Creator Economy • 2015 • episode "S1E6" • Curiosity Retreats: 2015 Lectures

56:16

Paul Saffo looks at the development of the US economy through the 20th and into the 21st century. What are the trends that have shaped the economy? How are innovations in technology and communications making the 21st century an entirely different landscape for producers and consumers?

S1E6 • Curiosity Retreats: 2015 Lectures • 2015 • Economics

114:56

The Bomb tells the story of the most powerful and destructive device ever invented. Learn how humans harnessed this incredible power and what challenges we have faced living with it since 1945. With newly restored footage of nuclear weaponry, some of which has only recently been declassified, go behind the scenes of the first atomic bomb, revealing how it was developed and how it changed the planet, ushering in a new era and reshaping our lives even today. Rare footage from bomb tests through the 1950s and 60s demonstrates the power and strangely compelling beauty of nuclear explosions. Hear from foremost nuclear bomb historian Richard Rhodes, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former Secretary of State George Shultz, as well as from scientists, weapons designers, pilots, witnesses, and ordinary men and women who have lived and worked with the nuclear bomb. Examine the choices society has made--and continues to make--to live with an invention that could destroy the planet.

2015 • Economics

58:28

In the first of this three-part series investigating consumer spending, Jacques reveals how the concept of 'product lifespan' holds the key to our ever-churning consumerism. Exploring the historical origin of planned obsolescence, when some of the world biggest electrical manufacturers formed a light bulb cartel in the 1920s, Jacques reveals how products that are essential to our modern lifestyles are still made to break. During his investigation, Jacques uncovers the process by which a crucial transformation happened and attitudes towards spending were transformed. Instead of needing new goods because our old ones were broken, we learned to want them for reasons of fashion and aspiration - awaking a consumer appetite that could never be satisfied. In the US, he visits a recycling centre where brand-new high-tech goods are destroyed before they have even come out of the box. Jacques also meets some of the companies that encourage consumers to be dissatisfied with what they have and encourage purchases as part of an ever-faster cycle of 'upgrades'. He asks a senior IKEA executive why, despite the company's commitment to sustainability, it still encourages repeated discarding and purchasing. Jacques also talks to a former senior Apple employee who reveals how the company's new focus on fashion, with its colourful iPhones, keeps us buying even when technological innovation slows.

S1E1 • The Men Who Made Us Spend • 2014 • Economics

110:01

This documentary seeks to be the ultimate Odyssey of exploration into Cannabis and its uses starting from the formation of the Endocannabinoid system in the simple sea squirt, through to its early uses, the plant's medical benefits and landing at the modern legalisation movements across the Globe. Where the billions generated in tax could be re-invested back into hospitals, roads, fire departments, scientific research, community projects and the list goes on.

2018 • Economics

58:42

Jacques reveals how the lessons learned from selling to children were used to make childlike consumers of us all. From the rise of product-driven kids’ TV in the 80s, to the man who designed cars that appealed to children, and the contemporary creators of games that hook adults, Jacques asks how spending turned into a game – one that we can’t stop playing.

S1E3 • The Men Who Made Us Spend • 2014 • Economics

15:00

The robot revolution is here. It may seem like robots aren’t all that prevalent, but many people already have robot floor cleaners in their homes. Think Roomba. Most factories now leverage countless bots that never get tired or make mistakes. Soon, cars will be completely auto controlled. CGP Grey discusses the future of robots, and how jobs and the economy will change in this new video. What happens to the economy when most traditional jobs have been replaced by robots?

Economics