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Based on a passage from the Rochester Bestiary, a richly illustrated 13th-century text on real and mythical animals, De Herinacio (On the Hedgehog) is a stop-motion animated glimpse into Medieval thought. Relaying a creative interpretation about why hedgehogs have spines in its original Latin, this charming short video from the Polish animator Ala nunu Leszyńska and Discarding Images illuminates a time when animal mythology was used to reinforce Christian morals.
Director: Ala nunu Leszyńska
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Chemistry
Why do the building blocks of life possess a mysterious symmetry?
12 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
A whale hunt is an act of prayer for an Inuit community north of the Arctic Circle
8 minutes
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Cosmology
Tiny, entangled universes that form or fizzle out – a theory of the quantum multiverse
11 minutes
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Music
The peculiar beauty of a song caught between composition and improvisation
3 minutes
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Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
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Astronomy
The history of astronomy is a history of conjuring intelligent life where it isn’t
34 minutes
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Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes
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Metaphysics
Simple entities in universal harmony – Leibniz’s evocative perspective on reality
4 minutes
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Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes