The Spirit Molecule investigates dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a naturally occurring psychoactive compound, which exists in humans, and potentially every living organism. Utilizing Dr. Rick Strassman's government-sanctioned, human DMT research as the documentary's backbone, the study's potential impact and its inconceivable revelations emerge. A closer examination of DMT's effects through two traditionally opposed concepts, science and spirituality, The Spirit Molecule unravels the connections between cutting-edge neuroscience, quantum mechanics and human spirituality. The Spirit Molecule, a simple molecule with enormous implications. The subtle combination of science, spirituality, and philosophy results in an abundance of incredible ideas and theories that could alter the way we understand the nature of reality and our relationship to it.
The documentary explores the controversial use of marijuana and the evolution of mainstream society. From a dangerous narcotic, listed as a Schedule 1 Drug substance since the 1970s, to the rush to decriminalize it today. What has changed and why? What will the cannabis industry look like in five years? Will it retain its integrity as a homegrown industry or be co-opted by Big Business? Experts, growers, celebrities and politicians weigh in on the future of Cannabusiness.
Bill Gates is on a mission. He needs to unlock the mysteries of the PDP-10 computer. But the adults won't share the source code with 13-year-old Bill. So he enlists his older friend Paul Allen. Together they boldly go where no one has gone before. If they find the source code, Bill and Paul will finally be able to master the computer. The connections that shaped Bill Gates' life come into focus, including a childhood friendship and his unique bond with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
A ground-breaking new trial at Imperial College London sees, for the first time ever under controlled conditions, a psychedelic drug tested head-to-head against a standard antidepressant as a treatment for depression. The film follows a pioneering team of scientists and psychotherapists as they compare the effects of psilocybin (the active ingredient of magic mushrooms) with an antidepressant on a small group of participants with clinical depression. This is scientific research at its most cutting edge. With over seven million people being prescribed antidepressants each year in England alone, this drug trial is an important milestone in understanding a completely different treatment for depression. How do psychedelic drugs measure up against the industry-standard antidepressants that have been popular since the 1990s? The empirical results of the trial are explored alongside the participants’ powerful lived experience.
The cycle of life of a handful of different animals is captured on film in a whole new way in this documentary. Using special motion-control photography equipment, Genesis allows filmgoers to view animal behaviors which are too small, too slow, or too difficult to normally be seen with the naked eye, including a chick hatching its way out from inside an egg, jellyfish drying into nothing under the heat of the sun, or a snake slowly swallowing prey bigger than itself. This footage is accompanied by narration from Sotigui Kouyate, who uses simple props and easily understandable analogies to explain the science behind what its shown on screen. Genesis was directed by Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou, who previously created another acclaimed scientific documentary, Microcosmos.
Montezuma Dan Snow journeys to the ancient heart of Mexico in search of the lost civilisation of the Aztecs and their last and greatest ruler, Montezuma II (1502-1520). Montezuma inherited an empire of five million people, stretching from present-day Mexico to Nicaragua, from his uncle. His rule was marked by incessant warfare. Enemy states were growing more powerful and conquered tribes were becoming more rebellious. Within months of taking the throne in 1502, he went changed a man of good reason into a pitiless autocrat who declared himself a god, believing that fear and ruthlessness were the only ways to stop the empire falling apart. Yet it was at the hands of Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors that Montezuma met his downfall. But what was his relationship with Cortes, and why did such a ruthless leader submit to his captors with such relative ease? As Dan Snow visits the ruins and picks through current excavations, he pieces together the evidence of a gripping story: a divine tragedy of errors, the clash of civilisations, the end of a world - and a very human God.
The Spirit Molecule, a simple molecule with enormous implications. The subtle combination of science, spirituality, and philosophy results in an abundance of incredible ideas and theories that could alter the way we understand the nature of reality and our relationship to it.