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‘Though all must travel through the dark side, we must always keep the sunny side in view.’
In 1971, the Canadian filmmakers Martin Duckworth and Pat Crawley set out to shoot a scene centred around a small airplane in flight, piloted by the Canadian stunt pilot Ross Harold Wanamaker. The proceedings turned tragic, however, when the plane, carrying Wanamaker and Crawley, spiralled out of control and crashed, leaving Wanamaker dead and Crawley seriously injured. The resulting short documentary Accident (1973) captures the crash as filmed by Duckworth, who was on the ground with a camera, as well as Crawley’s experience in the months that followed. Recovering after the crash, Crawley finds himself in what he describes as a perpetually ‘stoned’ state – with philosophical thoughts buzzing in his head, and a newfound acceptance of the inevitability of death.
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Music
‘Dun dun dun duuun!’ Why Beethoven’s Fifth sticks in the head and stirs the heart
5 minutes
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Art
The irreverent duo who thumbed their noses at the Soviet Union and the US art world
11 minutes
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Thinkers and theories
Henri Bergson on why the existence of things precedes their possibility
3 minutes
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Ageing and death
Demystifying death – a palliative care specialist’s practical guide to life’s end
4 minutes
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Metaphysics
Why mathematical truths exist with or without minds to consider them
8 minutes
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Stories and literature
A French Creole folktale nearly lost to time is given new, gorgeously animated life
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Computing and artificial intelligence
Struggling to learn how to do a backflip, Nikita takes on an unusual training regimen
12 minutes
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Personality
Why cleaning up crime scenes requires a rare mix of grit and empathy
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Mood and emotion
An Oceanic lullaby, ‘Gimme Shelter’ and more elucidate how music taps into our emotions
58 minutes