Select Takes

Watch our exclusive collection of short films featuring big thinkers from across the world. These think pieces focus on the subjects that matter to us all.

SELF-CARE

This series of short films delve into the world of self-care. Roxane Gay investigates the dangers of a soulmate. Padma Lakshmi finds comfort in food. The power of optimism is explored by Black Lives Matter founder Alicia Garza. Rap legend Chuck D tells us why we should embrace ageing and author Karl Ove Knausgaard encourages us all to throw away our smartphones.

Takes: Roxane Gay on Love

Just because you’re lucky enough to have found your soul mate, doesn’t mean they don’t drive you mad. Journalist and essayist Roxane Gay talks about her experience of love.

Takes: Alicia Garza on Optimism

What drives someone to devote their life to activism? For Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, it’s the hope that she can bring change for future generations.

Takes: Padma Lakshmi on Ritual

Which recipes will you hand down to the next generation? Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi relishes the fact that the rituals of cooking and eating give us a taste of who we are.

Takes: Padma Lakshmi on the Body

It’s not easy to get up in a room full of people and talk about your vagina. But that’s what former model and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi had to do to raise awareness of endometriosis.

Takes: Chuck D on Aging

Enjoy getting older. Words of wisdom from the leader of the seminal rap group Public Enemy Chuck D on how to grow old.

Dark Side

Take a journey into the dark side with these BBC short films. Malcolm Gladwell tells us why we are so bad at spotting deception. Author Karl Ove Knausgaard asks if you can continually fail and still be an optimist. Lionel Shriver reflects on death, artist Ai Weiwei wonders if artists can ever change anything, while Louis Theroux considers what makes us hate.

Takes: Malcolm Gladwell on Lies

Are you convinced you can tell when someone is lying? Best-selling author and thinker Malcolm Gladwell advises us never to trust our intuitions.

Takes: Karl Ove Knausgaard on Pessimism

Norwegian novelist and literary sensation Karl Ove Knausgaard considers himself an optimist. And yet he has to reconcile himself to the fact that, in his writing, he fails every day.

Takes: Ai Weiwei on War

Can artists do anything to prevent war? World famous Chinese Ai Weiwei worries about the risky times we live in.

Takes: Louis Theroux on Hate

Who do you hate? A murderous warlord who kills women and children? A Western leader who sits idly by as the poor get poorer? Iconic documentary maker Louis Theroux explores the fact that, in all probability, you’re more likely to hate some poor guy in the supermarket who gets in your way.

Takes: Jamelle Bouie on Conspiracy

Is there a global cabal of paedophiles and Satanists currently trading in children in a mass human trafficking operation? New York Times journalist Jamelle Bouie asks why on earth people believe the ludicrous QAnon conspiracy theory.

Takes: Lionel Shriver on the Virus

Would you happily give up your democratic rights and personal freedoms overnight? Best-selling author Lionel Shriver is astonished at the way people have responded to government rules aimed at controlling the pandemic.

Fame and Power

Get ready for your close up as these think pieces tackle fame and power. Chuck D looks at the many pitfalls of fame, while Caitlin Moran recalls the experience of growing up poor. Ai Weiwei explores capitalism, Elif Shafak investigates fascism, while Jamelle Bouie ponders the attraction of Trump. Alicia Garza promotes community organizing while Roxane Gay argues that equality is not oppression.

Takes: Chuck D on Fame

How many four letter words spring to mind that begin with an F? Leader of the seminal rap group Public Enemy Chuck D spells out the pros and cons of fame.

Takes: Elif Shafak on Fascism

How do we explain the holocaust? What happens if we tell ourselves it was caused by evil? Award-winning novelist and intellectual Elif Shafak sounds a warning about the turbulent times we live in.

Takes: Alicia Garza on Power

Do women leaders behave differently to men? Not necessarily, says journalist and essayist Roxane Gay. And that won’t change until men understand that equality is not oppression.

Takes: Roxane Gay on Women’s Power

Do women leaders behave differently to men? Not necessarily, says journalist and essayist Roxane Gay. And that won’t change until men understand that equality is not oppression.

Culture

Consider yourself a culture vulture? These exclusive short films take a deep dive into culture. Lionel Shriver explores taboos, while Louis Theroux looks at religion. Elif Shafak explores the dangers of algorithms as Jamelle Bouie considers the perils and positives of AI. Caitlin Moran ponders the power of a cultural explosion, Malcolm Gladwell celebrates New York, while Alicia Garza gets revolutionary.

Takes: Lionel Shriver on Taboo

Who dares to criticise identity politics and defend cultural appropriation? Best-selling author Lionel Shriver likes to say the unsayable and name the unnameable.

Takes: Elif Shafak on Algorithms

Why would an algorithm mistake a Turkish bestselling author for an American white supremacist? Award-winning novelist and intellectual Elif Shafak explores the vagaries and dangers of social media.

Takes: Jamelle Bouie on AI

Will robots rule the world? New York Times journalist Jamelle Bouie asks how we can guard against the perils of artificial intelligence and make sure we don’t become servants to the technology?

Takes: Caitlin Moran on Cultural Explosions

Which is the defining cultural explosion in your life? It might be Grime or the recipes of Yotam Ottolenghi. But for author and journalist Caitlin Moran, there is no contest. It’s feminism.

Takes: Alicia Garza on Revolution

Hashtags don’t start revolutions, but co-founder of Black Lives Matter Alicia Garza built a movement, to help bring about the revolution black people deserve.

Takes: Malcolm Gladwell on New York

The pandemic has been a catastrophe for New York, with businesses failing and people moving out of the city in droves. Not so, says Malcolm Gladwell, who thinks the virus might be just what the city itself needed.

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