Culture

“The Way of a Pilgrim” is a classic work of 19th-century Eastern Orthodox mysticism that charts the travels of an anonymous Russian ascetic. Its influence has also spread to the West. Mikołaj Gliński

Nikolai Fyodorov believed that only resurrection of the dead could save the world. His extraordinary vision fascinated the likes of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Michał Milczarek

According to phytotherapy and aromatherapy, both turmeric root and cedarwood oil can help in preventing and getting rid of infections. Dominika Bok

Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sophia both loved and tormented each other. How did the troubled Russian writer live his last few months? Paulina Wilk

Journalist and activist Elena Kostyuchenko talks about the dangers of her investigative journalism, the new Russia, and why she will always struggle to leave the country of her birth. Paulina Wilk

As the pioneering work of Elizabeth Loftus shows, memory is fallible – and can, in fact, be replaced by imagination when we are asked to recall past events. Sylwia Niemczyk

Psychotherapist Paweł Malinowski talks about good and bad habits, as well as how to give them up or shape them. Maria Hawranek

In the late 19th-century, Anton Chekhov visited the penal colony on Sakhalin island and wrote about the fate of the convicts there. What did he see? Andrzej Kula

In some of Australia and New Zealand’s Indigenous communities, shamans are able to successfully will death on others – as long as the target believes in such ‘spells’. Tomasz Wiśniewski

In contemporary Western culture, death is taboo. Yet Buddhism illustrates how we can take a different approach to death; one that is not as dissimilar as we might expect. Aleksandra Woźniak

Daisies contain flavonoids and vitamin C – even better, they can be picked in the wild and pickled in a jar. Łukasz Łuczaj

The revolutionary economist Mariana Mazzucato proposes a shift away from profit and big business – and towards state investment in the societies they serve. Paulina Wilk

Trees not only live much longer than humans and other animals – they also die differently, piece-by-piece, in a carefully-planned process. Szymon Drobniak

As the literature of recent centuries shows, our relationship with silence – as ritual, as protective, as deathly – has a long and rich history. Ewa Pluta

Every year, Nigeria’s different ethnic groups celebrate the yam harvest with food and festivities. How do the Yoruba people prepare Asaro yam porridge? Mariam Adetona

The natural world is full of beauty, so why do we assume that only humans can perceive it? Perhaps animals are capable of delight, too? Mikołaj Golachowski