Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Getting a paper published in a respected scientific journal can be an exhilarating opportunity for researchers to contribute to their fields, but it’s often a patience-testing exercise in rejection, rewriting and waiting. In this short by the French filmmaker Charlotte Arene, the physicists Frédéric Restagno and Julien Bobroff, both of the University of Paris-Saclay, offer surprisingly amusing accounts of their own experiences of the ‘letter’, the most common format for publishing research in physics. With Arene providing jaunty stop-motion visuals, The Researcher’s Article is an enlightening and lively paean to the process of adding a small drop to the well of scientific knowledge.
Director: Charlotte Arene
Website: Physics Reimagined

video
Philosophy of mind
Do we have good reasons to believe in beliefs? A radical philosophy of mind says no
5 minutes

video
Space exploration
In the search for life, might alien ocean worlds be a better bet than Earth-like planets?
5 minutes

video
Philosophy of religion
How a devout Catholic philosopher approaches the problem of evil
8 minutes

video
Love and friendship
When drawing your muse hundreds of times becomes an exercise in love
7 minutes

video
Thinkers and theories
Is simulation theory a way to shirk responsibility for the world we’ve created?
13 minutes

video
Biology
A dazzling slice-by-slice exploration of wood exposes hidden patterns and hues
2 minutes

video
Architecture
Modern architecture should embrace – not ignore or repel – the nonhuman world
8 minutes

video
Philosophy of mind
We may never settle the ‘free will’ debate, but tapping into it is still worthwhile
32 minutes

video
Ecology and environmental sciences
In an ancient English rainforest, John creates charcoal and cultivates growth
12 minutes