The film depicts the life and work of opera singer Maria Callas in her own words by using performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs nearly all of which have never been shown to the public. Maria by Callas reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time. Her letters and unpublished memoirs are read by opera singer Joyce DiDonato. (Click CC for subtitles)
America says eight out of ten industrial espionage cases now involve China. Governments around the world are uncovering secret operations to expand China's influence - the work of a little-known branch of the Chinese Communist Party called the United Front Work Department. President Xi has called it his 'magic weapon'. Jane Corbin investigates this powerful but shadowy organisation. Has influence become interference as China bids to become the most powerful nation on earth?
The open arenas of grassland and desert make up half of all land on our planet. In these exposed habitats, predators like cheetahs, bald eagles and lions can usually see their prey. But it works both ways: their prey can see them too. With nothing but open vistas, the element of surprise is hard-won, and predators must make their own opportunities.
Brian Greene and an ensemble cast perform this theatrucak work tracing Albert Einstein's electrifying journey towards one of the most veautiful ideas ever conceived - the General Theory of Relativity. With state of the art animation and innovative projection techniques, Light Falls illuminates Einstein'sbreakthuroug moments, near misses, agonizing frustrations, and final emergence into the light, as one intrepid mind took on the universe... and won. Best-selling author, superstar physicist, and cofounder of the World Science Festival Brian Greene (The Elegant Universe, The Fabric of the Cosmos) and award-winning actor Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) perform this dramatic story. Featuring an original score by composer Jeff Beal, Einstein’s electrifying journey toward his greatest achievement is brought vividly to life.
Born in Naples, Bernini was an exceptional talent from an early age and went on to dominate the art world of 17th century Rome. His work epitomised the Baroque style and his sculpture, church interiors and exteriors and town planning could be seen everywhere. Bernini worked under successive Popes; Pope Gregory XV made him a knight and Pope Urban VIII made him as his best friend. He was revered in his time until a jealous rage caused him to have the face of his mistress slashed after discovering her romance with his brother. His reputation fell further after his bell towers for the Cathedral of St Peter's started cracking in 1641. He redeemed himself and kick started his career again with what is arguably his most famous work, The Ecstasy of St Theresa, in 1652.
Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at how we have created machines that can simulate, augment, and even outperform the human mind - and why we shouldn't let this spook us. He reveals the story of the pursuit of AI, the emergence of machine learning and the recent breakthroughs brought about by artificial neural networks. He shows how AI is not only changing our world but also challenging our very ideas of intelligence and consciousness.
Along the way, we'll investigate spam filters, meet a cutting-edge chatbot, look at why a few altered pixels makes a computer think it's looking at a trombone rather than a dog and talk to Demis Hassabis, who heads DeepMind and whose stated mission is to 'solve intelligence, and then use that to solve everything else'. Stephen Hawking remarked 'AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation. Or the worst'. Jim argues that AI is a potent new tool that should enhance our lives, not replace us.
Maria by Callas reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time. Her letters and unpublished memoirs are read by opera singer Joyce DiDonato. (Click CC for subtitles)