Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The world population has more than doubled over the past 50 years, ballooning from roughly 3.5 billion to more than 7 billion. That sounds concerning, frightening even. Do more people mean a lower quality of life across the globe? In this video by Wingspan Productions, the Swedish medical doctor and statistician Hans Rosling interprets global population figures with compassion, clarity and humour to separate the myths and misconceptions from the facts. Dissecting and laying out the very real challenges that humanity faces, his message remains that the world is a much better place than many people think.
Producer and Director: Dan Hillman
Executive Producer: Archie Baron
©Wingspan Productions Ltd 2013
Licenced from the Gapminder Foundation under a Public Licence (see full terms here).
video
Film and visual culture
A lush animated opus evokes the frenzied pace of modern life
4 minutes
video
Family life
The precious family keepsakes that hold meaning for generations
10 minutes
video
Archaeology
What did the first people who entered Tutankhamun’s tomb see?
5 minutes
video
Information and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
17 minutes
video
Childhood and adolescence
Marmar is living through a devastating war – but she’d rather tell you about her new dress
8 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
video
History
There are fragments of Romani Gypsy history all over the UK – if one knows where to look
3 minutes
video
Biology
Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings
3 minutes
video
Anthropology
Does Mogi’s future lie with her horses on the Mongolian steppe, or in the city?
16 minutes