0:54Why Planes Don’t Fly Straight
A flight path can look strange on a flat map. What changes when you look at the same journey on a globe?
TECHNOLOGY2:47 · 4 October 2026
Why Can Only One Company Build This Machine?
Player loads when you press play. No sound starts before you choose.
Watch on YouTubeTHE QUESTION
Behind the world’s most advanced chips is a machine with an extraordinary history. Why is it so difficult for anyone else to build?
A little more context.
ASML’s EUV systems use light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometres to print intricate chip features. The technology turns an apparently simple idea—making smaller patterns—into an immense engineering challenge.
This story follows the machinery, optics, and long development process behind it. It also asks how a highly specialized technology becomes part of a much larger economic and geopolitical story.
Captions & transcript
A separate transcript is not yet available for this episode. Use the player’s caption controls when captions are provided, or open the original episode on YouTube.
KEEP EXPLORING
One question leads to another.
0:54
0:33What If Every Cargo Ship Stopped for One Week?
So much of everyday life arrives by sea. What would a single week without cargo ships reveal about the system we rely on?