Motherboard
Season 2014
As technology advances, the world is always changing. "Motherboard" uncovers stories around the world that help show what is coming next, with new technologies, cultures and discoveries helping to reshape the planet. From real-life cyborgs to guns that can aim themselves, this docuseries illustrates what is waiting for us and why it makes the future both wonderful and terrifying.
Where to Watch Motherboard • Season 2014
20 Episodes
- The Science of Diana Nyad's Swim from Cuba to FloridaE1
The Science of Diana Nyad's Swim from Cuba to Florida On August 31st, 2013, Nyad jumped into the shark-friendly waters of Cuba and swam some 110-odd miles—without the protection of a shark cage—to eventually reach the shores of Key West, Florida, some 53 hours later. - Developing Nuclear Fusion in a Basement with a Reclusive GunsmithE2
Developing Nuclear Fusion in a Basement with a Reclusive Gunsmith Doug Coulter used to build signal processing and radio gadgets for our favorite three-lettered intelligence agencies, but for the past decade or so, Doug's chosen to explore his engineering interests in the isolated backwoods of Virginia, absent from any pesky boss or sticky bureaucracy. - This Concussion App Tracks Your Damaged Brain - Upwardly MobileE3
This Concussion App Tracks Your Damaged Brain - Upwardly Mobile The more we learn about our brains, the more we discover just how fragile they are. When concussions happen, it's extremely important to manage an athlete's recovery to prevent him or her from getting further damage. That's where Sway Balance comes in. An athlete's balance is one of the most obvious things affected by a concussion, but using balance as a recovery metric requires objective data typically gleaned from highly expensive force platforms. - Using Virtual Reality to Treat PTSDE4
Using Virtual Reality to Treat PTSD Our latest doc is about clinic in Los Angeles that uses virtual reality simulations to treat war veterans with PTSD. With host Jody Mitic, a former master sniper for the Canadian military, this short doc explores the efficacy of these systems to treat a highly mysterious mental condition. - Peru's DVD Pirates Have Exquisite TasteE5
Peru's DVD Pirates Have Exquisite Taste In Pasaje 18 of Lima's Polvos Azules shopping mall, you'll find racks of DVD burners humming away while flourescent lights cast their glare across the glitter of thousands of bootleg movies in their telltale cellophane wrappers. If you want it to be, it's a scene right out of cyberpunk. But for many Peruvians, whose access to things like Netflix is hampered by some of the slowest internet speeds on the globe, bootleg DVDs remain a primary source for accessing current movie releases. - The Jellyfish That Holds a Key to ImmortalityE6
The Jellyfish That Holds a Key to Immortality By reversing its aging process when it gets sick or injured, Japan's tiny Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish is one of the only known animals that has figured out how to defeat death. Motherboard goes to Japan to visit the only researcher in the world who is studying the microscopic animal to see if humans can eventually do the same. - Phreaked Out (1): Unlocking L.A.'s Traffic GridE7
Phreaked Out (1): Unlocking L.A.'s Traffic GridIn the debut episode of our three-part series titled "Phreaked Out," we took a retrospective look at one day in August of 2006, when two Los Angeles traffic engineers, Kartik Patel and Gabriel Murillo, remotely accessed the city's traffic control system and tampered with the light sequences at four main intersections of the city, as part of a labor union protest. - Phreaked Out (2): How to Hack a CarE8
Phreaked Out (2): How to Hack a CarIn this episode of "Phreaked Out," we met some of the top security researchers at the center of the car hacking world. The goal isn't to make people crash: They highlight security holes in order to highlight flaws in car technology, intended to pressure auto manufacturers to be a few steps ahead of their friendly foes. - Phreaked Out (3): All The Ways To Hack Your PhoneE9
Phreaked Out (3): All The Ways To Hack Your PhoneOver the course of our "Phreaked Out" series, we've seen how devices such as urban control systems, moving vehicles, and smartphones are not impervious to hacks when connected to a network—cellular or wi-fi. In our third and final episode,we check out a slate of real-time phone hacks to tackle the question of mobile phone security. - Reviving the Dead With DIY Forensics: Still LifeE10
Reviving the Dead With DIY Forensics: Still LifeSome say Dr. Alejandro Hernández Cárdenas' brew brings the dead back to life. A MOTHERBOARD documentary on life, death, and an unassuming Mexican dentist whose proprietary chemical formula rehydrates corpses for identification. - The Real Planet of the ApesE11
The Real Planet of the ApesOur crew traveled to remote Liberia to discover 'Monkey Island,' an area inhabited solely by former lab tested chimpanzees who survived disease and two civil wars. We go to the island, interview the locals and meet the scientists involved in the testing facility 25 years ago. - The 20-Year-Old With a Plan to Rid the Sea of PlasticE12
The 20-Year-Old With a Plan to Rid the Sea of Plastic Boyan Slat's story is not quite that of a 20-year-old Wunderkind who magically found a potential fix to a longstanding problem. It's perhaps more accurately described as a combination of personal dedication and trial and error. When going through his old prototypes for a technology that would passively scrub oceans of plastic, he's almost embarrassed of his early concepts. - Curing Impotence with Endangered Frog JuiceE13
Curing Impotence with Endangered Frog Juice In parts of Peru, there's an ancient culinary delicacy that consists of liquefying a rare frog. Drinking the concoction is said to cure a wide range of ailments, including bronchitis, tuberculosis, asthma, arthritis, even impotence. - Robotic Gardeners & the Future of Food in Deep SpaceE16
Robotic Gardeners & the Future of Food in Deep Space Tang and freeze-dried ice cream is fun to consume for about five minutes of your life. When you’re 10. But when you’re floating in space, the limited culinary options leave something to be desired. In fact, astronauts on long trips typically don’t eat enough. That’s where SPOT and ROGR come in: a smart growing chamber and gardening robot, respectively, currently being developed by a graduate team at the University of Colorado Boulder. - The Fastest Bike in the WorldE17
The Fastest Bike in the World When the bicycle became popular in the beginning of the 19th century in southern Germany, England, and France, it was the first machine that championed private transportation. Almost 200 years after the invention of the vélocipède and Drais’ dandy horse, personal mobility is one of the highest imperatives in a globalized world. Today, our streets are filled with fixed-gears, roadsters, rickshas, BMX, and electric bikes.