Science and Nature

NOVA

NOVA brings you stories from the frontlines of science and engineering, answering the big questions of today and tomorrow, from how our ancestors lived, to whether parallel universes exist, to how technology will transform our lives. Visit the official website to watch full-length documentaries, or explore our world through short-form video, on our digital publication NOVA Next.

A.I. Revolution

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.

Episodes

  • The Cannabis Question: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Cannabis Question

    S48 E11 - 53m 36s

    As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA investigates the latest scientific evidence for its potential benefits and risks, and how criminalization has disproportionately harmed communities of color.

  • Bat Superpowers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Bat Superpowers

    S48 E10 - 53m 13s

    Bats have been implicated in deadly epidemics such as COVID-19 and Ebola, yet scientists are discovering evidence that they may hold a key to a longer and healthier life. From caves in Thailand and Texas to labs around the globe, NOVA meets the scientists who are decoding the superpowers of the bat.

  • Ship That Changed the World: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ship That Changed the World

    S48 E9 - 53m 12s

    The Age of Exploration and Europe’s imperial colonization of far-off lands was launched by a revolution in ship design that made long-distance voyages practical. A newly discovered 500-year-old wreck offers vital clues to this momentous innovation.

  • Great Electric Airplane Race: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Great Electric Airplane Race

    S48 E7 - 53m 7s

    Can new emission-free electric planes replace our polluting airliners and revolutionize personal transportation in our cities? NOVA takes a ride in some quiet, energy-efficient, prototypes that are vying for success as electric flight takes off.

  • Hindenburg: The New Evidence: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Hindenburg: The New Evidence

    S48 E6 - 53m 13s

    80 years after the world’s largest airship ignited in a giant fireball, newly discovered footage sparks a reinvestigation of what exactly caused the Hindenburg disaster.

  • Fighting for Fertility: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Fighting for Fertility

    S48 E5 - 53m 6s

    What causes infertility, and how can assisted reproductive technologies help? Follow the journeys of people navigating fertility challenges from structural inequalities and racism to falling sperm counts, egg freezing, and IVF.

  • Reef Rescue: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Reef Rescue

    S48 E4 - 54m 6s

    If oceans continue to warm at the current pace, coral reefs could be wiped out by the end of the century. But scientists from around the globe are rushing to help corals adapt to a changing climate through assisted evolution.

  • Picture a Scientist: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Picture a Scientist

    S48 E3 - 1h 33m

    Women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the United States, and numbers are even lower for women of color. But a growing group of researchers is exposing longstanding discrimination and making science more inclusive.

Extras + Features

  • Ancient Maya Metropolis Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ancient Maya Metropolis Preview

    S48 E22 - 30s

    The ancient ancestors of today’s Maya people thrived in large sophisticated cities across Central America for centuries. Why, around 750 CE, did they begin to abandon many of their major cities? Archaeologists investigate dramatic new evidence of the catastrophic droughts and instability that pushed cities beyond their limits.

  • These Artifacts and Foods Tie Modern Maya to the Past: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    These Artifacts and Foods Tie Modern Maya to the Past

    S48 E22 - 4m 4s

    “The contemporary Maya people still practice not only Maya traditions, but Mesoamerican traditions," anthropologist Iyaxel Coteji Ren told NOVA. "It's one of the traits that distinguish Maya culture."

  • Alaskan Dinosaurs Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Alaskan Dinosaurs Preview

    S48 E21 - 29s

    A team of intrepid paleontologists discovers that dinosaurs thrived in the unlikeliest of places—the cold and dark of winter in the Arctic Circle. How did they survive year-round and raise their young in frigid and dark winter conditions?

  • Did Some Dinosaurs Breed in the Arctic?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Did Some Dinosaurs Breed in the Arctic?

    S48 E21 - 3m

    Scientists in Alaska discover the remains of seven different dinosaur species in the earliest stages of their development. Could baby dinosaurs have hatched in the Arctic and migrated thousands of miles with their parents to avoid polar winter?

  • Butterfly Blueprints Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Butterfly Blueprints Preview

    S48 E20 - 29s

    The hidden scientific secrets of butterflies reveal them to be more inventive and resilient than we ever imagined. Follow their extraordinary life cycle and migrations to tropical rainforests, windswept prairies, and even inside a chrysalis as it’s being spun.

  • When Earthquake Damage is Invisible: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    When Earthquake Damage is Invisible

    S48 E8 - 2m 51s

    Even if a building appears to be undamaged after an earthquake, it could have used up some of its initial earthquake resisting capability.

  • High-Risk High-Rise Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    High-Risk High-Rise Preview

    S48 E8 - 30s

    Gleaming symbols of prestige, skyscrapers are an ingenious way to save space in dense urban areas. But even as we devise ways to defend them against fires, wind, and earthquakes, can we also make them more livable, interactive, and eco-friendly?

  • Stopping the Millennium Tower from Sinking Further: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Stopping the Millennium Tower from Sinking Further

    S48 E8 - 3m 28s

    When San Francisco's Millennium Tower unexpectedly sunk 16 inches, residents worried the building would topple over. Here's how a structural engineer and his team figured out the cause and suggested a potential fix.

Schedule

  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Picture a Scientist

    Friday
    Mar 29

    2 Hours

    Women make up less than one-quarter of the amount of people employed in STEM, and the number is even smaller for women of color.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Picture a Scientist

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    2 Hours

    Women make up less than one-quarter of the amount of people employed in STEM, and the number is even smaller for women of color.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Sunday
    Mar 31

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Picture a Scientist

    Monday
    Apr 1

    2 Hours

    Women make up less than one-quarter of the amount of people employed in STEM, and the number is even smaller for women of color.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Tuesday
    Apr 2

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Star Chasers of Senegal

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire investigates his nation's history of astronomy, which stretches back thousands of years.
  • Image
    NOVA: A.I. Revolution: TVSS: Banner-L1

    NOVA

    A.I. Revolution

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
  • Image
    NOVA: Great American Eclipse: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Great American Eclipse

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    Scientists prepare new experiments to study the solar eclipse.
  • Image
    NOVA: Great American Eclipse: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Great American Eclipse

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    Scientists prepare new experiments to study the solar eclipse.
  • Image
    NOVA: Secrets of the Forbidden City: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Secrets of the Forbidden City

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    The architectural design of Beijing's ancient complex of palaces and temples enabled it to survive centuries of earthquake shocks.
  • Image
    NOVA: Secrets of the Forbidden City: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Secrets of the Forbidden City

    Wednesday
    Apr 3

    1 Hour

    The architectural design of Beijing's ancient complex of palaces and temples enabled it to survive centuries of earthquake shocks.
  • Image
    NOVA: Great American Eclipse: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Great American Eclipse

    Thursday
    Apr 4

    1 Hour

    Scientists prepare new experiments to study the solar eclipse.
  • Image
    NOVA: Great American Eclipse: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Great American Eclipse

    Thursday
    Apr 4

    1 Hour

    Scientists prepare new experiments to study the solar eclipse.
  • Image
    NOVA: Secrets of the Forbidden City: TVSS: Iconic

    NOVA

    Secrets of the Forbidden City

    Thursday
    Apr 4

    1 Hour

    The architectural design of Beijing's ancient complex of palaces and temples enabled it to survive centuries of earthquake shocks.

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

Poster Image
Crazy: show-poster2x3

Crazy

Science and Nature