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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Rare stellar explosion will ignite a "new star"
S51 - 1m 17s
The star system will become bright enough to see with the naked eye for several days before it dims again for about 80 years.
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The discovery of worlds beyond our solar system
S51 - 1m 39s
In the early 90s’ scientists combed through data and found something surprising that led to the discovery of planets beyond our solar system. It changed science forever.
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Is your phone listening to you?
S51 E7 - 4m 25s
A product you were just talking about pops up in an online ad. How? Advertising algorithms are so good that they may know what you want even before you do.
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Secrets in Your Data Preview
S51 E7 - 30s
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.
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How to make your data more private online
S51 E7 - 4m 2s
Online privacy isn’t a switch—it’s a dial. And you get to control how much data you share, and with who. Here’s how to make your data more private.
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The force that makes up more than half of the universe
S51 - 1m 40s
Astronomers looked at extremely distant and extremely bright exploding stars and discovered that universe is not just expanding - it’s accelerating in its expansion.
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Hunt for the Oldest DNA Preview
S51 E4 - 30s
For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. Follow the dramatic quest to recover DNA millions of years old and reveal a lost world from before the last Ice Age.
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When Camels Roamed the Arctic
S51 E4 - 2m 54s
Some 2 million years ago, when the high Arctic was a much warmer, greener place, a unique collection of animals coexisted: Caribou, geese, hares, even camels.
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Could Jurassic Park Actually Happen?
S51 E4 - 1m 55s
In the 90s, there was a lot of information published about ancient DNA that we now know is nonsense.
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How parrots swing like monkeys
S51 - 1m 36s
Researchers call this movement “beakiation” which is a play on an existing term, “brachiation,” used to describe how Gibbons move by swinging from their arms.
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5 things to know about the Eiffel Tower
S51 E3 - 1m 40s
The Eiffel Tower is an engineering icon that changed the face of the modern world.
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Why is the Eiffel Tower Shaped Like That?
S51 E3 - 1m 58s
At the time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure ever built. That meant that the engineers had a key challenge: making sure the structure could survive the wind.
Schedule
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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.
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