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Walk around any exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s work and you are left feeling fairly awestruck by the man’s sprawling talents. Paintings, parachutes, diving suits, flying contraptions – you name it, he could do it.
Sigmund Freud was just as fascinated by the brain behind all these creations as we are today and decided in 1910 to put da Vinci under psychoanalysis, using evidence from his work and notebooks. Freud generally believed that scientific excellence and artistic flair were talents at odds with each other so, in da Vinci’s case, he wanted to unpick what had been repressed in a man displaying such an abundance of both. What did he find when he delved into the psyche of one of the western world’s most prolific and celebrated thinkers? Find out here with an academic who has been reflecting on Freud’s theories of sublimation.
Da Vinci was known to try his hand at all sorts of professions but that doesn’t mean you should too. And yet a lot of people out there seem to be dabbling in dentistry — specifically in their own mouths. A shortage of NHS care appears to have led people to experiment with cement, superglue and, uh, urine to fix broken teeth at home. And if you think this doesn’t apply to you, consider that at-home whitening kits aren’t really for amateurs either.
The surge in energy around Kamala Harris’s election campaign shows no sign of abating as we hurtle towards her debate with Donald Trump. Outside of the official campaign, grassroots groups are forming on social media including among Taylor Swift fans and people calling themselves ‘white dudes for Harris’. These emerging tribes are delivering for the vice president both in terms of clout and dollars.
Also this week, we track down the bookshops bucking the high street trend and catch up with a travelling exhibition of artistic work by women in revolt. And in the latest episode of our weekly podcast, we look at why dating apps are no longer leading users towards love.
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