300 Melhores Documentários [online]

300+ Mind Expanding Documentaries

I watch a lot of documentaries. I think they are incredible tools for learning and increasing our awareness of important issues. The power of an interesting documentary is that it can open our minds to new possibilities and deepen our understanding of the world. On this list of mind expanding documentaries you will find different viewpoints, controversial opinions and even contradictory ideas. Critical thinking is recommended. I’m not a big fan of conspiracy documentaries but I do like films that challenge consensus reality and provoke us to question the everyday ideas, opinions and practices we usually take for granted.

Watching documentaries is one of my favorite methods of self-education. If I find a documentary inspiring, I usually spend more time researching the different ideas and interesting people interviewed in the film.

I hope you find these documentaries as enlightening as I did!

If you notice that a link is broken, please let me know in the comments and I’ll update it.

Thanks to Kyle Pearce & DIY Genius for this awesome list!


[1] Life In The Biosphere

Explore the wonder and interconnectedness of the biosphere through the magic of technology.

1. Home2. How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth3. The Magical Forest4. Ants: Nature’s Secret Power
5. Mt. Everest: How It Was Made
6. Mariana’s Trench: The Deepest Spot On Earth
7. Natural World: The Andes
8. Shining Mountains: The Rockies
9. Grand Canyon: How It Was Made10. The Intelligence of Plants

[2] Creativity and Design:

Learn about all the amazing things that people create with their imaginations.

1. Everything Is A Remix2. The Creative Brain: How Insight Works3. Blow Your Mind
4. Design: The New Business5. PressPausePlay: Art and Creativity in the Digital Age6. Infamy: A Graffiti Documentary7. Influencers: How Trends and Creativity Become Contagious8. RIP: A Remix Manifesto9. Design: e² – Sustainable Architecture10. The Genius Of Design

[3] The Education Industrial Complex:

The modern school where young minds are moulded into standardized citizens by the state.

1. The College Conspiracy2. Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk3. The Forbidden Education4. Default: The Student Loan Documentary5. College Inc.6. Education For A Sustainable Future7. Networked Society: The Future of Learning8. The Ultimate History Lesson With John Taylor Gatto9. The Education System in Communist China
10. The War On Kids

[4] The Digital Revolution:

The Internet is now the driving force behind change and innovation in the world.

1. Download: The True Story of the Internet
2. The Age of Big Data3. Resonance: Beings of Frequency
5. Life In A Day6. Networked Society: On The Brink7. Us Now: Social Media and Mass Collaboration8. WikiRebels: The WikiLeaks Story9. The Virtual Revolution: The Cost of Free10. How Hackers Changed the World

[5] A New Civilization:

We are at the dawn of a new golden age of human inventiveness.

1. THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take?2. Zeitgeist III: Moving Forward3. Paradise or Oblivion4. 2012: Time For Change5. The Crisis of Civilization6. The Collective Evolution II7. The Quickening: Awakening As One8. 2012 Crossing Over: A New Beginning9. Collapse10. The Awakening

[6] Politics:

Explore the politics of power and control and how it affects your life.

1. Owned and Operated2. UnGrip3. The Power Principle
4. The True Story of Che Guevara5. Earth Days
6. Capitalism Is The Crisis7. WikiLeaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower8. The Putin System9. The War On Democracy10. Rise Like Lions: Occupy Wall Street and the Seeds of Revolution

[7] Biographies of Genius:

The biographies of modern geniuses who pushed humanity forward.

1. Isaac Newton: The Last Magician2. Nikola Tesla: The Greatest Mind of All Time3. The Unlimited Energy of Nicola Tesla4. The Missing Secrets Of Nikola Tesla5. Richard Feynman: No Ordinary Genius6. How Albert Einstein’s Brain Worked
7. The Extraordinary Genius of Albert Einstein8. The Biography of Albert Einstein9. Da Vinci: Unlocking The Genius10. Leonardo Da Vinci: The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything

[8] War:

War is history’s oldest racket for stealing from the powerless and redistributing resources to the powerful.

1. Psywar: The Real Battlefield Is Your Mind2. The History of World War II3. The Secret History of 9/114. Robot Armies in the Future5. The Never Ending War in Afghanistan6. Shadow Company: Mercenaries In The Modern World7. World War II From Space8. Why We Fight9. The Fog Of War10. The Oil Factor: Behind The War On Terror

[9] Economics:

Learn about the financial system works and how people and societies are enslaved through debt.

1. The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power2. Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis3. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of The World4. The One Percent
5. Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street6. The Last Days Of Lehman Brothers
7. The Four Horsemen
8. Inside Job: The Biggest Robbery In Human History9. Capitalism A Love Story10. Money and Life

[10] Digital Entrepreneurship:

Profiles of the entrepreneurs who used technology to change the world.

1. The Life Of A Young Entrepreneur2. Profile: Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin3. Profile: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg4. Starting-Up in America5. The Biography of Bill Gates6. Inside Google: The Billion Dollar Machine7. Steve Jobs: One Last Thing8 . Steve Jobs: The Billion Dollar Hippy9. Elon Musk: Risk Takers10. The Story of Twitter

[11] Sports:

Watch the inspiring stories of amazing athletes.

1. Fearless: The Jeb Corliss Story2. Carts of Darkness3. The Two Escobars4. Usain Bolt: The World’s Fastest Man5. Wayne Gretzky: The Life and Times6. When We Were Kings7. Mike Tyson: Beyond the Glory8. Birdmen9. The Legacy Of Michael Jordan10. We Ride: The Story of Snowboarding

[12] Technology:

Find out more about the impact of exponential growth and the approaching Singularity.

1. Ray Kurzweil: The Transcendent Man2. How Robots Will Change the World3. Human 2.04. Tomorrow’s World: Life In The Future5. Trance-Formation: The Future of Humanity6. The Venus Project: Future By Design7. Bionics, Transhumanism And The End Of Evolution8. The Singularity Is Near9. Car Technology Of The Future10. Powering The Future: The Energy Revolution

[13] Origins of Religion:

Explore the original religious experience of mankind at the dawn of civilization.

1. Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within2. Manifesting the Mind: Footprints of the Shaman3. Ancient Egypt and The Alternative Story of Mankind’s Origins4. The Hidden Knowledge of the Supernatural5. Re-Awaken: Open Your Heart, Expand Your Mind6. Shamans of the Amazon7. The Root of All Evil: The God Delusion8. Ancient Knowledge9. The Naked Truth10. Before Babel: In Search of the First Language

[14] Western Religion:

The fascinating history of the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

1. Secret Quest: The Path of the Christian Gnostics2. The Secret Gate of Eden3. Forbidden Knowledge: Lost Secrets of the Bible4. Banned From The Bible: Secrets Of The Apostles5.  The Life of Prophet Muhammad6. The Road To Armageddon7. The Most Hated Family In America8. Muhammad: The Legacy of a Prophet9. A Complete History of God10. Gnosis: The Untold History of the Bible

[15] Eastern Religion:

Expand your mind by also studying the entirely different religious worldviews of the East.

1. Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds2. The Life Of The Buddha3. The Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World4. Mysteries of the Cosmic OM: Ancient Vedic Science5. Where Science and Buddhism Meet6. The Yogis of Tibet7. Taj Mahal: Secrets To Blow Your Mind8. Light at the Edge of the World: Tibetan Science of the Mind9. Myths of Mankind: The Mahabharata
10. Ayurveda: The Art of Being

[16] Consciousness:

Learn about the basic unity of existence and the miracle of consciousness.

1. Athene’s Theory of Everything2. Theory of Everything: GOD, Devils, Dimensions, Dragons & The Illusion of Reality3. The God Within: Physics, Cosmology and Consciousness4. 5 Gateways: The Five Key Expansions of Consciousness5. Return to the Source: Philosophy and The Matrix6. The Holographic Universe7. DMT: The Spirit Molecule8. What Is Consciousness?9. Kymatica10. Neuroplasticity: The Brain That Changes Itself

[17] Mysteries:

Indiana Jones-style explorations into the unsolved mysteries of the past.

1. Alchemy: Sacred Secrets Revealed2. The Day Before Disclosure3. The Pyramid Code4. The Secret Design of the Egyptian Pyramids5. Decoding the Past: Secrets of the Dollar Bill6. The Lost Gods of Easter Island7. Origins of the Da Vinci Code8. Forbidden Knowledge: Ancient Medical Secrets9. Secret Mysteries of America’s Beginnings: The New Atlantis10. Secrets in Plain Sight

[18] Mass Culture:

Learn about how our thoughts and opinions are influenced by mass culture.

1. The Century of the Self2. All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace3. The Power Of Nightmares4. The Trap: What Happened To Our Dreams of Freedom5. Starsuckers: A Culture Obsessed By Celebrity6. Human Resources: Social Engineering in the 20th Century7. Obey: The Death of the Liberal Class8. Motivational Guru: The Story of Tony Robbins9. Bob Marley: Freedom Road10. Radiant City

[19] Corporate Media:

Discover how the mass media and advertisers channel our irrational impulses.

1. Weapons of Mass Deceptions
2. Secrets of the Superbrands
3. Orwell Rolls in his Grave4. The Esoteric Agenda5. Propaganda6. The Myth of the Liberal Media: The Propaganda Model of News7. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media8. Symbolism in Logos: Subliminal Messages or Ancient Archetypes9. Edward Snowden: A Truth Unveiled
10. Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism

[20] Art and Literature:

Explore the lives of famous artists and how art opens people’s minds.

1. Lord Of The Rings: Facts Behind The Fiction2. Cosm: Alex Gray’s Visionary Art3. Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop4. New Art and the Young Artists Behind It5. Salvador Dali: A Master of the Modern Era6. How Art Made The World: More Human Than Human7. The Day Pictures Were Born8. Guns, Germs and Steel9. Off-Book: Digital Age Creativity10. This Is Modern Art

[21] Health:

Explore issues in health, how our bodies work and the incredible power of our brains.

1. The Human Brain2. The Truth About Vitamins3. How To Live To 1014. America’s Obesity Epidemic5. The War On Health6. The Beautiful Truth
7. Food Inc.8. The Truth About Food9. Addicted To Pleasure: Sugar10. The Living Matrix

[22] Drugs:

Documentaries on the effect of drugs — legal and illegal — on the body and mind.

1. The Union: The Business Behind Getting High2. The Drugging Of Our Children3. How Marijuana Affects Your Health4. Making a Killing: The Untold Story of Psychotropic Drugging5. Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis6. LSD: The Beyond Within7. The War on Drugs: The Prison Industrial Complex8. Are Illegal Drugs More Dangerous Than Legal Drugs?9. The Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic
10. Run From The Cure: The Rick Simpson Story

[23] Environment:

Thought-provoking documentaries on the environmental movement and the growing threats to our biosphere.

1. Earthlings2. Blue Gold: World Water Wars3. Tapped4. Shift: Beyond the Numbers of the Climate Crisis5. All Things Are Connected6. The Fight For Amazonia7. Flow: For Love Of Water8. Here Comes the Sun9. The World According To Monsanto10. The Story of Stuff

[24] Cosmos:

Expand your mind by exploring our indescribably large and beautiful Cosmos.

1. The Search for Planets Similar to Earth2. Inside the Milky Way Galaxy3. Cosmic Journeys : The Largest Black Holes in the Universe4. Beyond The Big Bang5. The Mystery of the Milky Way6. Fractals: The Hidden Dimension7. Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking: The Story of Everything8. Pioneer Science: Discovering Deep Space9. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos10. The Strangest Things In The Universe

[25] Science:

The history of scientific discovery and how scientific instruments expand our perception.

1. The Complete History of Science2. The Quantum Revolution3. Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell4. Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Time5. Quantum Mechanics: Fabric of the Cosmos6. The Light Fantastic7. DNA: The Secret of Life8. Parallel Universes, Alternative Timelines & Multiverse9. What Is The Higgs Boson?
10. Infinity

[26] Evolution:

The story of our evolution and the emergence of self-aware human beings.

1. The Origin of Life2. Homo Sapiens: The Birth of Humanity3. Beyond Me4. The Global Brain5. Metanoia: A New Vision of Nature6. Birth Of A New Humanity7. Samsara8. Ape Man: Adventures in Human Evolution9. The Incredible Human Journey10. The Human Family Tree

[27] Psychology and The Brain:

New research is shining a spotlight on how we can improve our brains.

1. How Smart Can We Get?2. The Science of Lust3. The Secret You4. What Are Dreams?5. A Virus Called Fear6. Beyond Thought (Awareness Itself)7. The Human Brain
8. Superconscious Mind: How To Double Your Brain’s Performance9. How Does Your Memory Work?10. Secrets of the Mind

[28] Modern History:

The story of the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the modern world.

1. The Entrepreneurs Who Built America2. History of the World in Two Hours3. The Industrial Revolution4. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich5. The Adventure of the English Language6. The French Revolution7. Big Sugar8. The Spanish Inquisition9. The American Revolution10. The Mexican American War

[29] Pre-Modern History:

The story of the Americas and European history in the pre-modern world.

1. America Before Columbus2. The Dark Ages3. Socrates, Aristotle and Plato4. The Medici: The Most Influencial Family In The World5. Rome: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire6. History of Britain: The Myth of the Anglo-Saxon Invasion7.  A History of Celtic Britain8. The Crusades: Victory and Defeat9. The Vikings: Voyage To America10. Copernicus and the Scientific Revolution

[30] Current Events:

Become more informed about current events that are shaping the world.

1. Syria: The Reckoning2. Empire: Putin’s Russia3. The New Arms Race4. The Killing of Yasser Arafat5. Egypt In Crisis6. Inside Obama’s Presidency7. The Untouchables: How Obama Protected Wall Street8. Behind The Rhetoric: The Real Iran9. A History of the Middle East since WWII10. Climate Wars

[31] Ancient Civilizations:

Fascination explorations into the ancient civilizations of our past.

1. When God Was a Girl: When Goddesses Ruled The Heavens and Earth2. The Persian Empire : Most Mysterious Civilization in the Ancient World3. What The Ancients Did For Us4. What the Ancients Knew5. Egypt: Beyond the Pyramids6. Secrets of the Ancient Empires7. Constellations & Ancient Civilizations8. Graham Hancock’s Quest For The Lost Civilization9. Atlantis: The Lost Continent10. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

I hope you enjoy watching some of these mind expanding documentaries! If you have a personal favorite, please share it with everyone in the comments.