42: The Answer to Almost Everything · SEASON 1
Is The World Better Than We Think?
Episode 168 · 2025-08-31

- Documentary
Episode overview
News and social media can often give us the idea that the world is a terrible place and its only getting worse. But what if, behind the headlines and the shrill discourse on social media, things were actually improving on our planet?
30 minutes
Season 1 episodes
1. Can we dig our way through the Earth?2021-09-04
2. Could We Live on the Moon?2021-09-11
3. Should we use lotteries instead of elections?2021-09-18
4. How Much Does Life Weigh?2021-09-25
5. Will we move onto the water?2021-09-29
6. Can Algorithms Make Us Healthy?2021-09-30
7. What if there were no mucus?2021-10-01
8. How do we solve the nuclear waste puzzle?2021-10-23
9. What if Fear Didn't Exist?2021-10-30
10. What if the ice disappeared?2021-11-06
11. Do We All hear the Same Thing?2021-11-14
12. Are we too pessimistic?2021-11-20
13. Does the Perfect Song Exist?2021-11-27
14. Are we alone in space?2021-12-05
15. Why Do We Eat What We Eat?2021-12-11
16. What is the secret of light?2021-12-12
17. Can we save the trees?2022-01-08
18. What if dust didn't exist?2022-01-15
19. Geoengineering: Earth's Last Resort2022-01-22
20. Could Algae Save the Planet?2022-01-29
21. Will Messenger RNA Save Us From Cancer?2022-02-05
22. Will We Stop Flying?2022-02-12
23. Will We Like Robots?2022-02-19
24. The Purpose of Parasites2022-02-26
25. Could We Sleep Less?2022-03-05
26. Are Cryptocurrencies the Future?2022-03-12
27. Do We Live in a Black Hole?2022-03-19
28. The Power of Dreams2022-03-26
29. Where do people migrate to?2022-04-30
30. What Do Animals Talk About?2022-05-07
31. Are we getting dumber?2022-05-14
32. Do Computers Have Biases?2022-05-21
33. How can everyone be fed?2022-05-28
34. Are We Doing More Drugs?2022-06-04
35. Are We Ready for Mars?2022-06-11
36. Can we glimpse the afterlife?2022-06-18
37. Could we become immortal?2022-06-25
38. Could We Live Without Agriculture?2022-07-02
39. How dangerous is space weather?2022-07-09
40. Will we travel to Mars?2022-07-16
41. Can We Create Money from Nothing?2022-07-23
42. How do we end wars?2022-07-30
43. Is Space Being Stolen From Us?2022-08-05
44. What Power Do Thoughts Have?2022-08-12
45. Can We Trust Ourselves?2022-08-19
46. Are we more intelligent in swarms?2022-08-26
47. The Search for a Universal Theory2022-09-02
48. Can we turn crap into gold?2022-09-09
49. Are You Psychopathic?2022-09-16
50. How does a wave become rogue?2022-09-23
51. Do We Need Economic Growth?2022-10-30
52. Are we gambling away our lives?2022-11-06
53. Why do we have limits?2022-11-13
54. Where to Find Perfect Energy?2022-11-20
55. What if sharks disappeared?2022-11-27
56. Are Animals Self-Aware?2022-12-04
57. Why do We Fall in Love?2022-12-09
58. What if nature had a price?2022-12-10
59. Can we copy our blood?2022-12-23
60. Why do we hate?2023-01-08
61. Could We Bring Back the Wooly Mammoth?2023-01-15
62. Can seals go to court?2023-01-29
63. Do colors manipulate us?2023-02-05
64. Will there be a new 'human species'?2023-02-13
65. Is There a Male Fertility Crisis?2023-02-19
66. Can Cities Save the World?2023-02-26
67. When the Heavens Rain Down2023-03-19
68. Do Fungi Rule Us?2023-03-24
69. The A***hole Effect2023-03-19
70. How It All Ends2023-03-26
71. When Will the World End?2023-03-31
72. How to Travel Through Time?2023-04-07
73. Mind Reading: A Reality?2023-04-14
74. Surviving Our Polluted Planet2023-05-21
75. The Chaos of Chance2023-05-28
76. Who Owns the Sea?2023-06-04
77. Do Animals Appreciate Beauty?2023-06-05
78. Will a new wind soon blow?2023-06-18
79. Are we going to disappear beneath the waves?2023-06-25
80. Are We All Bisexual?2023-07-02
81. The Advent of Turbo-Evolution2023-07-09
82. Why do we lose our memory?2023-07-16
83. Humanity's True Nature2023-07-23
84. Can We Live Without Electricity?2023-07-30
85. What Happens When the Glaciers Disappear?2023-09-03
86. Could We Reach the Stars?2023-09-10
87. Is Lying Good For Us?2023-09-17
88. Will we one day be cryogenically frozen?2023-09-24
89. Will we run out of sand?2023-10-01
90. What's So Funny?2023-10-08
91. The Origin of Life2023-10-15
92. Does Punishment Work?2023-10-22
93. What Are Our Imaginations For?2023-10-29
94. Can We Trick Our Genes?2023-11-05
95. Amasia: The Supercontinent of the Future2023-11-12
96. Do Dogs Really Love Us?2023-11-19
97. Do We Need Corruption?2023-11-26
98. Are Animals Cleverer than Us?2023-12-03
99. Are Billionaires a Problem?2023-12-10
100. How strongly does our mother tongue shape us?2023-12-17
101. Do We Live in a Multiverse?2024-01-07
102. Does History Repeat Itself?2024-01-14
103. Are there too many of us on Earth?2024-01-21
104. Is stress good for us?2024-01-28
105. Do Disasters Make Us Better?2024-02-04
106. Is the Metaverse Real?2024-02-11
107. Do We All Have a Doppelganger?2024-02-18
108. Could We Programme Evoluton?2024-02-25
109. Is There an Upside to Climate Change?2024-03-03
110. Do We Need More Utopias?2024-03-10
111. Can we control clouds?2024-03-17
112. Does Sugar Make Us Stupid?2024-03-24
113. What if the poles reversed again?2024-04-28
114. What power do smells have?2024-05-05
115. Can We Shrink the Economy?2024-05-12
116. How Do Plants Live?2024-05-19
117. How to Become Popular2024-05-26
118. Do We Need to Have Power?2024-06-02
119. Should Humans Be Smaller?2024-06-09
120. Is AI Out of Control?2024-06-16
121. Are Invasive Species Always a Problem?2024-06-23
122. Would We Be Happier Without Happiness?2024-06-30
123. Why Do We Cry?2024-07-07
124. Could Sea Currents Change?2024-07-14
125. Could Matriarchy Be the Solution?2024-07-21
126. Are Aliens Like Us?2024-07-28
127. Is Pain Necessary?2024-09-01
128. Do Animals Have Better Societies?2024-09-08
129. How Powerful are Maps?2024-09-15
130. Does Quantum Physics Change Our Reality?2024-09-22
131. Why Do We Have Less Sex?2024-09-29
132. Has Slavery Made Us Racist?2024-10-12
133. Why Is Housing So Expensive?2024-10-13
134. Can We Make Friends with Our Enemies?2024-10-20
135. Can We Replace Pollination?2024-10-26
136. Are We Taking Enough Risks?2024-11-03
137. Who Really Were Our Ancestors?2024-11-10
138. Is a World Without Violence Possible?2024-11-16
139. Can We Remember Precisely?2024-11-24
140. What Holds the Universe Together?2024-12-01
141. Do We Need God?2024-12-08
142. What Protests Work?2025-01-05
143. How do Children Function?2025-01-12
144. Will We Grieve Differently in Future?2025-01-19
145. Do We Need Weapons for Peace?2025-01-26
146. What Should We Actually Eat?2025-01-27
147. Are We Ready for Aliens?2025-02-02
148. How Important is Our Microbiome?2025-02-16
149. Why Is Wealth So Unfairly Distributed?2025-02-23
150. What Makes Us Depressed?2025-03-02
151. Does the Perfect Code Exist?2025-03-09
152. Are We Ready for World Government?2025-03-16
153. Are We Wasting Period Blood?2025-03-23
154. Can We Feel Time?2025-03-30
155. How Does Water Create Life?2025-05-04
156. Are Cyborgs the Future?2025-05-11
157. Can We Save Truth?2025-05-18
158. Can We Cure Addictions?2025-05-25
159. Are We Too Curious?2025-06-01
160. What Did Dinosaurs Really Look Like?2025-06-08
161. Can We Outwit Viruses?2025-06-15
162. Where Does Madness Begin?2025-06-22
163. Should We Be Bored More Often?2025-06-29
164. How Powerful is Disinformation?2025-07-06
165. Why Do Civilisations Fall?2025-07-13
166. Should We Argue More?2025-07-20
167. How Mathematic is the Universe?2025-07-27
168. Is The World Better Than We Think?2025-08-31
169. How Smart Are the Animals We Eat2025-09-07
170. Does Failure Help Us Succeed?2025-09-14
171. Was Stone-Age Man Dumber Than Us?2025-09-21
172. The Age of Fire2025-09-28
173. Why Does Music Move Us?2025-10-05
174. Optimisation: Is It Making Us Mad?2025-10-12
175. Is a Superbug Pandemic Coming?2025-10-19
176. Can Humans Hibernate?2025-10-26
177. Does Society Need Alcohol?2025-11-02
178. ...We Make Free Decisions?2025-11-09
179. What was there before the Big Bang?2025-11-16
180. How Powerful Are Images?2025-11-23
181. How Does the Female Orgasm Work?2025-11-30
182. Is Space Debris Dangerous for Earth?2025-12-07
183. Can Our Brains Still Concentrate?2025-12-14
184. Why Do We Love Horror?2026-01-05
185. Does Planet Nine Really Exist?2026-01-11
186. Are We An Evolutionary Superspecies?2026-01-18
187. Are Wasps Game Changers of Evolution?2026-01-25
188. Why do we sing?2026-02-01
189. How monogamous are humans?2026-02-08
190. Why Do We Love Gold?2026-02-15
191. Do Emotions Control the Markets?2026-02-22
192. What if life were mirrored?2026-03-01
193. Do we need the alpha male?2026-03-08
194. Black Holes: A Future Energy Source?2026-03-15
195. Is Brain Washing Possible?2026-04-19
196. Why Are We So Competitive?2026-04-26
197. Do We Need Siblings?2026-05-03
198. Has Globalisation Failed?2026-05-10
199. How does trash change the world?2026-05-17
200. Is vacation really relaxing?2026-05-24
201. Can we change?2026-05-31
202. Is there another Earth in the universe?2026-06-07
203. Can AI Feel Us?2026-06-14
204. Does a Trauma Lie Dormant in Everyone?2026-06-21
205. What Lies Behind UFOs?2026-06-28
206. Can states go into debt indefinitely?2026-07-05
207. Does scrolling make teens stupid?2026-07-12
208. Can We Live Without Work?2026-07-19
209. Is there a female fertility crisis?2026-07-26
210. Is Loneliness Contagious?2026-08-29
211. How Do You Become a Genius?2026-09-05
212. Can We Stop Mass Extinction?2026-09-12
213. Can We Control Our Hormones?2026-09-19
214. Where Did the Antimatter Go?2026-09-26
215. Are Political Parties to Blame for Everything?2026-10-03
216. Do Ready Meals Make Us Ill?2026-10-10
217. Who killed Venus?2026-10-17
218. Episode 2182026-10-24
219. Episode 2192026-10-24
220. Episode 2202026-10-25
221. Episode 2212026-10-31
222. Episode 2222026-11-01
223. Episode 2232026-11-07