Best ideas books of 2023
From psychology to AI, pandemics to popular culture, we survey the bigger picture
Hot chocolate, woolly socks and a good book: why cosy living is good for you
When it’s dark and cold outside (not to mention existentially troubling), our sense of survival kicks in and we withdraw to that place we feel safest – home
The big idea: why we should spend more time talking to strangers
We focus on friendships, but encounters with those we hardly know are vital too
‘Demand interestingness’: Thomas Heatherwick rails against boring buildings
Designer says soulless structures make people stressed and lonely as he launches book and campaign
How Roger Deakin’s love of water inspired me
The great nature writer and outdoor swimmer has been a huge inspiration to many with his focus on ponds, lakes and rivers
‘Calves are the biceps of the legs!’: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s seven big life lessons
Find opportunity in failure – and don’t let your legs get in the way of world domination. Here is the distilled wisdom of Arnie’s first foray into self-help
How I learned to tell my own story as a South Asian woman
As a child, I wanted to belong, but didn’t see brown girls like me in culture. I’d like space for our stories to be told, too
Running marathons helped me write my novel
The sport helped with my tenacity, and my creativity too
The big idea: are memories fact or fiction?
Truth and illusion are woven together as we tell ourselves into being
His friend’s murder rocked Hua Hsu’s life – and made him the person he is today
Twenty-five years after the senseless killing of his friend, the author and journalist finally feels a sense of peace