Alain de Botton is to lead the team behind The Philosophers' Mail, a newly launched news outlet that intends to put a philosophical slant on the popular news stories of the day, providing 'calm, complexity, dignity and wisdom'.

The publication aims to help people who might not already do so engage with complex ideas, wanting to 'point the reader in optimal directions' when considering popular stories from 'a paedophile teacher' to 'Gwyneth Paltrow's marriage'. The ideas behind the site are laid out in Alain de Botton's new book The News: A User's Manual.