Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv review – rewriting the language of mental illness

The New Yorker writer tries to redefine attitudes through a quintet of studies of troubled people from around the world

The big idea: why the maternal instinct is a myth

The ‘parental brain’ is something that develops with experience – and anyone can get one

Oliver Jeffers grew up in Belfast hating violence. Now he wants children to see how futile it is

The children’s author, who lived through the Troubles, believes that kids should be taught to seek peace from an early age. By Donna Ferguson

‘Everyone seemed at ease’: how art is making hospital visits less painful

Some of life’s hardest moments are spent in hospital, but two organisations are working to ease that with ingenious designs. Mina Holland explains how art has been a lifeline

The big idea: do we all experience the world in the same way?

Every human brain is different – it’s time to embrace the diversity of our experiences

‘I felt a responsibility to get it right’: the male standups using jokes to cope with miscarriage

Even though it affects one in five pregnancies, the loss of a baby is rarely talked about, especially among men. But standups Jacob Hawley and Will Duggan are using comedy to break that taboo

Right of Way review – eccentric short film collection roams around rural England

Archive footage combines with work from modern film-makers in a rousing and sometimes puzzling series on rural England

Eye for an eye: Javier Bardem iris NFT to be sold for sight-saving charity

Image of actor’s eye to be auctioned to fund Ojos del Mundo in preventing blindness in developing world

Landlines by Raynor Winn review – back on the trail

The author of The Salt Path returns with another heartwarming odyssey, this time on one of the wildest walks in Britain

The big idea: should we drop the distinction between mental and physical health?

The current false dichotomy holds back research and stigmatises patients