Documentaries and series that shaped how I think about technology, science and engineering.
Connections
Connections (1978) · Connections 2 (1994) · presented by James Burke
Burke follows chains of invention across centuries, showing how one discovery quietly enables another that seems completely unrelated. It is the best introduction to systems thinking I know: no technology stands alone, and the most important consequences of a change are often the ones nobody planned for.
Connections on IMDb · Connections 2 on IMDb
Cosmos
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980, Carl Sagan) · Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014, Neil deGrasse Tyson)
Two generations of the same idea: science as a way of thinking, not a list of facts. Both series are as much about doubt, evidence and correcting mistakes as they are about stars and planets, which is exactly the mindset good engineering needs.
Cosmos (1980) on IMDb · Cosmos (2014) on IMDb
Computers come home
The Computer Programme (BBC, 1982) · Bits and Bytes (TVOntario, 1983)
Two early-80s series made to teach ordinary people what a personal computer is and what it can do. Watching them today is a reminder of how much had to be explained before “using a computer” became obvious, and of how carefully good teachers break a complex system into simple steps. Every engineer who writes documentation or onboards a new team member is doing the same job.
The Computer Programme on IMDb · Bits and Bytes on IMDb
Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC, 2010–) · presented by Michael Portillo
Portillo travels the railways of Britain and Ireland with a Victorian guidebook in hand, comparing the places then and now. Underneath the travel show is a story about infrastructure: how one network of engineering changed where people lived, worked and traded.
Great British Railway Journeys on IMDb
Once Upon a Time in Space
Once Upon a Time in Space (2025)
The story of space exploration from the Cold War race to today’s lunar missions, told through archive footage and the people who were there. A good reminder that the most ambitious engineering projects in history were also exercises in managing risk, teams and politics.
Once Upon a Time in Space on IMDb
Talks & Interviews: Leaders with Lacqua
Leaders with Lacqua (Bloomberg) · Francine Lacqua
Francine Lacqua’s interviews with CEOs and policymakers, now also available as a podcast. Not a documentary, but a useful window into how decisions look from the top, and why technical arguments only succeed when they are framed in terms leaders care about.