Alec Ash

In a culture obsessed with speed, the author of In Praise of Slowness, Carl Honoré, asks us to take a step back, from slower eating to unhurried thinking – and traces the leisurely history of the slow movement

Will it be possible to live forever? Is there such a thing as the soul, or immortality in one’s legacy? Stephen Cave, philosopher and author of Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization, explores the eternal questions, from elixirs of life to modern-day cryonics.

Harvard historian Niall Ferguson tells us about the diverse influences on his work, from Keynes and Tolstoy to an Austrian satirist. He explains how he prefers a philosophy of history that emphasises the contingent and the chaotic, rather than the neatly predictable.

History is usually studied and written from the perspective of war, says veteran journalist John Gittings. It can look very different when viewed from the perspective of peace.

What does a moral life entail? How does one achieve it? Philosopher AC Grayling picks the best books on “being good.”

Greek myths were themselves elastic so there is no reason the classics of Roman and Greek literature shouldn’t be updated, says classicist Daniel Mendelsohn. He talks us through some of his favourites.

Is it inevitable that the desire to build a perfect world should end in disaster? John Gray considers the flaws in utopian thinking and the essential nature of humans. He recommends the best critiques of utopia and apocalypse.

Half of the world’s population live in cities, and more are moving in. Urbanist Leo Hollis explains how city living makes us smarter and more creative, why slums are set to grow, and what the future of the city holds.

As we approach the centenary of Alan Turing’s birth, science historian George Dyson looks back at the achievements of wartime code breaking and the “human computers” who enabled our modern age of iPhones and laptops

The traumas of the 20th century hit Eastern Europe hard – a region of changing borders, uncertain identity, and shattering of moral norms. The journalist and communism expert selects books that capture the spirit of the age.