SAPIENS – A Single Planet returns with its fourth prime-time season on Rai3, beginning tomorrow at 9:45 p.m., with new stories dedicated to an increasingly observant audience eager to understand often complex phenomena through the scientific Understanding method that has always distinguished the work of researcher-popularizer Mario Tozzi.
From Charles Darwin’s biological-philosophical revolution to the 100th anniversary of the first Italian parks; from the end of fossil fuels to the only possible solution: renewable energy; from the scientific explanation of ancient myths to the untenability of unstoppable economic and technological development. The new series of episodes begins with a unique exploration to uncover the scientific origins of ancient myths, from the Greek to the Bible. In the extraordinary location of Hierapolis (Turkey), near the thermal pools of Pamukkale, Sapiens embarks on a journey into the elements – air, water, earth, fire – in search of the physical origins of the myth. At the center of the episode is the myth of the greatest oracle of antiquity, that of Delphi, on whose enigmatic visions a crucial part of ancient history depended. What forces caused the oracle to go into a trance? A centuries-old historical and scientific mystery that we can finally unravel today. Mario Tozzi will then focus all his communicative power on making clear and understandable the scientific data of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world, in order to explain the frontiers of human and technological development.
Climate and environmental conditions are about to change so radically that within a few decades they will become incompatible with life as we know it. In support of Sapiens’ theses there is not only scientific evidence, but also spectacular images by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, a great photographer, director and popularizer, which will lead the viewer to observe with their own eyes what men have done and continue to do do host planet.
Sapiens also celebrates the centenary of Italy’s first two national parks, the Gran Paradiso and the Park of Lazio and Abruzzo and Molise, and wonders what the deep meaning of environmental protection is. National Parks represent, in Italy and in the world, a kind of “environmental protection of the richness of life”, allowing nature and places to be passed on intact, preventing the extinction of valuable animals and developing the economy in regions considered marginal.
An episode of Sapiens, shot between the gigantic wings of the San Marco dei Cavoti wind farm, the windiest place in Italy, is dedicated to energy, an element that supports and regulates the Sapiens economic, social and cultural development model. As the aftermath of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine shows, the political balances of the whole world are tied to energy, balances that will not change if the origins of fossil fuels change. Scientists point out that getting rid of climate-damaging gases and renewable energy is the only way to avoid the collapse, eliminate all sources of public subsidies for gas, oil and coal, and in fact pass the price of the crisis not to the citizens but to the citizens pay those corporations that have been making incredible profits for decades.
Born from an idea by Mario Tozzi, Giovanna Ciorciolini and Riccardo Mazzon, Sapiens is a program by Mario Tozzi, Alberto Puoti, Fosco D’Amelio, Giuseppe Giunta, Elisabetta Marino, Riccardo Mazzon, Fabio Roberti and Stefano Varanelli. Directed by Luca Lepone. Executive Producer Mara Querenghi.
