The Human Spark RSS feed for PBS programming.http://video.pbs.orgen-ushttp://video.pbs.orgTue, 21 May 2013 20:58:42 -0400Tue, 21 May 2013 20:58:42 -0400http://video.pbs.org/video/1390247671/Peer into Alan Alda's head to find out which parts of our brain are responsible for our most human characteristics. Where do tool use and language reside? And how do our brains allow us to understand symbolism, figure out what others are thinking, and even travel in time? Are insight and imagination what really make humans unique?http://video.pbs.org/video/1390247671/09/14/2010Peer into Alan Alda's head as we uncover where our most human abilities reside.tv-gHealth Care & IllnessesHealth Care & IllnessesArchaeologyArchaeologyScience & NatureScience & NatureBiology & ChemistryBiology & ChemistryPsychology & The MindPsychology & The MindHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionThe BrainThe BrainEpisodehttp://video.pbs.org/video/1383599160/Alan Alda joins researchers studying human children and chimpanzees to discover why we share some skills with our closest living relatives, but have far surpassed them in our most uniquely human capabilities. Though we both descend from a common ancestor and are genetically so similar, why are we worlds apart in our behaviors and abilities?http://video.pbs.org/video/1383599160/09/14/2010Alan Alda explores how much humans and chimps have in common, and what sets us apart.tv-gScience & NatureScience & NatureAnimalsAnimalsBiology & ChemistryBiology & ChemistryEnvironmentEnvironmentHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionPrimatesPrimatesEpisodehttp://video.pbs.org/video/1378637899/Series host and narrator, Alan Alda, confronts the puzzle of why our ancestors in Africa got the Spark and evolved into us, while the first humans to leave Africa for Europe--the Neanderthals--never did. Why did we flourish, while they changed very little for thousands of generations before eventually dying out?http://video.pbs.org/video/1378637899/09/14/2010Alan Alda explores why our ancestors flourished, while our Neanderthal cousins died out.tv-gHistoryHistoryArchaeologyArchaeologyPrehistoricPrehistoricWorldWorldScience & NatureScience & NatureEnvironmentEnvironmentHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionThe BrainThe BrainEpisodehttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247578006/A look at the brains of a rat, monkey, chimp and human and a discussion of why some brains are bigger than others.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247578006/06/19/2012A look at the brains of a rat, monkey, chimp and human.nrCulture & SocietyCulture & SocietyScience & NatureScience & NatureHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionThe BrainThe BrainPrimatesPrimatesSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247463729/A look at humans' unique ability to reflect upon events that have happened in the past and think about things that could possibly happen in the future.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247463729/06/19/2012A look at humans' unique ability to reflect upon events.nrScience & NatureScience & NatureBiology & ChemistryBiology & ChemistryHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionPrimatesPrimatesSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247463731/A brief look at the cooperative and social nature of humans.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247463731/06/19/2012A brief look at the cooperative and social nature of humans.nrArchaeologyArchaeologyScience & NatureScience & NatureHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247578020/A look at the difference between human language and other species' communication systems.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247578020/06/19/2012A look at the difference between human language and others.nrArchaeologyArchaeologyScience & NatureScience & NatureHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247463724/A look at the ways in which monkeys and apes are similar to humans, not just biologically but mentally and socially.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247463724/06/19/2012A look at the ways in which monkeys and apes are similar to humans.nrScience & NatureScience & NatureBiology & ChemistryBiology & ChemistrySegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247578012/Archaeologist John Shea explains the context and construction of one of early humans' first tools-the stone hand ax.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247578012/06/19/2012Archaeologist John Shea explains early humans' first tools.nrCulture & SocietyCulture & SocietyScience & NatureScience & NatureHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247578018/An overview of how insight and imagination distinguish humans from others.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247578018/06/19/2012An overview of how insight and imagination distinguish humans from others.nrArchaeologyArchaeologyScience & NatureScience & NatureBiology & ChemistryBiology & ChemistryHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionThe BrainThe BrainSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247463722/An exploration of some of the different characteristics that distinguish different branches of the hominid "family tree," such as brain and face size, ability to make tools, and location.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247463722/06/19/2012An exploration of some of the different characteristics that distinguish the hominid.nrScience & NatureScience & NatureHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionEpisodehttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247578008/An introduction to MRI scans.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247578008/06/19/2012An introduction to MRI scans.nrHealth Care & IllnessesHealth Care & IllnessesScience & NatureScience & NatureThe BrainThe BrainSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247463720/A look at the regions of the brain that are activated during different tasks.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247463720/06/19/2012A look at the regions of the brain that are activated during different tasks.nrHealth Care & IllnessesHealth Care & IllnessesScience & NatureScience & NatureThe BrainThe BrainSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/2247463728/Archaeologist John Shea demonstrates the construction of a primitive spear and explains its impact on the social development the early humans who used them.http://video.pbs.org/video/2247463728/06/19/2012Archaeologist John Shea demonstrates the construction of a primitive spear.nrCulture & SocietyCulture & SocietyHistoryHistoryScience & NatureScience & NatureHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionSegmenthttp://video.pbs.org/video/1360725173/Alan Alda visits a dog lab where researchers are investigating communication talents our canine companions have that our much closer relatives the chimpanzees don't. Have we bred a glimmer of the human spark into man's best friend?http://video.pbs.org/video/1360725173/09/14/2010Have we bred a glimmer of the human spark into man's best friend?nrCulture & SocietyCulture & SocietyPeople & ProfilesPeople & ProfilesScience & NatureScience & NatureAnimalsAnimalsBiology & ChemistryBiology & ChemistryEnvironmentEnvironmentHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionEpisodehttp://video.pbs.org/video/1360736983/Researcher Laurie Santos demonstrates an illusion test she runs on free-ranging monkeys in Puerto Rico. Seeing how the monkeys respond opens a window onto the evolution of our own cognitive abilities and helps isolate the beginnings of the human spark.http://video.pbs.org/video/1360736983/09/14/2010Researcher Laurie Santos demonstrates an illusion test she runs on monkeys in Puerto Rico.nrScience & NatureScience & NatureAnimalsAnimalsBiology & ChemistryBiology & ChemistryEnvironmentEnvironmentHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionPrimatesPrimatesEpisodehttp://video.pbs.org/video/1360713340/Alan Alda talks to scientist Dan Lieberman about why the human ability to run could be an important prerequisite for the evolution of our bigger brains -- and the emergence of our human spark.http://video.pbs.org/video/1360713340/09/14/2010Could the human ability to run be a prerequisite for the evolution of our bigger brains?nrHealthHealthFitness & NutritionFitness & NutritionArchaeologyArchaeologyScience & NatureScience & NatureBiography & ProfilesBiography & ProfilesEnvironmentEnvironmentHuman EvolutionHuman EvolutionThe BrainThe BrainEpisode