Stories of love, loss and legacy surrounding Donna Summer’s iconic 1977 hit I Feel Love.
Stories of love, loss and legacy surrounding Donna Summer’s iconic 1977 hit. Producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte wanted to make something which sounded like the future, and sure enough ‘I Feel Love’ went on to revolutionise disco and pave the way for electronic dance music. Almost 40 years on, it still sounds fresh to this day: the pumping arpeggiated bassline, the synthesized drones, and Donna’s soaring multi-tracked vocals.
Writer and AIDS activist Mark S. King reflects on what the song meant to him back when it was first released, and then later through the HIV/AIDS crisis. Retail consultant and author Mary Portas shares how the song got her through a difficult time of loss, taking her to a place beyond grief. A place of freedom and dance. Singer-songwriter Bruce Sudano, Donna Summer’s husband of 32 years until her death in 2012, remembers the heady days when they first met. It was 1977, the same year that I Feel Love was written and released. And music journalist Danyel Smith, author of ‘Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop’, celebrates the incredible legacy of Donna and the power of this pioneering track. A track that still, decades later, gets people on the dance floor.
Producer: Becky Ripley
How do MRIs work? It turns out that MRIs measure the quantum spin of your protons, and use that information to make a super detailed 3D map of your body.
This video is from the series “Quantum experiments at home”: • Quantum experiments at home
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Hannah Fry hates diamonds. Dara Ó Briain loves them. Can science bring them together?
“Diamonds are nonsense!” Hannah boldly proclaimed in a previous episode. But listener Guy is a diamond enthusiast, and he and his diamond-loving pals were NOT OKAY WITH THIS. He demanded we re-open the case, and here we are…
SO in this glittering showdown, Dara is on a quest to flip Hannah’s perspective from “meh” to “marvelous.” And for Hannah, some uncomfortable facts soon emerge. It turns out that diamonds are much more than just overpriced bling. They’re the secret ingredient in all sorts of high-tech gadgets with a whole arsenal of little-known superpowers.
Enter electrochemist Julie Macpherson, who blows Hannah’s mind by showing how diamonds can slice through ice like butter, thanks to their unmatched ability to conduct heat. Not impressed yet? Physicist Mark Newton makes a diamond glow in the dark, using nothing but his phone flashlight.
And that’s just to start! These ultra-robust gems can scrub nasty chemicals from water, serve as supercharged electrodes, and even reveal deep-earth secrets locked away for billions of years.
By the end of this episode, will Hannah finally admit diamonds are forever cool?
Contributors:
Charlie Bexfield – Gemmologist and diamond specialist
Julie MacPherson – Professor of Chemistry at the University of Warwick
Mark Newton – Professor of Physics at the University of Warwick
Grahame Pearson – Professor of Earth Sciences from the University of Alberta
Producer: Ilan Goodman
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
A BBC Studios Audio Production
Source: BBC Radio 4 – Curious Cases, Series 23, The Diamond Throwdown
2 Apr 2025 #science
Main episode with Ruth Kastner: • Retrocausality & The Transactional In…
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3 Apr 2025
Brian Cox is currently on-tour in North America and the UK.
See upcoming dates at: https://briancoxlive.co.uk/#tour
“Quantum mechanics and quantum entanglement are becoming very real. We’re beginning to be able to access this tremendously complicated configuration space to do useful things.”
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Up next, The great quest for extraterrestrial life ► • The great quest for extraterrestrial …
With a topic as seemingly complicated as quantum physics, where can you start if you want to build your understanding?
In just 22 minutes, physicist and professor Brian Cox unpacks the subatomic world, beginning with the theories as we understand them today.
0:00 The subatomic world
1:23 A shift in teaching quantum mechanics
2:48 Quantum mechanics vs. classic theory
6:07 The double slit experiment
11:31 Complex numbers
13:53 Sub-atomic vs. perceivable world
16:40 Quantum entanglement
Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-t…
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