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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Operation Space Station: Science and Survival
S52 E20 - 53m 41s
Witness life-or-death decisions 250 miles above Earth, as astronauts and Mission Control work together to survive moments of high danger on board humanity’s remarkable orbiting laboratory, the International Space Station.
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Operation Space Station: High-Risk Build
S52 E19 - 53m 40s
From ammonia leaks to Space Shuttle disasters to a spacewalk gone terribly wrong, astronauts and Mission Control insiders relive the most terrifying moments during construction of the International Space Station.
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Superfloods
S52 E18 - 53m 28s
Recent deadly flash floods have wreaked havoc in the US and beyond. Explore why dangerous floods are on the rise and what can be done to protect more lives when they strike.
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Ancient Desert Death Trap
S52 E17 - 53m 21s
Deep in the Arabian Desert lie thousands of enigmatic stone megastructures whose true form is visible only from the sky. Follow archaeologists as they decipher the mysterious remnants of a Stone Age culture and discover their true purpose.
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Human: Building Empires
S52 E16 - 53m 32s
Discover how Homo sapiens transformed from nomads to empire builders. Witness the innovations – from animal domestication to writing – that revolutionized ancient life and shaped our modern world.
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Human: Into the Americas
S52 E15 - 53m 25s
Follow ancient humans’ perilous journey into the Americas, where a frigid Ice Age landscape, mammoths, and other fearsome beasts tested their resilience.
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Human: Neanderthal Encounters
S52 E14 - 53m 27s
For 400,000 years, Neanderthals thrived across frigid, Ice Age Europe. What happened when Homo sapiens arrived, and how did these encounters change our species – including our DNA – in ways still with us today?
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Human: Journeys
S52 E13 - 53m 25s
Follow Homo Sapiens as they venture across the world, farther than any other human species. See how they invented new tools to thrive in challenging environments – and meet the mysterious hobbit-like humans they may have encountered along the way.
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Human: Origins
S52 E12 - 53m 32s
Where did humans come from, and what makes us unique? Discover the remarkable origins of Homo sapiens, and the crucial moments of innovation, communication, and ritual that set us on our path.
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Ultimate Crash Test: Impact
S52 E11 - 53m 27s
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
S52 E10 - 53m 29s
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
S52 E9 - 1h 36m
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.
Extras + Features
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The God’s Wife of Amun: Powerful Women in Ancient Egypt
S52 E4 - 3m 3s
A monument from Ancient Egypt depicts an unusually powerful woman, standing alongside the king. Who was she? Discover the God’s Wife of Amun, a female role with extraordinary power, comparable to the medieval pope and endowed with great wealth.
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What's Inside These Ancient Egyptian Jars?
S52 E4 - 1m 58s
Hidden for nearly 3,000 years, a beautifully preserved canopic jar is discovered in Egypt. These sacred vessels, adorned with symbolic heads, played a vital role in protecting the deceased in the afterlife. Learn more about ancient Egyptian burial traditions and how they honored the dead.
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How the Afterlife Shaped Ancient Egypt
S52 E4 - 1m 15s
Were ancient Egyptians obsessed with death? That common misconception hides the true relationship between life and death in ancient Egypt. Discover how they thought about death, why they invested so much in life after death, and how their belief in the afterlife shaped Egyptian culture.
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Dino Birds Preview
S52 E3 - 29s
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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How Birds Survived the Dinosaur Apocalypse
S52 E3 - 2m 48s
Birds are the only dinosaurs still alive today, but how did they survive the asteroid? Most birds were wiped out, along with the rest of the dinosaurs and 75 percent of all life on Earth, but one group of birds made it through. Discover how they endured, and which traits made them resilient in the brutal aftermath of the mass extinction event.
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How Birds Evolved to Fly (feat. Slow-Mo Baby Birds)
S52 E3 - 2m 56s
Birds today make flight look effortless, but its evolution was complex. Scientists are still trying to discover exactly how birds took to the skies, and today, a new perspective has emerged by studying how flightless chicks become skilled flyers. With high-speed cameras and careful observation, discover how researchers are gaining insights into the development of bird flight.
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Area 51: UFO Sightings and an Infamous Government Cover-Up
S52 E1 - 2m 35s
For decades, rumors of alien spacecraft at Area 51 have captivated the public imagination. In what is now known as one of the most infamous government cover-ups, an absence of information fueled wild speculation. Discover how UFO stories may have served as a convenient smokescreen for secret testing of advanced military technology.
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Is the Government Hiding Information on UFOs?
S52 E1 - 1m 3s
The government does keep secrets about aerospace technology, but are those linked to UFO sightings? How much do they really know? With growing concerns about national security and more citizen sightings of unidentified objects in our airspace, the need to identify these unknown objects is greater than ever before.
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What You’re Probably Seeing If You Spot a UFO
S52 E1 - 2m 17s
When you spot a UFO, are you really seeing something unknown? You can actually see things in Earth's orbit like weather balloons, the International Space Station, and a 60-satellite system called Starlink. Technology has created more clutter in the sky — and a much greater chance for us to misinterpret what we're seeing.
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What Are UFOs? Preview
S52 E1 - 30s
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.
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UFO Sightings: How Scientists are Trying to Capture More Data
S52 E1 - 5m
There have been reports of UFO and UAP sightings for decades, but these accounts are often difficult to verify. Now, scientists are in search of the elusive: hard data. From machine learning sites that analyze the sky 24/7, to a crowd-sourcing app that asks the public to submit their own UFO videos, discover the inventive methods at play to capture more data.
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The $8 Billion Overhaul of LaGuardia Airport: Engineering a New Era
S52 E2 - 2m 12s
The redevelopment of LaGuardia was nothing short of remarkable: almost every aspect of the airport was renovated while flights were still coming and going, and architects took special care to future-proof their work through innovative and forward-thinking designs. Over the course of 8 years, engineers rebuilt Terminals B&C, constructed two massive pedestrian walkways, and made key improvements.
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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