Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
‘I just be silent, because I know I found my joy. It’s not Jesus, not Allah. It’s a piece of wood. What else can I say?’
After buying tap-dancing shoes for his son on a whim, Fred Nelson found himself enraptured by tap, which quickly became a central part of his identity and life philosophy. In He Who Dances on Wood, by the US director Jessica Beshir, Nelson explains how the powerful catharsis and renewal he feels through tap-dancing on a simple block of wood is something close to transcendent, and why there’s joy in learning new things even as he’s ‘about to leave the world’.
Director: Jessica Beshir
Website: BRIC TV
video
Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
video
Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
video
Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands
29 minutes
video
Cognition and intelligence
What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment
8 minutes
video
Earth science and climate
The only man permitted in Bhutan’s sacred mountains chronicles humanity’s impact
22 minutes
video
Art
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes
video
The ancient world
An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub
2 minutes
video
Ethics
For Iris Murdoch, selfishness is a fault that can be solved by reframing the world
6 minutes