Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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What happens when a colony ship’s children inherit a mission they never chose? We explore the values, conflicts, and founding myths that shape civilizations born between Earth and the stars.

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Credits:
The First Generation Problem – Who Shapes a New Civilization’s Values?
Editors: Donagh Broderick
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur
Music by Epidemic Sound: nebula.tv/epidemic
Stellardrone & Chris Zabriskie
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

0:00 Intro
2:20 Children of the Ark
9:08 The Dead Hand of the Founders
11:44 The Curriculum is the Constitution
14:43 Arrival Shock
17:10 The Ship That Keeps Going
19:04 Sleeping Founders
21:37 Children Raised by Ghosts
26:08 Alien Life
26:50 Who Really Shapes the Future?