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From the ascent of King James I in 1603 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the House of Stuart’s rule over England, Ireland and Scotland was marked by bloodshed, political turmoil, religious conflict, and occasional chaos. But it was also an era of scientific enlightenment, growing wealth in the British Isles, and radical thinking that ultimately paved the way for the creation of the modern United Kingdom – England and Scotland were officially united by Queen Anne in 1707, and merged with Ireland in 1801 – and its constitutional monarchy. Presented by the British comedian David Mitchell, this cleverly animated history condenses the tumultuous, pivotal Stuart period to a brisk few minutes.
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Anthropology
For an Amazonian female shaman, ayahuasca ceremonies are a rite and a business
30 minutes
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Gender
A filmmaker responds to Lars von Trier’s call for a new muse with a unique application
16 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
Why large language models are mysterious – even to their creators
8 minutes
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Spirituality
Through rituals of prayer, a monk cultivates a quietly radical concept of freedom
4 minutes
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Fairness and equality
‘To my old master’ – a freed slave answers the request to return to his old plantation
7 minutes
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Design and fashion
A ceramicist puts her own bawdy spin on the folk language of pottery
14 minutes
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Animals and humans
Villagers struggle to keep their beloved, endangered ape population afloat
19 minutes
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Language and linguistics
Why Susan listens to recordings of herself speaking a language she no longer remembers
5 minutes
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Ethics
Plato saw little value in privacy. How do his ideas hold up in the information age?
5 minutes