I am on the lookout for good video resources about science that I can recommend to others, particularly non-scientists. By chance, I recently came across the BBC production, The Story of Science: Power, Proof, and Passion, hosted by Michael Mosley.
There is also a beautiful book that goes with the series, containing more detail, including colour illustrations. I was able to get the DVDs and the book from my local public library.
I particularly appreciate that science is presented as a human endeavour and progress is influenced by local contexts (economic, political, religious, ...). That can be acknowledged and enjoyed without descending into a social constructivist view of scientific knowledge. In a similar vein, the series does not have an ideological edge, or embrace some common tropes that too often popular video treatments may promote such as science the saviour, science the moneymaker, science the spoiler, science the monster-maker, ... or that science is uncontrollable, is inscrutable, or is the domain of evil/eccentric geniuses,....
The series introduced me to several colourful characters who played key roles in the history of science, including Hennig Brand, Hans Sloan, Georges Cuvier, Horace-Benedict de Saussure, Simon Sevin, Richard Trevithick, ...
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