Building Stuff: Reach It!
Born to explore, we’re constantly inventing new ways to go beyond our comfort zones. From deep sea subs to next-gen space habitats, see how engineers are building the tools humans need to go where we’ve never gone before.
Episodes
-
Building Stuff: Reach It!
S51 E16 - 53m 40s
Born to explore, we’re constantly inventing new ways to go beyond our comfort zones. From deep sea subs to next-gen space habitats, see how engineers are building the tools humans need to go where we’ve never gone before.
-
Building Stuff: Boost It!
S51 E15 - 53m 40s
How are leading innovators supercharging our natural abilities? From slingshots that can throw rockets into space to the latest in artificial sight, see how engineers are amplifying the human body’s powers.
-
Decoding the Universe: Quantum
S51 E14 - 53m 40s
When we look at the world at the tiniest scales, things get very weird. Take a wild ride through the quantum world, from the discoveries that reveal its strange rules to the amazing technologies it unlocks – with more powerful possibilities to come.
-
Solar System: Wandering Worlds
S51 E13 - 53m 34s
From meteorites that impact Earth, to a moon that orbits backwards, to an imposter lurking in the asteroid belt, a variety of strange, wandering worlds are rewriting what we know – and even how we think about – our solar system.
-
Moving soon to WETA Passport
Solar System: Icy Worlds
S51 E12 - 53m 34s
Out in the solar system, ice can get bizarre. Visit strange, frozen worlds – from Uranus’s ultra-hot superionic ice, to glaciers of nitrogen ice on Pluto, to carbon dioxide snow on Mars – and discover why the ice here on Earth is so unique.
-
Solar System: Volcano Worlds
S51 E11 - 53m 34s
Around our solar system, violent eruptions are shaping distant worlds. Discover the explosive forces that helped create some of the most dynamic worlds in our cosmic neighborhood – and what makes the volcanoes right here on Earth so special.
-
Solar System: Strange Worlds
S51 E10 - 53m 34s
From a dwarf planet that looks like a deflated football, to a tiny moon with cliffs taller than Mt. Everest, to the spectacular rings of Saturn, discover how the effects of gravity produce the amazing variety of weird worlds in our solar system.
-
Solar System: Storm Worlds
S51 E9 - 53m 34s
Out in the solar system, the weather gets wacky – with globe-spanning dust storms, monsoons of liquid methane, and lightning 10 times stronger than here on Earth. Discover the forces driving the dramatic weather on neighboring planets and moons.
-
Decoding the Universe: Cosmos
S51 E8 - 53m 38s
How big is the universe? Will it ever end? Why is so much of it made of mysterious dark matter and energy? See how mind-bending discoveries over the past 50 years have revolutionized our understanding of the universe.
-
Secrets in Your Data
S51 E7 - 53m 40s
Whether you’re on social media or surfing the web, you’re probably sharing more personal data than you realize. Find out where your data is going, who’s selling it, and how you – and a new kind of web – could put control back in your hands.
-
Great American Eclipse
S51 E6 - 53m 34s
Explore the spectacular cosmic phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. In April 2024, the Moon’s shadow is sweeping from Texas to Maine, as the U.S. witnesses its last total eclipse until 2044, and scientists scramble to unlock the secrets of our Sun.
-
A.I. Revolution
S51 E5 - 53m 30s
A.I. tools like ChatGPT seem to think, speak, and create like humans. But what are they really doing? From cancer cures to Terminator-style takeovers, leading experts explore what A.I. can – and can’t – do today, and what lies ahead.
Extras + Features
-
Can Technology Detect Deepfakes Better Than Humans Can?
S51 - 7m 9s
Researchers are trying to develop tools to thwart deep fakes in several different ways — from before they are even made, to detecting them once they are out on the internet.
-
Solar System: Storm Worlds Preview
S51 E9 - 30s
Out in the solar system, the weather gets wacky – with globe-spanning dust storms, monsoons of liquid methane, and lightning 10 times stronger than here on Earth. Discover the forces driving the dramatic weather on neighboring planets and moons.
-
What Happened to the Hole in the Ozone Layer?
S51 - 3m 13s
The extreme thinning of the Ozone layer threatened to bring on a global crisis from destroying plants and ecosystems to sky-high skin cancer rates. So, what happened?
-
A Hidden Cause of Sinkholes Is Lurking Underground
S51 - 2m 21s
Sinkholes can form either really quickly, or really slowly over a long period of time – and they don’t always come with warning signs.
-
Ozempic's Surprising Real Power
S51 - 3m 51s
Scientists thought Ozempic, and other similar drugs, helped people lose weight by working primarily in the gut. But now it's looking like it's real power could be in the brain.
-
What Dating Apps Know About You
S51 - 2m 51s
You might sign up for a dating app to find the love of your life. But while you’re swiping, these apps are collecting all kinds of information about you. What do you they know about you? And what are they doing with your data?
-
These cheeses are at risk of going extinct
S51 - 1m 11s
Don’t fret – at-risk cheeses are not going to disappear instantly but they getting much harder to make.
-
First ape ever seen using medicinal plant to treat wound
S51 - 1m 58s
Scientists say they have, for the first time, observed a primate in the wild treat an open wound with a medicinal plant.
-
Total Eclipse in the Heart of Texas Hill Country
S51 - 6m 41s
In the hill country of Texas, the solar eclipse struck wonder and awe.
-
The Deepest Underground Lab in the U.S.
S51 E8 - 1m 44s
Invisible and mysterious, dark matter shapes the cosmos, but scientists are still trying to figure out what exactly it is.
-
How Vera Rubin broke barriers in astronomy
S51 E8 - 4m 4s
In the past 50 years, thanks to Vera Rubin and others, dark matter has become an essential scientific building block, at the foundation of our understanding of the universe.
-
Are Your Online Passwords as Safe as You Think?
S51 E7 - 2m 22s
Hackers can crack a 7-character password in seconds. But it can take 100 years to crack a 12-character one when it has letters, numbers and symbols. Here's one strategy to make one.
Schedule
-
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Thursday
Nov 21
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Thursday
Nov 21
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Thursday
Nov 21
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Thursday
Nov 21
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Sunday
Nov 24
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Sunday
Nov 24
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Sunday
Nov 24
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Tuesday
Nov 26
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Wednesday
Nov 27
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Wednesday
Nov 27
1 Hour
Engineers design and build creative new ways to get around, from affordable deep-sea subs to flying taxis. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Change It!
Wednesday
Nov 27
1 Hour
From building new water filters to a robot that uses acoustics to revive coral reefs, engineers reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments that align with society's needs. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Change It!
Wednesday
Nov 27
1 Hour
From building new water filters to a robot that uses acoustics to revive coral reefs, engineers reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments that align with society's needs. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Change It!
Thursday
Nov 28
1 Hour
From building new water filters to a robot that uses acoustics to revive coral reefs, engineers reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments that align with society's needs. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Change It!
Thursday
Nov 28
1 Hour
From building new water filters to a robot that uses acoustics to revive coral reefs, engineers reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments that align with society's needs. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Change It!
Sunday
Dec 1
1 Hour
From building new water filters to a robot that uses acoustics to revive coral reefs, engineers reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments that align with society's needs. -
Image
NOVA
Building Stuff: Change It!
Sunday
Dec 1
1 Hour
From building new water filters to a robot that uses acoustics to revive coral reefs, engineers reshape the natural world and create new human-made environments that align with society's needs. -
Image
NOVA
The Planets: Jupiter
Tuesday
Dec 3
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Jupiter's gravitational force made it a wrecking ball as it barreled through the early solar system, but it also helped shape life on Earth as it brought comets laden with water and possibly the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs. -
Image
NOVA
The Planets: Jupiter
Wednesday
Dec 4
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Jupiter's gravitational force made it a wrecking ball as it barreled through the early solar system, but it also helped shape life on Earth as it brought comets laden with water and possibly the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs. -
Image
NOVA
The Planets: Jupiter
Wednesday
Dec 4
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Jupiter's gravitational force made it a wrecking ball as it barreled through the early solar system, but it also helped shape life on Earth as it brought comets laden with water and possibly the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs. -
Image
NOVA
The Planets: Jupiter
Wednesday
Dec 4
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Jupiter's gravitational force made it a wrecking ball as it barreled through the early solar system, but it also helped shape life on Earth as it brought comets laden with water and possibly the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs.
WETA Passport
Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.
Similar Shows
The Farthest
Science and Nature
The Great Polar Bear Feast
Science and Nature
Your Health: A Sacred Matter
Science and Nature
Extinction: The Facts
Science and Nature
Hot Mess
Science and Nature
Antarctic Extremes
Science and Nature
Crash Course Zoology
Science and Nature
View Finders
Science and Nature
Infinite Series
Science and Nature
Battleground Everglades
Science and Nature