Nova: Season 5

(Part 1 of 2) In a two-hour special, NOVA examines how a simple instrument, the telescope, has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe.

Rating: TV-G  Languages: English 

(Part 2 of 2) In a two-hour special, NOVA examines how a simple instrument, the telescope, has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe.

Rating: TV-G  Languages: English 

In the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, "Mind Over Money" explores why mainstream economists failed to predict the crash of 2008 and why we so often make irrational financial decisions.

Rating: TV-G  Languages: English 

Elevators move millions of passengers every day. In TRAPPED IN AN ELEVATOR, NOVA reveals the secret life of these ubiquitous machines. Once brawny but simple machines, elevators are getting a brainy makeover. Computer controls are getting passengers to their destinations faster and more safely than ever before. But will the elevator-wary be comfortable handing over the reins to computers?

Rating: TV-PG  Languages: English 

Carved from a hundred million pounds of stone, soaring effortlessly atop a spider web of masonry, Gothic cathedrals are marvels of human achievement and artistry. But how did medieval builders reach such spectacular heights? On this dazzling journey inside the jewels of Gothic architecture, NOVA reveals the hidden formulas, drawn from the pages of the Bible itself, that drove medieval builders ever upward.

Rating: TV-G  Languages: English 

Dogs Decoded reveals the science behind the remarkable bond between humans and their dogs. It also investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs—with big implications for the evolution of human culture as well.

Rating: TV-G  Languages: English 

Inspired by the biblical account of the splendor of his temples and palaces countless treasure-seekers have set off in search of King Solomon’s mines. Now join NOVA and National Geographic as they embark on two groundbreaking expeditions to expose new clues buried in the pockmarked desert of Jordan and seek to reveal the source of the great wealth that powered the first mighty Biblical kingdoms.

Rating: TV-G  Languages: English 

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, every living thing in the blast zone was buried beneath 300 feet of avalanche debris, covered with steaming mud, and finally, topped with a superheated layer of frothy rock from deep within the earth. It seemed as though Mount St. Helens might remain a wasteland forever. When biologist Charlie Crisafulli first flew over the disaster zone, finding no sign of life, little did he realize that his own life would be forever changed. Crisafulli has remained at the site for 27 years, documenting the dramatic return of plant and animal life to the barren landscape and pioneering a new understanding of the interaction between geologic forces and the life surrounding the mountain. NOVA brings viewers on an inspiring journey of a landscape brought back from the dead.

Rating: TV-PG  Languages: English 

Emergency Mine Rescue, An engineering triumph in Chile. Trapped under nearly a half-mile of solid rock in a collapsed mine in Chile’s remote Atacama desert, 33 miners fight for survival, battling 95 degree heat, minimal lighting, and—most dangerous of all—the risk of losing all hope of rescue. But thanks to the heroic work of a global team of engineers who struggled tirelessly around the clock in a desperate bid to bring them safely to the surface, the trapped miners’ 69-day ordeal has a happy ending. With special access to the site of the San José mine, interviews with the mining engineers and the miners’ steadfast families, and animations of the underground tunnels carved out by a century of mining, NOVA reveals the extraordinary stories of the three rescue teams, racing against time—and each other—to punch through the layers of rock and reach the miners’ chamber. A story of astonishing survival and unwavering hope, Emergency Mine Rescue gives viewers an unprecedented look at this triumph of technology and of the human spirit.

Rating: TV-PG  Languages: English 

Every year, a million visitors are drawn to the Salisbury Plain, in southern England, to gaze upon a mysterious circle of stones. Who built Stonehenge? What was its purpose? A new generation of researchers is tackling these questions, finding important clues in the landscape surrounding Stonehenge –one of the densest concentrations of prehistoric structures in the world. The story of Stonehenge is being rewritten.

Rating: TV-G  Languages: English 

Can Antarctica’s climate past offer clues to what may happen to our warming planet? To gather crucial evidence, NOVA follows an ambitious Antarctic investigation — a state-of-the-art drilling probe known as ANDRILL. As researchers grapple with the harshest conditions on the planet, they discover astonishing new clues — not only about Antarctica’s past, but also Earth’s future.

Rating: TV-PG  Languages: English