I think he’s wrong
Science and religion are the most potent forces in the world, says ex-monk, but still Catholic Thomas Jackson, who thinks that that science is now discovering what religion has known…
Wild Love
Forget these aloof A-listers of the animal world. For a really profound relationship with nature fall head over heels for the hedgehog next door, just like Hugh Warwick
Opt-out is the best organ option
Unjustifiable moral objections mean that healthy organs are routinely wasted because of the need to opt-in to donation. It's time to change the law. If you don’t want your organs…