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December 28th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Human Spark = Spite?
Scientist Keith Jensen plays the Ultimatum Game with Alan Alda and shows him the differences between how humans and chimps react to various offers.
December 24th, 2009

 
Program One: Becoming Us: Video Excerpt: Stone-Age Throwing Spears
Alan Alda joins John Shea for a lesson on Primitive Technology. Alan makes hand axes like a Neanderthal, but throws a pretty mean spear at an unsuspecting doe.
December 23rd, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Less Spark, More Smolder?
Alan Alda travels to a French cave called Roc de Marsal, where archaeologists are becoming experts on Neanderthal life.
December 22nd, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: The Human Spark and Man’s Best Friend
Alan Alda meets with scientist Juliane Kaminski and a very smart dog named C.J. Dogs have some talents that even chimpanzees don't.
December 19th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: A Conversation with Alan Alda and the Producers
Alan Alda, Series Producer Graham Chedd, and Executve Producer Jared Lipworth participated in a live webcast this week, hosted by the National Science Foundation.
December 18th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: How to Groom Relationships
If you’re a chimp, making friends is straightforward – put in some time grooming your buddy and hopefully you’ll stay on his good side. Not so for humans.
December 17th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Running = Big Brains?
Which came first – the running or the brain? Running could be the reason humans were able to hunt large game and consume the protein needed for a big brain.
December 16th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Social Mimicry and Positive Feelings
Duke University psychologist Tanya Chartrand enlists Alan as a participant in her research, and shows that subtle mimicry can lead to positive emotions.
December 14th, 2009

 
Web-Exclusive Video: Monkeys and Magic Fruit
In this video, Laurie Santos pulls a switcheroo on her monkey research subjects. Will they notice when a fruit that starts rolling down a plank as a kiwi reaches the bottom as a lime?
November 20th, 2009

 
Spark Blog: Video – Making Stone Tools Is Sooo Millions of Years Ago
John Shea at Stony Brook University is keeping alive the stone toolmaking technologies used by our most ancient ancestors.
WHAT IS THE HUMAN SPARK?
Alan Alda
What is the nature of human uniqueness?
In a three-part series originally brodcast on PBS in January 2010, Alan Alda takes this question personally, visiting with dozens of scientists on three continents -- even undergoing an examination of his own brain.
» Learn More
TOPICS
Neuroscience
Primates
Human Evolution
Child Development
Behind the Scenes
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Major funding for The Human Spark is provided by the National Science Foundation, and by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Additional funding is provided by the John Templeton Foundation, the Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, and The Winston Foundation.
National Science Foundation Alfred P. Sloan Foundation John Templeton Foundation

Produced by THIRTEEN    ©2021 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.