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Among the thinkers who weighed in on the theory of the social contract, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) took the position that freedom is good, but security is better. Now we must ask whether the likes of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange are justified in their efforts to expose far-reaching government surveillance operations, or whether intelligence agencies are just taking the necessary safety measures to respond to an increasingly volatile world. This animated short video boils down the complex question of freedom vs security to its most essential, asking what are we prepared to give up to feel safe.
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Love and friendship
Never marry a man you love too much, and other views on romance in Sierra Leone
5 minutes
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Engineering
Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?
15 minutes
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Virtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
16 minutes
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History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
6 minutes
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Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
13 minutes
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Stories and literature
Two variants of a Hindu myth come alive in an animated ode to Indian storytelling
14 minutes
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Technology and the self
The commodified childhood – scenes from two sisters’ lives in the creator economy
14 minutes
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Fairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes
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Food and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes