Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Sea urchins are members of a tube-footed sea creature family that includes sand dollars and starfish. To reach maturity, they must brave treacherous, extraordinary journeys. Conceived in the open sea from sperm and eggs released by adults, sea urchin larvae develop small, spaceship-shaped exteriors to help them float to a more permanent home. When the time is right to settle down, the spherical larvae turn themselves inside out, revealing a small, many-legged adult that has been growing inside. Part of KQED’s science documentary series Deep Look, this stunning high-definition video chronicles one of nature’s most spectacular transformations.
Video by KQED Science and PBS Digital Studios
Narrator and Writer: Amy Standen
Producer: Josh Cassidy
video
Death
Even in modern secular societies, belief in an afterlife persists. Why?
9 minutes
video
Nature and landscape
Take a serene hike through an ancient forest, inspired by a Miyazaki masterpiece
6 minutes
video
Design and fashion
The mundane becomes mesmerising in this deep dive into segmented displays
14 minutes
video
Physics
A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet
9 minutes
video
Animals and humans
An artist and ants collaborate on an exhibit of ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’
5 minutes
video
Mathematics
How a curious question about colouring maps changed mathematics forever
9 minutes
video
Physics
A dreamy tribute to the music of Brian Eno, rendered in paint, soap and water
2 minutes
video
Biology
To understand how an animal sees the world, start with the shape of its pupils
5 minutes
video
Technology and the self
Why we should worry less about ‘sentient’ AIs and more about what we’re teaching them
16 minutes