Extended Preview
Preview: Season 1 | 2m 27sVideo has Closed Captions
Explore a unique documentary series about our futures and how we can reimagine them.
A Brief History of the Future is a unique six-part documentary series about our futures and how we can reimagine them. Hosted by renowned futurist Ari Wallach, the show invites viewers on a journey around the world that is filled with discovery, hope, and possibility about where we find ourselves today and what could come next.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Supported by the Hoveida Family Foundation and The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation.
Support provided by:
Extended Preview
Preview: Season 1 | 2m 27sVideo has Closed Captions
A Brief History of the Future is a unique six-part documentary series about our futures and how we can reimagine them. Hosted by renowned futurist Ari Wallach, the show invites viewers on a journey around the world that is filled with discovery, hope, and possibility about where we find ourselves today and what could come next.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch A Brief History of the Future
A Brief History of the Future is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Buy Now
What It Means to Be Human
A Brief History of the Future explores the human ability to increase empathy and compassion, what values we are instilling into artificial intelligence technologies, and the need to create both a better world and a better humanity for life to flourish on this planet.Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(upbeat music) - One moment please.
(baby cries) - How well we live tomorrow will depend on the action we take today.
- When you hear the term, "the future," (upbeat music) what does that conjure up?
Human activity has damaged the systems of life that sustain us all.
- We're seeing drought, wildfires, flood.
(dramatic music) - We could commit ourselves to extinction, or we could commit ourselves to a civilization in which human beings can continue to thrive.
(cello music) - Civilization is precious.
Life is precious.
(upbeat music) - I set out in search of people who are building better futures.
- Humans are extraordinary.
We're such a miracle.
- The land is resilient.
We are resilient.
- Fusion is really the holy grail of energy.
- This is the largest 3D printed community in the world.
- I have to know where I came from so that we can move forward.
- [Ari] What does it mean to be human at this moment in time?
- To care.
- Boy, that really blows my digital mind.
- We've got to believe that there's a better way where people have clean air, clean water, available food, cheap, abundant energy.
- The big shared human projects confronting climate change, staying a step ahead of the next pandemic.
Preventing nuclear conflict will require cooperation.
- That's the key for success, and we are one team, the world.
- It's ideas that determine our trajectory as a species.
Their idea that progress is possible is probably one of the most powerful ideas we've ever had.
(upbeat music) - [Ari] People are building better futures for themselves and the communities around them.
(upbeat music) - This sustainable building is the cleanest power plant in the world.
The roof is an alpine ski slope.
(upbeat music) - What we do and the things we create over the next few decades.
(upbeat music) Will shape our minds going forward for the rest of time.
(upbeat music) - Hundreds of years from now, they're going to look back on our generation (upbeat music) as the most pivotal in human history.
(upbeat music)
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: S1 | 30s | Explore a unique documentary series about our futures and how we can reimagine them. (30s)
Now PlayingVideo has Closed Captions
Preview: S1 | 2m 27s | Explore a unique documentary series about our futures and how we can reimagine them. (2m 27s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep6 | 2m 47s | The importance of visualizing success as we work towards building better futures. (2m 47s)
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: Ep6 | 30s | The world-changing power of asking, “What if?” (30s)
Ari Explores Various New Forms of Clean Energy
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep6 | 9m 44s | Ari visits Iceland, a country powered entirely by renewables. (9m 44s)
The Vital Importance of Better Infrastructure
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep5 | 3m 4s | Building better cities and transportation can influence human connection and cooperation. (3m 4s)
The Power of Deliberative Democracy
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep5 | 8m 52s | Ari explores forms of deliberative democracy around the world that empower citizens. (8m 52s)
The Future of Sustainable Housing
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep5 | 9m 35s | Ari explores better, more sustainable ways of living together going forward. (9m 35s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep5 | 1m 26s | 3D printed homes pose a potential solution to addressing the growing housing crisis. (1m 26s)
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: Ep5 | 30s | How can we create futures that serve the needs of all people? (30s)
How New Forms of Human Augmentation Could Affect Our Brains
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep4 | 9m 9s | Ari tries a “third thumb” and explores how new tech is reshaping our idea of being human. (9m 9s)
How AI is Transforming How We Create and Engage with Art
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep4 | 8m 1s | Ari explores the powerful potential of AI to transform how we create art going forward. (8m 1s)
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: Ep4 | 30s | What does it mean to be human in the 21st century? (30s)
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: Ep3 | 30s | How do the stories we tell shape the boundaries of our beliefs about what is possible? (30s)
Diverse and Impactful Storytelling to Reimagine Our Futures
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep3 | 9m 59s | Ari visits a VFX studio to witness how technology is expanding storytelling limits. (9m 59s)
An Argument for a More Inclusive, Empowering Climate Story
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep3 | 9m 13s | Ellen MacArthur advocates for a more sustainable, circular economy model. (9m 13s)
Using Innovative Forms of Design to Transform Tomorrow
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep2 | 9m 18s | Ari explores the potential of using mycelium-based materials for sustainable products. (9m 18s)
How Moments of Complexity Offer Opportunities for Change
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep2 | 6m 11s | Ari explores how moments of tremendous change offer the opportunity for tremendous growth. (6m 11s)
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: Ep2 | 30s | How do we make sense of today’s exponential rate of change and disruption? (30s)
Groundbreaking Clean Energy Technologies
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep1 | 8m 29s | Ari visits exciting, large-scale solar and nuclear energy solutions operating today. (8m 29s)
Video has Closed Captions
Preview: Ep1 | 30s | What do we imagine when we think about the future? (30s)
Employing Long-Term Thinking to Empower Better Solutions
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: Ep1 | 10m | Bren Smith shares his journey to promote sustainable practices in the fishing community. (10m)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
- Culture
Celebrate Latino cultural icons Cheech Marin, Rauw Alejandro, Rosie Perez, Gloria Trevi, and more!
Support for PBS provided by:
Supported by the Hoveida Family Foundation and The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation.