Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places takes viewers through the local and distant universe as copilots on Professor Hawking's journey. // Photo Credit: CuriosityStream
Not long ago, I was given the opportunity to preview and review CuriosityStream’s Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places 2. This whimsical-yet-scientifically-based adventure through the solar system and beyond took viewers along for the ride as Hawking, in his spaceship of the same name, explored Earth and its place in the cosmos — and ended on a cliffhanger.
Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places is one of Hawking’s last works; in honor of his life and legacy, CuriosityStream is making the entire series, including its previously unaired final episode, free for all viewers. The series will remain free through Friday, March 23 on CuriosityStream’s website.
John Hendricks, founder of the Discovery Channel and CuriosityStream, shared this statement on March 14:
“While we are mourning the passing of the epically brilliant Stephen Hawking, we are comforted by the fact that his profound insights into the workings of our Universe will live on and will inspire and inform future generations of humans who simply long to understand. At CuriosityStream, we will always be grateful that Stephen Hawking passionately shared his enthusiasm for the wonders of the Universe with his fellow humans. His dedicated and tireless work on television projects that took viewers to the furthest reaches of his mind and the cosmos he sought to deeply understand are treasured gifts to humanity. Although Stephen Hawking demonstrated a remarkable optimism about our capacity to understand the Universe, he also cautioned us about the fragility of our human condition as we currently remain bound to a small planet subject to meteor strikes and other natural and manmade catastrophes. In the end, he urged us all to get on with the quest to explore and populate worlds beyond our origin. He will always remain a towering figure in the history of human thought and inspiration.”
Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places takes you to the Eagle Nebula and beyond. // Photo Credit: CuriosityStream
I highly recommend taking the time to watch this short three-part series. Each episode is just under half an hour, and can fit easily into even a busy day. It’s fun, it’s visually stunning, and it will leave you with both a sense of wonder and humility about humanity’s unique place in the cosmos, and how we have come to understand it — and how much more we still have to learn. In addition to the brilliant mark he has left on the field of cosmology, Stephen Hawking’s other legacy is work such as this, which takes us to the edge of human understanding and never flinches. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to finish this series for myself, and to share it with you through the generosity of CuriosityStream as well.