Alain de Botton

An introduction to philosophy by Alain de Botton, taking the form of a 6-part guide to the way in which philosophy can be useful to life and potentially bring happiness. Each episode tackles a different philosophical figure: Seneca, Schopenhauer, Epicurus, Montaigne, Socrates, and Nietzsche.

A television series of three 42 minute episodes commissioned for Channel 4 based on the book The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton which first aired in 2006. In the programmes, Alain de Botton explored the importance of innovative architecture for homes. He offered criticism of modern developments that build in an idealized fake heritage style, which he referred to as pastiche, often referring back to the example of Great Notley Garden Village near Braintree, Essex. (en.wikipedia.org)

Status Anxiety discusses the desire of people in many modern societies to "climb the social ladder" and the anxieties that result from a focus on how one is perceived by others. De Botton claims that chronic anxiety about status is an inevitable side effect of any democratic, ostensibly egalitarian society. (en.wikipedia.org)

Tom Dyckhoff explores the toy's relationship with architecture - and argues that it has changed the way people think about buildings. He meets artists and architects who played with it as children and who are using it to reimagine cities today, and looks at how cult computer game Minecraft may be set to transform urban landscapes of the future.

This documentary, the result of more than ten years of research and investigation, deliver the keys to the development of the personality of Elizabeth II, the girl who, every night, praying to God to give him a little brother hoping thus able to escape the Crown, the wife who, during his lifetime, never had eyes for one man. Through the mother who, the evening was going to kiss her children slippered feet and head wearing the crown of St Edward ... (youtube.com)

In an effort to re-connect a pessimistic "Everyman" with humanity, a journalist takes him on a voyage of possibilities as seen through the eyes of leading thinkers in the arts and sciences. (imdb)