Stories

Our words and pictures explore the connections between science, medicine, life and art. Dive into a story no matter where in the world you are. (Want to write for us? Here's how.)

Photograph four mirrors, two circular, one rectangular and one square on a teal, white and brown background. Reflected in the mirrors is an etching of Paul Ferdinand Gachet, by Vincent Van Gogh.
  • Article

Reversing the psychiatric gaze

Nineteenth-century psychiatrists were keen to categorise their patients’ illnesses reductively – by their physical appearance. But we can see a far more complex picture of mental distress, revealed by those patients able to express their inner worlds in art.

Photograph of a man and his mother sat side by side on a sofa in a living room. The man seated on the right has a medial face mask covering his eyes and is wearing his black rimmed glasses over the top of the mask. He is raising his hands towards his mother as if to try to touch and feel her face. His mother is also wearing a medical face mask but over her mouth and nose and is raising her hand in defence. Rested between her legs is the handle and top half of her walking stick. In the background is a shelving unit containing books, ornaments, bottle of spirits and family photographs. On the walls are hung an ornate gilt framed mirror and a portrait painting of a dog's head.
  • Podcast
  • Serial
Part2

The masking tapes

In episode two of his coronavirus podcast, comedian Mark Thomas talks to health workers about PPE, vulnerability and the urge to protect.

Part of Mark Thomas’s lockdown check-up

Illustration in watercolour and black ink. The background is made up of a blue watercolour wash forming patches of varying tones. In white, outlined in black ink on top of the blue are 3 rows of distinctly shaped 3D objects. Under each object is a short title, such as 'change tomb' and nutrient mixer'.
  • Article

Dying to be in nature

The modern funeral business is one that uses up precious resources and pollutes the planet. But you can make sure it’s only your memory that leaves its mark with these new and natural ways to leave this earth.

Photograph of a woman as she instructs a male performer as he performs an upside down theatrical manoeuvre within a large metal hoop suspended from the ceiling during a rehearsal. The performer in the hoop has a prosthetic right leg.
  • Article

Acting, disableism and inclusive theatre

Deaf theatre director Jenny Sealey discusses inclusivity, community and the resilience of disabled actors.

Part of Art, activism and access

Photograph of a man standing in a glass patio doorway with his mother. The man is looking straight to camera with his mouth open, eyes wide and slightly mad look on his face. In his right hand held above his head are 3 kitchen knives held in a fan shape. His mother is standing to his left in profile, looking up at his face. In her right hand she is holding a walking stick, the handle of which she has tucked under his chin in a disciplinary fashion.
  • Podcast
  • Serial
Part1

The gloves are off

In episode one of his new podcast, comedian Mark Thomas talks to health workers about coronavirus, care and the importance of touch.

Part of Mark Thomas’s lockdown check-up

We need to talk about shame

Shame is one of our most overwhelming emotions. It’s also something we rarely discuss. In this series, Lucia Osborne-Crowley explores where shame comes from, what it’s for and how it works.

Books

Get stuck into one of our books, and explore the complexities of the human condition.

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Photograph of an iPad resting on a concrete textured surface. On the screen of the iPad is a computer rendered illustration of virus SARS-CoV-2 as a light grey floating orb with protruding red spikes.
  • In pictures

How we visualise viruses

Discover how images of the antigens that make us sick have evolved over time and been tailored to meet the demands of different epidemics.

Photograph of a set built scene. The scene is made out of a light green horizontal surface against a light green vertical background with a thin horizon line. On the horizontal surface are two green ‘L’ shaped blocks. In the centre of the image is a rectangular flat orange card standing upright, on which is the black and white image of a woman and a man in full length standing next to each other. The man is pointing with his right hand. Resting on the green blocks and floating above and below the orange card are four butterflies.
  • Article

A virtual view of history

Step inside Anne Frank’s house or explore the galleries in a museum destroyed by fire. VR brings history and art satisfyingly close when we’re unable to get there in person.

Photograph of an archival black and white photograph resting on a concrete textured background. The archive image shows a group of 5 individuals in an operating theatre, standing around an empty bed. They are all dressed in white gowns with black gloves and full white head marks, which only leave their eyes visible.
  • In pictures

A history of medical masks

The now ubiquitous face mask was first used by artists working with toxic substances. See how its design and use has evolved over centuries of plagues and pathogens.

In ink drawing of an elderly man grasping his throat and holding a drink.
  • In pictures

My search for a stronger voice

Find out what kinds of treatment history offered to people suffering from voice problems.

Part of Inside Our Collections

Web Comic by Rob Bidder (detail)
  • Comic

The End

All things come to an end. Goodbye.

Part of Body Squabbles

Photograph of an Art-Deco style 1930’s residential building, with alternating red and yellow brick floors. Captured with a long lens from a distance. On second balcony from the bottom there is a woman in a red blouse standing with her hands on the railings. A hard shadow cast by the sun covers one third of the building. The canopy of a tree partly obscures the left side of the frame.
  • Article

Coronavirus, Crohn’s and me

Clinically vulnerable to COVID-19, Lucia Osborne-Crowley has been shut in her flat for months. With her chronic condition transformed into a life-threatening one, she explores what the pandemic is revealing about living with long-term illness.