With ever more refined techniques for measuring complex brain activity, scientists are challenging the understanding of thought, memory and emotion–what we have traditionally called “the self.”

Astronomer Jill Tarter leads the charge to search for intelligent life on other planets by listening to clues from over 40 radio telescopes. Episode filmed live at the 2010 World …

The first detection of colliding black holes rocked the scientific world, establishing that gravitational waves are real and that we are able to measure them. More recently, scientists have achieved …

Deep in the oceans, marine biologist Marah Hardt counts coral, sea urchin, and fish and looks for patterns to understand what makes reefs sick or healthy. Create a coral reef …

Albert Einstein spent his last thirty years unsuccessfully searching for a ‘unified theory’ — a single master principle to describe everything in the universe, from tiny subatomic particles to immense clusters of galaxies. In the decades since, generations of researchers have continued working toward Einstein’s dream.

Every generation benefits from the insights and discoveries of the generations who came before. “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” wrote Isaac Newton. In a special series, the World Science Festival invites audiences to stand on the shoulders of modern-day giants.