New Scientist recommends a smart new account of human exceptionalism

New Scientist Wednesday 13 May 2026, 18:00 UTC 1 min read

Key Points

Why did humans decide they weren't like other animals, or animals at all? Has this exceptionalism twisted us out of shape? Michael Bond's book Animate offers a page-turning account of where we are now

Originally published by New Scientist Read original →

A death row prisoner whose planned execution on Thursday was suddenly halted became emotional when he learned that a federal court had ruled Alabama’s use of nitrogen gas violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. “It’s like an expected sigh of relief in one aspect, and then you still got to stay and maintain your focus and continue to fight,” Jeffery Lee, who has been on death row for nearly three decades, told NBC News by phone Tuesday. He spoke from the William C....

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New Scientist recommends a smart new account of human exceptionalism

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