S01E01
This report explores the challenges and insights gained from deep drilling into the Earth. Researchers from Germany, France, and Italy emphasize the technical complexity and costs of these undertakings. The drill cores, made of rock or ice, serve as archives of Earth's history and enable the study of phenomena such as climate change.
S01E02
A new lunar cycle begins with 95 planned missions over the next ten years, including contributions from smaller nations. Scientists want to know how humans can carve out a life on the moon. Could humans live there permanently? And who does the moon belong to? Salem Al Marri of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency explains the motivations and goals of this intensified lunar exploration.
S01E03
The ancient Greeks practiced sortition as a cost-effective method to prevent corruption and abuse of power and to establish political equality. Although this idea resurfaced in the 19th century, modern societies have opted for elections as the means of selecting representatives.
S01E04
A research team led by Israeli biologist Ron Milo has attempted to calculate the total mass of all living things on Earth by combining data from various fields of research. The challenges range from accurately estimating the fish population in the ocean to discovering previously unknown species on land.
S01E05
Climate change could cause sea levels to rise by up to 20 millimeters per year by the end of the century, threatening island nations and major cities. Urban planner Heiner Haaß and architect Bjarke Ingels propose building on the water, with concepts like Oceanix City or floating structures in the Maldives.
S01E06
Bodily data, from genes to the microbiome, could indicate diseases early if analyzed precisely. Computers and algorithms are needed to recognize patterns. In the US, skin cancer has been detected early using algorithms. The vision is a medical avatar that monitors our bodily data and warns us of health problems.
S01E07
Mucus, a versatile substance in nature, fulfills various functions: It can glide, stick, select, and even serve as a protective or defensive weapon. The unique state of matter of mucus enables its diverse applications. Microbiologist Hans-Curt Flemming emphasizes the central role of mucus in the evolution of microorganisms.
S01E08
Long considered clean and inexpensive, nuclear energy raises a major problem: ultimate radioactive waste. This waste must be buried underground for at least a million years—an eternity! How can we warn our descendants of the risk it represents? What pictograms could alert them to the toxic gift we are leaving them?
S01E09
Life would be fantastic if we were never scared. We could cross deep ravines on tightropes, ski down the steepest mountainsides and feel fine. Unfortunately, fear runs deep inside us.
S01E10
With global warming, the melting of the ice is accelerating. The Arctic is warming two to three times faster than the rest of the world. Having remained stable until recently, the Antarctic sea ice is now melting dramatically. What will be the consequences of this phenomenon for the environment and for human beings?
S01E11
From birth we are surrounded by sounds which, often without our knowledge, influence our view of the world. But are our reactions to these sounds the same?
S01E12
Although we are mostly optimistic about our own lives, we tend to be rather pessimistic when we consider the future of the world and the future of our society. How can we explain this apparent contradiction?
S01E13
What's the recipe for making a song a global hit? Musicologists, brain scientists and professionals in the music industry are actively researching the 'magic formula' for the mega hit.
S01E14
The universe is vast. So vast that it defies the imagination. To the point that we find it strange that we "Earthlings" are the only living beings to inhabit it. What, then, is the probability that extraterrestrials exist? What might they look like? Finally, wouldn't their existence force us to rethink our place in the cosmos?
S01E15
Tea of coffee? Fish or meat? Every day human beings make around 200 decisions about what to eat. But what drivess these choices? Why do we eat what we eat?
S01E16
Light, as both a wave and a particle, travels at a constant speed. A beam of light originating in the sun's interior reaches Earth after eight minutes and drives the life cycle through photosynthesis.
S01E17
Drought and insects threaten forests. What can be done to save them? In northern France, researchers are trying to introduce plants native to the south. Across the Rhine, the Thünen Institute cultivates oak trees that are particularly resistant to insects, drought, and fungi.
S01E18
Nobody likes dust. Attempts to get rid of it are futile; it always comes back. And that's a good thing! Because without dust and its superpowers, life on Earth would hardly be possible. Dust contributes to the formation of rain, it provides nutrients to the sea and the jungle, and it's our personal calling card. Come to think of it, dust might even be able to save the world.
S01E19
To tackle climate change, one option is to artificially cool the Earth or capture CO2. The field of geoengineering is full of seemingly outlandish ways of manipulating the planet's climate.
S01E20
The fact that we have a breathable atmosphere on Earth is largely down to algae. Could these aquatic plants be the secret of solving climate change and saving ourselves and the planet?
S01E21
The sharpest weapon of the pandemic has given us a vaccination technique that almost no one knew about before the coronavirus—messenger RNA. It has been studied for over 20 years. The grand goal of mRNA pioneers: a cancer vaccine. After the success of coronavirus vaccines, will we also defeat this old sworn enemy of humanity? A small community of researchers from around the world has always believed in the revolutionary potential of mRNA vaccination. The rest of the scientific world considered the biomolecule a mere unstable diva until recently. "No one read our papers, and we didn't receive any research funding either," says Steve Pascolo, who likes to compare mRNA to the transcription of a recipe from the great cookbook of DNA. A transcription that can be delivered to the kitchens of cells, which then do everything indicated in the recipe. The human body becomes a pharmacy.
S01E22
Giving up flying overnight would cause global logistical problems, as many delivery chains would be interrupted. But planes are climate killers. So what should be done?
S01E23
It is estimated that there are now more than 1.7 million robots with social capabilities in the world. They feed us, educate us, help us, and entertain us. Highly technical sex robots have existed for a long time. But can these machines actually develop feelings—or even experience love? "We have developed digital artificial hormones for our robot. And we are using artificial intelligence to simulate the changes in hormonal balance in a person who falls in love," explains Hooman Samani, a robotics developer at the University of Plymouth. Conversely, we are also moving closer to a human-machine relationship: For cognitive psychologist Martin Fischer of the University of Potsdam, certain psychological effects indicate that our attitude toward robots will become increasingly positive in the future.
S01E24
Parasites get a bad rap: they can make us sick or even kill us. For centuries, we have been trying to protect ourselves against them, in particular through hygiene measures. Yet half of the living beings on Earth are parasites. If they are really everywhere, maybe they are not fundamentally useless?
S01E25
We spend a third of our lives sleeping. Is it possible for us to sleep less and enjoy extra waking years for leisure and work? Can we optimise our sleep patterns to get more out of life?
S01E26
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to introduce Bitcoin as legal tender. From now on, all companies accept the cryptocurrency from their customers, as well as the US dollar. "A crazy idea," says former economist Peter Bofinger. The price of bitcoin is far too volatile, and it's a dangerous bet - one that the president thinks he can pull off.
S01E27
Black holes can tell us a lot about the universe. But could they hold the key to understanding our world? Astrophysicist Nikodem Poplawski proposes that our universe may not have been born after a Big Bang after all. Perhaps our whole world is inside a black hole…
S01E28
Humans spend up to six years dreaming over the course of their lifetime. What if dreams were more than unreal visions? Could we take the brilliant ideas that appear in dreams and make them a reality? Dreams hold a largely untapped creative potential.
S01E29
Researchers are searching for patterns and models to predict migration. Factors such as technological developments, demographic changes, economic crises, and climate change influence migration.
S01E30
The mystery of animal communication stands in contrast to human language: Elephants use infrasound, cats vocalize, and whales communicate through flipper movements. The question is, what would change if these sounds could be translated? Humans have the ability to understand each other using dictionaries or translation apps.
S01E31
The Flynn effect showed an increase in intelligence scores since the 20th century. However, since the turn of the millennium, some IQ scores have been declining, and researchers are searching for explanations. Theories include "dysgenics," in which families with academic backgrounds tend to have fewer children, as well as the influence of migrants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
S01E32
Let's not kid ourselves: everyone has biases. Whether it's filling a position, granting credit, or handing down a prison sentence, how can we be sure we're making rational decisions? Wouldn't it be wiser to rely on artificial intelligence, a technology already deployed in many cases with surprising results?
S01E33
Modern, highly efficient agriculture feeds many people, but it is reaching its ecological limits with declining soil fertility and biodiversity, as well as increasing environmental pollution from chemicals. The challenges of climate change are exacerbating these problems.
S01E34
Drugs have a bad press. But scientists have long been convinced that the use of psychedelics can sometimes be beneficial. The use of ecstasy, LSD and other hallucinogens could soon be authorised for therapeutic purposes. Should we change our relationship to certain drugs?
S01E35
As soon as weightlessness sets in in Earth orbit, everything floats, including bodily fluids. Most astronauts suffer from space sickness – similar to seasickness. You get sick, your eyes go crazy, your face swells up, your legs get longer and after a few sleepless nights (there is no day or night in space) many astronauts get severe back pain. Space researchers are trying to understand how the human body reacts without gravity. Could we need it to live?
S01E36
Brain researcher Gerhard Roth describes near-death experiences as frequent encounters with bright light and feelings of bliss. Scientists explain this through neurological processes and emphasize that those affected are often only clinically dead.
S01E37
Humanity has dreamed of a Fountain of Youth since the dawn of time. A dream that may have become reality. Laboratories around the world announce they have rejuvenated animal species as diverse as mice, nematodes, and fruit flies. Anti-aging research has achieved the impossible: these animals live longer and healthier lives. Next step, human beings?
S01E38
Both a blessing and a curse, farming feeds us humans but is also harmful to the environment. Agriculture has radically transformed the land and our ways of life. But could foodstuffs created with biotechnology spell the end of traditional farming?
S01E39
We like to talk about the weather because it affects us every day. But have you ever heard of space weather? Not just for astronauts, it also our affects lives on Earth. Scientists are particularly interested in solar activity as it can quickly disrupt our life on Earth.
S01E40
According to Elon Musk, we could soon be living on Mars. Yet, this idea seems unrealistic: extreme cold, an atmosphere composed primarily of CO2, and dangerous cosmic rays... So why on earth would anyone want to settle there? Where does this enthusiasm for the Red Planet come from?
S01E41
Imagine a friend wants to borrow your car, you promise to provide one even though you only have a windscreen wiper. Absurd isn’t it? But this is exactly what banks do when they lend you money…
S01E42
With over 13,000 nuclear weapons in the world, there is a risk of massive destruction. The program "42 – The Answer to Almost Everything" examines this topic scientifically.
S01E43
Getting into space has never been easier and the resources of our solar system are highly coveted. But with the legal framework of space exploration and the exploitation of its resources still unclear, is space being stolen from us?
S01E44
It has been known since antiquity that thoughts have an influence on health. Research, such as imaging techniques that demonstrate the placebo effect, makes the power of thought visible. Psychologist Ellen Langer shows in experiments how thoughts can influence the body. However, controlling thoughts is difficult because most of them are unconscious.
S01E45
We cannot escape our fate and we cannot escape ourselves. But we also have our limits: confused thinking, misleading intuitions, unrealiable memories... What consequences do these potential errors have on our relationship to the world and to ourselves? Just how far can we trust ourselves?
S01E46
Swarms are fascinating phenomena without clear leadership. In beehives, anthills, in the sky, or in the sea, they operate successfully and aesthetically. Human crowds, on the other hand, can become chaotic in lynch mobs or traffic jams. Researchers are investigating the rules behind swarm intelligence in order to learn from them and perhaps apply them to robot swarms.
S01E47
Formulating the theory of everything, the one that would describe all the laws of the Universe from a single fundamental law, would be the pinnacle achievement of physics. We could finally understand everything and solve the mysteries that still escape us. Heisenberg, Einstein, Hawking… All the great scientists have tried. All have failed. So can we still hope to find the theory of everything one day?
S01E48
Humanity has been hoping for a sensational discovery. Ever since we succeeded in converting wind and sun into energy, we've been waiting for the next big thing. A treasure just waiting to be discovered. The idea that we might find this in our feces seems far-fetched at first. We overlook its true potential. Research on our bodies is essential for modern medicine. Through it, immunologists and nutritionists receive messages from the mysterious core of our bodies. Doctors like gastroenterologist Harry Sokol in Paris go even further and utilize the healing capabilities of our stool. But our feces offer us other access points to ourselves. Based on ancient fecal discoveries from the past, we can travel back in time to our evolutionary history.
S01E49
Psychopaths like Ted Bundy are not isolated cases; approximately 1-2% of the population are considered psychopathic. Psychologist Abigail Marsh researches why some adolescents with conspicuous behavior become psychopaths while others do not. Despite the complex causes, the psychopathy checklist can help identify them.
S01E50
Every seven days, a large ship goes missing. This is due, among other things, to monstrous waves that appear out of nowhere. Unlike tsunamis, there is currently no method for warning or predicting them. This is because science still knows surprisingly little about the phenomenon of "freak waves." Rogue waves were long considered sailors' tales until a 26-meter-high wave was recorded on the Draupner platform in the North Sea in 1995. This changed research and led to three theories about their formation: the current model, superposition, and nonlinear modulation instability.
S01E51
All living beings stop growing at some point. The global economy is different: it just keeps growing. Is a world without economic growth possible and what might that mean for the future?
S01E52
Humans don't just play for fun, but also for evolutionary reasons. Playing helped hunter-gatherers develop important skills and understand their environment. With the rise of advanced civilizations, board games like chess and Monopoly emerged.
S01E53
Usain Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.58 seconds, Petra Felke threw the javelin 80 meters. These are absolute limits that no one has been able to "break" to this day. Or rather: no human being. Because in the animal kingdom, there are creatures like the flea or the cat that are far superior to us. Why is that – and couldn't we learn from these animal specialists?
S01E54
Energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas made modern life possible in the first place; however, at the same time, it harms the climate and the environment. Can we find an energy source that provides just as much power and is always clean and available everywhere—a kind of perfect energy? In terms of energy density, nuclear power was considered the perfect energy source after its discovery. According to nuclear physicist Emmanuelle Galichet, just a few grams of uranium in nuclear fission are enough to generate as much energy as burning several tons of oil. However, as great as the benefits of nuclear power are, the risks are also significant, especially when it comes to storing highly radioactive nuclear waste. Isn't solar power the better choice?
S01E55
As fascinating as they are frightening, sharks are now threatened. Of the 536 species known today, a third are endangered, mainly due to overfishing and environmental destruction. Can we still save sharks, or are they doomed to disappear?
S01E56
For a long time, humanity was relatively unanimous: animals are little more than biological machines. This view has gradually changed, particularly with the pioneering work of the naturalist Charles Darwin: Darwin believed that consciousness is a fundamental property of life in general. In his view, even simple creatures have a rudimentary internal workings of feelings and impressions that are not so different from those of humans. But how can we know what animals really think and feel? You can't ask them, and you can't look inside their heads either. For a long time, researchers tried to solve the problem with the so-called mirror test: if a living being recognizes itself in a mirror, it must have self-confidence. Chimpanzees and dolphins pass the mirror test, but dogs do not. Does this mean that dogs are not self-aware?
S01E57
When we're really in love, all hell breaks loose. The heart races, palms sweat, the mouth goes dry and the brain switches to "happily insane" mode. Some cultures are convinced that that's not a solid foundation to build a marriage and family on, opting for arranged partnerships instead. But romantic love evolved for a reason. If we loved each other in small groups, then males would know who they were related to, and would fight for them and their children.
S01E58
"Be careful! It's precious!" – we've probably all heard such warnings as children, for example, when we wanted to examine our father's camera or an old vase. That's how we learned to be careful with valuable objects. Curiously, nature is different. Even though it's the most precious thing we have, we humans don't treat it well. Not only do we use it, but we abuse it. Would it be different if nature and its services received some kind of price? If all of nature's free services were also made economically visible? For example, it provides us with food and drink, all kinds of important materials, cools us in the heat, purifies our drinking water and the air we breathe. In short: nature guarantees our survival.
S01E59
The search for artificial blood that could solve several problems, such as anemia, the risk of disease transmission, and the scarcity of different blood types, began in the 1960s with the belief in perfluorocarbons as a potential solution. However, the challenge of replacing all the functions of blood cells simultaneously proved practically impossible.
S01E60
Dealing deeply with hate is no fun. But as with all unpleasant things, it helps to confront the issue rather than avoid it. In today's society, hate is hard to miss: hate messages against politicians, hatred of the social system, of the COVID-19 measures. Hate seems to be everywhere.
S01E61
Researchers want to use cloning and gene editing to bring back lost species. If humanity played God by killing them off, some say we should also play God and put things right again. US Scientists claim that in just a few short years, they could bring back mammoths, which died out 4,000 years ago.
S01E62
Andreas Weber, biologist and philosopher, argues for granting animals and plants the right to defend themselves in courts, based on their capacity for sentential treatment. Legal scholar Saskia Stucki sees the possibility of a change in the law. Ecuador was the first country to grant nature its own rights in its constitution.
S01E63
We already see in everyday life how much colors control us: we're often warmer in a red down jacket than in the same down jacket in blue, reports fashion designer Jean-Gabriel Causse, a specialist in the effects of color. The fact that the color of a garment alone can improve our concentration, creativity, or even our health is another indication of the power of color. Colors control our attention, they affect our senses, and thus shape—consciously or unconsciously—our perception of the world. For neurobiologist Annette Werner, it's clear: colors play a crucial role in the development of life. Thanks to the green pigment chlorophyll, bacteria and plants were able to capture sunlight and convert it into energy and oxygen—the source upon which all life depends. In general, nature has used dyes as a means of communication for millions of years.
S01E64
Modern civilization does not mean the end of evolutionary adaptation. Researchers like Frank Rühli observe ongoing changes, such as lactose tolerance. The question of whether a new human species could emerge is complex. Natural selection would take millions of years, but technologies like the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tool could accelerate the process.
S01E65
A man has enough sperm. Or so you might think - up to 600 million per ejaculation. And yet there is cause for concern: several studies have shown a significant decline in sperm count, especially in Western countries, in the last 50 years. Are we heading towards a sperm crisis?
S01E66
Yes, urban life can make a crucial contribution to saving the planet, according to sustainability researcher Xuemei Bai. Compared to the suburbs, CO2 emissions are lower in cities and rural areas.
S01E67
The fear that the sky could one day fall on our heads dates back to the dawn of time. The impact of an asteroid or a comet could dramatically change life on Earth in a fraction of a second. The dinosaurs were wiped out by one, and we might well one day share their fate.
S01E68
What do we know about fungi? They are neither animals nor plants. Some are poisonous, many are delicious. But that was the main point. Fungi have barely been studied. They are among the oldest and most diverse life forms on our planet. Who knew that in primitive times, plants could only develop with the help of fungi? To this day, 90% of all plants depend on the close community of fungi. Fungi are everywhere. In the soil, in the air, in our bodies. They form immense networks. Researchers have nicknamed it the "Wood Wide Web." The fungal mycelium that grows underground is made up of what are called hyphae. They are five times thinner than a human hair and have very sensitive abilities to perceive their environment.
S01E69
Pushing to the front of a line, parking a car quickly on a bicycle lane, occupying seats on a train that do not belong to you - almost everyone is confronted with selfish behavior at some point in their lives. While minor instances of selfishness can be easily forgotten, when it becomes extreme and individuals become egomaniacs, they can cause significant harm to those around them. The extent of these selfish tendencies depends partly on genetics, partly on upbringing, and ultimately on the situation, according to psychologist Anne Böckler-Raettig from the University of Würzburg. Psychologist Morten Moshagen highlights that a certain degree of egoism is even necessary for our mental well-being, and together with colleagues, he has developed the "Dark Factor Test" to measure the degree to which we operate within a healthy, egoistic framework, versus when our behavior turns into something harmful and evil.
S01E70
The universe could be heading towards different scenarios, including the "Big Freeze" as it expands, cools, and disintegrates. Other possibilities include a collapsing universe (Big Crunch) or an accelerating expansion that eventually tears the universe apart (Big Rip). While many scenarios will take an unimaginably long time to occur, a sudden end cannot be ruled out.
S01E71
From Armageddon to Extinction Rebellion, the end-of-the-world narrative is a socio-cultural phenomenon. The apocalypse has been predicted nearly 200 times in the last two millennia, roughly equivalent to an end of the world every ten years...
S01E72
Is time travel just science fiction? Not quite: scientists from the fields of quantum physics, string theory, and astrophysics clearly demonstrate that time travel is theoretically possible—at least if it involves going into the future.
S01E73
We can't see inside other people's minds, but we sometimes believe we can read their thoughts. When we talk to someone, our brain is working overtime, gathering countless pieces of information. But should we really trust it? And what might the consequences be if we're wrong?
S01E74
Chemistry makes our sweaters softer, our world more colourful and pleasant, and it can even save lives. The flip side: we have released so many toxic chemicals that we have severely damaged our ecosystem. And these substances are increasing. Where are the limits of our Earth's capacity, and how do we get a handle on the poison?
S01E75
Chance, destiny, predestination, God. People have come up with many explanations for events that either seem completely unbelievable or highly improbable. Albert Einstein said, God "does not play dice." Like many scientists since Newton, he was convinced that the world could, in theory, be calculated down to the smallest detail. In his view, there was no such thing as chance. Everything was merely an endless chain of cause and effect. So, if one had enough data, one could also predict the future. "Einstein was wrong," says quantum physicist and artist Libby Heaney. Because the tiniest particles in the world behave completely randomly. Have we just not yet deciphered their laws, or is our world fundamentally governed by chance?
S01E76
The vast sea - a symbol of boundlessness. But is it really so? Who does the sea actually belong to? In the past, it was simple: as far as the cannons could shoot, that much sea belonged to the land. Nowadays, the distribution is more complicated, also because we use the sea in diverse and intensive ways. But can the sea and its treasures be distributed fairly at all?
S01E77
The beauty of the peacock troubled Darwin for a long time. It didn't quite fit into his theory of evolution and the idea of "survival of the fittest." Darwin came to the conviction that animals must also possess a sense of beauty. Especially the females, who select the "beautiful" males. Modern-day ornithologist Richard O. Prum is convinced that "the complexity of aesthetic and sexual pleasure" in the animal kingdom is far more developed than we give it credit for.
S01E78
Many researchers believe that we won't experience more and more wind in the world, but rather less and less. Indeed, if the ice melts at the poles and they warm up, the temperature difference between the equator and the poles will also decrease. Now, this temperature difference is the "engine" that drives our winds: warm, humid air rises at the equator and flows towards the poles, where it cools and descends. If this temperature difference decreases, there should therefore be less wind. And that's what happened: for decades, the wind slowly decreased. About ten years ago, the average wind speed increased again. Why is this happening? Climate research is still lost in conjecture.
S01E79
Let's be honest: when we think about rising sea levels, we initially think that the water rises the same way all over the world—like in a bathtub. And if we're talking about an annual rise of about 4 millimeters, it seems harmless at first. But it's not that simple. There is a global average, which we find, for example, in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But these reports also state that if we continue as we have been—and by that we mean the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere—we could expect a sea level rise of up to one meter by the end of the century. This is no small matter when you consider that many coastal cities are only a few centimeters above sea level, and some are even below.
S01E80
Most people can tell quite early on whether they are attracted to women or men. But what if our desire isn't as determined as we think? Are we all perhaps bisexual?
S01E81
The dominance of our species has consequences: we have created conditions that fuel rapid evolution. Global warming, climate change, hunting, habitat destruction, resource exploitation, and pollution are forcing nature to adapt to rapidly changing conditions. As a result, new variants emerge within populations or even entirely new species, adapting to new circumstances within a few generations. Can this rapid evolution help us find a solution to the loss of species?
S01E82
We've all experienced it: a name that slips our mind or a new password. Forgetting is annoying and sometimes embarrassing. But how does the brain decide what we forget? There's a kind of competition among our memories. Stronger, more repeated impressions prevail over weaker ones. But are these erased memories lost forever? This question has been the subject of debate for decades. But in recent years, a new idea has emerged! It's possible that memories still exist. "If we stimulate the cells, the memories become available again. So, memory survives the forgetting process, but it only re-emerges under the right conditions. In a sense, this could mean that we lose the address of the memory, but not the memory itself," explains neuroscientist Tomás Ryan. Could we one day recover all our memories?
S01E83
Humans lie, deceive, and wage merciless wars. Sometimes it seems as if evil is typically human. On the other hand, humans can also be good, love, and even make peace with enemies. Which side within us is stronger? The good or the evil?
S01E84
Humanity is dependent on electricity. Power outages have been rare for us so far, but our electricity system is being transformed: renewable energies are intended to replace the fossil fuels that have reliably supplied us. Additionally, the risks of natural disasters and cyberattacks are increasing. At the same time, our electricity demand is growing tremendously.
S01E85
Glaciers are wonders of nature and tourist attractions, and they are also the largest reservoirs of drinking water on the planet. In fact, 70% of the world's freshwater resources are frozen as snow or ice. These "water towers" have a major impact on our lives.
S01E86
Since the dawn of time, mankind has aspired to one thing only: to go further and further beyond the limits of what he knows. But how far is it possible to travel in space? Could we reach the stars?
S01E87
From a very early age, we are instilled with the idea that lying is wrong. Yet learning to lie is a normal and necessary stage in our psychological development. What if lying made the world a better place?
S01E88
Some people dream of being cryogenically frozen. It's a way to defy death, to come back when things are better, or simply to know what the Earth will look like in a hundred years. But don't you have to be a little crazy to want to lock yourself in a freezer? Is it possible to stay frozen like that for decades and pick up your life right where you left off?
S01E89
Whether in mobile phones, glass or even in our underwear, sand is everywhere in our lives. Without it, there would be no houses and no roads. According to the UN Environment Programme, each person consumes around 17 kilograms of it every day, and our rising consumption is causing problems: Ecosystems around the world are being destroyed by sand extraction. But could we ever run out of sand?
S01E90
Adults laugh 20 times a day, children up to 500 times. But where does humour begin and end? And why does someone find something funny that makes no one else laugh? Humour is eminently subjective and depends very much on the context. So can we give a general and definitive answer to the question What is funny? Behavioural psychologist Peter McGraw tackles the question.
S01E91
While scientists agree on the date (4 billion years ago), their opinions diverge on the place and conditions that saw the birth of life on our planet. Did the first cells emerge from a primordial soup rather than from primitive oceanic hydrothermal springs? Or could life on Earth have originated elsewhere? 42 attempts to explain it all.
S01E92
When we harm someone, we may be punished, the point of which is to be made aware of the harm we have done to others. So goes the theory. But researchers warn against the harmful effect of punishment, which they believe can lead to more crime. Could prison and fines have the opposite effect to the one intended?
S01E93
We spend large stretches of our waking hours imagining things or just daydreaming. Why are we so often away in the clouds? What are our imaginations for?
S01E94
Our genes determine many of our characteristics: our build, our height, the colour of our eyes or even our predisposition to music. Could it be possible to control the mechanisms that activate and inhibit our genes, as epigenetics seeks to do? Could this science make us more intelligent, more musically gifted or more athletic?
S01E95
The biggest movement in our lives is one that we don't even notice: The continents of the earth are on the move, albeit in slow motion. For several decades now, humans have been developing an understanding of where this continental drift could lead: We are all moving towards a supercontinent that unites almost all the planet’s land masses. But what would life be like on this supercontinent called Amasia?
S01E96
Every dog owner knows this well: the relationship between humans and dogs is unique. A powerful and unbreakable bond, perhaps even love. No other animal is as close to its owner or adapts so well to human constraints. But what makes this relationship so special? Do dogs really love us? And if so, why?
S01E97
Corruption has been part of society since the dawn of time, swallowing up colossal sums of money which could be spent on improving everyone’s lives. Is it possible to get rid of it once and for all? And could corruption be useful for society as a whole?
S01E98
Vultures can spot a dead antelope from five kilometres away, while seals can dive into deep water, even under the ice. It is also said that many animals have a mysterious sixth sense: they can predict imminent natural disasters. Do animals access knowledge that is beyond humans? Are they cleverer than us?
S01E99
The richest man in the world - Frenchman Bernard Arnault - is worth more than 200 billion euros. Around the world, the super rich are getting ever richer. Since money can buy power and influence. Are billionaires undermining democracy?
S01E100
Words shape our thoughts. And it is most often in our mother tongue that we reflect, that we find the words to understand the world. How does our language of socialization change our perception of the world? Would we be a completely different person if we had a different mother tongue?
Salvează ce ai văzut, ce vrei să vezi și ce ți-a plăcut. E gratuit.
Ca să-ți salvezi titlurile, confirmă mai întâi adresa de email. Ți-am trimis un link la înregistrare.
Retrimite linkul