Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Astronauts who have seen the Earth from space have often described the ‘overview effect’ as an experience that transformed their perspective on the planet, and mankind’s place upon it. Overview is a short film that explores this phenomenon through interviews with astronauts who have been to space. Some riff on the experience like poets, describing the planet as sheathed in ‘dancing curtains of auroras.’ Others explain their heartache at seeing the globe’s beauty marred by clear-cut forests, erosion and other destructive effects of humanity.
Director: Guy Reid
Producer: Steve Kennedy
video
Political philosophy
The radical activist couple who fought for social change in the courtroom
21 minutes
video
Physics
To change the way you see the Moon, view it from the Sun’s perspective
5 minutes
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
6 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
Can providing humanitarian aid be illegal? A troubling case from the US-Mexico border
17 minutes
video
Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
12 minutes
video
Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
video
Information and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
17 minutes
video
Meaning and the good life
Wander through the English countryside with two teens trying to make sense of the world
10 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes