Aeon (digital magazine)


Aeon is a digital magazine of ideas, philosophy and culture. Publishing new articles every weekday, Aeon describes itself as a publication which "asks the biggest questions and finds the freshest, most original answers, provided by world-leading authorities on science, philosophy and society." The magazine has editorial offices in London, New York, and Melbourne.

History

Aeon was founded in London in September 2012 by Paul and Brigid Hains, an Australian couple. It now has offices in London, Melbourne and New York. On July 1, 2016, Aeon became a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission, in the categories of advancing culture and advancing education.

Format

Aeons content consists of long-form, in-depth essays, shorter ideas pieces, and short documentaries under the banner of Aeon Video. It also runs a Conversations channel, where readers are invited to answer questions related to articles, and to contribute their own point of view.

''Aeon'' Video

Aeon Video's program is composed of curated selections, short documentaries that are exclusive to Aeon, and original series produced by Aeon. The most notable of these is the In Sight series, which features interviews and discussions with leading philosophers, scientists, thinkers and writers.
Several of Aeons exclusives have been chosen as Vimeo Staff Picks, including American Renaissance, Grandpa and Me and a Helicopter to Heaven, Cutting Loose, Glas, and World Fair.

Contributors

Contributors have included Alain Badiou, Julian Baggi, Philip Bal, Shahidha Bari, Sven Birkerts, Armand D'Angour, David Deutsch, Vincent T. DeVita, Frans de Waal, Vincenzo Di Nicola, David Dobbs, Tim Footman, Allen Frances, Jessa Gamble, Michael Graziano, Sabine Hossenfelder, A.L. Kennedy, Marek Kohn, Janna Levin, Tim Lott, Francis T. McAndrew, George Musser, Wendy Orent, Ruth Padel, Massimo Pigliucci, Steven Poole, John Quiggin, Dava Sobel, Roger Scruton, and E.O. Wilson.

Critical reception

In 2013, Hamish McKenzie of Pando Daily named Aeon the 'best example of a magazine built for the age of mobile'.
Rebecca Boyle's essay "The End of Night" was featured in the anthology The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2015, under the title "The Health Effects of a World without Darkness".
Jessa Gamble's essay "The End of Sleep?" was named the best feature of 2013 by the Association of British Science Writers.

Partnerships

Aeon has content sharing partnerships with several other organizations and publications, including the science communication website Knowing Neurons, the University of Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, and MIT Press.

Creative Commons republication

The shorter Ideas pieces are available for republication under a Creative Commons licence. These pieces are often resyndicated by online media outlets such as The Atlantic.