How does the creative brain work? Nancy Andreasen, neuroscientist and neuropsychiatrist, has spent her life studying the relationship between brain function, mental illnesses and the emergence and continuance of creativity.
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What does quantum mechanics tell us about our world -- or are there many worlds due to probability waves? How does the general theory of relativity mesh with quantum mechanics? If you've wished you understood quantum mechanics (or at least grasped the basics) physicist Brian Greene can help!
2015 • Physics
You may think you know who wrote the Declaration of Independence and what it says -- but do you really? Political theorist Danielle Allen looks at the document's origin and originators to give us a picture of the men and the moment in time that shaped the United States of today.
2015 • People
It is hard to imagine a sky without an airplane in it. But David McCullough takes us back to the first days of aviation. We learn about the Wright Brothers, not only through their achievements, but by discovering who they were as people and the early family influences that shaped their characters.
2015 • People
Jason Silva is a positive futurist who wants us to be excited about "the adjacent possible" and the ways we need to embrace the coming technological changes -- the "tools" that will change us as a people and alter humankind.
2015 • Technology
How has Capitalism affected the world? Raj Sisodia, economic analyst, takes us back to pre-Industrial Revolution to show how our standard of living has improved. But now , he feels, it is time for another kind of capitalism - conscious capitalism - based on a value system deeper than profits.
2015 • Economics
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?
2015 • Economics
How does the creative brain work? Nancy Andreasen, neuroscientist and neuropsychiatrist, has spent her life studying the relationship between brain function, mental illnesses and the emergence and continuance of creativity.
2015 • Brain
In the 21st century devices create more data than humans do. Rick Smolan, author of The Human Face of Big Data, shows the positive force of the collection of data in worldwide examples of the uses of medical data, personal data and business data to enrich people's lives.
2015 • Technology
Sylvia Earle, marine biologist and author, discusses the need to preserve and protect the amazing global eco-system of the oceans.
2015 • Nature
Professor Shapiro shows us how some images can prompt two, or even three, equally valid interpretations. Rather than settling on one interpretation, our brains tend to switch among all of them – leading to some baffling and astonishing visual experiences.
Could the power of fake pills be used to treat some of our most common medical complaints? To find out, Dr Michael Mosley embarks on Britain's largest ever trial to investigate the placebo effect. He is heading to Blackpool to gather 117 people suffering from backache - one of the leading types of chronic pain - before trying to treat them with nothing but fake pills and the power of the mind. Working with experts from the University of Oxford, Michael discovers that the placebo effect is more than just a medical curiosity. The brain is actually capable of producing its own drugs, and these can be more powerful than prescription painkillers. Michael's volunteers come from all walks of life, but they have all suffered with bad backs for years and feel their conventional medication isn't up to the job. They include Stacey, who is struggling to keep up with her two energetic daughters, wheelchair user Jim, who longs to be able to get back on a boat, and poker player Moyra, who is looking for a painkiller which doesn't affect her performance. They think they are taking part in the trial of a powerful new painkiller, but their blue and white capsules actually contain nothing but ground-up rice. Can this fake treatment make a real difference? And how will the volunteers react when Michael reveals the truth? Michael also finds out about some remarkable placebo experiments from around the world, including a woman in Oxfordshire who experienced a near-miraculous recovery after undergoing fake surgery to fix her chronic shoulder pain. Plus a team in Lancashire who want to see if the placebo effect can cure a broken heart. And Michael discovers a team in Germany working on a placebo that works even if you know you are taking it, which might improve the lives of transplant patients. Michael also tests this out on himself - attempting to train his own body to respond to a fake treatment - a foul-tasting green drink - as if he were taking actual drugs.
Michael Mosley and a team of experts place human behaviour under the microscope. In the final episode, Michael and scientists Dr Jack Lewis and Dr Jennifer Wild explore the biology of fear and anxiety in the modern world. Fear is one of our most basic human emotions. In the past, it kept us from being eaten by a wild animal. But today, that isn't so much of a threat and yet we live in a state of anxiety - it's becoming unhealthy.
S1E5 • Meet the Humans • 2017 • Brain
How can a lie become true? In this episode, Dr. Aaron Blaisdell and I create a game show that is actually a giant “human Skinner Box” to observe the formation of superstitious beliefs. And Dr. Samuel Veissière helps me design and perform a placebo reverse exorcism, harnessing the power of belief in both science and religion to convince normal people that a spirit has possessed their bodies.
S3E7 • Mind Field • 2019 • Brain
How are our moral decisions influenced by factors we’re not aware of? A phenomenon known as Moral Licensing claims that when we do something good, we often subconsciously allow ourselves to then do something bad. In this episode, I take a look at whether those who donate money to charity become more likely to let a kid take the blame for a crime they know they committed.
S3E2 • Mind Field • 2018 • Brain
What do you get when you cross a clown teacher, a comedian and neuroscientist? Surprising new insights about what it takes to be funny.
Bright Now • 2020 • Brain