42: The Answer to Almost Everything

Venus is remarkably similar to Earth, yet it is the hottest planet in our Solar System. How did it become such an inferno? Clues suggest that Venus may once have had oceans, clouds, and perhaps even life. Like detectives, scientists are piecing together evidence to solve one of the Solar System’s greatest mysteries: What transformed Venus into the hostile world we see today?

Quick, convenient, and widely available, ready-made foods seem perfectly suited to modern life. As more people live in cities, they may become an even bigger part of our diets. Yet studies suggest that eating large amounts of ultra-processed food may increase the risk of obesity and depression. What might the food of the future look like?

Are political parties to blame for everything? Trust in political parties is declining, and voters are increasingly looking elsewhere. This crisis is more than a political quarrel: it can threaten liberal democracy itself. So who is responsible - political parties, or voters themselves?

Where did the antimatter go? According to our best theories, the Big Bang should have produced equal amounts of matter and antimatter, which would have annihilated each other. Yet matter exists and antimatter appears to be missing. Have we simply failed to detect it - or are our theories of the universe incomplete?

Stress levels, sleep, sexuality: Hormones in our bodies wield enormous power over us. Can we better understand and regulate our bodies in order to take control of our hormones?

We are facing the worst mass extinction event on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs and this time the fault lies plainly with human beings. Can we avoid the catastrophe and save the biodiversity of our planet?

Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Isaac Newton, Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci: these visionaries have, each in their own way, transformed our understanding of the world. How did these individuals became geniuses? And what is the definition of a genius?

There are eight billion people in our world and yet many feel lonely. Some talk of a loneliness epidemic. But can we really describe loneliness as a disease? And could this deeply human feeling be contagious?

More and more women struggle to conceive or cannot have children at all, while birth rates decline and fertility clinics are booming. Are conditions like endometriosis and PCOS, environmental toxins, or other factors to blame? This documentary investigates the causes of declining fertility and the medical and social challenges surrounding reproductive health.

We spend more than seven years of our lives working — a significant portion of our time on Earth. But as artificial intelligence increasingly takes over tasks once performed by humans, the role of traditional employment is being questioned. Could wage labor eventually be seen as only a brief phase in human history? Are we approaching the end of the work-based society and possibly one of the greatest transformations in human history?

A hotly debated topic: the impact of social media on young people. While Australia has already banned its use for those under 16, it's clear that likes, comments, and endless feeds bring both risks and opportunities.

In reality, no state ever repays its debts. And yet, insolvency doesn't necessarily lead to bankruptcy. Public debt isn't just numbers; it also depends on growth, interest rates, policy, and, above all, confidence. When does debt become useful, and how can it become a threat?

Are UFOs being unfairly dismissed? For a long time, mysterious flying objects were associated mainly with science fiction and speculation. But scientists are now taking these phenomena more seriously and investigating what may actually be behind reports of unexplained sightings. Could UFO research lead to a completely new discovery? And how can science explain something that currently seems impossible to understand?

When the subject of trauma arises, most people immediately think of extreme events: war, violence, severe accidents, or natural disasters. And indeed, such experiences can leave deep psychological scars. But what if trauma does not always manifest itself loudly? What else can give rise to trauma, and how can one even tell if one is affected?

Our feelings are something very intimate, something that belongs only to us—or at least we wish it did. But now, artificial intelligence (AI) can read our emotions and adapt to them. And if AI can handle our emotions so well, wouldn't it be easy for it to manipulate them? Or even control them?

"There is no Planet B!" This slogan is a constant at all pro-climate demonstrations. But what would become of humanity if, one day, Earth became uninhabitable? Could another celestial body serve as our refuge? Astrophysicists have never been closer to finding an answer.

Is our personality fixed from birth – or can we consciously change it? Can composure be learned, conscientiousness trained, and sociability increased? "Personality is not set in stone," says personality psychologist Franz Neyer, contradicting the long-held dogma that character is firmly fixed after the age of 30.

Need a vacation? It's a sign that it's time to rest and relax. Yet, scientists can't explain what happens when we get away from it all, nor why and how vacations make us feel good. Given that they're such an integral part of our lives, how is it that their effects are so little understood?

To be remembered, to leave a legacy – that's what everyone wants. But what if, in 100,000 years, aliens visit the extinct Earth? What legacy would they find? Probably our trash. From the highest mountains to the oceans, from the atmosphere to our bloodstreams, it accumulates everywhere. Despite sorting and recycling, the question remains: Is trash our legacy?

With wars, financial crises, and energy crises, global trade seems to be suffering. But is globalisation on the way out? Or can it reinvent itself?

Why do some brothers and sisters become rivals while others become lifelong allies? How does birth order - being the oldest, youngest, or somewhere in between - shape our personality and relationships? The episode also examines only children, who have long been stereotyped as spoiled, neurotic, or lonely. Are these assumptions true, or might only children actually have advantages compared with those who grow up with siblings?

From childhood onwards, we compare ourselves to others and try to be better than our neighbour. But where does this competitive streak come from? And when is it a good thing to be competitive and when is it harmful?

Is it possible to ‘reboot’ a human brain like we can for a computer? A dream for some and a nightmare for most people, this episode of 42 looks at the science on the subject. AndiIf we can put the human mind back to ‘factory settings’ what does this mean for our freedom as individuals?

We know black holes as destroyers: they tear apart stars, devour light and bend space-time. At the same time, they are among the largest sources of energy in the universe and could easily fulfil all our energy needs for millions of years. But is it possible to harness their formidable power?

Dominant, strong, a “real man.” Women want him, men want to be like him. This is the image of the “alpha male” portrayed by many masculinity influencers—some of them with millions of followers. Where does this idea of ​​the alpha come from? Is he truly the superior man, as nature intended? Or is it all nonsense?

Imagine for a moment that everything was reversed. It may sound mind-boggling, but it is not entirely absurd. Many of the molecules that make up life on Earth have a symmetrical counterpart—a mirror-image twin known as an enantiomer. These mirror molecules represent a promising avenue for the discovery of new and potentially more effective medicines. But what if we could go even further? What if it were possible not only to mirror individual vital molecules, but entire living organisms—bacteria, for example? What would happen if we managed to reverse life itself? And what would our world look like then?

The stock market is the temple of rationality, figures, data and models. But what happens when emotions drive prices? When panic takes over from analysis and heady euphoria pushes share prices through the roof? Is the world of finance actually ruled by human emotion?

The term "gold rush" speaks volumes about our special relationship with the shiny precious metal. For thousands of years, gold has influenced people’s lives and the history of the world. But why are we so obsessed with gold?

Monogamy – a lifelong promise of love or an outdated ideal? Despite high divorce rates and the increasing acceptance of alternative relationship models, monogamy remains an emotional anchor for many people. However, since many of the cultural constraints have disappeared, monogamy is a relationship model in flux.

Songs are considered part of humanity's cultural heritage, and all over the world, their social functions are similar: to celebrate, to mourn a loved one, or to express love. But why use song for all of this? Does language have certain limitations? What is it about singing or hearing others sing that fascinates us so much?

Wasps are much more than just an inconvenience for al fresco diners. As one of the very first social species on our planet, they could help solve an evolutionary puzzle: Does altruism really exist?

From the deserts of Australia to the steppes of Siberia, no other mammal has colonised more habitats than humans. More than eight billion people affect all life on earth to such an extent that some scientists speak of the Anthropocene - the age of man, in which humans have become the most important influencing factor on the planet. But why are we so successful?

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted to demote Pluto to a "dwarf planet," reducing the official number of planets in the solar system to eight. According to Mike Brown, the astronomer behind Pluto's declassification, there is, however, a wealth of evidence suggesting the existence of a ninth planet.

Why do we like to be terrified by scary movies? When watching horror, people experience an intense rollercoaster of emotions and initial studies suggest that viewing horror film can develop better stress resistance…

In a world full of push notifications, quickfire TikTok videos and constant distraction, deep concentration seems to be lost. But how bad is the situation really? Are our concentration skills suffering? Or has our attention perhaps even improved - and adapted to our modern, high input social media world?

Everything that goes up must come down. But what about space debris? Will rockets and unused satellites eventually come crashing down to Earth? And is this a danger to humans and other life on Earth?

For centuries, female sexuality was neglected and considered uninteresting by men. The apogee came in the 19th century, when doctors and pioneering psychiatrists concocted the wildest theories surrounding female pleasure. It's high time to answer the question: what do women truly desire in bed, and what brings them the greatest pleasure?

Would Donald Trump have won the US election if not for the now-iconic photo of him with a bloody ear? Would the US have invaded Iraq if not for the fake photos of Colin Powell? Or would the Vietnam War have lasted longer if not for the infamous photo of the burned girl? Images have immense power in politics, but what are the reasons for this? And, how can we protect ourselves from their influence?

The planets, the galaxies, the universe: Has it always been there – or was there a beginning? The Big Bang, from which all the wonderful phenomena we can observe and study today originated? But if this unique moment truly existed, what exactly brought it about?

In a democratic society, decisions are taken on the basis of free will. But is this really always the case? Since we know that the brain sometimes goes into 'autopilot' mode, freedom of choice may just be an illusion. What if our choices were dictated more by physical or neurological factors?

Success, failure, birthdays, funerals… any occasion can be an excuse to drink. However, the line between pleasure and addiction is very thin. Alcohol is one of the most toxic substances, yet it facilitates social interaction. Is it so deeply ingrained in our societies that it's impossible to stop using it?

Hibernation in humans – so far, it's pure science fiction. However, some researchers suspect that humans might possess the genetic predisposition for hibernation. An artificially induced state of dormancy would save enormous resources and would also be of great interest for space travel. But could this be implemented in practice?

Our use and overuse of antibiotics means that bacteria – those little masters of evolution – are becoming increasingly capable of defending themselves against them. Superbugs, which are resistant to at least three types of drugs, are now becoming an increasingly dangerous phenomenon. More than 1.3 million people die each year from infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Are we facing another pandemic?

On social media everyone seems to be optimising themselves into healthy, perfect humans. But is our search for perfection making us crazy? And is our obsession with personal development leading us astray?

Music has immense power: it can lift or lower our mood and make us forget the world. But why is music so important to human beings? And how does it move us so profoundly?

Humans are the only species that can produce fire. For a long time, we lived intimately with fire, which helped our development. But today fire seems like a destroyer, with ever more intense wildfires threatening our cities, driven by climate change. How can we live better with the flames?

We sometimes think of our ancestors in the stone age as primitive beings, unable to cope with complex tasks or the demands of our highly complex modern society. But were our ancestors from tens of thousands of years ago really less intelligent than us?

Setbacks and bad decision often leave a bitter taste in the mouth, but they can help you bounce back. Research shows that scientific and technical advances are often the result of trial and error and in psychology, it is accepted that failure makes us more resilient. So should we embrace failure more often to succeed in life?