

Historian James Burke continues his journey through random historical connections that together have shaped our world and provide important clues to our future.
Documentary • Series • 2023 • 1 season
Starring: James Burke
Created by: James Burke

S1 E1 - Seeing the Future
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.
Nov 9, 2023 • 45m

S1 E2 - The End of Scarcity
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?
Nov 9, 2023 • 47m

S1 E3 - In the Net
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.
Nov 9, 2023 • 47m

S1 E4 - None of This is Real
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?
Nov 9, 2023 • 40m

S1 E5 - Designer Genes
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?
Nov 9, 2023 • 41m

S1 E6 - Limitless Energy
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?
Nov 9, 2023 • 41m
Connections with James Burke
Historian James Burke continues his journey through random historical connections that together have shaped our world and provide important clues to our future.
Documentary • TV Series • 2023