
Connections Episode 1: The Trigger Effect (1978) [video] - itronitron
https://archive.org/details/james-burke-connections_s01e01
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PaulAJ
Utterly brilliant. If you haven't seen it before then do watch the whole
series. It may be over 40 years old, but its still as relevant as ever.

The opening piece about the fragility of our modern technostructure was eye-
opening when I first saw it and still packs a punch today. And especially
right now.

Spooky co-incidence: the initial pieces to camera were made from the World
Trade Centre. Then in the sequence on the power cut he talks about
Scandinavian Flight Nine-Eleven being in danger of hitting the towers of down-
town NY.

Also in Episode 4, look at the size of that military sat-nav! For bonus
points, type the coordinates into Google Earth to see where he is sitting.

~~~
corpMaverick
Is it really that old? I remember seeing it in the 90s and it didn't look that
old. I loved it, I wish there was a remake or something similar more current.
May be someone can add commentary on the old series updating it with current
knowledge. I would watch that.

~~~
markfive
There was a Connections 2 series in 1994 which is the one I remember watching
and loving as a teenager:
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370117/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370117/)

~~~
PaulAJ
Connections 2 wasn't a patch on the original. Connections 3 was just milking a
dead cow.

However _The Day the Universe Changed_ is very good.

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riffraff
+1 for "The Day the Universe Changed", I watched it a few years back and I
loved it (and my wife too).

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sneak
Undoubtedly James Burke is the reason I give a shit about history at all today
(without which one cannot really have a meaningful grasp on the current world
or its inhabitants, IMO). I was lucky enough to be exposed to these at a young
age.

I have a directory on my file server with local copies of everything he ever
released.

If you’ve never watched this or The Day The Universe Changed, please do. (I
say this as someone who hates TV.)

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
What do you mean by _TV_ in this context?

Edit: oops, hit _reply_ by mistake.

I cannot stand having my television viewing experience interrupted by
irrelevant advertising, and because of this I do not have anything in my house
that connects to the antenna on the roof the previous occupant(s) of this
dwelling installed.

 _Television shows_ themselves, or whether they’re called? _Series_? Damn
there are some good ones!

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mark-r
The first time I saw Connections it was broadcast by the local PBS station. No
commercials.

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john-tells-all
Another wonderful series is "The Secret Life of Machines". Cartoonist Tim
Hunkin explains how machines work, with lots and lots of models and cut-aways
of real life devices. And animations! And moving sculptures! His humor is
pervasive and a delight.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baFaEvBywGc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baFaEvBywGc)

~~~
throwaway829
These overviews give you just enough knowledge to start debugging a broken
household machine. I love it. If anyone's looking for more videos from this
series here's a playlist of the complete series:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDpNQQqdSh8&list=PLByTa5duIo...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDpNQQqdSh8&list=PLByTa5duIolYRtq45Cz_GmtzfWJyA4bik)

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jhayward
James Burke, and Richard Rhodes as well, are the reason I began to see history
as something important and useful, a way of understanding both "how science
happens" as well as "why our society is the way it is".

This knowledge, in the way it is presented, leaves the viewer or reader with a
sense of agency, that what they do can either intentionally or not cause
outcomes with great consequence.

It leaves one feeling one can do important things.

~~~
sbmthakur
Thanks for mentioning Richard Rhodes. I highly recommend his book _The Making
of the Atomic Bomb_ to anyone who is interested in a mix of science and
history.

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JKCalhoun
Yes, so much good stuff in this series. Sagan must have been inspired when he
released his "Cosmos" a year or two later.

But this one has that central thesis that ties all the episodes up with a bow.

Not sure I cared as much for Burke's follow-on series but maybe I need to give
them a second watch. They probably couldn't measure up to his original
"Connections" masterpiece anyway though.

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jimmySixDOF
Funny enough but, there was just a Reddit front page gif clip of Burke
narrating his Connection with a perfectly timed NASA rocket launch. Nice to
see him introduced to a new generation and some of the commentors miss the
cold War referances. "The difference between a Moon Rocket and an ICBM is the
top 15 feet"

[1] [https://v.redd.it/p8mc0yjzu4s41](https://v.redd.it/p8mc0yjzu4s41)

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pstuart
Another link with all 3 seasons included:
[https://archive.org/details/ConnectionsByJamesBurke](https://archive.org/details/ConnectionsByJamesBurke)

p.s. Like many of you here, this show _deeply_ influenced how I look at the
world. This content should be shared far and wide.

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thijsai
I remember, when I was a child, my father brought the Connections video game
home. It was one of the first games I played on our home PC. The game was
similar to Myst, but had a lot of nice explanations and history lessons in
there.

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lame88
How timely. I found this series after watching The Ascent of Man, which I
found after watching Cosmos. Highly recommend all three, especially the Ascent
of Man.

James Burke has a way of conveying a sort of fundamental optimism about
society that I find invigorating. I remember listening to an interview with
him from the past couple years and after all this time, he still sounds as
sharp as ever.

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madengr
As a side question:

I remember seeing a TV science series in the 80’s that had Richard Feynman
explaining how a 30k calorie pyramid of jelly donuts on a barbecue grill was
the equivalent energy a Tour de France cyclist expends in a day.

What show was that? I can’t find anything.

~~~
tapotatonumber9
Maybe PBS "The Ring of Truth” - not Feynman though, Philip Morrison.

[https://youtu.be/Nk8CQNThbc0](https://youtu.be/Nk8CQNThbc0)

~~~
madengr
Thank you! That’s it at 32:20. He and Feynman look similar, and it was 30+
years ago.

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eth0up
I'm typing this comment atop a 1978 fourth printing of CONNECTIONS I just
pulled off my shelf, after seeing this post. A prized possession, found used
in rough shape. It was printed in the US, by Little Brown.

~~~
PaulAJ
I've got a first printing from new. Nyaah!

No dust cover though.

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rajandatta
Brilliant series. I remember watching it when it was released. Recommended.

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selimthegrim
His Scientific American column was pretty good too.

He did a good TV special on climate change around 1989-90 that’s on YouTube
somewhere

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Balgair
Here's Burke's version of wikipedia, for those interested:
[https://webbrain.com/brainpage/brain/C6015FA0-82BF-F1FA-9D05...](https://webbrain.com/brainpage/brain/C6015FA0-82BF-F1FA-9D05-0EA9FD7F845E#-2751)

To me, Tom Scott is the person best taking up Burke's torch.

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h2odragon
At least as of a couple years ago this was available on netflix too. We used
it in homeschooling, wonderful series.

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alcomatt
Other shows from that era worth a watch:

The Ascent of Man

Civilisation

There's also Connections series 2, although it is not as good.

Plus any of BBC Adam Curtis documentaries...

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ffhhj
One of my favourite shows. Found their copy of the best documentary ever
created "Dangerous Knowledge", but it's incomplete:

[https://archive.org/details/DangerousKnowledge_201903](https://archive.org/details/DangerousKnowledge_201903)

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hindsightbias
Burke’s After The Warming, 1989

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfE8wBReIxw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfE8wBReIxw)

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drudru11
Connections was such a great show. Thx for this. Wish I could find the old
black and white Dr Who episodes on YouTube as well.

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airwebster
We had a teacher in the 8th grade that basically forced us to watch the whole
thing. I liked it then. Love it now.

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somefoobar
How hard would it be to restore the video quality? Could it be done with
consumer software?

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rdiddly
Thanks, just watched two of them... gotta be careful or I will lose my whole
Saturday!

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annoyingnoob
Fascinating and timely. I've always loved the series.

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olliej
Yay I love this series!

