Nova Timezone: ET • CT
PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines.
Series Website http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/
All Past Episodes Prediction by the Numbers 56:46 | #4506 | TV-G Discover how predictions underpin nearly every aspect of our lives and why some succeed spectacularly while others fail. Explore entertaining real-world challenges and join experts as they tackle that age-old question: Can we forecast the future? Great Escape at Dunkirk 56:46 | #4505 | TV-PG Join archaeologists and divers recovering remains of ships and planes lost during World War II's epic Dunkirk operation. Discover new evidence of the ingenious technology that helped save Allied forces from defeat by the encircling Germans. First Face of America 56:46 | #4504 | TV-PG Take a risky dive into an underwater cave in Mexico to discover the 13,000 year-old skeleton of a prehistoric teenager. Follow forensic clues that reveal intimate details of her life and death, and how her people first ventured into North America. The Impossible Flight 01:56:46 | #4503 | TV-PG On March 9, 2015, Solar Impulse II took off from Abu Dhabi on the greatest aviation undertaking of our time: to be the first solar-powered airplane to fly around the world. Intent on pushing the boundaries of human flight and sending a message about the potential for renewable energy, a team of engineers designed and built the Solar Impulse from scratch. Black Hole Apocalypse - Part 1 and 2 01:56:46 | #4501 | TV-G Black holes are the most enigmatic, mysterious, and powerful objects in the universe. Anything that falls into them vanishes. Astrophysicist and novelist Janna Levin takes viewers on a journey to the frontiers of black hole science and explores what can they tell us about the nature of space, time, and gravity. Day the Dinosaurs Died 56:46 | #4421 | TV-PG Investigate how an asteroid vanquished the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Join scientists as they drill into the impact crater and, for the first time, reconstruct the hell on earth that unfolded in the minutes, hours, and months after the impact. Bird Brain 56:46 | #4420 | TV-G Long mocked as empty-headed, birds are hiding surprisingly acute intelligence. But just how smart are they? Join scientists as they test avian aptitude with a series of challenging brainteasers, and discover how the genius of birds is prompting us to reconsider the very definition of intelligence. Extreme Animal Weapons 56:47 | #4419 | TV-PG Discover the secrets that underlie nature's battleground. Every animal has some kind of weapon, whether claws, horns, fangs, or stings. But why are some armaments huge and extreme, far beyond any practical need? Killer Floods 56:46 | #4418 | TV-PG Follow geologists around the globe as they reconstruct catastrophic Ice Age floods more powerful than all the world's top ten rivers combined. Killer Hurricanes 56:46 | #4417 | TV-PG Experts investigate the Great Hurricane of 1780 that killed more people than any other Caribbean hurricane. Discover what made the storm so deadly and whether mega-storms are more likely to strike in our rapidly changing climate. Killer Volcanoes 56:46 | #4416 | TV-PG Volcanologists search for an elusive volcanic mega-eruption that plunged the medieval earth into a deep freeze. Investigate the geologic evidence from Greenland all the way to Antarctica to identify the 750-year-old culprit. Secrets of the Forbidden City 56:46 | #4415 | TV-G For nearly 500 years, Beijing's complex of palaces and temples was the power center of imperial China. Explore this ancient architectural masterpiece, long hidden from western eyes, as experts use ancient craft secrets to restore its fading grandeur. Ghosts of Stonehenge 56:46 | #4414 | TV-PG Who built Stonehenge and why? Groundbreaking archaeological digs have revealed major new clues about Britain's enigmatic 5,000-year-old site and the people who constructed it. Secrets of the Shining Knight 56:46 | #4413 | TV-PG Discover what it was like to be a knight in shining armor and follow the historic manufacturing process. Master armorers re-engineer the Greenwich armor - considered some of the greatest armor ever made - and then put it to the test. Death Dive to Saturn 56:46 | #4412 | TV-G For over a decade, the Cassini space probe has been sending dazzling images of Saturn's breathtaking rings and mysterious moons. Join Nova on a suspenseful ride during Cassini's final hours as it dives into Saturn's atmosphere. Eclipse Over America 01:07:55 | #4411 | TV-PG Join scientists and citizens alike as they observe the first total solar eclipse to traverse the U.S. mainland in more than a generation. Discover the storied history of eclipse science and follow current, cutting-edge research into the solar corona. Poisoned Water 56:46 | #4410 | TV-PG The chemistry and engineering that led to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan are examined. Chinese Chariot Revealed 56:46 | #4409 | TV-PG For over 1000 years, chariots thundered across China's battlefields - dominating warfare longer than anywhere else on earth. Now, archaeological findings enable a team of experts to reconstruct and test China's first super-weapon. Building Chernobyl's MegaTomb 56:46 | #4408 | TV-PG An international team of engineers races to contain lingering radioactive materials at Chernobyl. Holocaust Escape Tunnel 56:46 | #4407 | TV-14 In the heart of Lithuania, a Holocaust secret lies buried. A team of archaeologists probes the ruins of a Nazi execution site to find the truth behind tales of a tunnel dug by desperate Jewish prisoners and their daring escape. Why Trains Crash 56:46 | #4406 | TV-PG Trains are essential for moving freight and people throughout the world, but they are far from accident-free. Follow investigators as they probe the wreckage of infamous accidents and watch safety experts test the latest crash prevention designs. The Origami Revolution 56:46 | #4405 | TV-G The ancient art of paper folding is sparking scientific advances, affecting drug development and future NASA space missions. Discover how the art of origami is reshaping the world around us as scientists uncover the power of folding. Ultimate Cruise Ship 56:46 | #4404 | TV-G Weighing 54,000 gross tons and stretching over two football fields, the Seven Seas Explorer is no ordinary boat. Join pioneering shipbuilders as they endeavor to build the ultimate cruise ship. Search for the Super Battery 56:46 | #4403 | TV-G Join renowned gadget geek and host David Pogue as he sets out on a quest to discover how batteries work and uncover what the future of batteries means for our gadgets, our lives, and even our planet. The Nuclear Option 56:46 | #4402 | TV-PG A renaissance in nuclear technology grows while scientists and engineers are struggling to control an ongoing crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Secrets of the Sky Tombs 56:46 | #4401 | TV-PG A team of scientists and explorers probe high altitude caves in the Tibetan Himalayas looking for clues as to how humans found their way into this forbidding landscape. Treasures of the Earth: Power 56:46 | #4320 | TV-G Drill down to discover how Earth's natural treasures provide bountiful energy to power our modern world yet are also driving us to seek new, cleaner alternatives that can help us keep the lights on. Treasures of the Earth: Metals 56:46 | #4319 | TV-G Metals are a pillar of our civilization, but what makes them so special? Discover their unique properties and explore how our mastery of metals has led us from the stone age to today's hi-tech world. Treasures of the Earth: Gems 56:46 | #4318 | TV-G Explore the hidden secrets of gems, from their alluring beauty to their origins deep in the Earth. Super Tunnel 56:46 | #4317 | TV-PG Follow an army of engineers and designers as they tackle the complex challenge of building Crossrail, a massive new subterranean railway deep beneath the streets of London. Great Human Odyssey 01:56:46 | #4312 | TV-PG Research sheds light on the ultimate story of humanity's origins and survival in the deep past. School of the Future 00:19 | #4315 | TV-PG Discover how the new science of learning can help us re-imagine the future of education for all children. 15 Years of Terror 56:46 | #4316 | TV-PG Nova investigates the psychology of a terrorist and examines how radical organizations have grown to make use of modern propaganda and social media tools in order to cultivate an army of self-radicalized killers. Bombing Hitler's Supergun 56:46 | #4314 | TV-PG Engineers, archaeologists, and WWII historians investigate Hitler's bank of "superguns" he housed in a massive underground complex in Nazi-occupied northern France. Operation Lighthouse Rescue 56:46 | #4313 | TV-PG Engineers race to rescue the Gay Head Lighthouse, a historic landmark perched high on the cliffs of Martha's Vineyard, soon to become the next victim of the ocean's erosion of the island's cliffs. Wild Ways 56:46 | #4311 | TV-PG From Yellowstone to the Yukon, newly established wildlife corridors may offer a glimmer of hope to some of our planet's most cherished but endangered species. Can Alzheimer's Be Stopped? 56:46 | #4308 | TV-PG Join scientists as they untangle the cause of Alzheimer's and go behind the scenes of major drug trials to discover the therapies that may slow and even prevent the disease. Vikings Unearthed 01:56:46 | #4310 | TV-PG They were pioneering warriors, expert seafarers and colonists of the North Atlantic realm. Dr. Sarah Parcak uncovers new clues about the legendary expeditions and settlements of the Vikings. Rise of the Robots 56:46 | #4306 | TV-G Meet the world's most advanced humanoid robots as they leave the lab, battle real-world challenges, and endeavor to become part of our everyday lives. Iceman Reborn 56:46 | #4305 | TV-PG Newly discovered evidence sheds light on Otzi the Iceman, the oldest human mummy on Earth. Memory Hackers 56:46 | #4307 | TV-PG Discover how researchers on the cutting edge of mind-control can implant, change, and even erase memories. Creatures of Light 56:46 | #4309 | TV-G Take a dazzling dive to explore how and why so many of the ocean's creatures light up - revealing a hidden undersea world where creatures flash, sparkle, shimmer, or simply glow. Himalayan Megaquake 56:46 | #4304 | TV-PG Dramatic eyewitness footage reveals the shocking quake that rocked Nepal in April 2015. Join scientists as they examine why this earthquake was so devastating, how the victims are rebuilding, and whether another earthquake looms on the horizon. Mystery Beneath The Ice 56:46 | #4303 | TV-G Scientists search for the mystery killer that's decimating the population of delicate shrimp-like creatures at the foundation of the Antarctic food chain. Life's Rocky Start 56:46 | #4302 | TV-G From the first sparks of life to the survival of the fittest, unearth the secret relationship between rocks and life. Secret Tunnel Warfare 56:46 | #4301 | TV-PG During WWI, the Allies devised a devastating plan, planting 600 tons of explosives in secret tunnels driven under German trenches. Join archaeologists who reveal traces of the operation and learn why it failed to break the lethal deadlock of trench warfare. Inside Einstein's Mind 56:46 | #4223 | TV-PG This program examines Einstein's simple but powerful ideas that reshaped our understanding of gravity, illuminating the theory of general relativity. Making North America: Human 56:46 | #4222 | TV-G From Ice Age to oil boom, discover the challenges faced and the wealth uncovered as humans take over the continent. Making North America: Life 56:46 | #4221 | TV-G The mysteries of how life evolved in North America, including the arrival of humans, are explored. Making North America: Origins 56:46 | #4220 | TV-G Discover how forces of almost unimaginable power gave birth to the continent of North America. Animal Mummies 56:46 | #4219 | TV-PG From baboons to bulls, crocodiles to cows, a vast menagerie of animal mummies lies buried in Egyptian catacombs. Hi-tech imaging reveals what's inside the bundles and the strange role that animals played in ancient Egyptian beliefs. Cyberwar Threat 56:46 | #4217 | TV-PG Delve into the chilling new reality of cyberwar, in which cyber weapons can inflict physical damage on our factories, power plants, and pipelines - leaving us vulnerable to crippling attacks. Secrets of Noah's Ark 56:46 | #4212 | TV-PG A 3,700-year-old inscribed clay tablet reveals a surprising new version of the Biblical flood story, complete with how-to instructions for assembling an ark. Following the directions, expert boat builders assemble and launch a massive reed boat. Arctic Ghost Ship 56:46 | #4216 | TV-14 Unravel the greatest mystery in Arctic exploration: 160 years ago, the Franklin Expedition to chart the Northwest Passage vanished. Now, a Canadian team discovers one of Franklin's lost ships - a vital clue to the fate of the ill-starred expedition. Dawn of Humanity 01:56:46 | #4209 | TV-PG The discovery of ancient fossil human ancestors in South Africa is explored. The fossils belong to a crucial gap in the record of our origins that spans the transition between the ape-like australopithecines and the earliest members of the human family. Nuclear Meltdown Disaster 56:46 | #4214 | TV-PG A look at how plant operators at Fukushima Daini averted disaster after the 2011 tsunami in Japan. Chasing Pluto 56:46 | #4213 | TV-G The New Horizon's spacecraft will fly by and take the first detailed images of Pluto. It is the culmination of the spacecraft's nine-year, three-billion-mile journey. Lethal Seas 56:46 | #4211 | TV-PG As carbon emissions raise the oceans' acidity, scientists are seeking solutions and making breakthrough discoveries that offer a glimpse of what the seas could be like in a half-century. Nazi Attack On America 56:46 | #4210 | TV-PG Undersea explorer Bob Ballard, discoverer of the Titanic, investigates the wreck of a German submarine a few miles from New Orleans. Invisible Universe Revealed 57:46 | #4208 | TV-G One of the most ambitious experiments in the history of astronomy, the Hubble Space Telescope, is explored. This single telescope has helped astronomers pinpoint the age of the universe, revealed the birthplace of stars and planets, advanced our understanding of dark energy and cosmic expansion, and uncovered black holes in galaxies. The Great Math Mystery 56:46 | #4207 | TV-PG An exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries sheds light on how math works in our brains. Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio, along with a cast of mathematicians, physicists, and engineers, follow math from Pythagoras to Einstein and beyond, all leading to the ultimate riddle: Is math an invention or a discovery? Building Wonders: Hagia Sophia - Istanbul's Ancient Mystery 56:46 | #4204 | TV-G As Istanbul braces for the next big quake, a team of architects and engineers examine the seismic secrets of the dome of Hagia Sophia. Petra - Lost City of Stone 56:46 | #4205 | TV-PG Experts carve a temple-tomb to find out how the ancient people of Petra built their city of stone. Colosseum - Roman Death Trap 56:46 | #4206 | TV-PG Archaeologists and engineers team up to re-create ancient Roman techniques to build a 25-foot lifting machine and trap-door system capable of releasing a wolf into the Colosseum's arena for the first time in 1,500 years. Sinkholes - Buried Alive 56:46 | #4203 | TV-PG Filled with compelling eyewitness video of collapsing sinkholes and authoritative science from expert geologists, this program investigates what it's like to have your world vanish beneath your feet. Sunken Ship Rescue 56:46 | #4202 | TV-PG The epic operation to secure, raise and salvage the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground and tragically capsized off the coast of Italy on January 13th 2012, is chronicled. Big Bang Machine 56:46 | #4201 | TV-G Particle physicists attempt to close in on the Higgs Boson, thought to be responsible for giving all the stuff in the universe its mass. First Man on the Moon 56:46 | #4122 | TV-G An intimate portrait of Neil Armstrong, an unassuming American hero whose combination of talent, luck, and experience led to his successful command of Apollo 11. Killer Landslides 56:46 | #4121 | TV-PG Scientists are discovering how and why landslides happen, and how new satellite monitoring technologies may be able to predict landslides and issue life-saving warnings to those in the path of nature's destruction. Emperor's Ghost Army 56:46 | #4120 | TV-PG The program reveals the secrets of China's Terracotta Army, built to serve its first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di in the afterlife, and brings to life the startlingly sophisticated world of Qin's legendary empire. Bigger Than T.rex 56:47 | #4119 | TV-PG Discovery of new bones in a Moroccan cliff face is reopening the investigation into a dinosaur dubbed Spinosaurus, a monster even bigger than Tyrannosaurus Rex. First Air War 56:46 | #4118 | TV-PG Uncover the secrets of some of aviation's most colorful and deadly early flying machines and explore how their impact played a key role in the slaughter of the Western Front during WWI. Ben Franklin's Balloons 56:46 | #4117 | TV-PG In 18th century Paris, a handful of pioneers developed all the essential features of today's hot air and gas balloons. Their exploits fascinated Benjamin Franklin, who was serving in Paris as the American ambassador. Key flights are re-created using period tools and materials. Surviving Ebola 56:46 | #4123 | TV-PG As the Ebola epidemic threatens to spiral out of control, Nova reports on courageous medical teams struggling to cope with a flood of victims and the labs where scientists are racing to test vaccines. Why Planes Vanish 56:46 | #4116 | TV-PG The inside story of the search for Flight MH370 features the key players from all corners of the globe who have spent months searching for the lost plane. Rise of the Hackers 56:46 | #4115 | TV-PG The fast-paced world of cryptography and the scientists battling to keep data safe are explored. These new global geeks are experts in physics, math, and "ultraparanoid computing," all working to forge unbreakable codes to stay one step ahead of the hackers. Vaccines - Calling The Shots 56:46 | #4114 | TV-PG Across the world, children are dying from preventable conditions because parents are avoiding shots. This program looks at the science behind vaccinations, tracks epidemics, and investigates the serious human costs of opting out. D-Day's Sunken Secrets 01:56:46 | #4113 | TV-PG Dive teams, submersibles, and underwater robots discover and identify key examples of the Allied craft that fell victim to German shellfire, mines, and torpedoes during the invasion of Normandy. Escape from Nazi Alcatraz 56:46 | #4112 | TV-PG Aerospace engineers and carpenters test a plan to escape a Nazi war camp using a two-man glider. Why Sharks Attack 56:46 | #4111 | TV-PG Leading shark experts in Australia and the United States research the science behind the great white's hunting instincts. Inside Animal Minds: Who's The Smartest? 56:46 | #4110 | TV-G Throughout the animal kingdom, some of the cleverest creatures - including humans - seem to be those who live in complex social groups. Inside Animal Minds: Dogs & Super Senses 56:46 | #4109 | TV-G From a dog who seems to use smell to tell time, to a dolphin who can "see" with his ears, discover how animals use their senses to understand the world around them. Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius 56:46 | #4108 | TV-G Researchers are discovering some birds with impressive brains for making tools and solving complex problems. Wild Predator Invasion 56:46 | #4107 | TV-PG Scientists return apex predators - like wolves, bears,and panthers - to their natural environments to restore the balance of their ecosystems. Great Cathedral Mystery 56:46 | #4105 | TV-G Using period tools and techniques, bricklayers build a mini version of the Duomo in Florence. Roman Catacomb Mystery 56:46 | #4104 | TV-PG A forensic investigation explores an ancient city of the dead known as the Catacombs beneath Rome. Ghosts of Murdered Kings 56:46 | #4103 | TV-14 Archaeologists in Ireland's County Tipperary investigate the violent deaths of bog body victims. Killer Typhoon 56:46 | #4106 | TV-PG The anatomy of Typhoon Haiyan, which slammed into the Philippines on November 8, 2013, is explored. Zeppelin Terror Attack 56:46 | #4102 | TV-PG A look at how Germany's war zeppelins, the biggest flying machines ever made, were built and flown. Alien Planets Revealed 56:46 | #4101 | TV-G Animation and input from experts shed light on how NASA's Kepler telescope identifies new planets. Asteroid: Doomsday Or Payday? 56:46 | #4024 | TV-PG Would-be asteroid miners dream up their own program to scout for potentially profitable asteroids loaded with billions of dollars-worth of elements like iron, nickel, and platinum. At The Edge of Space 56:46 | #4023 | TV-PG An exploration of the earth-space boundary zone that's home to some of nature's most puzzling and alluring phenomena: the shimmering aurora, streaking meteors, and sprites. Cold Case JFK 56:46 | #4022 | TV-PG State-of-the art forensic tools are applied to investigate the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Will forensics ever be truly foolproof, or does modern technology just give a scientific sheen to a practice that will always be more art than science? Making Stuff Safer 56:46 | #4021 | TV-PG Host David Pogue explores the extent to which science and technology can protect us from monumental forces of nature such as earthquakes and epidemics. Making Stuff Colder 56:46 | #4020 | TV-PG David Pogue explores the frontiers of cold science, from saving the lives of severe trauma patients and cooling a warming planet to ultracold physics, where bizarre new properties of matter are the norm and the basis of new technologies. Making Stuff Wilder 56:46 | #4019 | TV-PG From underwater wi-fi based on dolphin communication, to robotic "mules" and "cheetahs" for the military, to swarms of robotic bees, David Pogue travels the world seeing the "wildest" ideas put into action in new inventions and technologies. Making Stuff Faster 57:00 | #4018 | TV-PG David Pogue wants to find out how much we can tweak physiology and engineering to move humans and machines even faster. He investigates lightning-fast electric muscle cars, ultra-sleek sailboats, ultra-fast cameras, and quantum teleportation. Megastorm Aftermath 56:46 | #4017 | TV-PG An investigation of Hurricane Sandy focuses on the critical questions raised by the historic storm. Ground Zero Supertower 56:46 | #4016 | TV-14 NOVA returns to Ground Zero in New York City to witness the the completion of One World Trade Center, the skyscraper rising up 104 stories and 1,776 feet from the site where the Twin Towers once stood. Oklahoma's Deadliest Tornadoes 56:46 | #4015 | TV-PG On May 20, 2013, a F5 tornado over a mile wide tore through Moore, Oklahoma, inflicting 24 deaths and obliterating entire neighborhoods. Scientists discuss the battle to understand these extreme weather events and meet storm survivors whose lives have been upended. Manhunt - Boston Bombers 56:46 | #4014 | TV-PG Examines the role modern technology - combined with old-fashioned detective work - played in cracking the Boston Marathon bombing case. Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Strange Creatures 56:46 | #4012 | TV-PG Australia's many unusual creatures, like the kangaroo and the cassowary, tell a tale of isolation, change, and resilience. Australia's long history has seen mountains rise and fall, seas come and go, and whole kingdoms of life triumph and disappear. Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Monsters 56:46 | #4011 | TV-PG Experts explore mammals and the previously unknown reptilian rulers of prehistoric Australia. Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Life Explodes 56:46 | #4010 | TV-PG How did life storm the beaches and dominate planet Earth? Ancient Australian fossils offer clues. While the oceans were teeming, the world above the waves remained an almost lifeless wasteland - until the Silurian period, when the conquest of the land began. Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Awakening 56:46 | #4009 | TV-PG Hidden in the red hills of Australia are clues to the mysteries of Earth's birth, how life arose and how it transformed the planet into the world we now live in. Experts unveil the earliest forms of life: an odd assortment of bacterial slime. Geologist Richard Smith hosts this NOVA mini-series. Ancient Computer 56:46 | #4007 | TV-G A 2,000 year-old Greek shipwreck reveals a clockwork machine considered the world's first computer. An array of 30 intricate bronze gear wheels, originally housed in a shoebox-size wooden case, was designed to predict the dates of lunar and solar eclipses, track the Moon's subtle motions through the sky, and calculate the dates of significant events such as the Olympic Games. Meteor Strike 56:47 | #4013 | TV-PG Scientists hunt for debris and clues to the origin and makeup of a meteor that landed in Russia on February 15th, 2013. According to NASA, the Siberian Meteor, which exploded with the power of 30 Hiroshima bombs, was the largest object to burst in the atmosphere since a 1908 event near Siberia's Tunguska river. Mind of a Rampage Killer 56:46 | #4008 | TV-PG As the nation tries to understand the tragic events at Newtown, new theories are investigated and reveal most destructive rampage killers are driven not by the urge to kill, but the wish to die. Earth from Space 01:56:46 | #4006 | TV-G Data is taken from earth-observing satellites and transformed into dazzling visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate web of forces that sustains life on earth. Building Pharaoh's Chariot 56:46 | #4005 | TV-PG A team of archaeologists, engineers, woodworkers, and horse trainers join forces to build and test two highly accurate replicas of Egyptian royal chariots. They discover astonishingly advanced features, including spoked wheels, springs, shock absorbers, and more. Who Killed Lindbergh's Baby? 57:46 | #4004 | TV-14 A team of expert investigators employ state-of-the-art forensic and behavioral science techniques in an effort to determine what really happened to Lindbergh's baby and why. Rise of the Drones 56:46 | #4003 | TV-PG The explosive growth of airborne pilotless drones is transforming the armed forces of every nation. Discover the cutting-edge technologies that are propelling us toward a new chapter in aviation history. Decoding Neanderthals 56:46 | #4002 | TV-PG Geneticists explore what happened when the first humans encountered Neanderthals 60,000 years ago. Doomsday Volcanoes 56:46 | #4001 | TV-PG Scientists explore the devastating global consequences of another Icelandic volcano eruption. Inside The Megastorm 56:46 | #3916 | TV-PG Experts, scientists, and survivors discuss of Hurricane Sandy and the future of storm protection. Ultimate Mars Challenge 56:46 | #3915 | TV-G With inside access to the massive team of scientists and engineers responsible for Curiosity's on-the-ground experiments, Nova will be there for the exhilarating moments after the rover's landing on Mars - and for the spectacular discoveries to come. Mystery of Easter Island 56:46 | #3914 | TV-PG Radical new theories explore how and why the ancient islanders built and moved nearly 900 giant statues. One theory supposes that the islanders used ropes to "walk" the statues upright. With the help of a 15-ton replica statue, a team sets out to test this high-risk, seemingly unlikely theory. Forensics on Trial 56:46 | #3912 | TV-14 Learn how modern forensics can send innocent men and women to prison and sometimes even to death row. Shockingly, of more than 250 inmates exonerated by DNA testing over the last decade, more than 50% of the wrongful convictions stemmed from invalid or improperly handled forensic science. Secrets of the Viking Sword 56:46 | #3913 | TV-PG Learn how Viking sword makers designed and built the Ulfberht sword, and uncover its role in history. Considered one of the greatest swords ever made, it remains a fearsome weapon more than a millennium after it last saw battle. Finding Life Beyond Earth - Moons and Beyond 56:45 | #3814 | TV-G Combining the latest telescope images with dazzling CGI, top astrobiologists explain how alien worlds are changing how we think about the potential for life in our solar system. Secrets of the Sun 56:16 | #3907 | TV-G Gain a greater understanding of our nearest star - one that might help keep our planet from going dark. New spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes may help scientists predict and track solar storms. Why Ships Sink 56:46 | #3911 | TV-PG Marine engineering and safety experts reconstruct the events that led up to famous cruise disasters, including the ill-fated Concordia, the Sea Diamond, and the Oceanos. Deadliest Tornadoes 56:46 | #3910 | TV-PG Explore the science behind the April 2011 tornadoes that left a trail of destruction across the US. Hunting The Elements 01:56:46 | #3906 | TV-PG Enter the world of weird, extreme chemistry on a quest to unlock the secrets of the elements. Cracking Your Genetic Code 56:46 | #3909 | TV-PG What will it mean when most of us can afford to have the information in our DNA read, stored, and available for analysis? Nova reveals we stand on the verge of a revolution in medicine, the first effects of which are already upon us. Separating Twins 56:46 | #3908 | TV-PG The incredible story of twin girls born joined at the head as they prepare for separation surgery. Ice Age Death Trap 56:46 | #3905 | TV-G In a race against developers in the Rockies, archaeologists uncover a unique site packed with astonishingly preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons, and other giant extinct beasts, opening a vivid window on the vanished world of the Ice Age. Mystery of a Masterpiece 56:46 | #3904 | TV-PG Meet a new breed of experts who are approaching "cold case" art mysteries as if they were crime scenes. Follow art sleuths as they deploy new techniques to combat the multi-billion dollar criminal market in stolen and fraudulent art. 3D Spies of WWII 56:46 | #3903 | TV-PG Tells the suspenseful, previously untold story of air photo intelligence that played a vital role in defeating Hitler. The photos led to devastating Allied bombing raids that were crucial setbacks to the German rocket program and helped ensure the success of the D-Day landings. Bombing Hitler's Dams 01:56:46 | #3902 | TV-PG In 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers destroyed dams in Germany with a revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis. This program recreates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots with the aid of six spectacular experiments. Deadliest Volcanoes 56:46 | #3901 | TV-PG Are scientists getting close to predicting volcanic eruptions, potentially saving thousands of lives? On the front lines of volcano research, scientists use new tools and techniques that are starting to reveal what makes a volcano tick. The Fabric of the Cosmos - Universe Or Multiverse? 56:46 | #3819 | TV-G Cutting-edge theories are suggesting that our universe may not be the only universe. Instead, it may be just one of an infinite number of worlds that make up the multiverse. Brian Greene takes us on a tour of this brave new theory. The Fabric of the Cosmos - Quantum Leap 56:46 | #3818 | TV-G Join Brian Greene on a wild ride into the weird realm of quantum physics, which governs the universe on the tiniest of scales. Greene brings quantum mechanics to life in a nightclub like no other, where objects pop in and out of existence and things over here can affect others over there, instantaneously - without anything crossing the space between them. The Fabric of the Cosmos - The Illusion of Time 56:46 | #3817 | TV-G Brian Greene takes us on the ultimate time traveling adventure, hurtling 50 years into the future before stepping into a wormhole to travel back to the past. Along the way, he will reveal a new way of thinking about time in which moments past, present, and future exist all at once. This journey will bring us all the way back to the Big Bang, where physicists think the ultimate secrets of time may be hidden. The Fabric of the Cosmos - What Is Space? 56:46 | #3816 | TV-G Physicist and acclaimed author Brian Greene reveals space as a dynamic fabric that can stretch, twist, warp and ripple under the influence of gravity. Stranger still is a newly discovered ingredient of space that actually makes up 70% of the universe. Physicists call it dark energy because while they know it's out there, driving space to expand ever more quickly, they have no idea what it is. Iceman Murder Mystery 56:46 | #3815 | TV-PG Scientists investigate Otzi the Iceman, the famous mummified corpse pulled from a glacier in the Italian Alps nearly two decades ago, revealing not only the details of Otzi's death, but an entire way of life. Finding Life Beyond Earth - Part 1 & 2 56:46 | #3813 | TV-G Surviving The Tsunami: A Nova Special Presentation 56:46 | #3812 | TV-PG The earthquake that hit the northern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 was recorded at magnitude 9.0 - the worst ever to strike Japan. It generated an unprecedented tsunami, obliterating coastal villages and towns in a matter of minutes. Amazingly, amateur and professional photographers captured it all on video. Engineering Ground Zero 56:46 | #3811 | TV-PG Follows the five-year construction of the Freedom Tower and the World Trade Center Memorial. The program captures the behind-the-scenes struggle of architects and engineers with the pressures of a tight schedule, the demands of practical office space and "green" architecture, and the public's expectations of a fitting site for national remembrance. Power Surge 56:46 | #3809 | TV-G Can emerging technology defeat global warming? This program showcases the latest and greatest innovations, from artificial trees to cleaner coal, nuclear energy and wildly ambitious — and risky — schemes to re-engineer the entire climate system. Japan's Killer Quake 56:46 | #3810 | TV-PG Combines authoritative on-the-spot reporting, personal stories of tragedy and survival, and compelling eyewitness videos for a unique look at the science behind Japan's catastrophic March 11th earthquake. Venom: Nature's Killer 56:46 | #3808 | TV-PG Follows two scientists on their expeditions to track down and capture the planet's most deadly creatures. Find out how nature's deadliest cocktails could be medicine's brightest new hope. Crash of Flight 447 56:46 | #3807 | TV-PG On June 1, 2009, Flight AF447, flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean, taking with it all 228 lives on board. How could a state-ofthe-art airliner with elaborate electronic safety and navigation features and a faultless safety record simply vanish? Smartest Machine on Earth 56:46 | #3806 | TV-G Investigates the world of artificial intelligence and profiles the computer that could be the "Smartest Machine on Earth." Making Stuff Smarter 56:46 | #3805 | TV-PG Host David Pogue looks into the growing number of smart materials that can respond, change, and even learn. Making Stuff Cleaner 56:46 | #3804 | TV-PG Host David Pogue is on a quest to clean up, using new green materials to build and power the devices of the future. Making Stuff Smaller 56:46 | #3803 | TV-PG Here in the information age, smaller is better: transistors, microchips and the laptops and cell phone that they power are triumphs of tiny. Host David Pogue delves into an even smaller world. Making Stuff Stronger 56:46 | #3802 | TV-G What is the world's strongest material? From steel to Kevlar and spider silk to carbon nanotubes, host David Pogue looks at the ways in which science and nature work to make strong stuff. Deadliest Earthquake 56:46 | #3801 | TV-PG In 2010, epic earthquakes all over the planet delivered one of the worst annual death tolls ever recorded. This program follows teams of scientists in Haiti and Chile as they try to gather data to aid in preventing future disasters. Secrets Beneath the Ice 55:47 | #3717 | TV-G Can Antarctica's climate past offer clues to what may happen to our warming planet? To gather crucial evidence, this program follows an ambitious Antarctic investigation - a state-of-the-art drilling probe known as ANDRILL. The recovered rock reveals intimate details of climate and fauna from a time in the distant past when the Earth was just a few degrees warmer than it is today. Quest for Solomon's Mines 55:46 | #3716 | TV-G Two cutting-edge field investigations that illuminate the legend of Solomon and reveal the source of the great wealth that powered the first mighty biblical kingdoms. Secrets of Stonehenge 56:46 | #3715 | TV-G Granted exclusive access to the dig site at Bluestonehenge, a prehistoric stone circle monument recently discovered about a mile from Stonehenge, Nova cameras join a new generation of researchers finding important clues to the enduring mystery of Stonehenge. Dogs Decoded 56:46 | #3714 | TV-G An investigation into new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs — with revealing implications for the evolution of human culture as well. Trapped in an Elevator 57:46 | #3713 | TV-G Across North America, elevators move 325 million passengers every day. This program reveals the secret life of these ubiquitous machines and investigates personal stories of those who have been caught inside when they fail. Emergency Mine Rescue 57:46 | #3712 | TV-PG Trapped under nearly a half-mile of solid rock in a collapsed mine in Chile's remote Atacama desert, 33 miners fight for survival. This program chronicles the miners' 69-day ordeal and the heroic work of a global team of engineers who struggled tirelessly to bring the trapped miners safely to the surface. Building the Great Cathedrals 56:46 | #3711 | TV-G Gothic cathedrals are marvels of human achievement and artistry. But how did medieval builders reach such spectacular heights? Teams perform hands-on experiments to investigate and reveal the architectural secrets that the cathedral builders used to erect their soaring, glass-filled walls. This program reveals the hidden formulas, drawn from the pages of the Bible itself, that drove medieval builders ever upward. B-29 Frozen in Time 56:46 | #2303 | TV-PG An adventure to try to retrieve an almost intact B-29 from the Arctic Circle. The airplane crash-landed nearly 50 years earlier during a secret mission for the U.S. The pilots survived the crash and were rescued, but the B-29 was left in the harsh and unforgiving climate 250 miles north of Thule, Greenland. Mt. St. Helens Back from the Dead 56:46 | #3710 | TV-PG Over the course of 30 years, plant and animal life has returned to the barren landscape of Mount St. Helens after the eruption in 1980. But there's a new threat - the mountain is coming back to life. Mind Over Money 56:46 | #3707 | TV-G An entertaining and penetrating explorationof why mainstream economists failed to predict the crash of 2008 and why we so often make irrational financial decisions. Hunting The Edge of Space - The Ever Expanding Universe 56:46 | #3709 | TV-G Investigates the universe's distant past — and its future — and the dark matter and dark energy that constitute the vast majority of the stuff of the universe. Hunting The Edge of Space - The Mystery of the Milky Way 56:46 | #3708 | TV-G Three centuries of engineering have produced telescopes far beyond Galileo's simple spyglass; these telescopes are revealing the solar system in detail Galileo could only dream of. Pluto Files 56:46 | #3706 | TV-PG What is it about cold, distant Pluto that captures so many hearts? Join Neil deGrasse Tyson on his quest to find out. Extreme Cave Diving 56:46 | #3705 | TV-G Dr. Kenny Broad dives into blue holes - underwater caves that formed during the last ice age. Ghosts of Machu Picchu 56:46 | #3704 | TV-PG A new generation of archeologists probe areas of Machu Picchu that haven't been touched since the time of the Incas. Riddles of the Sphinx 56:46 | #3703 | TV-G An international team of archeologists, architects, and engineers is racing against time to save the Sphinx from erosion. Building Pharaoh's Ship 56:46 | #3702 | TV-G A team of archeologists and boat builders reconstruct a vessel depicted on the wall of an ancient Egyptian temple. Killer Subs in Pearl Harbor 56:46 | #3701 | TV-PG An exclusive dive beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor reveals new clues about the sinking of the USS Arizona. What Darwin Never Knew 01:56:46 | #3617 | TV-PG Stunning breakthroughs in a new science — nicknamed "evo devo" — are revealing answers to the riddles that Darwin couldn't explain. What Are Dreams? 56:46 | #3612 | TV-PG Join the leading dream researchers and witnesses the extraordinary experiments they use to investigate the world of sleep. Becoming Human (Part 3) 56:46 | #3615 | TV-PG Reveals new insights into how we became today's creative and "behaviorally modern" humans and what really happened to the enigmatic Neanderthals who faded into extinction. Becoming Human (Part 2) 56:46 | #3614 | TV-PG Tackles the mysteries of how our ancestors managed to survive in a savannah teeming with vicious predators, and when and why we first left our African cradle to colonize every corner of the earth. Becoming Human (Part 1) 56:46 | #3613 | TV-PG Explores fresh clues about our earliest ancestors in Africa, including the stunningly complete fossil nicknamed "Lucy's Child." Lizard Kings 56:46 | #3616 | TV-PG Follows monitor lizards, the largest lizards to walk the planet, and looks at what makes these tongued reptiles such unique survivors. Hubble's Amazing Rescue 56:46 | #3611 | TV-PG In the spring of 2009, NASA sent a shuttle crew to service the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. From training to launch, learn the inside story of the mission and the extraordinary challenges faced by the rescue crew. Darwin's Darkest Hour (Part 2) 56:46 | #3606 | TV-PG The extraordinary drama of Darwin's great personal crisis: the anguishing decision over whether to "go public" with his theory of evolution. Darwin's Darkest Hour 01:56:46 | #3605 | TV-PG The extraordinary drama of Darwin's great personal crisis: the anguishing decision over whether to "go public" with his theory of evolution. Musical Minds 55:05 | #3610 | TV-PG Through case studies from neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks' latest book, this program investigates the extraordinary impact music can have on the human brain. Doctors' Diaries (Part 2) 56:46 | #3609 | TV-PG Over the past 21 years, Nova has followed a group of seven doctors from their first day at Harvard Medical School in 1987. This special two-part program is a last visit to get an update on the kind of doctors — and people — they have become. Doctors' Diaries (Part 1) 56:46 | #3608 | TV-PG Over the past 21 years, Nova has followed a group of seven doctors from their first day at Harvard Medical School in 1987. This special two-part program is a last visit to get an update on the kind of doctors — and people — they have become. Megabeasts' Sudden Death 56:46 | #3607 | TV-PG A provocative new theory about what killed off America's mammoths at the end of the last Ice Age. Extreme Ice 56:46 | #3604 | TV-PG A photojournalist and a scientific team strive to create a unique photo archive of melting glaciers that could provide a key to understanding their runaway behavior. Rat Attack 56:47 | #3603 | TV-PG The half-century bloom of a bamboo species leads to an explosion in the rat population in the Indian state of Mizoram. The Spy Factory 56:46 | #3602 | TV-PG Exposes the hidden world of high-tech, 21st-century eavesdropping carried out by the National Security Agency (NSA). The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies 56:46 | #3601 | TV-G Fly along with monarch butterflies, visiting the spectacular locations they call home and meeting the dangers they encounter along the way. The Big Energy Gamble 56:46 | #3519 | TV-G Looks at everything California is doing, from energy conservation and efficiency to the development of new sources of carbon-free power. Is There Life on Mars? 56:46 | #3518 | TV-G The latest scientific results from the Mars rovers and Phoenix probe, which are poised to reveal provocative new clues in the tantalizing search for water and life on the Red Planet. Ocean Animal Emergency 56:46 | #3517 | TV-PG San Francisco veterinarian Dr. Frances Gulland is committed to saving sick marine mammals, but she's also desperately trying to figure out what's killing them. The Bible's Buried Secrets 01:56:46 | #3516 | TV-PG This two-hour special breaks exciting new ground in investigating the origins of the ancient Israelites, the evolution of their belief in one God, and the creation of the Bible. Alien from Earth 56:46 | #3515 | TV-PG A furious scientific debate is raging about some recently discovered bones that have been dubbed "Hobbit" because of their resemblance to J.R.R. Tolkien's diminutive characters. Are they fossils of a previously unknown primitive branch of the human family? Or are they remains of a dwarf race of modern humans suffering from a strange pathological condition? Hunting the Hidden Dimension 56:46 | #3514 | TV-G The story of a group of mathematicians who developed a new branch of math called fractals, once a curiosity that few took seriously, into an approach that is touching nearly every field of scientific understanding. Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives 56:46 | #3513 | TV-PG Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E, is the lead singer of the cult band the EELS. What most of his fans don't know is that Mark's father, Hugh Everett III, was one of America's top quantum physicists. The film follows the wry and charismatic Mark as he travels across America to learn about the father he never knew. Space Shuttle Disaster 57:46 | #3512 | TV-PG Interviews with astronauts, their families, and members of the accident investigation board examine the Columbia space shuttle tragedy—and NASA itself. Arctic Dinosaurs 56:46 | #3511 | TV-PG A unique field expedition sets out for Alaska's North Slope to discover how dinosaurs managed to survive and even thrive in the gloom of the dark and frigid polar regions. Lord of the Ants 56:46 | #3510 | TV-G A portrait of scientist E.O. Wilson, architect of the controversial discipline called sociobiology and a driving force for worldwide conservation. A Walk to Beautiful 56:46 | #3506 | TV-PG Three Ethiopian women, rejected and ostracized after injuries suffered in childbirth, journey to a special hospital in Addis Ababa in search of solace and hope. Car of the Future 56:46 | #3509 | TV-G Tom and Ray Magliozzi of National Public Radio's Car Talk dive into the world of automotive technology for ideas about the future of America's most common form of transportation. Cracking the Maya Code 55:46 | #3508 | TV-PG A look back at how a handful of pioneers deciphered the intricate system of hieroglyphs developed by the Maya, unlocking that ancient civilization's ingenious method of communication. The Four-Winged Dinosaur 56:46 | #3502 | TV-PG Using state-of-the-art animation to bring a lost world to life, a team of top paleontologists, aeronautical engineers, and artists investigates the mysterious feathered dinosaurs that are challenging old ideas about the origin of bird flight. Ape Genius 56:46 | #3507 | TV-PG A new generation of investigators is revealing the secret mental lives of great apes, and our evolutionary next-of-kin are turning out to be far smarter than most experts ever imagined. AstroSpies 56:46 | #3501 | TV-G Investigative author Jim Bamford probes the untold story of an elite corps of clandestine astronauts who were never told the true purpose of their training program: espionage. Secrets of the Parthenon 56:46 | #3503 | TV-G The official restoration of the Parthenon, one of the world's best-known buildings, involves not only an engineering challenge but also a potential minefield of political and cultural controversies. Absolute Zero (Part 2): The Race for Absolute Zero 56:46 | #3505 | TV-PG Over the course of four centuries, humanity's struggle to master extreme cold inspired groundbreaking discoveries that expanded our knowledge of low temperatures and ultimately led to today's cutting-edge "cold technologies." Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold/The Race for Absolute Zero 56:46 | #3504 | TV-PG Over the course of four centuries, humanity's struggle to master extreme cold inspired groundbreaking discoveries that expanded our knowledge of low temperatures and ultimately led to today's cutting-edge "cold technologies." Missing In MiG Alley 56:46 | #3418 In 1950, Russian-American dogfights over Korea pitted the two most advanced planes of their day, the American F-86 Sabre and the Soviet MiG-15, against each other. More than half a century later, family members are still trying to trace what happened to some of their pilots. Nova scienceNOW 58:38 | #3425 Is DNA our destiny? Epiigentics is changing the way we think about identity, disease, and hereditary, painting a picture of how nature and nurture work together. Also, new technologies lead to Maya findings; and at the NASA-sponsored X-Cup, high school and college teams compete for a $150,000 prize to build prototypes for an elevator that will climb from Earth to space. Master of the Killer Ants 56:20 | #3417 | TV-PG A terrible drought has hit northern Cameroon, and the termites, usually the Mofu tribe's precious ally, have left the fields and invaded huts and granaries. The Mofu shaman calls for Jaglavak, a ferocious army ant with the body of a dragon. Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial 01:56:30 | #3416 | TV-PG One of the latest battles in the war over evolution took place in the tiny town of Dover, PA. Interviews with townspeople, scientists, and lawyers who participated in the historic 2004 trial Kitzmiller et al v. Dover School District et al capture the emotional conflicts involved. Sputnik Declassified 56:46 | #3415 | TV-PG The previously untold story of the technological and political missteps that caused the U.S. to lose out to the Soviets' beeping electronic basketball in the race to launch Earth's first artificial satellite. Marathon Challenge 56:06 | #3414 | TV-G The stories of 13 novices taking their first steps toward running in the Boston Marathon provide both human drama and a scientific exploration of how our bodies respond to intense exercise demands. The Ghost in Your Genes 56:46 | #3413 | TV-PG New findings in the fast-growing field of epigenetics are challenging the long-held belief that all inherited traits are passed on by our genes. Other hidden influences could affect not only our health today but also that of our descendants far into the future. Secrets of the Samurai Sword 57:00 | #3412 | TV-PG Delves into the craft of the traditional swordsmith and attends samurai fighting school to reveal the art and science behind the perfect sword. Nova scienceNOW 56:46 | #3411 | TV-G A profile of historical archaeologist Julie Schablitsky; an investigation of sleep and memory; a discovery about T.Rex by housewife turned scientist Mary Schweitzer; and the story behind Kryptos, a sculpture on the CIA campus. Nova scienceNOW 56:46 | #3410 | TV-G A profile of Arlie Petters, who holds a joint appointment in the math and physics departments at Duke University; examinations of "epigenetics" and "emergence"; and the attempt by physicists at CERN, the particle physics lab in Switzerland, to find out what the universe is made of. The Great Inca Rebellion 56:46 | #3409 | TV-PG An ancient Peruvian cemetery crammed with disfigured mummies helps explain a long-standing mystery about the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Bone Diggers 57:00 | #3408 | TV-PG In the dark depths of a newly discovered cave in Australia, scientists carry out detailed detective work on the recovered skeletons of long-extinct megafauna. Pocahontas Revealed 56:46 | #3406 | TV-PG Virginia archaeologists investigate the site where the captive John Smith had his famous life-and-death encounter with Chief Powhatan—and where legend says that the smitten Pocahontas begged her father to spare the Englishman's neck—for clues to the Native American side of the Jamestown story. Saved by the Sun 55:30 | #3407 Breakthroughs in new materials and ingenious designs for solar collectors are transforming solar energy technology into a vastly cheaper, more efficient alternative. First Flower 55:24 | #3405 | TV-G A spectacular journey of discovery to a remote mountain region of China to explore our fascination with flowers and solve the puzzle of their beginnings. MiGs 56:46 | #3402 | TV-PG Cuttlefish are some of the strangest animals on the planet. These shape-shifting creatures can hypnotize their prey, impersonate the opposite sex, and kill with lightning speed. The Last Great Ape 56:46 | #3404 | TV-PG Like chimpanzees, bonobos are among humans' closest relatives. But unlike chimps, known for their violent behavior, bonobos are far more peaceful, even matriarchal. They embrace their neighbors and resolve conflict in an unusual way. Forgotten Genius 01:56:46 | #3403 | TV-PG Percy Julian overcame numerous obstacles to become a world-class scientist, a self-made millionaire, and a civil rights pioneer. Arctic Passage: Ice Survivors 52:48 | #3307 | TV-PG Unsupported by naval might or government funding, a 29-year-old Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, set out to explore the Northwest Passage. This program retraces Amundsen's triumphant voyage, taking viewers to the Canadian Arctic where his name is legendary among the native people. Nova scienceNOW 56:46 | #3401 | TV-G Attempts to build a space elevator, the physical process of aging, a new technique for finding Mayan ruins, and biologist Bonnie Bassler. Underwater Dream Machine 56:46 | #3319 | TV-G Peter Robbins staked everything he owned to build his own submarine for exploring the sunken wrecks of German U-boats, assembling it from more than two million parts at a cost of $1.5 million. Now he's ready to launch it on its maiden voyage. Nova ScienceNOW - Extinction 56:46 | #3318 | TV-G Host and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson meets up with investigators trying to solve a 250-million-year-old murder mystery. Also, new genetic research that may solve the mystery of longevity; unlocking the secrets of ancient papyrus scrolls; and a profile of Julie Schablitsky, an innovative young archaeologist. The Family That Walks on All Fours 55:14 | #3317 | TV-PG Researchers use evolutionary data to examine the scientific implications of a strange impairment: adult humans who walk on all fours rather than upright. Wings of Madness 55:29 | #3316 | TV-PG On October 19, 1901, the people of Paris turned out by the thousands to watch a dashing, impeccably dressed Brazilian-born inventor, Alberto Santos-Dumont, conquer the skies in a gas-powered balloon. After that astounding half-hour flight over the city and around the Eiffel Tower, he went on to pilot Europe's first airplane flight. Dramatic re-creations and replicas of Santos' pioneering aircraft reveal the daring flights and dramatic life of a neglected genius. The Deadliest Plane Crash 56:46 | #3315 | TV-PG An investigation into what went wrong when two Boeing 747 airliners collided in thick fog on the runway at a tiny airport in the Canary Islands, killing 583 passengers and crew. Monster of the Milky Way 56:28 | #3314 | TV-G From supernova to event horizon, the dark secrets of supermassive black holes are revealed through computer-generated imagery, including an extraordinary simulation of what it might look like to fall into one. Nova scienceNOW 55:39 | #3313 | TV-G Neil deGrasse Tyson investigates whether a "doomsday asteroid" will hit Earth in 2036, explores the possible consequences, and outlines steps NASA could take to avoid the catastrophe. Mystery of the Megavolcano 56:46 | #3312 | TV-G A remote lake in Southeast Asia conceals evidence of Earth's greatest volcanic cataclysm of the last 100,000 years. Miles beneath its placid surface lies a magma chamber that exploded so violently during the Ice Age that gases and ash may have encircled the globe and blotted out the sun for years on end. The Toba eruption may have helped kick the climate into an unprecedented freeze and perhaps even pushed ancestral human populations to the brink of extinction. Building on Ground Zero 55:54 | #3311 | TV-PG A look back at the events of 9/11/2001, including a review of the major investigations into the collapse of the World Trade Center. Leslie Robertson, who engineered the WTC towers, also discusses his current project in Shanghai, touted as the tallest structure in the world. This Old Pyramid 58:46 | #1915 Reveals the ancient secrets of how the pyramids were built by actually building one. Noted Egyptologist Mark Lehner and professional stonemason Roger Hopkins join forces in the shadow of the Great Pyramid of Giza to put clever and sometimes bizarre pyramid construction theories to the test. The Elegant Universe: The String's the Thing 56:46 | #3013 | TV-G Brian Greene, author of the best-selling book The Elegant Universe, describes how string theory attempts to reconcile Einstein's theory of general relativity with the theory of quantum mechanics. (Part 2 of 3) Dimming Sun 56:16 | #3310 | TV-G As global warming turns up the heat, researchers have been stunned to discover that our planet is actually growing dimmer. Increasing air pollution allows less and less sunlight to reach Earth's surface. The dimming contributes to severe droughts—but solving it could greatly accelerate global warming, melting ice caps and flooding coastal cities. Voyage to the Mystery Moon 56:46 | #3309 | TV-G Orbiting Saturn, more than half a billion miles from Earth, is an orange moon named Titan that may hold clues to the origins of life. This mysterious moon is one of only four astral bodies in the solar system to have an atmosphere—and the only one whose atmosphere is believed to resemble that of early Earth. In January 2005, eight years after its launch, the European Space Agency's Huygens space probe plummeted through Titan's atmosphere and touched down on its surface, sending back data and pictures to scientists waiting breathlessly on Earth. The Great Robot Race 56:46 | #3308 | TV-PG Armed with artificial intelligence, laser-guided vision, GPS navigation, and 3-D mapping, some of the world's most advanced robots compete in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, a 132-mile race across desert terrain. Arctic Passage: Prisoners of the Ice 55:51 | #3306 | TV-PG Two sagas about the quest for the Northwest Passage, the legendary Arctic sea route between the Atlantic and the Pacific that was the prize objective of merchants and adventurers for centuries. "Prisoners of the Ice" provides new details about the Franklin expedition, whose fate was one of the great mysteries of the 19th century. And "Ice Survivors" tells how Roald Amundsen rewrote the book on Arctic exploration by stressing simplicity and adaptability. The Ghost Particle 55:28 | #3305 | TV-G The "secret ingredient" of the cosmos is the neutrino. Swarms of these invisible particles fill every cubic inch of space, and trillions of them zip through our bodies, though we don't notice a thing. Scientists' 70-year struggle to understand them is a tale of atom spies, secret laboratories, mind-boggling disappearances, and a discovery that changed our understanding of what the universe is made of. Jewel of the Earth 48:22 | #3304 | TV-PG In the movie Jurassic Park, Richard Attenborough played an entrepreneur who extracted dinosaur DNA from the blood of mosquitoes trapped in ancient amber. His real-life brother, Sir David Attenborough, examines that intriguing possibility and a host of others in this exploration of the astonishing secrets suspended in these remarkable bits of resin. His starting point is a piece of amber, given to him when he was a child, that contains remnants of ancient insects trapped tens of millions of years ago. The Perfect Corpse 54:06 | #3303 | TV-PG Forensic archaeologists investigate two recently unearthed and exceedingly rare bog bodies—ancient corpses preserved by central Ireland's waterlogged landscape— in an attempt to unravel how these people lived and how and why they died. Deadly Ascent 56:46 | #3302 | TV-PG Alaska's Mount McKinley, the tallest and coldest mountain in North America, is now known by its Native American name, Denali ("the high one"). Every year, it claims new victims—mountaineers, often in top physical condition, who die from a mysterious disease that seems to strike at extreme altitudes. To solve the mystery of these deaths, a team including doctors, rescuers, world-class mountaineers, military special forces members, and an astronaut travels to the mountain, where the expedition members will use themselves as guinea pigs. NOVA scienceNOW 56:46 | #3219 | TV-G Host Robert Krulwich updates eight of the top science stories of 2005, including the discovery of a 10th planet, the rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the possibility of a flu pandemic. The Mummy Who Would Be King 54:36 | #3301 | TV-PG Could a shriveled mummy that has lain neglected on a dusty shelf in a museum at Niagara Falls be the remains of a long-lost Egyptian pharaoh? Scientists attempt to solve a bizarre 3,000-year-old mystery with the help of the latest imaging and DNA techniques, unearthing compelling evidence that the mummy may be that of Ramses I—founder of ancient Egypt's most illustrious dynasty. The Storm That Drowned a City 56:46 | #3218 | TV-PG A minute-by-minute eyewitness account of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Newton's Dark Secrets 56:46 | #3217 | TV-G Isaac Newton, the first modern scientist as well as the last of the ancient magicians, reduced nature's chaos to a single set of mathematical laws. More than three centuries later, those laws are still the basis for how we analyze and forecast the motions of everything from roller coasters to comets. But while making fundamental breakthroughs in physics, optics, and calculus, Newton also poured vast energy into fruitless explorations of alchemy and religion. Lively re-creations of key moments in his career and his experiments in optics and alchemy explore how Newton became the giant upon whose shoulders all later scientists found a place to stand. Hitler's Sunken Secret 56:36 | #3216 | TV-PG One of the most daring clandestine operations of World War II was the 1944 sinking of the Norwegian ferry Hydro with its cargo of "heavy water," destined for the Nazis' secret atomic bomb project. Although the mission was declared a success, no one has ever established whether the special shipment was actually on board. Divers plunge 1,300 feet beneath a remote Norwegian lake to find the answer. Volcano Under the City 56:46 | #3215 | TV-G The towering Nyiragongo volcano looms over Goma in central Africa, threatening to obliterate a thriving city of more than 400,000 inhabitants. In 2002, rivers of lava poured through the streets and destroyed 40 percent of the city, forcing tens of thousands to flee. A year later, with ominous gas clouds billowing over the crater rim, volcanologist Jacques Durieux led a team of specialists to try to figure out the volcano's inner secrets—when and why it is likely to erupt next. Durieux and his team clambered down into the crater to lower test instruments into the boiling lava below. NOVA scienceNOW 56:46 | #3214 | TV-G Peter Standring visits New Orleans to assess the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Host Robert Krulwich introduces scientists who are trying to create new forms of life in the laboratory, exposes the mysterious origins of lightning, and heads to the newest frontier in veterinary medicine: surgery on pet fish. Einstein's Big Idea 01:56:46 | #3213 | TV-PG Everybody's heard of it, but what does the world's most famous equation, E=mc2, really mean? This exploration of the four centuries of scientific work that led to Einstein's bold breakthrough, based on David Bodanis' best-seller E=mc2, celebrates the ingenuity and chronicles the human conflicts that ultimately unleashed the power of the atom. Sinking the Supership 55:46 | #3212 | TV-G In April 1945, the Yamato, the largest battleship ever built and the pride of the Japanese fleet, set out with a crew of 3,000 for a solo confrontation with the United States Navy. Attacked by a swarm of dive bombers, the battleship sank within minutes. Members of the team that recently discovered the wreck of the Yamato and eyewitness accounts by the few Japanese crewmen who survived tell the extraordinary story of the ultimate suicide mission. Mystery of the Megaflood 55:16 | #3211 Geologic exploration and computer animation reconstruct the greatest flood of the past two million years. Near the end of the last ice age, an ice dam half a mile high blocked a valley in present-day Montana. When the dam broke, the enormous lake behind it became thousand-foot-deep floodwaters that scoured vast areas of the American Northwest, sweeping herds of woolly mammoth and everything else in their path into oblivion. Origins: Back to the Beginning 56:46 | #3114 | TV-PG Turns back the clock to explore how a universe conducive to life materialized from the cataclysm known as the Big Bang. Origins: How Life Began 55:07 | #3112 | TV-PG Spotlights the most radical transformation in the history of our planet and perhaps the cosmos: the moment when inert, lifeless matter managed to organize itself into life. NOVA scienceNOW: Fuel Cells 56:46 | #3210 | TV-G Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Peabody Award-winning hosts of Car Talk on National Public Radio, join host Robert Krulwich to explore the science and the promise of fuel cells. Duke University neurobiologist Erich Jarvis discusses his research into vocal learning in birds and humans—which he hopes will lead to treatments for speech problems such as stuttering. World in the Balance—China Revs Up 55:20 | #3109 | TV-PG China's hyperactive economy is growing faster than any other in the history of the world. And after years of clamping down on population growth through a controversial one-child policy, the government has relaxed those rules and moved in the direction of more reproductive freedom. China's air, land, and water are already feeling adverse effects, and the prospect that all Chinese will strive to live like middle-class Americans is daunting: It has been calculated that if all of the world's people had an American standard of living, two more planets the size of Earth would be needed to support them. NOVA scienceNOW 56:46 | #3209 | TV-G The Wave That Shook the World 55:30 | #3208 | TV-PG This minute-by-minute chronology of the deadly tsunami that devastated coastlines around the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 explores the science behind the earthquake, the wave itself, and the patterns of destruction left in its wake. Personal stories of people caught in the catastrophe are illustrated with previously unseen footage as well as computer animation. A Daring Flight 56:24 | #3207 | TV-G On the morning of July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot set out on an epic flight across the English Channel—the first long-distance flight over water and the first air crossing of a national boundary. His story of innovation and perseverance despite innumerable crashes is intertwined with the current quest by Bleriot's grandson to repeat the heroic cross-channel flight. Saving the National Treasures 56:46 | #3206 | TV-G Three documents that define our nation's heritage—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—are disintegrating because of the ravages of time, and the National Archives has embarked on a five-year project to design state-of-the-art encasements and a new rotunda to display them in. The Viking Deception 55:02 | #3205 | TV-G The faded, yellowing piece of parchment known as the Vinland Map appears to show the eastern seaboard of North America—drawn at least half a century before Columbus reached the New World. If authentic, it seems to present unshakable proof that the Vikings were the real discoverers of the Americas. But an exclusive new investigation has concluded that the map was probably one of the cleverest forgeries of all time. NOVA scienceNOW 56:46 | #3204 | TV-G Supersonic Dream 56:46 | #3203 | TV-G The revolutionary design of the Concorde fulfilled a long-held dream of supersonic passenger flight, but business never expanded beyond its initial luxury niche. This look at its development and history includes footage of its maiden flight in 1969 and the tragic Paris crash of 2000, plus interviews with Henry Kissinger, David Frost, and other Concorde fans. The Boldest Hoax 49:54 | #3202 | TV-G In 1912, British amateur fossil hunter Charles Dawson announced that he'd discovered the bones of a primitive human—the long-sought "missing link" between the apes and humankind—in a gravel pit at Piltdown, Sussex. But 40 years later, the shocking truth emerged: Piltdown Man was not a scientific treasure but a fiendishly elaborate hoax. Since then, suspicion has fallen not only on Dawson but also on a host of possible conspirators, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. Welcome to Mars 56:46 | #3201 | TV-G Follows the adventures of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers as they explore the surface of Mars as well as the highs and lows experienced by their mission scientists back at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Earth. All goes well until Spirit suddenly falls silent and then, inexplicably, starts spewing gibberish. Three agonizing days later, engineers finally regain control of the unhinged rover. Then Opportunity lands and sends back the image of an outcrop of bedrock that will turn out to be a crucial clue in the long quest to discover whether there once was water on the Red Planet. Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land 56:35 | #3118 | TV-G In a cave perched high in a canyon near the Dead Sea, archaeologists made a startling discovery in 1960: letters written on papyrus nearly 2,000 years ago by one of the great figures of Jewish history, the rebel Bar-Kokhba, who led a heroic guerrilla uprising against the Romans. Biblical scholar Richard Freund returns to the cave hoping to find more traces of Bar-Kokhba's epic struggle, but emerges instead with a radical and controversial new theory. Could the treasure concealed in the cave be a long-lost relic of the great temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans? Great Escape 54:49 | #3117 | TV-PG The movie The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, was based on fact—the most daring and technically ingenious prison escape of World War II. At a remote high-security internment camp known as Stalag Luft III, at Sagan in present-day Poland, Allied airmen set out to dig not one but three tunnels, each more than 300 feet long. As a team of archaeologists hunts for the single surviving tunnel—which the Germans never found—three of the original escapees return to the scene of their daring escapade for the first time in 60 years. America's Stone Age Explorers 56:02 | #3116 | TV-PG Who were the first Americans, and where did they come from? The conventional view is that hunters followed big game across the Bering land bridge some 12,000 years ago. But startling recent discoveries have pushed the Americas' settlement date back thousands of years earlier. Now, a leading prehistorian at the Smithsonian Institution claims that some of the first canoe-borne migrants came not from Asia but from Europe. The Most Dangerous Woman in America 56:46 | #3115 | TV-PG Interweaves biography and social history to tell the extraordinary story of Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary. As the first person in North America to be identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid fever, she was incarcerated for years on an island in the East River—despite her indignant protests of innocence. Mary's saga vividly illustrates the social, ethical, and legal dilemmas faced by public health officials at the turn of the 20th century. Origins: Where Are the Aliens? 56:46 | #3113 | TV-PG Recounts the search for intelligent life in the universe and the first discoveries of planets outside our solar system. Origins: Earth Is Born 55:01 | #3111 | TV-PG Simulates some ancient cataclysms, including a titanic collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object that may have set the stage for the formation of continental crust and the precipitation of water out of a violent atmosphere. Battle Plan Under Fire 55:18 | #3110 | TV-PG In the "smart war" vision that drove the planning of U.S. campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, new electronic intelligence tools would allow U.S. commanders to streamline their forces and minimize casualties, both to civilians and within their own ranks. But things didn't turn out quite as planned. New York Times television reporters investigate the impact of advanced technology on America's war-fighting machinery, analyzing key battles in the Iraq conflict to examine whether expensive high-tech weapons are enough to defeat elusive enemies such as terrorists and civilian militias. World in the Balance: The People Paradox/China Revs Up 56:46 | #3108 | TV-PG Investigates three regions where social and economic forces have produced starkly different population profiles. In India, women still bear an average of three to four children, and the country is on course to overtake China as the world's most populous. Japan now has more people over 60 than under 20, and the government is offering incentives to encourage women to have more children in order to stave off possible pension and productivity crises. In sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is taking a heavy toll on adults between the ages of 20 and 60, leaving the very old and young to fend for themselves. Hunt for the Supertwister 00:11 | #3107 | TV-PG During one of the worst tornado seasons on record, a camera team chases across the Midwest, capturing hair-raising footage of highly destructive twisters in action. Meanwhile, two scientists at the University of Oklahoma pursue radically different approaches to forecasting twisters: One relies on "virtual tornadoes" created inside supercomputers, while the other involves hunting down real-life storms to collect data firsthand. Mysterious Mummies of China 56:46 | #2502 | TV-PG Perfectly preserved 3,000-year-old mummies have been unearthed in a remote Chinese desert. They have long, blonde hair and blue eyes, and don't appear to be the ancestors of the modern-day Chinese people. Who are these people, and how did they end up in China's Takla Makan desert? Life and Death in the War Zone 55:09 | #3106 | TV-PG Life, death, innovations in battlefield medicine, and difficult cultural decisions at the 21st Combat Support Hospital in the deserts north of Baghdad, where many of the Iraqi patients are children with horrific injuries. The Crash of Flight 111 55:52 | #3105 | TV-PG On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 plummeted into the sea off Nova Scotia while en route from New York to Geneva. All 229 people on board died. The investigation into the cause of the crash, by Canada's Transportation Safety Board, cost $30 million and was one of the most baffling and intricate aviation investigations ever mounted. Descent Into the Ice 55:55 | #3104 | TV-PG Mont Blanc is one of the world's most popular destinations for both Alpine climbers and earth scientists trying to understand and control the hazards generated by rock falls, ice avalanches, and sudden flooding. A team of daring "glacionauts" combines the two pursuits as they descend into a labyrinth of unexplored ice caves to find trapped flood water that menaces the populated valleys below. Dogs and More Dogs 56:16 | #3103 | TV-G Despite great variation, all domestic dogs, as well as their common ancestor, the gray wolf, have virtually identical genes. How can science explain their incredible diversity? Secrets of the Crocodile Caves 56:32 | #3102 | TV-PG In a remote refuge in Madagascar, a lemur family uses all its cunning to survive in the forest, while crocodiles skulk in the rivers and hide out in caves. Mars Dead or Alive 56:46 | #3101 | TV-G A behind-the-scenes look at the construction of Spirit, the most sophisticated rover ever launched from Earth, and its mission to search for evidence of liquid water on Mars. Includes some of the first photos returned from the red planet by Spirit after its safe landing in January 2004. Volcano Above the Clouds 56:46 | #3017 | TV-G Just 200 miles south of the equator, Kilimanjaro has both equatorial and arctic conditions, with five distinct climatic zones. A climb to the 19,340-foot peak is also a trek back to the dawn of time and the formation of the African continent. Magnetic Storm 54:27 | #3016 | TV-G On March 13, 1989, the lights went out across Canada and the eastern seaboard of the United States, as far south as New York. This power grid failure was caused by a magnetic storm in Earth's upper atmosphere, itself triggered by the eruption of a huge flare from the surface of the sun. Many scientists worry that it may be a harbinger of even worse things to come as changes to the planet's magnetic field make Earth ever more vulnerable to deadly radiation from space. Wright Brothers' Flying Machine 54:44 | #3015 | TV-G The popular image of the Wright Brothers as amateur bicycle mechanics who tinkered their way into the sky is largely a myth. In reality, the world's first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, NC was the result of astonishing inventiveness and sophisticated engineering. Flights by replicas using the same materials as the original Wright Flyer and an examination of the only extant Wright engine provide a closer look at the frail craft that first propelled humans toward the clouds. The Elegant Universe: Welcome to the 11th Dimension 56:46 | #3014 | TV-G In the conclusion of a miniseries based on his best-selling book The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene reviews how Edward Winnet of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study revolutionized string theory. In 1995, Winnet successfully united five versions of the theory into a single, cryptically named "M-theory"—a development that required 11 dimensions. (Part 3 of 3) The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream 56:46 | #3012 | TV-G Brian Greene, author of the best-selling book The Elegant Universe, begins a three-part look at why string theory might hold the key to the elusive Theory of Everything. "Einstein's Dream" introduces string theory and looks at the impasse between Einstein's theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics. (Part 1 of 3) Who Killed the Red Baron? 56:46 | #3011 | TV-G An investigation of the mysterious death of Germany's most feared fighter ace, "Red Baron" Manfred von Richthofen, overturns the conventional theory of his demise and explores the origins of the first fighter planes and the evolution of aerial tactics. Thrilling reenactments depict the hair-raising duels fought between the fragile fighters of World War I. Infinite Secrets 56:37 | #3010 | TV-PG At Christie's auction house in 1998, a small and unassuming Byzantine prayer book sold for more than $2 million. Its value lay not in the prayers, but in a much earlier, spidery script that lay nearly hidden beneath them: the oldest and most authentic known copy of a compendium of works by the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes, lost for more than 1,000 years. Scientists are now using cutting-edge imaging techniques to unlock the book's secrets and gain insight into one of the greatest minds the world has ever known. Secret of Photo 51 56:46 | #3009 | TV-PG Investigates the life of Rosalind Franklin and her unsung contribution to one of science's greatest discoveries. In 1962, when three men were awarded a Nobel Prize for the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, Franklin's name wasn't even mentioned. She had died of cancer four years earlier at age 37—probably as the result of radiation exposure she suffered while taking the X-ray photographs of DNA that were directly responsible for decoding its structure. Search for the Lost Cave People 56:46 | #2507 | TV-PG In a gorge deep in the Chiapas jungle of Central America, archaeologists find the remains of the Zoque, a people who lived hundreds of years before the Maya. Deep Sea Invasion 56:46 | #3008 | TV-G French biologist Alexandre Meinesz warned that the strange, bright green algae he had spotted on the Mediterranean seabed were decimating marine life there, but his findings were ignored for years by the scientific establishment. Now nicknamed the "killer algae," these toxic organisms have since taken over thousands of acres of seabed and recently appeared off the coast of California. Dirty Bomb 56:02 | #3007 | TV-PG Looks at how a "dirty bomb" differs from a conventional nuclear bomb and presents credible scenarios of potential attacks. Lost Treasures of Tibet 56:07 | #3006 | TV-G Mustang, a tiny kingdom along the northern border of Nepal, conceals the monastery of Thubchen. Its priceless paintings have been damaged by a leaking roof and stained by soot from the butter lamps of devout monks. Restoration efforts pit architects and art conservators against many natives who want the paintings left alone. Mountain of Ice 54:31 | #3005 | TV-PG Jon Krakauer's high-risk expedition to scale Antarctica's highest peak, the Vinson Massif, is interwoven with the epic story of Scott and Amundsen's race to reach the South Pole in 1912—and why one team failed and the other succeeded. Battle of the X-Planes 01:56:46 | #3004 | TV-G Follows the design war between two aviation giants, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, as they compete to build the next-generation fighter jet and win the largest government contract ever awarded—an estimated $1 trillion. Ancient Creature of the Deep 55:32 | #3003 | TV-G The most famous "living fossil" is the coelacanth (see-la-kanth), a huge primitive fish once thought to have died out before the dinosaurs but rediscovered in 1938. Researchers have recently located new colonies of the ancient fish, raising hopes for its continuing survival. Last Flight of Bomber 31 56:46 | #3002 | TV-PG A U.S. military team discovers the wreckage of a World War II bomber on the edge of a volcano in the remote wilderness of Kamchatka, Russia. Aviation experts and forensic scientists set out to reclaim an important piece of history and bring closure to seven American families. Spies That Fly 56:16 | #3001 | TV-PG The U.S. military is developing an incredible range of "smart" robotic planes, from tiny flyers that can fit in a pocket to soaring jets that fly halfway around the world. The next generation of pilotless planes will be capable of far more than aerial spying, and in time may revolutionize the way all future wars are fought. Titanic's Lost Sister 56:46 | #2402 | TV-G The Titanic had two nearly identical sister ships: the Olympic, which served as a liner until 1935, and the Britannic, which served as a hospital ship in the Aegean and either was torpedoed or struck a mine in 1916. The Orchid Hunter 56:01 | #2915 | TV-PG For nine months in 2000, Tom Hart Dyke was a captive of guerrillas who seized him while he was collecting wild orchids in the Colombian rainforest. Now Hart Dyke is at it again in the most orchid-rich and politically unstable part of Papua New Guinea. Sinking City of Venice 56:46 | #2914 | TV-PG For centuries, an encircling lagoon has protected Venice from invading armies and kept the world's most unusual city from drowning beneath the rising tides of the Adriatic Sea. But Venetians also have had to fight a centuries-long battle against the forces of nature that threaten to alter their city's precarious relationship with the surrounding waters. Volcano's Deadly Warning 56:01 | #2913 | TV-PG The story of a controversial field trip taken in 1993, during which six scientists and three hikers were scalded and crushed to death when they ventured into the smoking mouth of the active volcano Galeras in Colombia. Galileo's Battle for the Heavens 01:56:46 | #2912 | TV-PG A reconstruction of the epic historical confrontation between scientific genius Galileo Galilei and the church authorities who tried to suppress his astonishing discoveries. Lost Roman Treasure 55:01 | #2911 | TV-G At the height of the Roman Empire, an opulent city stood at the eastern frontier on the most important crossing of the Euphrates River. It was called Zeugma ("junction"). Buried by centuries of silt and dirt, Zeugma was long neglected by archaeologists until the rising edifice of a nearby hydroelectric dam forced them to act quickly before the site was flooded. The Mysterious Life of Caves 56:46 | #2910 | TV-G Exploring Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, geologists Carol Hill and Dave Jagnow found giant blocks of a mineral that conventional theories said shouldn't be there. Their explanation—that microbes flourishing in total darkness had helped etch the caverns—was revolutionary. But eventually they confirmed it at the bizarre Cueva de Villa Luz in Mexico, where the walls drip with sulfuric acid strong enough to burn human skin. Kaboom! 56:46 | #2401 | TV-PG Explores the history and science of explosives, from Chinese alchemists to Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Killer Disease on Campus 56:46 | #2909 | TV-PG Meningococcal meningitis usually attacks children under 5 and teenagers, but it is on the rise among college-age youth. The disease strikes quickly, and symptoms can be so vague and unspecific in the early stages that it is often not diagnosed until too late. Secrets of Making Money 00:00 | #2314 | TV-G The recently redesigned $100 bill has a host of hard-to-reproduce features to thwart the growing ranks of counterfeiters. Fire Wars 01:56:46 | #2908 | TV-PG Follows the men and women of the Arrowhead Hotshots as they try to extinguish one of the biggest fires of the summer 2000 season—the Clear Creek fire that burned for almost two months. Why the Towers Fell 56:22 | #2907 | TV-PG Forensic engineers investigate the causes of the collapse of the World Trade Center's twin towers in the terrorist attack of September 11—a scene of unforgettable horror and a moment of unimaginable consequence. Who could have guessed that a steel structure of such size and strength could actually be reduced to 150 feet of rubble? Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance 01:56:46 | #2906 | TV-PG In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set forth on an expedition to the South Pole, only to become trapped in pack ice and stranded for nearly two years in one of the most inhospitable regions of Earth. Over the 14 months that followed, Shackleton and his group embarked on a harrowing journey that would end when Shackleton made a daring 800-mile solo voyage aboard a small rowboat to find help. Amazingly, all survived. The Missing Link 56:16 | #2905 | TV-PG According to evolutionary theory, all four-limbed creatures—from dinosaurs to humans—are descended from one ancient creature. A group of paleontologists has recently discovered some amazing clues to the identity of this ancestor, including a tiny fossil jaw that lay unnoticed in a dusty museum drawer for decades. Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies 56:46 | #2904 | TV-PG Startling new evidence suggests that Soviet spies penetrated some of America's deepest national secrets in the 1940s, including the Manhattan Project. The FBI hunted down some of these spies but was never able to capture the mastermind, a physician named Ted Hall. Fireworks! 56:01 | #2903 | TV-G Explores the science and the spectacular art of those who play with fire for visual delight. There's more than meets the eye to creating the vivid colors and impressive effects that light up the night sky every Fourth of July. Neanderthals on Trial 56:16 | #2902 | TV-PG For all their brutish reputation, Neanderthals were highly sophisticated survivors in Europe for more than 200,000 years. In fact, some controversial evidence suggests that the genes of these extinct hominids mixed with those of modern humans. Death Star 56:46 | #2901 | TV-G For 30 years, scientists have been on the hunt for the sources of gamma ray bursts, the most powerful and mysterious explosions in the universe. Because they appear to emanate from the edges of the known universe—meaning that the explosions themselves happened long ago, when the cosmos was very young—their light may hold clues to the births of the very first stars and black holes. Flying Casanovas 55:45 | #2818 | TV-PG Male bowerbirds, native to the forests of Australia and New Guinea, build elaborate structures on the forest floor from twigs, leaves, and moss. These diminutive Don Juans then decorate their "bachelor pads" with colorful feathers, pebbles, berries, and shells—all in the hopes of attracting a mate. The Perfect Pearl 55:45 | #2520 | TV-G The pearl is a jewel that requires no mining, extraction, cutting, or polishing to reveal its beauty. But will cultured pearls ruin the value of those grown in the wild? Methuselah Tree 56:46 | #2817 | TV-G The oldest known living thing on Earth is a bristlecone pine tree 11,000 feet up California's White Mountains. This re-creation of what it looked like at various times in its lifespan is also a brief tour through human history—starting when the Egyptian pyramids were built. Escape! Because Accidents Happen (Eject/Abandon Ship) 00:00 | #2606 | TV-PG A history of aircraft safety, from the parachute to the ejection seat, includes the remarkable stories behind the inventions of lifejackets, lifeboats, breathing apparatuses, and other life-saving technologies. Life's Greatest Miracle 56:46 | #2816 | TV-PG A completely updated remake of Lennart Nilsson's world-famous film Miracle of Life uses the latest technological advances in microscopy and medical imaging to tell the inside-the-womb story of human life from conception to birth. Bioterror 56:46 | #2815 | TV-PG Probes the dark past and horrifying prospects of bioterrorism as a form of warfare and highlights the secret biological revolution that was pioneered by the U.S., honed to perfection by the Soviet Union, and then enthusiastically adopted by Iraq and by terrorist cells around the world. Russia's Nuclear Warriors 56:46 | #2814 | TV-PG Deep underground at a top-secret missile base 500 miles south of Moscow, the best and brightest of Russia's disintegrating military prepare for nuclear war. Sex: Unknown 54:56 | #2813 | TV-14 The scientific side of the disturbing story of Bruce Reimer, surgically castrated at age 2 and raised as a girl. He later insisted that he be called David and restored as a male. Secrets of the Mind 56:46 | #2812 | TV-PG Profiles the work of eminent brain researcher Dr. V.S. Ramachandran, who studies patients with bizarre neurological deficits. A fan of Sherlock Holmes, Ramachandran is finding simple but intriguing clues about the deep structure of emotion, perception, and consciousness. 18 Ways To Make a Baby 56:01 | #2811 | TV-PG With male couples having children through surrogates and donors, women over 60 having babies, and babies being born with borrowed DNA, the range of options open to infertile couples is wider than ever before. Search for a Safe Cigarette 56:46 | #2810 | TV-G Probes the controversial quest for a less toxic cigarette. Are these products an answer to smoking-related illnesses or just a marketing strategy to increase sales? The Vikings (Part 2) 00:00 | #2709 | TV-G Continues the story of the bold, energetic, and hardy Vikings, featuring stunning scenery from their home base in Scandinavia and the far-flung countries they visited. Cracking the Code of Life 01:56:46 | #2809 | TV-G In June 2000, two fiercely competitive teams of scientists made the joint announcement that their labs had decoded the human genome—a triumph with profound implications for medicine and human health. Survivor M.D.: Hearts and Minds 00:00 | #2808 | TV-PG Profiles psychoanalysts in training, a cardiologist who works on heart transplant research, and the director of cardiac anesthesia at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. Survivor M.D.: Second Opinions 56:46 | #2807 | TV-PG Jane Liebschutz is an internist at Boston Medical Center, where she specializes in underserved populations, domestic violence, and women's health. Now she herself needs surgery, and it's the physician's turn to be a patient. Survivor M.D.: The Tattooed Doctor 56:46 | #2806 | TV-PG In addition to sporting impressive body art, emergency room physician Tom Tarter rides a classic Harley-Davidson motorcycle. In one evening, his patients include a woman who lost the tip of her finger in a mysterious accident, another woman who fell out of a moving car, and a gravely ill man with end-stage liver cirrhosis. Warnings from the Ice 00:00 | #2508 | TV-PG Does the rapid break-up of the huge Antarctic ice sheets signal the beginning of a giant meltdown and a catastrophic rise in sea levels? Cancer Warrior 00:00 | #2805 | TV-PG In the early 1960s, Dr. Judah Folkman suggested that depriving tumors of their blood supply might stop their growth. After years of diligent work, a scientist in Folkman's lab found a substance that has wiped away tumors in mice without causing side effects or eliciting drug resistance. Will it be successful in humans? The Truth About Impotence 00:00 | #2510 | TV-14 A thoughtful, clinical, and still very personal examination of male erectile dysfunction and its medical treatments. Lost King of the Maya 56:46 | #2804 | TV-G In the 1980s, researchers broke the code of ancient Mayan glyphs, recovering the names, dates, and major events in the reigns of 16 kings stretching over four centuries. Nazi Prison Escape 56:46 | #2803 | TV-PG During World War II, the Germans sent the prisoners they considered the most dangerous to a fortress they thought was impregnable—but more than 300 British, French, Belgian, Dutch, and American prisoners managed to escape from the Nazis' forbidding Colditz Castle. Vanished! 00:00 | #2802 | TV-PG On August 2, 1947, the Stardust, a converted British bomber, disappeared on a commercial flight over the Andes. In 1998, two mountaineers stumbled across a huge engine on the Tupangato glacier high in the Andes. What brought the Stardust down, and why has it only now turned up? Sultan's Lost Treasure 56:46 | #2801 | TV-G In the middle of the South China Sea, a team of archaeologists is retrieving a unique treasure—more than 12,000 intact pieces of Chinese porcelain dating from the 15th century A.D.—while trying to ascertain the identity and destination of the ship that was carrying it. Japan's Secret Garden 56:46 | #2716 | TV-G For at least 2,000 years, a unique way of life has flourished on the shores of Japan's largest freshwater lake, Lake Biwa, which is fed by more than 500 rivers descending from the forested interior of Honshu Island. Dying To Be Thin 56:46 | #2715 | TV-PG Deadly eating disorders afflict some nine million Americans. This look at the latest research in the field examines the complex physical, social, and psychological factors that lead to such conditions as anorexia and bulimia, as well as therapies that can help reverse them. Garden of Eden 55:35 | #2714 | TV-G The Seychelle Islands form a Jurassic park of ancient plants and animals in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Runaway Universe 56:46 | #2713 | TV-G In 1998, two teams of astronomers studying exploding stars in distant galaxies discovered something completely unexpected: The expansion of the universe is speeding up, propelled by some unknown, anti-gravity force. Hitler's Lost Sub 01:56:46 | #2712 | TV-G In 1991, a sunken German U-boat was found off the coast of New Jersey, sparking a six-year effort to identify the craft and its mission. Super Bridge 01:56:46 | #2416 | TV-G Documents the building of the new Clark Bridge across the Mississippi River at Alton, IL, just north of St. Louis. The structure has won design awards and brings hope of prosperity to a community beset by economic decline. Holocaust on Trial 56:46 | #2711 | TV-PG A reenactment of the courtroom drama that resulted when Hitler biographer David Irving sued American historian Deborah Lipstadt in British court for branding Irving a Holocaust denier. Lincoln's Secret Weapon 56:46 | #2710 | TV-G At a critical moment of the American Civil War in 1861, the Navy commissioned the USS Monitor to test a daring idea: that a mechanical fighting machine could inflict a crushing defeat on Confederate forces. Escape! Because Accidents Happen—Car Crash 00:00 | #2605 | TV-PG Survival engineering has saved lives and minimized injuries through the development of automobile safety devices. Escape! Because Accidents Happen—Fire 00:00 | #2604 | TV-PG Looks at advances in techniques and equipment that have saved the lives of fire victims and firefighters. Shark Attack! 00:00 | #2316 | TV-PG Travels to shark-infested waters off California and the Hawaiian Islands for footage of the most dangerous hunter of the deep attacking its natural prey. The Beast of Loch Ness 00:00 | #2601 | TV-G Researchers on a three-week expedition use state-of-the-art sonar and sensitive underwater cameras in an attempt to track down and identify "Nessie," the elusive beast said to dwell in Scotland's small but deep Loch Ness. Frozen in Heaven 56:46 | #2516 | TV-PG The well-preserved mummy of an Inca girl was discovered in the Peruvian Andes in 1995—500 years after she was killed to appease the gods. Return of the Iceman 00:00 | #2518 | TV-PG Reviews startling new conclusions about the "Iceman," a 5,300-year-old corpse discovered in the Alps near the border of Austria and Italy in 1991. Siberian Ice Maiden 00:00 | #2517 | TV-PG In her mid-20s when she died around 450 B.C., the Ice Maiden was then dressed in the regal garb of a nomadic princess, her skin covered in fantastic tattoos, and her coffin surrounded by six decorated horses. When her frozen corpse was discovered in 1993, she was in near-perfect condition. Siamese Twins 00:00 | #2205 | TV-PG Covers the intricate planning and protracted operations as surgeons separate two girls born joined at the pelvis into two distinct individuals. Little Creatures Who Run the World 00:00 | #2203 | TV-G Ants outnumber humans a million to one, and their total weight equals that of the entire human race. Harvard's Edward Wilson shows the hidden world of ants—a world of violent predation, tactical warfare, and intimate partnerships. The Vikings (Part 1) 00:00 | #2708 | TV-G Setting out in faithful replicas of the magnificent Viking ships, researcher/adventurers try to determine how the Vikings were able to navigate so far beyond the sight of land in the stormy North Atlantic. Venus Unveiled 00:00 | #2210 | TV-G The true face of our planetary neighbor is recorded by the spacecraft Magellan revealing Venus to be one of the most bizarre places in the solar system. Stationed in the Stars 00:00 | #2707 | TV-G Explores the bold dream and nightmarish real-life job of building the gigantic, live-in laboratory that is the joint American and Russian International Space Station. Secret of the Wild Child 00:00 | #2112 Genie, a modern "wild" child, was imprisoned in her home from infancy. When found as a teen, she had not learned to walk or talk. Plague Fighters 00:00 | #2304 | TV-PG During an Ebola outbreak in Zaire, doctors, Red Cross workers, and scientists battle to contain the most deadly virus known. Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude 56:46 | #2511 | TV-G The story of 18th-century English clock maker John Harrison's invention of the chronometer that bears his name and its impact on navigation then and now. Based on Dava Sobel's book Longitude. Crocodiles! with David Attenborough 00:00 | #2509 | TV-PG These dangerous predators have survived virtually unchanged since the days of the dinosaur and are found throughout the world. From tiny babies hatching from a shell, they grow into great beasts capable of standing up to a lion or bringing down a zebra. Lost Tribes of Israel 00:00 | #2706 | TV-G Since their defeat and banishment by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., the Lost Tribes' fate has inspired countless claims. New advances in genetics are raising a curtain on this dispersal. Mystery of the First Americans 56:46 | #2705 | TV-G The discovery of the Kennewick Man, along with several other startling finds in recent years, has thrown once widely accepted ideas about the peopling of the Americas into question and revolutionized the science of paleoanthropology. Trillion-Dollar Bet 55:42 | #2704 The riches-to-rags story of two brilliant men who sought to bring reason and science into the world of investments—and how their efforts collapsed in an irrational panic that swept the world's markets. The Diamond Deception 00:00 | #2703 | TV-G Science is close to manufacturing gem-quality diamonds in a few days instead of the billions of years required by nature. Submarines, Secrets, and Spies 56:46 | #2602 | TV-G Celebrated oceanographer and explorer Robert Ballard searches for clues to two tragedies of the Cold War—the wrecks of the nuclear submarines Thresher and Scorpion. Lost on Everest 00:00 | #2702 | TV-PG Shortly after midday on June 8, 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were spotted within 1,000 feet of the top of Mount Everest. Clouds rolled in, and they were never seen again. Whether they made it to the summit is an enduring mystery. Battle Alert in the Gulf 00:00 | #2608 | TV-G Shadows the crew of a U.S. battleship on alert in the Persian Gulf. Tales from the Hive 00:00 | #2701 | TV-G Inside-the-hive and in-flight cinematography chronicles a year in the life of a bee colony and flies with workers as they gather nectar. Avalanche! 56:46 | #2418 | TV-G Harrowing stories from people who have survived avalanches provide the real-world backdrop for an overview of scientific research on snow and how to prevent it from becoming deadly. Electric Heart 00:00 | #2617 | TV-PG The dramatic story of brilliant surgeons and researchers who have pursued the target of a practical artificial heart for more than three decades, including their intense rivalries and frequent battles against the skepticism of the medical establishment. Cracking the Ice Age 00:00 | #2320 | TV-G An intriguing new theory holds that the crash of continents that produced Mount Everest and the Himalayas also started a complicated chain reaction that altered world climate. Mammoths of the Ice Age 00:00 | #2201 The last woolly mammoth was thought to have perished 10,000 years ago. But recent evidence suggests that the species lived well beyond the Ice Age and came close to avoiding extinction altogether. Voyage of Doom 00:00 | #2616 | TV-G The discovery and excavation of the Belle, the last surviving ship on the last, ill-fated voyage of the great explorer Robert LaSalle. Faster Than Sound 00:00 | #2412 | TV-G On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager flew an aircraft through the sound barrier—and lived to tell the tale. That accomplishment was built partly on lessons learned from previous attempts to fly faster than sound that came to less happy ends. Decoding Nazi Secrets 00:00 | #2615 | TV-PG The Allies' cracking of the German "Enigma" code is credited with shortening World War II by two to three years. This first-ever full accounting of the greatest codebreaking coup of all time explains how the "unbreakable" Nazi code was finally broken. Island of the Spirits 00:00 | #2614 | TV-G Explores a year in the life of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido and the Ainu hunter-gatherers whose physical features, language, and traditions are totally unlike those of the Japanese majority. Top Gun Over Moscow 00:00 | #2315 | TV-PG Former adversaries from the Cold War meet as Russian jet pilots host their American counterparts to show off planes from the former Soviet Union. The Killer's Trail 00:00 | #2613 | TV-PG Forensic evidence gathered in 1954 for the trial of Marilyn Sheppard's husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, is being re-examined with today's advanced technology. The clues come together, overturn previous assumptions, and point to an entirely new suspect. Time Travel 00:00 | #2612 | TV-G Many leading physicists now believe that time travel is possible and are discussing how to build a time machine. The truth about time travel is wrapped up in details of how the universe works and how it all began. Fall of the Leaning Tower 00:00 | #2611 | TV-G Even before it was finished 800 years ago, the Leaning Tower of Pisa began to topple. Today, it hangs just 16 feet over the base, as work continues for a solution to correct the tilt and save the building. Chasing El Niño 00:00 | #2512 | TV-G Second only to seasons in its effects on global weather, the El Niño phenomenon has scientists working to understand the extent to which all the world's weather is connected and how delicate the balance is. Einstein Revealed 00:00 | #2311 | TV-G Andrew Sachs depicts Albert Einstein being interviewed in his Berlin study on the eve of the Nazi takeover in 1932. Night Creatures of the Kalahari 00:00 | #2501 | TV-G By day, the plains of the Kalahari belong to predators and grazing animals. But at night, scores of seldom-seen nocturnal creatures—bush babies, brown hyenas, aardvarks, and termites—search for food. Kingdom of the Sea Horse 00:00 | #2410 | TV-G Explores the secret realm of the magical-looking fish that puts the responsibility of pregnancy and birth on the male. Curse of T. Rex 00:00 | #2408 | TV-G Public and private interests battle for the finest Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found. The Brain Eater 00:00 | #2505 | TV-PG Medical researchers studying the strange, highly infectious, and incurable "mad-cow disease" try to determine whether society is on the brink of another epidemic such as AIDS or Ebola. Cut to the Heart 00:00 | #2409 | TV-PG In Brazil, a radical but controversial new heart surgery technique is bringing new hope to patients. Dinosaurs of the Gobi 00:00 | #2102 | TV-G In the 1920s, paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews led fossil-hunting expeditions in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. A team from the American Museum of Natural History retraces his adventures and gathers new evidence about the dinosaurs. Treasures of the Sunken City 56:21 | #2417 | TV-G Underwater photography and new techniques in computer graphics reveal the wonders of the ancient capital of Egypt, now sunk beneath the Mediterranean. Special Effects 'Titanic' and Beyond 00:00 | #2514 | TV-G Goes behind the scenes of Titanic and other blockbuster Hollywood movies to explore how the art of illusion meets the science of perception. To the Moon 00:00 | #2610 | TV-PG The inside story of one of the most difficult engineering feats of all time: the flight of Apollo 11 in July 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. What started as a Cold War race to beat the Russians turned into a full-fledged scientific enterprise that is still yielding discoveries nearly three decades after the first mission. Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius 00:00 | #2515 | TV-PG Looks at new scientific measurements of the infamous Italian volcano and the possible threat posed by a new eruption to the more than two million people who live in its shadow. Terror in Space 00:00 | #2513 | TV-G Surveys the harrowing and life-threatening problems faced by Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts aboard the aging Mir space station. Hunt for Alien Worlds 00:00 | #2407 | TV-G Looks at the search for planets around other stars—perhaps the best hope for showing that we may not be alone in the universe. Roller Coaster! 00:00 | #2016 | TV-G Explores the science of roller coasters, where physics and psychology meet. In the future, new rides may take place entirely in the mind, thanks to virtual reality technologies. Leopards of the Night 00:00 | #2519 | TV-PG Observing these night stalkers around the clock reveals leopard society to be more complex and the big cats less solitary than once believed. Sir David Attenborough hosts. The Photographer's Secret 00:00 | #2319 | TV-G Using ground-breaking microphotography equipment and techniques he himself invented, Lennart Nilsson films a human egg cell during conception, a journey through the aorta, and the vocal cords of a diva in mid-song. The Unknown World 00:00 | #2318 | TV-G Inside-the-body microphotography by Lennart Nilsson examines how the immune system fights bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic intruders. Danger in the Jet Stream! Covers the efforts of American Steve Fossett to be first to float around the world in a balloon and two near-disastrous rival attempts. The Ultimate Journey Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson shows how simple organisms give rise to complex life forms. Using stunning microphotography, Nilsson explores evolutionary history as reflected in life before birth in different species. Creatures of Light Discover how and why so many of the ocean's creatures light up - revealing a hidden undersea world where creatures flash, sparkle, shimmer, or simply glow. Secret Tunnel Warfare Archaeologists reveal the scale and the risks of Allied tunneling operations during World War I. Show the current schedule for Nova.
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