Episodes
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Zero to Infinity
S49 E19 - 53m 32s
Zero and infinity. These seemingly opposite, obvious, and indispensable concepts are relatively recent human inventions. Discover the surprising story of how these key concepts that revolutionized mathematics came to be – not just once, but over and over again as different cultures invented and re-invented them across thousands of years.
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Crypto Decoded
S49 E18 - 53m 22s
From Bitcoin to NFTs, crypto is making headlines. But what exactly is it, and how does it work? Experts go beyond the hype and skepticism to unravel the social and technological underpinnings of crypto – exploring how it came to be and why this new technology may change more than just money.
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Nazca Desert Mystery
S49 E17 - 53m 31s
One of the world’s greatest ancient enigmas, the Nazca lines are a dense network of criss-crossing lines, geometric shapes, and animal figures etched across 200 square miles of Peruvian desert. Who created them and why? Ever since they were rediscovered in the 1920s, scholars and enthusiasts have raised countless theories about their purpose.
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Ocean Invaders
S49 E16 - 53m 32s
Lionfish–long prized in home aquariums–have invaded the Atlantic, and are now one of the ocean’s most successful invasive species, wreaking havoc in waters across the globe. Join ocean explorer Danni Washington on a journey to find out how they took over, why they’re doing so much damage, and what can be done about it.
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Can Psychedelics Cure?
S49 E15 - 53m 47s
Hallucinogenic drugs—popularly called psychedelics—have been used by human societies for thousands of years. Today, scientists are taking a second look at many of these mind-altering substances – both natural and synthetic – and discovering that they can have profoundly positive clinical impacts, helping patients struggling with a range of afflictions from addiction to depression and PTSD.
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Computers v. Crime
S49 E14 - 53m 30s
In police departments and courts across the country, artificial intelligence is being used to help decide who is policed, who gets bail, how offenders should be sentenced, and who gets parole. But is it actually making our law enforcement and court systems fairer and more just? This timely investigation digs into the hidden biases, privacy risks, and design flaws of this controversial technology.
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Rebuilding Notre Dame
S49 E13 - 53m 30s
In April 2019, the world watched as a devastating fire almost destroyed Paris’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral. Go behind the scenes with a team of engineers, masons, and timber workers tackling the daunting challenges of restoring the historic landmark.
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Ending HIV in America
S49 E11 - 53m 33s
Almost 40 years after the discovery of HIV, could we be on the verge of ending the AIDS epidemic in America? How did scientists tackle one of the most elusive deadly viruses to ever infect humans? Can innovative drugs bring new infections to zero?
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Saving Venice
S49 E12 - 53m 31s
Rising seas and sinking land threaten to destroy Venice. Can the city’s new hi-tech flood barrier save it? Discover the innovative projects and feats of engineering designed to stop this historic city from being lost to future generations.
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Ultimate Space Telescope
S49 E10 - 53m 33s
Follow the dramatic story of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – the most complex machine ever launched into space – in hopes of peering deeper back in time than ever before and answering some of astronomy’s biggest questions.
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Ice Age Footprints
S49 E9 - 53m 21s
Ancient footprints in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park reveal new evidence of Ice Age humans that walked the land alongside enormous ground sloths and mammoths—thousands of years earlier than archaeologists thought people were in the Americas.
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Why Ships Crash
S49 E8 - 53m 20s
When the colossal Ever Given container ship crashed in the Suez Canal in March 2021, international supply chains ground to a halt. How did it happen? Follow the investigation into one of the most expensive shipping disasters ever.
Extras + Features
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3 Major Space Stories of 2022
S49 - 4m 6s
From rocket launches, to dazzling new images, and even planetary defense, 2022 was a big year for space discovery.
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Scientists Make Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion
S49 - 1m 53s
For the first time, lab-made fusion released more energy than it used to start the reaction, a feat that has eluded researchers for decades.
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This Teen Calculates Mind-Boggling Math in Her Head
S49 - 3m 10s
Panidapu executes complex problems with mental math using the abacus method of calculation, a technique that relies on an ancient tool.
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Oldest DNA Ever Found Reveals Secrets of the Ancient Arctic
S49 - 4m 3s
Scientists have retrieved the oldest DNA ever, which points to an ecosystem unlike anything on Earth today.
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The Area of a Circle, Explained with Pizza
S49 E19 - 4m 23s
One of the oldest calculus problems, finding the area of a circle, can be visualized using a pizza. By dividing it up into ever smaller slices and laying them out next to one another, eventually you get something close a rectangle.
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Thought Experiment: The Infinite Hilbert's Hotel
S49 E19 - 4m 9s
In a thought experiment first proposed in the 1920s, the Hilbert’s Hotel has an infinite number of rooms and helps demonstrate some of the strange properties of infinity.
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Zero to Infinity Preview
S49 E19 - 28s
Zero and infinity. These seemingly opposite, obvious, and indispensable concepts are relatively recent human inventions. Discover the surprising story of how these key concepts that revolutionized mathematics came to be – not just once, but over and over again as different cultures invented and re-invented them across thousands of years.
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How the NFT Was Invented
S49 E18 - 3m 30s
Tech Entrepreneur Anil Dash and Artist Kevin McCoy created the first example of a non-fungible token, or NFT, expanding the possibility of owning digital items.
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Crypto Decoded Preview
S49 E18 - 30s
From Bitcoin to NFTs, crypto is making headlines. But what exactly is it, and how does it work? Experts go beyond the hype and skepticism to unravel the social and technological underpinnings of crypto – exploring how it came to be and why this new technology may change more than just money.
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The History of Crypto Goes Further Back Than You Think
S49 E18 - 10m 2s
The invention of cryptocurrency revolutionized much of tech, from surveillance to e-commerce.
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Why Experts Say Permanent Daylight Saving Time is Unhealthy
S49 - 4m 30s
The misalignment of our internal clocks and the sun could result in a handful of heath concerns, experts say.
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Artificial Intelligence Reveals Ancient Desert Drawings
S49 E17 - 4m 25s
Archaeologists are working to unveil Nazca geoglyphs stone by stone, but can AI help scientists identify and recover even more of these hillside geoglyphs?
Schedule
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Image
NOVA
Making North America: Origins
Wednesday
Apr 24
1 Hour
The shaping of North America, including palm trees that once thrived in Alaska and an eruption that nearly tore the Midwest in two. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Origins
Wednesday
Apr 24
1 Hour
The shaping of North America, including palm trees that once thrived in Alaska and an eruption that nearly tore the Midwest in two. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Life
Wednesday
Apr 24
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Life
Wednesday
Apr 24
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Life
Thursday
Apr 25
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Life
Thursday
Apr 25
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Life
Sunday
Apr 28
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Life
Sunday
Apr 28
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Life
Sunday
Apr 28
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Life
Tuesday
Apr 30
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
Image
NOVA
Wednesday
May 1
1 Hour
This long-running, award-winning documentary series focuses on science, its many applications, speculation, history and researchers. Inspired by the BBC documentary program "Horizons, " the U.S. series frequently features interviews with scientists directly involved in the topic at hand, and sometimes even boasts footage of a particular discovery. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Life
Wednesday
May 1
1 Hour
The intertwined story of life and the landscape in North America -- from origins to dinosaurs and an ancient primate invasion. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Human
Wednesday
May 1
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Human
Wednesday
May 1
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
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NOVA
Making North America: Human
Thursday
May 2
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Human
Thursday
May 2
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Human
Friday
May 3
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Human
Sunday
May 5
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Human
Sunday
May 5
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Human
Sunday
May 5
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape.
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