Episodes
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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?
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
New Fossil May Reveal Clues to Dinosaurs' Final Days
S49 E7 - 2m 44s
Watch scientists uncover what might be the first dinosaur fossil ever found from the day the dinosaurs died.
-
Inside a Fossilized Pterosaur Egg
S49 E6 - 2m 58s
To uncover the secrets of a pterosaur egg, Sir David Attenborough visits researchers using the latest technology to analyze these extinct creatures’ fossils.
-
Watch Scientists Extract a Rare Turtle Fossil
S49 E6 - 3m 4s
With teamwork, careful handling, and a little help from liquid nitrogen, scientists unearth a remarkable baenid turtle fossil.
-
Dinosaur Apocalypse: The New Evidence Preview
S49 E6 - 29s
In North Dakota, scientists use new fossils to reconstruct what life might have been like just before an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs. The site reveals remarkable evidence, including the unhatched egg of a pterosaur, a huge flying reptile.
-
Determined: Fighting Alzheimer's Preview
S49 E5 - 28s
Follow three women at risk of developing Alzheimer’s as they join a groundbreaking study to try to prevent the disease – sharing their ups and downs, anxiously watching for symptoms, and hoping they can make a difference.
-
Try Passing this Alzheimer's Screening Test
S49 E5 - 2m 54s
Two women enrolled in a long-running study of the factors that affect Alzheimer's take a test in which they have to memorize shapes and draw them.
-
Depression Can Affect Memory—and Mirror Signs of Alzheimer's
S49 E5 - 1m 57s
Depression, anxiety, and stress can have an effect on a person's memory that mirrors signs of Alzheimer's.
-
How an Alzheimer’s study reached Black communities
S49 E5 - 2m 32s
Any investigator that doesn't understand how communities of color have been unfairly treated when it comes to research is doing themselves a disservice, says Gina Green Harris, director of Milwaukee Outreach.
-
War Threatens Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants
S49 - 7m 9s
Russia's invasion of Ukraine brings "unprecedented" threats to nuclear power plant safety, a nuclear researcher told NOVA.
-
The Evolution of Prosthetic Leg Technology
S49 E4 - 5m 11s
Typical amputation processes don't take into account our ability to sense the world around us. Now, a team of researchers and doctors is working to address this problem.
-
Increasing Access to Brain-Controlled Prosthetics
S49 E4 - 2m 55s
"If we think about bionic limbs as more of a therapy, as treatment," a bioethicist told NOVA, "then we can start to take away some of the disparate access to artificial limbs that are very technologically advanced."
-
How Neanderthals Came to Inhabit Northwest Europe
S49 E3 - 2m 45s
Sir David Attenborough investigates with an archaeologist and paleoanthropologist how Neanderthals thrived 200,000 years ago in what is now Great Britain.
Schedule
-
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. -
Image
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. -
Image
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. -
Image
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. -
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
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. -
Image
NOVA
Making North America: Human
Tuesday
May 7
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
Wednesday
May 8
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
Wednesday
May 8
1 Hour
From Ice Age to the oil boom, humans face challenges and uncover wealth hidden in North America's landscape. -
Image
NOVA
Why Bridges Collapse
Wednesday
May 8
1 Hour
The 2018 collapse of a section of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy; bridge collapses in the U.S.; engineering techniques that can make bridges safer and prevent them from breaking down. -
Image
NOVA
Why Bridges Collapse
Wednesday
May 8
1 Hour
The 2018 collapse of a section of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy; bridge collapses in the U.S.; engineering techniques that can make bridges safer and prevent them from breaking down. -
Image
NOVA
Why Bridges Collapse
Thursday
May 9
1 Hour
The 2018 collapse of a section of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy; bridge collapses in the U.S.; engineering techniques that can make bridges safer and prevent them from breaking down.
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
Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
Science and Nature
Power Trip: The Story of Energy
Science and Nature
Inside Nature's Giants
Science and Nature
Outback
Science and Nature
Colombia - Wild and Free
Science and Nature
Magical Land of Oz
Science and Nature
A Song for Love: An Ape with an App
Science and Nature
Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers
Science and Nature
E.O. Wilson - Of Ants And Men
Science and Nature
Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride
Science and Nature