Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
An insect native to the Oaxaca region of Mexico, the cochineal spends most of its life feeding on cacti nutrients. While, from a human point of view, these parasitic insects may have somewhat unremarkable lives, they’ve long captured our attention for the unmatched brilliance of the crimson hue produced by their hemolymph – the arthropod equivalent to blood, which in most insects is clear. Captured in stunning 4K resolution, this video from the science documentary series Deep Look captures the fascinating biology of these small creatures, as well as how female cochineal have been cultivated for centuries, and can still be used in food colourings today.
Video by KQED Science
Producer: Rosa Amanda Tuirán
Writer: Laura Klivans
Cinematographer: Josh Cassidy
video
War and peace
A century later, can poetry help us make sense of the First World War’s horrors?
9 minutes
video
Language and linguistics
The little Peruvian guide to public speaking that conjures up a grandiose world
7 minutes
video
Engineering
For one of nature’s great builders, finding a mate means weaving the perfect nest
4 minutes
video
Life stages
What Michelangelo’s late-in-life works reveal about his genius – and his humanness
13 minutes
video
The ancient world
Archeological discoveries animate the life of the warrior queen who took on Rome
6 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
Preserving memories of a Japanese internment camp, and the land where it stood
8 minutes
video
Making
Trek to a remote Himalayan village where artisans craft teapots fit for kings
11 minutes
video
Political philosophy
Beyond the veil – what rules would govern John Rawls’s ‘realistic Utopia’?
6 minutes
video
Stories and literature
To capture grief in poetry is to describe the ineffable. Here’s why Tennyson did it best
8 minutes