Longform inquiry and rigorous in-depth analysis are rare in the developing online space. The media landscape is made for short attention spans, flashy clickbait, and shallow analysis that moves quickly onto whatever the next trend might be.

Why? This is both the result of our attitude to ‘infotainment’ and a simpler problem; it takes a long time to research and think through the big questions, and its often difficult to communicate complex and sometimes esoteric ideas from philosophy, history, politics, and the social sciences more broadly.

Then & Now seeks to fill that gap; to make complexity digestible.

My mission is a deep archaeology of the things that matter. I believe in the long durée – going back to fully understand how something has happened, and in going deep, to discover first principles that are useful to analyze problems afresh.

To do this Lewis Waller draws on his BA in History & Politics and MA in History, both with a focus on the history of philosophy and political thought, to enquire into some of the big issues we face.

This means looking at our subjectivities – asking how and why we think in certain ways – and understanding the great historical thinkers like Immanuel Kant and Baruch Spinoza in the Complete Guide series.

It means looking at the trends and structures that affect those subjectivities – histories of the Internet or Consumerism.

While also thinking about the biggest threats we have and do face to our well-being – looking at anything from the psychology of genocide or racism to the psychology of anger, addiction, and anxiety.

Finally, Then & Now is progressive. It’s open to exploring radical ideas – old and new – and arguing for continued experimentation in new ways of living.