Watch: Why gold is the surprising element at the heart of human progress
It’s central to space exploration, wearable tech and quantum computing, and just might be the key to renewable energy. A new documentary series reveals everything you never knew about gold.
By World Gold Council
A new documentary series is lifting the lid on a surprising element of human progress—an extraordinary material that has proven pivotal to everything from space exploration to the ongoing development of electronic skin. That element? Gold.
The series, “The Golden Thread,” traces gold’s exceptional impact on humanity’s past, present and future. (Watch the trailer above.) Across five snackable episodes, each between six to 12 minutes long, the viewer is transported everywhere from the surface of Mars to ancient religious sites and state-of-the-art laboratories. Each episode is presented by professor, best-selling author and award-winning television host Hannah Fry, and features commentary from world-renowned experts in science, technology, art and other fields shaping our lives. Together, they show how gold has played an important part in the world’s greatest stories—those of discovery, innovation, and imagination—and how, even today, we’re still discovering ways in which gold can open up new realms of promise and potential.
As clean-tech entrepreneur Phil De Luna, a series contributor who believes gold could be the key to the future of clean energy, said: “Gold is one of the most historically important metals to humanity and it’s used everywhere.”
In the first episode, gold’s unique properties and critical role in space exploration are detailed by Georg Fischer, the first person to discover lightning on Saturn, along with Michael Hecht, the scientist in charge of bringing oxygen to Mars. In the second episode, we discover gold’s ubiquity across revolutionary electronics, and the promise it holds for renewable energy. The third episode highlights gold’s significance in society, from art and culture to how we understand the world through quantum computing. The fourth story dives into healthcare, unveiling the impact of gold in medicine and wearable technologies. And the final episode reflects on how gold has repeatedly sparked human progress, thanks to remarkable properties that will continue to help shape our future.
Ultimately, “The Golden Thread” reveals that while we all know gold has underpinned money and trade, it means so much more to our daily lives than meets the eye. Launched by the World Gold Council, the series is a fascinating deep dive into how and why gold is the common thread that links humanity’s most exciting visions for our planet—and beyond.
Watch the trailer above and the stories in full at thegoldenthread.gold.org and on YouTube.
The content is paid for and supplied by advertiser. The Washington Post newsroom was not involved in the creation of this content.
Content From
