For decades, our education system has focused intensively on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields. STEM fields have brought great prosperity to some and many wonders to us all (I’m looking at you, iPhone).

On the other hand, is our age substantively better?

Some of us are healthier and living longer, to be sure, but life expectancy in the US has dropped. Meanwhile, are we better critical thinkers? Are we happier, more ethical, more peaceful, more empathic to others, and more fulfilled by those things that humans have always found meaningful (I’m looking at you, love and emotional connection)?

These are important questions in an age of material and computational wonder. At Planet Nutshell, we’ve been working on a new and original web series that we hope can help folks remember and rediscover what makes us human. Degradation of the humanities is a trend that undermines the fabric of society, threatening to transform a nation of citizens into a nation of docile workers and obedient consumers, as the historian Bret C. Devereaux recently argued in the New York Times:

Higher education, with broad study in the liberal arts, is meant to create not merely good workers but also good citizens. Citizens with knowledge of their history and culture are better equipped to lead and participate in a democratic society; learning in many different forms of knowledge teaches the humility necessary to accept other points of view in a pluralistic and increasingly globalized society.

We’re doing our part to restore the humanities as vital part of education. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on. Stay tuned.