The Answer to (Almost) Everything
S01:E18 - What Is Funny?
T01:C04 - S01:E04 - Are We Too Many?
How many people can the Earth actually sustain? And if there really are too many of us – which of us is actually too many?
T01:C05 - S01:E05 - How Strongly Does Our Mother Tongue Shape Us?
We think in words. We usually do this in our native language. It allows us to put the world around us into words. But languages differ. The toolbox they provide can be completely different.
T01:C06 - S01:E06 - Do We Need Corruption?
Whether it's buying the rights to host football world championships or bribing politicians: corruption works well until someone finds out about it.
T01:C08 - S01:E08 - Whos Is Stealing Our Sand?
Whether it's a cell phone, glass, or underwear, sand is everywhere. Without it, there would be no houses, no roads. "Without sand, we would be lost," emphasizes environmental scientist Pascal Peduzzi.
T01:C09 - S01:E09 - Do Dogs Really Love Us?
Anyone who owns a dog is convinced: the relationship between dog and human is something unique. A close, unbreakable bond, perhaps even love.
T01:C10 - S01:E10 - What Power Do Smells Have?
Many people don't consider their sense of smell particularly important. However, if we had to give up one of our senses, surveys show that the majority would choose not to. In fact, 25 percent of students surveyed would rather lose their sense of smell than their smartphone.
T01:C11 - S01:E11 - Who Owns the Ocean?
Who actually owns the sea? For centuries it was regulated like this: As far as a cannonball flew - that's how much sea belonged to one's own country.
T01:C12 - S01:E12 - Is Mankind Evil
Humans lie, cheat, and wage war mercilessly. Sometimes it seems as if evil is inherently human. On the other hand, people can be good, love, and even make peace with their enemies. Which side of us is stronger?
T01:C13 - S01:E13 - Can Animals Sense Beauty?
Sometimes nature appears to us humans like a gigantic catwalk, showcasing its full beauty. Is what we perceive as beauty in the animal kingdom "merely" a result of natural selection in reproduction?
T01:C14 - S01:E14 - What Is Fantasy For?
In our minds, we often see and experience things that have little to do with reality. We spend a large part of our waking hours daydreaming. But imagination also plays a crucial role in focused thinking.
T01:C15 - S01:E15 - Are We Sinking Into the Sea?
Who doesn't love the beach, the endless expanse of the sea – but will that very thing soon become a danger? It's a fact that climate change is causing sea levels to rise, but not all coastlines are affected equally.
T01:C18 - S01:E18 - What Is Funny?
Adults laugh 20 times a day, children up to 500 times. But where does humor begin and where does it end?
T01:C19 - S01:E19 - Will Catastrophe's Make Us Better?
What if disasters don't just kill and cause suffering? What if disasters were ultimately even helpful? After all, we survived the last great ice age; many large vertebrates didn't
T01:C20 - S01:E20 - Can We Outsmert Our Genes?
Whether we are fat or thin, tall or short, have blue or brown eyes, whether we are musical or not—all of this is determined by our genes. But if we can't influence our genes themselves, perhaps we can influence their regulatory mechanisms that activate or deactivate certain genes?
T01:C21 - S01:E21 - Will a Different Wind Soon Be Blowing?
Until now, wind has been the neglected child of climate research: too difficult to measure, too variable, and with too little data from the distant past.
T01:C22 - S01:E22 - Will We Freeze Ourselves?
Have you ever considered putting your life on ice? To wake up only when all of today's problems have been solved? Or simply to see what the Earth will look like in a hundred years?
T01:C23 - S01:E23 - Why Do We Forget?
For a long time, we viewed forgetting as a weakness of the human mind. But, as neuroscientist Tomás Ryan asks, “What if forgetting isn’t a flaw of the brain? What if it serves a function?
T01:C25 - S01:E25 - What Is the Point of Penalties?
The state has an entire justice system at its disposal to prosecute wrongdoing and impose punishments. But do punishments achieve what we hope they will?
T01:C26 - S01:E26 - Are We Facing a Blackout?
We all depend on electricity. Our modern lives are connected to a network of copper wires. Power outages are still rare here. But our electricity system is being transformed: renewable energies are to replace the fossil fuels that have reliably supplied us until now.
T01:C27 - S01:E27 - What if the North Pole Becomes the South Pole?
The situation is actually quite clear: the North Pole is in the north, the South Pole in the south. And a compass needle always points north. More precisely: to the magnetic North Pole, a point on Earth not far from the geographic North Pole.