Vanishing Act
From fossils entombed in tar to cells frozen in hope, Shane Campbell-Staton traces the arc of extinction from prehistory to the present. On an epic global journey, he meets species at the brink of oblivion… and the people who won’t give up on them.
Episodes
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Vanishing Act
S2 E6 - 55m 39s
From fossils entombed in tar to cells frozen in hope, Shane Campbell-Staton traces the arc of extinction from prehistory to the present. On an epic global journey, he meets species at the brink of oblivion… and the people who won’t give up on them.
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Dammed If You Do
S2 E5 - 55m 8s
Shane Campbell-Staton travels from ancient aqueducts to modern mega-dams, following our age-old quest to tame water. On a journey down the Colorado River, he discovers how humanity’s thirst for control has reshaped rivers — and civilization itself.
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The Honey Trap
S2 E4 - 55m 9s
Everyone knows the honey bee, but it’s just one species – there are 20,000 others! Humans
have depended on bees – both wild and managed – for millennia. But as bee populations
collapse around the world, can we save them before it’s too late? -
Dressed to Kill
S2 E3 - 55m 9s
Take a look in the mirror… do you like what you see? From biotech labs to beaver ponds, from New York Fashion Week to Chile’s textile graveyards, Shane unravels how the trends we chase to fit in and stand out leave a lasting mark on our planet.
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The Enemy of My Enemy
S2 E2 - 55m 13s
In humankind’s conquest of planet Earth, we rely on improbable allies – species we’ve recruited from nature to help us defeat our adversaries. But in this brave new world of “biocontrol,” is the enemy of an enemy always a friend?
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Shelf Life
S2 E1 - 55m 7s
Shane travels from New York City to rural Thailand to explore the Human Footprint of the supermarket – a 20th century innovation that transformed our relationship with food, reshaping our bodies, our society, and our planet along the way.
Extras + Features
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The True Cost of Shrimp: What the Grocery Store Doesn’t Show You
S2 E1 - 13m 11s
Shane Campbell-Staton investigates how shrimp became America’s #1 seafood — and reveals the exploitation and forced labor that fuel its global supply chain. With journalist Ben Lorr and activist Patima Tungpuchayakul, he exposes how modern slavery hides behind low prices and how grocery stores disconnect us from the people who feed us.
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The Birth of the Supermarket: How Convenience Took Over the Way We Shop
S2 E1 - 4m 18s
Host Shane Campbell-Staton joins author Ben Lorr to explore the surprising history of the supermarket. From neighborhood butchers to Piggly Wiggly, they trace how small innovations reshaped how we shop — and why convenience and low prices came to rule. What began as a cost-cutting experiment now defines modern life.
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Season 2 Preview
S2 - 30s
Earth has never experienced anything like us: a single species dominating and transforming the planet. Biologist Shane Campbell-Staton travels the globe to explore our Human Footprint and to discover how the things we do reveal who we truly are.
Schedule
PBS PASSPORT
Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA+ and PBS Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.
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