curiosity stream

Connections with James Burke

Season 1
A mind-blowing romp through history builds a pathway to the present – and a breakthrough that stands to profoundly change our future.
20236 episodes13+
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Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Seeing the Future

    November 8, 2023
    46min
    13+
    James connects the dots between Napoleon’s toothpick and the Nielsen TV ratings to see how scientists have built the quantum computer – a data-processing machine so powerful that it can predict the future.
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  2. S1 E2 - The End of Scarcity

    November 8, 2023
    47min
    13+
    James jumps in the sensory deprivation tank with a man who took LSD with dolphins to discover how syphilis in the French aristocracy kicked off a journey to the nanofabricator–a machine that can build anything you wish for molecule by molecule for free. What will that mean for the value of things?
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  3. S1 E3 - In the Net

    November 8, 2023
    48min
    13+
    James opens a cabinet of curiosities to discover how the French Revolution wallpaper and NORAD brought about the rise of big data – and a world where humans finally merge with the internet.
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  4. S1 E4 - None of This is Real

    November 8, 2023
    40min
    13+
    Dog pee the Polaroid camera and rocket fuel lead us to a future where AI is indistinguishable from human intelligence. If we can’t tell machines and people apart what will that mean for humanity?
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  5. S1 E5 - Designer Genes

    November 8, 2023
    41min
    13+
    A cup of coffee in the 18th century takes James to the pioneering woman who discovered the structure of DNA and a future with genetically engineered people. Will we want to be Super-Human?
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  6. S1 E6 - Limitless Energy

    November 8, 2023
    42min
    13+
    How did a journey that began thousands of years ago with the Inca and the potato connect to a mad scientist in a castle and German beer then bring us to the brink of a future with clean limitless energy? And what will that future mean for humanity?
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Content advisory

Violencesubstance usealcohol usesmokingsexual content

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Directors

Bigger Bang

Studio

Bigger Bang
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