Interview: De-Extinction, Dire Wolves, and Jurassic Park with Beth Shapiro
Can we bring extinct species back to life? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro claims we just did. As Chief Science Officer at Colossal, her team made headlines in spring 2025 with the announcement of the de-extinction of the dire wolf. She takes us behind the headlines to explain how this is no “Jurassic Park” fantasy.
Episodes
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Secrets of the Forest
S52 E8 - 53m 41s
Can forests help cool the planet? Follow scientists through spectacular landscapes as they study complex networks of trees, fungi, and creatures large and small – all in a quest to tackle the twin threats of climate change and species extinction.
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Revolutionary War Weapons
S52 E7 - 53m 39s
How did a ragtag army defeat the most powerful army in the world to win American independence? Discover the key military technologies that helped propel the colonies to victory, from the Brown Bess musket to the world’s first military submarine.
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Baltimore Bridge Collapse
S52 E6 - 53m 32s
On March 26, 2024, a massive container ship plowed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six highway workers. How did the ship lose control? Why did the bridge fail so catastrophically? And how many other bridges around the world are at risk?
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Pompeii's Secret Underworld
S52 E5 - 53m 40s
For over two centuries, archaeologists have hailed Pompeii as a sophisticated city at the heart of an advanced ancient civilization. But a series of new excavations is painting a much more complex picture of the city tragically buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
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Egypt's Tombs of Amun
S52 E4 - 53m 40s
Follow archaeologists as they discover a long lost ancient cemetery in Egypt’s sacred desert. Treasures emerge unlike anything seen by the team, revealing details of a unique period, when women had extraordinary power.
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Dino Birds
S52 E3 - 53m 35s
Why are birds the only dinosaurs still alive today? Rare fossil discoveries are revealing the secrets of bird evolution, telling the story of how some resilient feathered dinos became the vast array of colorful bird species that fill our skies.
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Extreme Airport Engineering
S52 E2 - 53m 40s
In New York City, a team of elite engineers and construction workers are on a mission to build the ultimate airport. Follow their ups and downs as they race to build a new, world-class LaGuardia on the site of one of America’s busiest aviation hubs.
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What Are UFOs?
S52 E1 - 53m 43s
After decades in the shadows, UFOs are being studied seriously. Are they weather balloons, optical illusions, secret military technology? Or something else? Follow scientists as they try to unravel the mystery of the strangest objects in our skies.
Extras + Features
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The Science of Scratch-Offs: What Your Brain Can’t Resist
S52 - 6m 39s
Scratch-off tickets are big money for state-run lotteries. Is it the promise of winning big that keeps players in the game? Or is there something else happening in the brain?
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This Giant Telescope Will Reveal The Universe in Unbelievable Detail
S52 - 5m 59s
Equipped with an 8.4-meter mirror and a 3.2-billion-pixel camera—the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy—the Rubin Observatory is poised to revolutionize how we see the cosmos. In just 10 hours of test observations, the telescope detected over 2,100 new asteroids.
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Ultimate Crash Test: Impact Preview
S52 E11 - 30s
Car safety experts just pulled off a first-of-its-kind remote controlled multi-vehicle pile up. Now investigators are put to the test as they analyze the data and look for insights into driver behavior and vehicle design.
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Ultimate Crash Test: Countdown Preview
S52 E10 - 30s
What really happens in a multi-vehicle pileup? A first-of-its-kind experiment aims to stage a high speed crash to gain new insights on car safety. But how can they create and study a complex collision without putting any lives in danger?
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Critical Condition: Health in Black America Preview
S52 E9 - 30s
Black Americans are nearly twice as likely to suffer from chronic diseases than Whites. Why? From false beliefs that permeate modern medicine to life experiences that can damage human cells, uncover the underlying causes of racial health disparities.
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These Smart Glasses Know Who You Are, and Much More
S52 - 4m 18s
The facial recognition glasses can pull personal information, like and phone number and even home address from existing online databases.
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Secrets of the Forest Preview
S52 E8 - 30s
Can forests help cool the planet? Follow scientists through spectacular landscapes as they study complex networks of trees, fungi, and creatures large and small – all in a quest to tackle the twin threats of climate change and species extinction.
-
Why Just Planting Trees Won’t Save the Planet
S52 E8 - 3m 4s
A paper published in 2019, estimated that there is enough land on Earth to support an extra trillion trees to capture carbon. But in the rush to grow trees, people ignored the supporting environment that exists in a forest. Discover why biodiversity matters in forests.
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The World’s First Combat Submarine
S52 E7 - 10m 49s
During the American Revolution, an American inventor developed an underwater vessel that could destroy British ships by attaching a bomb to the hull of a ship. These are some of its unique features.
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Revolutionary War Weapons Preview
S52 E7 - 30s
How did a ragtag army defeat the most powerful army in the world to win American independence? Discover the key military technologies that helped propel the colonies to victory, from the Brown Bess musket to the world’s first military submarine.
-
How Deadly Was the Musket?
S52 E7 - 4m 57s
At Fort Ticonderoga, a centuries-old weapon is put through a modern test. Using ballistic gel, a slow-motion camera and a chronograph, experts investigate the true power of the British “Brown Bess” musket.
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4 Ways the Universe Could End
S52 - 5m 7s
If the universe as we know it started with the Big Bang, will it also have an end? And if it’s going to end someday - how? Discover the four main ideas about how the universe might end, and find out which one has the most evidence supporting it. With host Athena Brensberger, dive into our universe's very distant future in this episode of What the Physics?!
Schedule
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Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Wednesday
Dec 10
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Wednesday
Dec 10
1 Hour
Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic. -
Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Thursday
Dec 11
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Thursday
Dec 11
1 Hour
Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic. -
Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Thursday
Dec 11
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Saturday
Dec 13
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Saturday
Dec 13
1 Hour
Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic. -
Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Sunday
Dec 14
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Sunday
Dec 14
1 Hour
Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic. -
Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Tuesday
Dec 16
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Tuesday
Dec 16
1 Hour
Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic. -
Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Wednesday
Dec 17
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Wednesday
Dec 17
1 Hour
Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic. -
Image
NOVA
Ice Age Footprints
Wednesday
Dec 17
1 Hour
A look at what thousands of prehistoric footprints in New Mexico's White Sands National Park might reveal about the peopling of the Americas. -
Image
NOVA
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Wednesday
Dec 17
1 Hour
Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic. -
Image
NOVA
Polar Extremes
Wednesday
Dec 17
2 Hours
Paleontologist Kirk Johnson explores the polar extremes of the planet, including miles-high ice sheets and warm polar forests brimming with life. -
Image
NOVA
Polar Extremes
Wednesday
Dec 17
2 Hours
Paleontologist Kirk Johnson explores the polar extremes of the planet, including miles-high ice sheets and warm polar forests brimming with life. -
Image
NOVA
Polar Extremes
Thursday
Dec 18
2 Hours
Paleontologist Kirk Johnson explores the polar extremes of the planet, including miles-high ice sheets and warm polar forests brimming with life. -
Image
NOVA
Polar Extremes
Thursday
Dec 18
2 Hours
Paleontologist Kirk Johnson explores the polar extremes of the planet, including miles-high ice sheets and warm polar forests brimming with life. -
Image
NOVA
Polar Extremes
Thursday
Dec 18
2 Hours
Paleontologist Kirk Johnson explores the polar extremes of the planet, including miles-high ice sheets and warm polar forests brimming with life.
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