Episodes

  • Algorithms at Work Trailer

    Algorithms at Work Trailer
    Jan 27 2022
    In this highly intoxicating original series, researchers Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths, authors of the best-selling smash hit, Algorithms to Live By, tackle some of the biggest ideas in computer science today - and, in the process, illuminate cutting-edge ways of understanding how we live, work and play.

    They take us inside a tomato factory where no one has a job title to shed new light on decentralized network structures; visit an Olympic fencer to explore the game theory of when to make the first move; and tour the birthplace of the internet, a buzzing laboratory on the border of France and Switzerland, to examine the true - and truly human - limits to what a network of nearly one million machines can achieve.

    Along the way, they interview key figures in the world of computer science - from Google's Vice President of Infrastructure Eric Brewer to ‘the godfather of distributed systems’ Leslie Lamport - plus preeminent neuroscientists, sociologists, and even the co-founder of Instagram.

    Algorithms at Work is a playful and deeply inquisitive exploration of the overlapping questions of computer science and society. The result is six episodes that examine the world in unexpected and memorable ways.
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    1 min
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 1: Distributed Systems - Working Together

    Episode 1: Distributed Systems - Working Together
    Feb 10 2022
    An introduction to how multi-machine systems can help us with multi-person challenges in our relationships, organizations, and world.
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    46 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 2: Queuing Theory - Waiting Better

    Episode 2: Queuing Theory - Waiting Better
    Feb 10 2022
    A look at the math and psychology of lines.
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    40 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 3: Concurrency - How to Coordinate

    Episode 3: Concurrency - How to Coordinate
    Feb 10 2022
    A journey examining the many struggles of people or machines working on something at the same time.
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    40 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 4: Consensus - Reaching Agreement

    Episode 4: Consensus - Reaching Agreement
    Feb 10 2022
    An exploration into why it can be so hard to get on the same page, whether we really need to, and how to do so when we must.
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    50 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 5: Networks and Hierarchies - How to Connect

    Episode 5: Networks and Hierarchies - How to Connect
    Feb 10 2022
    A look at what makes hierarchies and decentralized networks function - and what breaks them.
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    57 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 6: Action and Reaction - When to Make the First Move

    Episode 6: Action and Reaction - When to Make the First Move
    Feb 10 2022
    A deep dive into the art, business, and computer science of deciding when to act.
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    49 mins
    Free with 30-day trial