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The Science of Kindness: It's Not Easy Being Nice
August 27, 2020 IN Science
Author Josh Kurz is a science communicator and filmmaker, and the co-creator of the audio program Shabam, which uses a zombie apocalypse to talk about real science. By Josh Kurz You might know someone like "Scott." Fun at parties, has passionate opinions about a wide range of topics; space travel, the Mayan calendar, twerking. But … READ MORE
Meet the Mavericks of Science and Medicine
April 21, 2020 IN Science
by Heather Archuletta In 1847, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis proposed a simple tactic: wash your hands. It's difficult to imagine this as a medical "breakthrough," but the Hungarian physician noted that when hand-washing was constant, contagion quickly and measurably plummeted. He experimented with antiseptic solutions, mistakenly assuming his idea would be embraced because it would save … READ MORE
Religion, Science and Belief: Unearthing the Thorny Intersection
Animatronic model of Japeth's wife at The Ark Encounter
February 12, 2020 | BY Craig Phillips IN Science
Filmmakers Monica Long Ross and Clayton Brown have long been fascinated by how science and culture mix–or don't mix–in America. In short, that relationship is complicated. They directed and produced the award-winning documentaries The Atom Smashers (which aired on Independent Lens), which was about the search for the Higgs boson particle, and The Believers, the … READ MORE
Space Scientists of Color, and the "Afronauts"
NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space, waits as her suit technician, Sharon McDougle, performs a unpressurized and pressurized leak check on her spacesuit, 1992.
July 2, 2019 IN Science
What drives humankind to explore? There are several factors that can embolden a person to "seek out new civilizations" or "boldly go where no one has gone before," to borrow from Star Trek's famous opener. History has taught us that famine, war, strife, and persecution can drive people away from their home country, yet positive things like opportunity or hope for a better life can draw us towards the unknown. READ MORE
Women of the Space Agency: Once Forbidden, No Longer Hidden
First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs), seven women who once aspired to fly into space, pose at the Kennedy Space Center near the Space Shuttle Discovery poised for liftoff on the first flight of 1995.
June 28, 2019 IN Women & Girls
In July of 1999, on Apollo 11's 30th anniversary, at a Kennedy Space Center press conference, NASA astronaut and first moonwalker Neil Armstrong lamented, "School children used to say, 'We are reading about you in science class.' Now they say, 'We are reading about you in history class.'" READ MORE
Is Time Itself Brakeless?
Halloween 2006 kicks off in Tokyo on the Yamanote Line at Shinjuku Station. Next stop, Shin-Okubo! Waiting for the targeted 21:07 train / Photographer: Tanenhaus
October 27, 2014 | BY Craig Phillips IN Uncategorized
Can we change how time passes with our minds? Inspired by Brakeless, read this exploration of our perception of time and how it is affected by culture, financial power (or lack thereof), stress, and even by music. Is time a social construct?
Hundreds of Voucher Schools Teach Creationism in Science Classes
January 29, 2013 | BY Maria Goodavage
Zack Kopplin, a student at Rice University and a science education advocate, learned about the Independent Lens film The Revisionaries and contacted us. Kopplin, a winner of the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Education, has done some intensive research with MSNBC that reveals the extent of public school money going to fund education at … READ MORE
Filmmaker Scott Thurman on the Texas Textbook Wars
Filmmaker Scott Thurman seated with Don McLeroy
January 25, 2013 | BY Maria Goodavage IN Education
We sat down with filmmaker Scott Thurman to discuss what went on behind the scenes of his documentary, The Revisionaries, which chronicles the oft-rancorous battle over Texas textbooks. The Revisionaries premieres on Independent Lens January 28 at 10 PM (check local listings). What impact do you hope the film will have? I hope people pay more attention … READ MORE
Filmmaker Q&A: Vanessa Gould's Path from Origami to Obituaries
December 18, 2012 | BY Rebecca Huval IN Uncategorized
Vanessa Gould, the filmmaker behind Between the Folds, talked to us about the similarities between art and science, her favorite conceptual documentaries, and her own attempts at folding the late Eric Joisel's beloved origami rat.