Video: philosophy
this page last updated: Thursday 12 March 2020
Meaning and Mental Health: Dr Joel Vos, PhD — The Weekend University
8 September 2019
We live in an era of political, economic and climatic crises. Any normal individual would be emotionally affected by such events. Therefore, it is not a surprise that some experts claim that we currently face the largest mental health crisis mankind has ever experienced. In fact, almost one in two people will now experience a severe mental health problem at some point during their lifetime.
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The future of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy — TED
9 August 2019
Could psychedelics help us heal from trauma and mental illnesses? Researcher Rick Doblin has spent the past three decades investigating this question, and the results are promising. In this fascinating dive into the science of psychedelics, he explains how drugs like LSD, psilocybin and MDMA affect your brain — and shows how, when paired with psychotherapy, they could change the way we treat PTSD, depression, substance abuse and more.
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How You Really Make Decisions (2014) — Horizon, BBC
6 June 2019
Horizon uncovers the truth about how you really make decisions. Every day you make thousands of decisions, big and small, and behind all them is a powerful battle in your mind, pitting intuition against logic. This conflict affects every aspect of your life — from what you eat to what you believe, and especially to how you spend your money. And it turns out that the intuitive part of your mind is a lot more powerful than you may realise.
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Inside Alan Moore's Head — ARTE
3 May 2019
In this 8-part web series Alan Moore, author of graphic novels like Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell, draws us into his world-view. We follow one of the most influential graphic artists into a universe of occultism, mysticism and anarchy. Between dystopian visions and far-sighted social analysis, Moore explains how his comics are a swan song to our era.
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Why people in Europe and America are so angry — Pankaj Mishra, VPRO
19 April 2019
What happened in Europe and America to make people so angry? Is it the political situation that makes them angry? What is it that makes citizens angry nowadays? In this documentary, VPRO and Indian writer Pankaj Mishra investigate the reasons for anger and angry citizens in Europe and America.
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Professor David Nutt: Psychedelic Therapy – Mind Medicine Australia
21 February 2019
Professor David Nutt presents keynote lecture ‘Psychedelic therapy: A New Paradigm For Mental Health’ at the launch of Mind Medicine Australia. Mind Medicine Australia is a health promotion charity enabling the development of regulatory-approved and research-backed psilocybin and MDMA-assisted therapies for the treatment of mental illness in Australia.
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Slavoj Žižek Vs Will Self in Dangerous Ideas — How To: Academy
5 November 2018
An evening of Dangerous Ideas with the philosopher Slavoj Žižek and polemicist Will Self. Exchanging ideas over todays ideological, political and economic faultlines, from mass migration and geopolitical tension to explosions of populist, ethnic and religious passion, all framed by a global capitalism which seems bent on provoking its own apocalyptic demise.
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American Psychosis — Chris Hedges, Amanda Zackem
23 October 2018
Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, author and activist Chris Hedges, discusses modern day consumerism, totalitarian corporate power and living in a culture dominated by pervasive illusion. American Psychosis is the first short documentary in a series of films that highlight a variety of issues under the umbrella of totalitarian capitalism and totalitarian corporate power. The intent of this series is to activate US citizens to fight against the corporate powers that are privatizing basic human rights, destroying the environment and oppressing the people.
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Red-Brown Alliances, Fake News & Genocide Denialism — Struggle Video Media
4 June 2018
Panel at the Left Forum, New York City from June 2018 with Syrian refugee Ahed Festuk, John Reinmann, Jason Hicks and Ann Eveleth. Stanley Heller moderated.
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K is for Karl: The basic ideas of Karl Marx — Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
27 May 2018
“Why does Marx matter today?” is the question posed by British journalist and filmmaker Paul Mason in five short films produced by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung to commemorate Karl Marx’s 200th birthday. Through Marx, Mason explores the topics of “Alienation”, “Communism”, “Revolution”, “Exploitation” and “The Future of Machines” in order to demonstrate how Marx, who Mason describes as the most influential thinker of the modern world, remains deeply relevant to understanding our contemporary world.
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Jonathan Meades on Jargon — Francis Hanly, BBC
27 May 2018
In this provocative television essay, writer and broadcaster Jonathan Meades turns his forensic gaze on that modern phenomenon that drives us all up the wall — jargon. In a wide-ranging programme he dissects politics, the law, football commentary, business, the arts, tabloid-speak and management consultancy to show how jargon is used to cover up, confuse and generally keep us in the dark. He contrasts this with the world of slang, which unlike jargon actually gets to the heart of whatever it's talking about even if it does offend along the way. With plenty of what is called ‘strong language’, Meades pulls no punches in slaying the dragon of jargon.
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Aaron Bastani meets David Harvey: We're Back in Marx's Story — Novara Media
5 May 2018
Last September Aaron Bastani sat down with the world's leading expert on Karl Marx: David Harvey. They discussed the relevance of Marx today, productivity, China and so much more.
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Carne Ross: From British Diplomat to Anarchist — Real Media
12 January 2018
Carne Ross speaks about his journey to anarchism, the dangers and problems of top-down government, the misperception of what anarchism is, and he offers some hope for change. This is the first of three interview films with “The Accidental Anarchist”.
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Labour: The Summer that Changed Everything — David Modell, BBC
20 November 2017
Film-maker David Modell follows Labour MPs through an extraordinary six months in the life of their party, through the election and its aftermath, as the shocking result changes British politics in ways few of them predicted.
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Chris Packham: Asperger's and Me — BBC
17 October 2017
For most of his life, broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham didn't tell anyone about the one thing that in many ways has defined his entire existence. Chris is autistic — he has Asperger's Syndrome, which means he struggles in social situations, has difficulty with human relationships and is, by his own admission, ‘a little bit weird’. But what if there was a way of taking away these autistic traits? Would Chris ever choose to be ‘normal’?
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The Brain with David Eagleman — David Eagleman, PBS, BBC
8 August 2017
Neuroscientist David Eagleman explores the wonders of the human brain in a series that reveals the ultimate story of us, why we feel and think the things we do.
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Utopia: In Search of the Dream — Richard Clay, BBC
8 August 2017
Series in which art historian Professor Richard Clay explores visions of ‘utopia’ and examines what they reveal about our deepest hopes, dreams and fears.
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Young Fathers' response to Looking Good — Black Barn Media
1 August 2017
Mercury Prize-winning band Young Fathers perform a response to Looking Good, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery's exhibition exploring male image, identity and appearance. Their commentary is part of a contemporary response to themes about male representation and explores issues around privilege and inequality and conventions of historic portraiture and its display.
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Militant Labour (1981) — TV Eye, Thames
16 July 2017
Within the Labour Party, and with a strong base in Liverpool, there exists a Trotskyist group called Militant. They claim footholds in two to three hundred constituencies, 5,000 committed supporters and 60+ full-time employees.
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Naomi Klein and Jeremy Corbyn Discuss How to Get the World We Want — The Intercept
13 July 2017
Naomi Klein in London at the Houses of Parliament with Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, three weeks after the Labour Party in an historic election won many, many more seats than anybody predicted. They talk about the importance of a forward-looking, bold agenda to do battle with the right.
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Jeremy Bernard Corbyn ‘What Was Done’ — Bonnie Prince Bob
2 May 2017
Bonnie Prince Bob reflects on the political history that led to the appointment of England's greatest ever Prime Minister ‘Jeremy Corbyn’. If you enjoyed this production and would like to support future work then please consider donating to Discontent/Bonnie Prince Bob here: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/web...
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Cornel West: ‘I have deep fear for this democratic experiment’ — Newsnight, BBC
11 November 2016
Following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, philosopher and civil rights activist Dr Cornel West talks to James O'Brien about what this might mean for America's future.
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HyperNormalisation (2016) — Adam Curtis, BBC
18 October 2016
We live in a time of great uncertainty and confusion. Events keep happening that seem inexplicable and out of control. Donald Trump, Brexit, the War in Syria, the endless migrant crisis, random bomb attacks. And those who are supposed to be in power are paralysed — they have no idea what to do. This film is the epic story of how we got to this strange place. It explains not only why these chaotic events are happening — but also why we, and our politicians, cannot understand them.
It shows that what has happened is that all of us in the West — not just the politicians and the journalists and the experts, but we ourselves — have retreated into a simplified, and often completely fake version of the world. But because it is all around us we accept it as normal. But there is another world outside. Forces that politicians tried to forget and bury forty years ago — that then festered and mutated — but which are now turning on us with a vengeful fury. Piercing though the wall of our fake world.
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Marx: Genius of the Modern World — Bettany Hughes, BBC
26 June 2016
Bettany Hughes investigates the revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx. Born to an affluent Prussian family, Marx became an angry, idealistic radical, constantly on the run for his political agitating and incendiary writing. In Paris he first formulated his explosive analysis of capitalism and its corrosive effects on human nature. In Brussels he co-authored the Communist Manifesto with Frederick Engels. In London his obsessive theorizing dragged his family into poverty and tragedy.
Marx's masterpiece Das Capital was largely overlooked in his lifetime, and only 11 people attended his funeral. Yet his ideas would generate one of the most influential, and divisive, ideologies in history. Drawing on expert opinion and new evidence, Bettany reveals the flesh-and-blood man and his groundbreaking ideas.
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On Contact with Chris Hedges — RT
12 June 2016
Author and social critic Chris Hedges hosts a weekly interview show called On Contact, which will air “dissident voices” currently missing from the mainstream media. Hedges interviews the black sheep of the establishment, leading discussions that can’t be heard anywhere else.
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Comrades (1992) — Cutting Edge, Channel 4
21 March 2016
Documentary on Liverpool’s Militant Tendency, following former Labour party MP and Militant member Terry Fields on his general election campaign.
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Living in the End Times According to Slavoj Zizek (2010) — VPRO Backlight
17 February 2016
Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek is given the floor to show of his polemic style and whirlwind-like performance. The Giant of Ljubljana is bombarded with clips of popular media images and quotes by modern-day thinkers revolving around four major issues: the economical crisis, environment, Afghanistan and the end of democracy. Zizek grabs the opportunity to ruthlessly criticize modern capitalism and to give his view on our common future.
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Plato on: The Allegory of the Cave — The School of Life
8 January 2016
Plato made up an enduring story about why philosophy matters based on an allegory about a cave...
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Arthur Schopenhauer — The School of Life
2 October 2015
Schopenhauer was deeply influenced by Buddhist thought and is in many ways the West’s answer to it: he too tells us to reign in our desires and adopt a consolingly pessimistic attitude to our struggles.
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The Empire Files — Abby Martin, TeleSUR
5 September 2015
From inside history's biggest empire: Files logged by Abby Martin recording a world shaped by war and inequality.
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Days of Revolt with Chris Hedges — TeleSUR
31 August 2015
New weekly TV series hosted by award-winning journalist, author and activist, Chris Hedges. Features interviews with fellow revolutionary activists and thinkers.
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Robert Griffiths: Don't Dream The American Dream — Oxford Union
30 August 2015
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain, Robert Griffiths, gives his argument in opposition of dreaming the American dream. Griffiths opens by saying it's about time that we give up dreaming the American Dream, as it's a myth. Multimillionaires who have made their fortune in a system that is based on exploitation, discrimination and inequality have promoted the American dream. He says that the wealthiest one percent of the population own a third of the country's wealth and more than 50 percent of stocks and shares. This makes it one of the most unequal societies on earth.
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Cornel West and Richard Wolff talk about Capitalism and White Supremacy — The Laura Flanders Show, GRITtv
28 July 2015
A conversation about capitalism with two brilliant minds, Cornel West and Richard D. Wolff, together in a rare joint appearance. Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, and author most recently of Capitalism’s Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown 2010-2014. Dr. Cornel West has written or edited dozens of books, including classics like Race Matters, and Democracy Matters. His most recent is Black Prophetic Fire, written in conversation with Christa Buschendorf.
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Revolutionary Philosophy: Slavoj Zizek, philosopher — Worlds Apart, RT
10 May 2015
Revolutions are often initiated by idealists, carried out by fanatics and hijacked by scoundrels. These observations by philosopher Thomas Carlyle still ring true about many of the revolutions we've seen in recent years. To what extent can revolutionary goals be achieved through violence, and when is the cost of change too high? Oksana Boyko is joined by influential philosopher Slavoj Zizek to analyse these issues.
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Chomsky and Krauss: An Origins Project Dialogue — Black Chalk Productions
14 April 2015
Join intellectual giant Noam Chomsky and noted physicist and public intellectual Lawrence Krauss for an intimate evening of conversation at the Origins Project Dialogue. Science, Mind, and Politics is a candid and unscripted conversation on contemporary issues on the nature of humanity, the power of science and the mind, and global social justice.
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Political Control — Adam Curtis, Charlie Brooker's 2014 Wipe
31 March 2015
So much of the news has been hopeless, depressing and above all confusing; to which the only response is, “oh dear”. But what this film is going to suggest is that that defeatist response has become a central part of a new system of political control. And to understand how this is happening, you have to look to Russia; and to a man called Vladislav Surkov, who is hero of our time.
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Political Theory: Marx — The School of Life
31 March 2015
Karl Marx remains deeply important today not as the man who told us what to replace capitalism with, but as someone who brilliantly pointed out what was inhuman and alienating about it.
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The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012) — Slavoj Žižek, Sophie Fiennes
30 December 2014
Through psychoanalysis, Žižek explores the mechanisms that shape what we believe and how we behave. Žižek appears transplanted into the scenes of various movies, exploring and exposing how they reinforce prevailing ideologies. As the ideologies undergirding cinematic fantasies are revealed, striking associations emerge.
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Now Then: The Hidden Systems That Have Frozen Time And Stop Us Changing The World — Adam Curtis
4 August 2014
Throughout the western world new systems have risen up whose job is to constantly record and monitor the present — and then compare that to the recorded past. The aim is to discover patterns, coincidences and correlations, and from that find ways of stopping change. Keeping things the same. We can't properly see what is happening because these systems are operating in very different areas — from consumerism, to the management of your own body, to predicting future crimes, and even trying to stabilise the global financial system — as well as in politics. But taken together the cumulative effect is that of a giant refrigerator that freezes us, and those who govern us, into a state of immobility, perpetually repeating the past and terrified of change and the future.
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An Inconvenient Truth: drugs and government policy — Professor David Nutt, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
6 April 2014
Professor Nutt's view is that illicit drugs should be classified according to evidence of the actual harm they cause. His analysis of nine ‘parameters of harm’ (grouped as ‘physical harm’, ‘dependence’, and ‘social harms’) classified alcohol and tobacco as more harmful than LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. In this ranking, alcohol came fifth behind heroin, cocaine, barbiturates and methadone, and tobacco ranked ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy.
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The Strange Case of the Law — Harry Potter, BBC
2 October 2013
A series of 12 films in which barrister Harry Potter looks at the history of English justice, from the early concept of compensation, through the development of the jury to the founding of the police.
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Clare Balding's Secrets of a Suffragette — Harvey Lilley, Channel 4
8 June 2013
Clare Balding uncovers the story of Emily Wilding Davison, finding out how a middle-class governess from a genteel family became a radical activist. She explores the hidden history of the militant wing of the votes for women campaign to which Emily belonged, revealing stories of terrible police brutality, forced feeding of hunger strikers, the early use of surveillance tactics that persist to this day and women prepared to use any means necessary to advance their cause.
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The House I Live In — Eugene Jarecki
15 January 2013
Filmed in more than twenty states, this film captures a definitive and heart-wrenching portrait of individuals at all levels of America's War on Drugs. From the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge, the film offers a penetrating look inside America's longest war, revealing its profound human rights implications. more »
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Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life — Richard Dawkins, Channel 4
30 October 2012
Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins asks if science can provide answers to the big questions we used to entrust to religion.
Episode 1 — Sin
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Episode 2 — Life After Death
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Episode 3 — The Meaning of Life
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Prof David Nutt and Dr Les King at the UK government drugs inquiry — Parliament TV
15 July 2012
The Commons Home Affairs Committee hears from scientific experts about the role of evidence in drug policy. Prof Nutt is the founder of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD) and former Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) Chairman. Dr King is a former ISCD and former ACMD Member. The Committee questions them both on their experience of working with Government and the difficulties involved in having evidence-based drug policy. more »
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Is Alcohol Worse than Ecstasy? (2007) — Horizon, BBC
12 July 2012
Recent research has analysed the link between the harmful effects of drugs relative to their current classification by law with some startling conclusions. Perhaps most startling of all is that alcohol, solvents and tobacco (all unclassified drugs) are rated more dangerous than ecstasy, 4-MTA and LSD (all class A drugs). If the current ABC system is retained, alcohol would be rated a class A drug and tobacco class B.
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Marxian economics and class-analysis theory — Professor Richard Wolff (Brecht Forum in New York)
27 January 2012
Here are a series of online courses and lectures that provide an understanding of the core concepts of Marxian economic theory. Wolff has a very straight-forward and gripping way of presenting Marx's work to his audience, dispelling the myths surrounding this subject and applying the theories to present times.
Marxian Economics — An intensive introduction
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Marxian Class Analysis Theory and Practice
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Advanced & Applied Marxian Economics
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Slavoj Zizek: Far Right and Anti-Immigrant Politicians on Rise in Europe — Democracy Now
7 November 2010
Amy Goodman interviews “the Elvis of cultural theory” Slavoj Zizek, Slovenian philosopher, psychoanalyst and cultural theorist.
part 1 Democracy Now!
part 2 Democracy Now!
Escape and Control: Stories About People Trying To Control The Internet — Jon Ronson
3 November 2011
Online documentary series where Ronson turns his attention to the internet. Specifically, those people who try to control it — for good or bad.
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What does socialism mean in 2010? — Newsnight, BBC
13 September 2010
All five of Labour's leadership contenders said in a live televised debate that they would describe themselves as socialists. Veteran Labour politician Tony Benn and the political editor of the New Statesman, Mehdi Hasan, tell Jeremy Paxman what they believe socialism means in 2010.
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The Crises of Capitalism — RSA Animate
25 July 2010
Is it time to look beyond capitalism towards a new social order that would allow us to live within a system that could be responsible, just and humane?
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The Crisis Now — David Harvey
25 July 2010
Debate from Marxism 2009.
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Class and Class Struggle — David Harvey
25 July 2010
The rich ‘elite’ do not want you to think in terms of class. Harvey explains why.
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Capitalism & Other Kids' Stuff — Freedom Films
25 July 2010
Capitalism explained in a way that anyone can understand.
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Ready, Set, Grow! — High Times
25 July 2010
This complete and extensive instructional film will teach you everything you need to know to grow a top-quality crop, safely and efficiently in the privacy of your own home.
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Nice Guys Finish First (1987) — Horizon, BBC
15 June 2010
Richard Dawkins explains how natural selection can favour co-operation in nature, so long as it is of benefit to the selfish gene. Conservatives prefer to live in a society where “survival of the fittest” rules. Socialists, on the other hand, prefer a society where everyone co-operates together. This battle is constantly being fought world-wide, but in this programme you will see the scientific method prove that the Conservative approach only leads to mutual destruction.
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Professor David Nutt — HARDtalk, BBC
26 May 2010
Professor Nutt is one of the UK's leading neuroscientists. In 2009, he suggested that LSD, ecstasy and cannabis were less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. He was promptly sacked as the government's chief advisor on drug abuse.
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David Harvey, Marxist Academic — HARDtalk, BBC
5 May 2010
Professor David Harvey tells Sarah Montague that capitalism is amoral and lawless, and should be overthrown. more »
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The Peasants' Revolt (2004) — Tony Robinson & David Willcock
9 March 2010
Robinson investigates the 1381 rebellion of commoners seeking to overthrow the control of the aristocracy, creating a benchmark in the quest for justice. They were badly beaten, and many were beheaded, but their actions set the standard for working-class dissent.
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Fighting Talk (1991) — AFA
5 February 2010
Documentary film about the ‘Anti Fascist Action’ group.
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Oops, Wrong Planet — Stephen Ramsey
5 February 2010
This documentary explores how the Asperger world, once a solitary, cut-off place, has entered the mainstream of modern life, thanks to the increasing importance of digital technology.
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Interview with Noam Chomsky (2009) — HARDtalk, BBC
4 November 2009
Chomsky is one of the world's most prominent and controversial public intellectuals. He is an internationally renowned professor of linguistics, but he is also a longstanding critic of US foreign policy and the influence of big business over the American government. When he published his first political critique 40 years ago, he was fired up by the war in Vietnam. Today he is still raging against America's influence and calls the war in Afghanistan “immoral”.
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Is it better to be mixed race? — Dr Aarathi Prasad & Julian Jones
3 November 2009
This documentary asks is it a biological advantage to have parents of different ethnic backgrounds? Aarathi Prasad, a geneticist and mother of a mixed-race child, sets out to challenge the ideas of racial purity and examines provocative claims that there are in fact biological advantages to being mixed race.
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Stop and Search: Know Your Rights — EMTEP Hype Newcastle
3 November 2009
Some guidance on what to do if you're ever stopped by the police in the United Kingdom. Features solicitor Michael Crowe.
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Alcohol vs Marijuana — Bill Hicks
2 November 2009
The British government has sacked its chief drugs advisor Prof David Nutt. The chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs said in a lecture that cannabis was less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. He was sacked because he presented a scientific truth that the government did not feel comfortable with. What is the point in having scientific advisors if you disregard their findings?
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The Genius of Charles Darwin — Richard Dawkins
11 October 2009
In this powerful three-part polemical series, Dawkins explains who Charles Darwin was, how he developed his theory, what it is, and why it matters. He reveals how Darwin changed forever the way we see ourselves, the world and our place in it, and hopes to convince us that “evolution is fact, backed by undeniable evidence”.
Part 1: Life, Darwin and Everything...
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Part 2: The Fifth Ape...
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Part 3: God Strikes Back...
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What We Still Don't Know — Martin Rees
11 October 2009
Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees explores the possibility that life exists on planets beyond our own; explains how scientists have had to revise long-held beliefs about the very nature of the universe, and in the process re-evaluate our place here; and reveals the logical steps that have led cosmologists and philosophers to the shocking conclusion that The Matrix scenario cannot be safely relegated to our storybooks. more »
Part 1: Are We Alone?
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Part 2: Why Are We Here?
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Part 3: Are We Real?
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Interview with French socialist philosopher Alain Badiou — HARDtalk, BBC
26 August 2009
As the world's richest economies plunge deeper into recession, could there be a whiff of revolution in the air? Badiou has been an intellectual hero of France's anti-capitalist left since the Paris street protests of 1968. His recent book The Meaning of Sarkozy, in which he attacked the French President, has caused a storm in France.
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The History of the Devil — Malin Film and Television
26 August 2009
This documentary looks at how the concept of evil, as symbolised by the devil, has changed over the centuries to fit the needs of governments, churches, leaders and many others.
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Big Ideas that Changed the World: Democracy — Tony Benn
4 January 2009
Documentary in which veteran Labour MP Tony Benn uncovers the unsung heroes that gave the British public the vote and traces how democracy spread from Britain across the world. He argues that Britain's hard-won democratic freedom is now being taken away by global big business and asks what can be done to get it back.
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Guns, Germs and Steel — Jared Diamond
3 January 2009
Based on Diamond's Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, this series traces humanity's journey over the last 13,000 years. Inspired by a question put to him on the island of Papua New Guinea more than thirty years ago, Diamond embarks on a world-wide quest to understand the roots of global inequality.
Part 1: Out of Eden
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Part 2: Conquest
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Part 3: Tropics
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Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness — Alain de Botton
30 December 2008
This six-part series on philosophy is presented by popular British philosopher Alain de Botton, featuring six thinkers who have influenced history, and their ideas about the pursuit of the happy life.
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Part 1: Socrates on Self Confidence
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Part 2: Epicurus on Happiness
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Part 3: Seneca on Anger
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Part 4: Montaigne on Self-Esteem
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Part 5: Schopenhauer on Love
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Part 6: Nietzsche on Hardship
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You can run... but can you hide? — Panorama, BBC
5 November 2008
Is Britain on its way to becoming a surveillance society, or has it already arrived?
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The Mark Steel Lectures — BBC and Open University
1 November 2008
A trip into the slightly off-centre world of some great thinkers. Amid the historical debate that surrounds these figures, Steel paints his own provocative picture of these figures of genius, dedication, conviction, oddness and above all, passion.
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Tony Benn — HARDtalk, BBC
2 July 2008
Stephen Sackur talks to the former Labour cabinet minister and asks him whether the British government really is endangering fundamental freedoms.
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Why are we here? — The Big Question
9 June 2008
Professor Richard Dawkins takes natural selection to another level and sees within it the roots of life, love and human purpose.
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In God's Name — Dispatches, Channel 4
20 May 2008
David Modell explores the growth and increasing influence of Christian fundamentalists.
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American Drug War: The Last White Hope — Kevin Booth
10 May 2008
This film gives a radical new perspective to the “War on Drugs”, showing how money, power and greed have corrupted not just drug addicts and dealers, but the government and Wall Street itself. The documentary covers everything from the Drug War's origins to the privatised prison system, the Iran-Contra scandal, medical marijuana, the drug laws in Amsterdam, Afghan poppy production and the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s.
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Atom — Jim Al-Khalili, BBC
10 February 2008
Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of one of the greatest scientific discoveries ever: that the material world is made up of atoms.
Part 1: The Clash of the Titans
From the discovery of atoms to the development of quantum mechanics.
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Part 2: The Key to the Cosmos
Radioactivity, the atom bomb and the big bang. Why are we here and how were we made?
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Part 3: The Illusion of Reality
Parallel universes and why empty space is seething with activity.
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Human, All too Human: Sartre — BBC
10 February 2008
Part of a series of films about philosophers and their work. This one looks at Jean-Paul Sartre.
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The Hidden Story of Jesus — Channel 4
3 January 2008
As Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, theologian Robert Beckford investigates remarkable parallels to the Christ story in other faiths, some of them predating Christianity by thousands of years.
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Racism: A History — Paul Tickell, BBC
11 April 2007
Series looking at how racism impacts on people's lives.
Part 1: The Colour of Money
Examines to what extent racism is a product of 17th century economic globalisation.
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Part 2: Fatal Impacts
Looks at Scientific Racism in the 19th century, which drew on now discredited sciences.
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Part 3: A Savage Legacy
When the slavery of African Americans was abolished in 1865, a new age was heralded. Twenty years later these hopes evaporated.
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The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom (2007) — Adam Curtis, BBC
12 March 2007
A series of films by BAFTA-winning producer Adam Curtis, that tells the story of the rise of today's narrow idea of freedom.
Part 1: F**k You Buddy
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Part 2: The Lonely Robot
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Part 3: We Will Force You to be Free
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100% English — Wall to Wall
18 November 2006
Take eight people. All of them born in England. All of them white. All of them convinced they are 100% English. Convince them to provide a sample of their DNA and then submit it to a series of state-of-the-art tests — some of them will be in for a shock when they discover just how English they really are.
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The Root of All Evil? — Channel 4
4 October 2006
In this two-part Channel 4 series, Professor Richard Dawkins challenges what he describes as “a process of non-thinking called faith”. Dawkins is well known for bringing to a wide audience the complex scientific concepts that underpin evolution.
Part 1: The God Delusion
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Part 2: The Virus of Faith
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Testing God (2001) — David Malone, Channel 4
4 October 2006
This series re-examines the relationship between science and religion and asks: is science's claim to victory premature?
Part 1: Killing the Creator examines whether science has foreclosed on the possibility of a creator God and, if not, whether it can.
stream YouTube
Part 2: Darwin and the Divine asks what piece of work is a man?
stream YouTube
Part 3: Credo Ergo Sum looks at the human brain and the human mind.
stream YouTube
Interview with Richard Dawkins — GloboNews
4 October 2006
Discussion on evolution. Starts in Portuguese, but the interview is in English.
stream YouTube
The Blind Watchmaker (1987) — Horizon, BBC
4 October 2006
Did everything in Creation fall together by chance, or was there an intelligent designer like God? Oxford zoologist and writer Richard Dawkins, looks at the spreading disaffection with Darwinism and argues that it should not be written off as a worn out declaration of scientific faith.
stream YouTube
Interview with Richard Dawkins — Newsnight, BBC
25 September 2006
Scientist Richard Dawkins talks about his new book, The God Delusion. He argues that the rise of religious fundamentalism is dividing people around the world, while the dispute between “intelligent design” and Darwinism “is seriously undermining and restricting the teaching of science”.
stream BBC RealMedia
The Doomsday Code — Tony Robinson
21 September 2006
Robinson investigates the insane ‘End Timers’, with powerful political friends in the White House, who are trying to bring about the end of the world.
stream YouTube
The Real Friends of Terror — Ted Honderich
20 September 2006
Can suicide bombers ever be justified? Professor Honderich, Britain's leading moral philosopher, is unafraid to tell the truth as he sees it. Taking what he says is the betrayal of the Palestinian people as his starting point, Honderich reveals who shares moral responsibility for recent acts of terrorism, and points a finger at the politicians. Bizarrely, David Aaronovitch presented a response to this programme, failing completely to address Honderich's “Principle of Humanity”.
stream theDossier
The Pharmacratic Inquisition — Jan Irvin & Andrew Rutajit
16 September 2006
Christianity's Darkest Secrets Revealed. This lecture explores astrotheology and shamanism, unveiling the law of duality in christianity and other religions. Searches for truth in the pursuit of historical accuracy.
stream Gnostic Media
The Century of the Self (2002) — Adam Curtis, BBC
30 August 2006
Four-part series that examines the manipulation of the public by those with power. Freud introduced a technique to probe the unconscious mind and provided useful tools for understanding the secret desires of the masses. Edward Bernays then went on to create “public relations”.
Part 1: Happiness Machines
stream or download Internet Archive
Part 2: The Engineering of Consent
stream or download Internet Archive
Part 3: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads He Must be Destroyed
stream or download Internet Archive
Part 4: Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering
stream or download Internet Archive
Jonathan Miller's Brief History of Disbelief — BBC
9 August 2006
In this first-ever television history of disbelief, Jonathan Miller goes on a journey exploring the origins of his own lack of belief, and uncovering the hidden story of atheism.
Part 1: Shadows of Doubt
stream YouTube
Part 2: Noughts and Crosses
stream YouTube
Part 3: The Final Hour
stream YouTube
Stupidity — Albert Nerenberg
21 February 2005
This documentary film sets out to determine whether our culture is hooked on deliberate ignorance as a strategy for success. Stupidity examines the dumbing-down of contemporary culture, and reveals that despite our extensive access to knowledge and information, humans continue to choose stupidity.
stream YouTube