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All What Is Somehow Useful rhythmically arranges pictures from a series of early 20th-century animal experiments to a decidedly disturbing effect, evoking something of an eerie children’s story or lullaby, filled with friendly barnyard creatures whose fates are rather less cheerful. The sequences seem to reveal something both impressive and sinister about human nature, illustrating how adept we’ve become at using animals to serve our own ends. The short film features glass-plate photographs from a collection at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg’s Institute of Agricultural and Nutrition Sciences in Germany.
Director: Pim Zwier
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Biology
Journey deep into the Philippine forest in search of the world’s largest, rarest eagle
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Art
What does an AI make of what it sees in a contemporary art museum?
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Fairness and equality
How the first woman of colour to be elected to the US Congress remade education
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History of ideas
Tantra is, and was, a subversive philosophy of feminine power
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Rituals and celebrations
From roaring fire and molten glass an artist creates a healing ritual
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Ecology and environmental sciences
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Archaeology
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Astronomy
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Economics
We all play by economic rules set by men. What could a feminist economics look like?
30 minutes