Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
If 100 years ago futurists were imagining things that were not so different from Skype-like global communications technologies and wonders such as a device that could encompass all the instruments of an orchestra, they did so on distinctly analogue lines. What no one foresaw, however, was that a single system would underpin nearly every innovation of the coming information revolution. Enter Claude Shannon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated mathematician who solved the communication problem that early 20th century thinkers didn’t even know we had.
Director: Adam Westbrook
Website: Delve
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