A long-running feature on Edge is the Annual Question, which gathers many short essays on topical questions from Brockman's broad network of thought leaders in philosophy and science; these essays are usually published collectively as a book shortly thereafter. Many of the feature articles on Edge are structured as video interviews with a prominent figure in some scientific field discussing his or her recent research or mental preoccupations, in a free-flowing spiel from which the interviewer—often Brockman himself—is largely absent. This is usually accompanied by a full transcript which includes more material than the video portion. Because Brockman functions primarily as a literary agent, subjects featured on Edge are in most cases lucid communicators, even when relating new developments in highly specialized research areas. The lucid exposition of challenging and novel science is Edge's primary calling card. A less common format is video conference proceedings or Master Class round-table seminars on a set subject matter, such as Philip E. Tetlock's seminar on superforecasting from 2015, or Richard Thaler's seminar on behavioural psychology from 2008. Edge adds new content relatively infrequently, with no set schedule, apart from the Annual Question.
''The Third Culture''
The Third Culture is the growing movement towards reintegration of literary and scientific thinking and is a nod toward British scientist C. P. Snow's concept of the two cultures of science and the humanities. John Brockman published a book of the same name whose themes are continued at the Edge website. Here, scientists and others are invited to contribute their thoughts in a manner readily accessible to non-specialist readers. In doing so, leading thinkers are able to communicate directly with each other and the public without the intervention of middlemen such as journalists and journal editors. Many areas of academic work are incorporated, including genetics, physics, mathematics, psychology, evolutionary biology, philosophy and computing technology.
Edge Question
Edge poses its members an annual question:
1998:"What questions are you asking yourself?"
1999: "What is the most important invention in the past two thousand years?"
2000: "What is today's most important unreported story?"
2001: "What questions have disappeared?" and "What now?" This was the only year with two separate questions.
2002: "What is your question?... Why?"
2003: "What are the pressing scientific issues for the nation and the world, and what is your advice on how I can begin to deal with them?"
2004: "What's your law?"
2005: "What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?" The responses generated were published as a book under the title with an introduction by the novelist Ian McEwan.
2006: "What is your dangerous idea"? The responses formed the book What Is Your Dangerous Idea?, which was published with an introduction by Steven Pinker and an afterword by Richard Dawkins.
2007: "What are you optimistic about? Why?", which resulted in a companion publication.
2008: "What have you changed your mind about?" and the corresponding book published shortly thereafter.
2009: "What Will Change Everything? What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?" and a book version.
2010: "How has the Internet changed the way you think?" and associated book.
2011: "What Scientific Concept Would Improve Everybody's Cognitive Toolkit?" and associated book.
2012: "What is your favorite deep, elegant, or beautiful explanation?" and associated book.
2013: "What should we be worried about?" and associated book.
2014: "What scientific idea is ready for retirement?" and associated book.
2015: "What Do You Think About Machines that Think" and associated book.
2016: "What Do You Think the Most Interesting Recent News? What makes it Important?" and associated book.
