The cosmos, with its billions of galaxies and countless stars, isn't the only one. We share our lives with another universe: The world of the small, of the viruses, of the bacteria. We call this strange hidden kingdom the Microcosmos. We share our world with the microcosmos. Will we coexist in an uneasy peace, or will it destroy us? In 2020, A tiny virus caused a global pandemic, COVID-19. This pandemic makes people see the world completely differently, because there was an invisible universe, pretty much ignored for the most part. Very, very tiny things have a huge impact on our lives. The microcosmos is complex, while some parts kill us, others keep us alive. The microcosmos is responsible for the very oxygen that we breathe and the soil on which we live. And it will influence our future as we venture out into space.
Humans have long gazed up at the night sky, wondering whether other lifeforms and intelligences could be thriving on worlds far beyond our own. But over the last few decades, ultra-sensitive telescopes and dogged detective work have transformed alien planet-hunting from science fiction into hard fact. We expected to find worlds similar to the planets in our own solar system, but we instead discovered a riot of exotic worlds. Vivid animation based on data from the most successful planet hunter of them all, the Kepler space telescope, brings these worlds into view: puffy planets with the density of polystyrene, unstable worlds orbiting two suns and 1,000-degree, broiling gas giants with skies whipped into titanic winds. But perhaps the most startling discovery was the number of worlds that may be contenders for a second Earth, at the right distance from their sun to have that ingredient so crucial for life as we know it, liquid water. Amongst them, we witness the most tantalizing discovery of all: a so-called ‘super-Earth’, situated in the Goldilocks zone - the area just the right distance from a sun to potentially support life - and with the faint signal of water in its atmosphere.
When Japan’s military expansion in the Pacific reaches its fever pitch, Roosevelt is forced to act. By cutting off oil supplies, he hopes to force Japan to back down. But far from sedating their imperial expansions, he pushes them to take one of the greatest gambles in military history – taking their entire striking fleet 4000 miles across the Ocean to attack the American Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor. It’s a huge gamble, and if it goes wrong, it will spell suicide for Japan.
Mid-1942, as Hitler’s forces are pushing into southern Russia to take the oilfields, he spies a city prized by his enemy Stalin – Stalingrad. If Hitler can capture this city, he can expand his empire all the way to the Urals. But what Hitler hasn’t counted on is the enormous resilience of the Soviet people; men and women willing to defend their Motherland at all costs. What ensues at Stalingrad is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated 2 million total casualties, and an event that turns the tide for the Germans.
The Haas team looks to reverse its recent fortunes with a new sponsor and two rookie drivers: Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher. Reliable Netflix gang-show entertainers, Guenther Steiner and his motley Haas crew are it again. This time they invited a Russian oligarch to sponsor them and his spoilt son to drive, what could possibly go wrong? It soon turns out Nikita Mazepin can’t make head nor rear diffuser of the VF-21 car, being easily trounced by team-mate Mick Schumacher: 'I don’t know how he drives that thing' says poor Niki. Soon, some rather rude phrases are being exchanged between the team and driver, with the elder Mazepin threatening to withdraw his sponsorship early on in the season. However, what can only be described as a genius tyre call at his home grand prix in Sochi means young Maz rescues the situation and blazes a trail to finish.
Even as the science grew more certain, the oil industry continued to block action to tackle climate change in the new millennium. In a revelatory interview, Christine Todd Whitman, George W. Bush's former environment chief, tells the story of how the industry successfully lobbied President Bush to reverse course on his campaign promise to regulate carbon emissions. Tensions grew between two of the world's biggest oil companies, ExxonMobil and BP, after the latter publicly called for action to tackle climate change. The election of Barack Obama provided hope for supporters of climate action, but the billionaire Koch brothers made an effort to block the new president's attempts to pass climate change legislation, and climate denialism became the mainstream position of the Republican Party. A lawyer who worked for Koch brothers through this period speaks on camera for the first time.
In 2020, A tiny virus caused a global pandemic, COVID-19. This pandemic makes people see the world completely differently, because there was an invisible universe, pretty much ignored for the most part. Very, very tiny things have a huge impact on our lives. The microcosmos is complex, while some parts kill us, others keep us alive. The microcosmos is responsible for the very oxygen that we breathe and the soil on which we live. And it will influence our future as we venture out into space.