Dr Helen Czerski delves into the Horizon archive to chart the transformation of a little-known theory into one of the greatest scientific undertakings in history.
Social & External
Herself - Presenter
Fracking the System is a political thriller documentary from the front lines of climate justice activism in Colorado. When a fracking mega-site gets moved from a White neighborhood to a BIPOC neighborhood, a concerned mother fights to try and stop it. This is an investigative exposé about the harms of fracking, the lengths to which the government is complacent with industrial pollution, and the nefarious tactics that the oil and gas industry uses to undermine democratic elections.
THE BRAIN is an astonishing voyage of discovery into our last biological frontier. Although today s computers can make calculations in one-100th of a second and technology can transport us outside the bonds of Earth, only now are we beginning to understand the most complex machine in the universe. Using simple analogies, real-life case studies, and state-of-the-art CGI, this special shows how the brain works, explains the frequent battle between instinct and reason, and unravels the mysteries of memory and decision-making. It takes us inside the mind of a soldier under fire to see how decisions are made in extreme situations, examines how an autistic person like Rain Man develops remarkable skills, and takes on the age-old question of what makes one person good and another evil. Research is rushing forward. We’ve learned more about the workings of the brain in the last five years than in the previous one hundred.
In the aftermath of the Cold War, Russian and American intelligence agencies, once enemies, joined forces and pooled their data to serve the planet, threatened by global warming. The story of a remarkable odyssey.
Jack Parsons: Jet Propelled Antichrist is a story about one of the fathers of modern rocketry and a founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) which as part of NASA still leads the way in the development of rockets and the exploration of space. He was also an occultist, a sorcerer and a magus. The infamous magician Aleister Crowley the self-proclaimed Great Beast called him son. He called himself ‘The Antichrist’ and was repeatedly investigated by the FBI. At the age of 38 Parsons died in a mysterious explosion that made headlines around the US. Officially it was a tragic scientific accident — other interpretations of the event persist to this day.
Three farming families in Hanyuan, China, strive to give their children a good life in the midst of an ecological crisis, as widespread use of pesticides leads to a dramatic decline in bees and other pollinating insects in the valley.
Documentary about human impact on the world.
2 Degrees is about nothing less than the fight for the health of the planet we call home. The abstract idea of climate change is explored through the weaving of real and emotional journeys an audience can relate to. Our characters battle to mitigate the potential disasters of climate change and fight for climate justice, for it will be the developing world that bears the brunt of our profligacy and short sightedness. While An Inconvenient Truth alerted us to the problems facing the earth, 2 Degrees is the gripping and vital fight for a solution.
Antarctica is the most extreme continent on our planet—higher, colder, and even drier than any other on Earth, and although it is thousands of miles away, what happens here affects every single one of us.
In The Womb is a 2005 National Geographic Channel documentary that focus on studying and showing the development of the embryo in the uterus. The show makes extensive use of Computer-generated imagery to recreate the real stages of the process.
Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive.
A documentary about the 1999 discovery of a Mastodon skeleton in a Hyde Park backyard.
Thule, Greenland, also called Qaanaaqis, one of the northernmost towns in the world. As the climate warms and the ice caps begin to melt, the gentle balance of life for the people of this community is in jeopardy. On the other side of the globe, the melting ice caps are raising sea levels around the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu, threatening to wipe the island right off the map. Though a world apart, these two communities are intricately connected as environmental balance begins to tip and traditional ways of life are threatened. 'ThuleTuvalu' is a stunning documentary addressing the high price of a hundred years of development and how two very different communities are now bound together in facing an uncertain future.
Many geneticists and archaeologists have long surmised that human life began in Africa. Dr. Spencer Wells, one of a group of scientists studying the origin of human life, offers evidence and theories to support such a thesis in this PBS special. He claims that Africa was populated by only a few thousand people that some deserted their homeland in a conquest that has resulted in global domination.
Aftermath: Population Zero investigates what would happen if every single person on Earth simply disappeared. Explore the interactive world without us.
This film shows how far we have come since the cold-war days of the 50s and 60s. Back then the Russians were our "enemies". And to them the Americans were their "enemies" who couldn't be trusted. Somewhere in all this a young girl in Oklahoma named Shannon set her sights on becoming one of those space explorers, even though she was told "girls can't do that." But she did.
Near the cold Pyrenees of Iberia, surrounded by ancient and dark green forests, lies a strange land where the rain is scarce and the wind is always blowing. The soil is poor, there are no trees and the landscape resembles the moon. Is this what the future of desertification will look like? Incredible creatures with surprising behavior live in this strange landscape. The documentary explores a place with very dry skin but a wet hidden heart where even waterfowl or amphibians can live. Living in such conditions is not easy and only the toughest animals will survive.
To the Least of My Brothers and Sisters is a new documentary on the life of Jerome Lejeune, the Father of Modern Genetics that was made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his death. Filmed on two continents, it contains numerous interviews with former colleagues, families, current medical researchers, and others, all who express the importance of Jerome Lejeune in both the history of medicine and the defense of the dignity of human life.
A documentary film that takes us on a scientific and spiritual journey where we discover that by changing one's perceptions, the human body can heal itself from any disease.
Two Canadian experts in underwater filming, Mario Cyr and Jill Heinerth, join forces for the first time to record how Arctic wildlife is adapting to the dramatic effects of climate change.
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