Homo Techno
“Homo Techno” features stories—including that of a paralyzed former gang member who received brain implants allowing him to move a robotic arm by pure thought—that prompt Lightman to think about how advances in science and technology are causing us to evolve into a new species, Homo Techno, part human and part machine. What essential qualities will we want to preserve? Curiosity? Anger? Love?
Episodes
-
Homo Techno
S1 E103 - 56m 45s
“Homo Techno” features stories—including that of a paralyzed former gang member who received brain implants allowing him to move a robotic arm by pure thought—that prompt Lightman to think about how advances in science and technology are causing us to evolve into a new species, Homo Techno, part human and part machine. What essential qualities will we want to preserve? Curiosity? Anger? Love?
-
The Big & The Small
S1 E102 - 56m 45s
“The Big & The Small” dramatizes the fact that humans are almost exactly the same distance—in terms of powers of ten—between an atom and a star. But where do we fit in the moral universe? Alan Lightman speaks with an advanced android and then a rabbi, a bio-ethicist, and the Dalai Lama about whether such a being could achieve consciousness and whether we could unplug her without asking permission.
-
The Stars & The Osprey
S1 E101 - 56m 44s
“The Stars & The Osprey” begins with Alan Lightman's late-night experience alone on the ocean when he felt connected to the stars and ends with a memorable eye-to-eye encounter with a wild creature. Alan attempts to reconcile these transcendent experiences with the material world of atoms and molecules. Can science explain such experiences in terms of the brain? Are humans nothing but matter?
WETA Passport
Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.
Similar Shows
![Doug's Geology Journal: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2024/04/16/247049-OQC7tEY-show-poster2x3-D3QRMw2.jpg?itok=0rXCmjlY)
Doug's Geology Journal
Science and Nature
![Wild Rivers with Tillie: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2024/04/16/251793-da4NlJG-show-poster2x3-VucyHzQ.jpg?itok=kCwDf2QY)
Wild Rivers with Tillie
Science and Nature
![SciGirls Stories: Black Women in STEM: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2023/12/18/262799-l9hHB4w-show-poster2x3-YvLA9Wi.jpg?itok=eEHo-c5U)
SciGirls Stories: Black Women in STEM
Science and Nature
![Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2024/04/17/3551-LdP0ir4-show-poster2x3-78VYFIr.jpg?itok=Qq1OqHUY)
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies
Science and Nature
![Spillover - Zika, Ebola & Beyond: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2023/05/10/2248-gF59NRjrn4Q6CnpS0R7fxQ.jpg?itok=vEix6vqz)
Spillover - Zika, Ebola & Beyond
Science and Nature
![I Contain Multitudes: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2021/07/29/4251-TVFToGi-show-poster2x3-qbyblaj.jpg?itok=YjRQKDNj)
I Contain Multitudes
Science and Nature
![The Great Polar Bear Feast: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2022/03/09/3925-uo2LHrpG5mVeymXTvQ5qQ.jpg?itok=r2DkWWxl)
The Great Polar Bear Feast
Science and Nature
![Wild Alaska Live: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2024/04/17/4648-1Npc33T-show-poster2x3-m1QDtAV.jpg?itok=Tdd6Tz8P)
Wild Alaska Live
Science and Nature
![Hacking Your Mind: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2024/04/17/1925-UvnkRTf-show-poster2x3-O3LPJoI.jpg?itok=7e9Z8Bwh)
Hacking Your Mind
Science and Nature
![Supercharge Your Brain: Maximizing Your Cognitive Abilities: show-poster2x3](/sites/default/files/styles/230x346/public/pbs_media_manager_images/2024/03/21/294638-JbwWqKv-show-poster2x3-KPqSbs7.jpeg?itok=TOEHBKMI)
Supercharge Your Brain: Maximizing Your Cognitive Abilities
Science and Nature