Building Stuff: Change It!
Humans have been altering Earth’s environment for thousands of years. And now, from electric planes to artificial noses, engineers are inventing new ways to preserve our planet.
Episodes
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A.I. Revolution
S51 E5 - 53m 30s
A.I. tools like ChatGPT seem to think, speak, and create like humans. But what are they really doing? From cancer cures to Terminator-style takeovers, leading experts explore what A.I. can – and can’t – do today, and what lies ahead.
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Hunt for the Oldest DNA
S51 E4 - 53m 10s
For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. Follow the dramatic quest to recover DNA millions of years old and reveal a lost world from before the last Ice Age.
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Building the Eiffel Tower
S51 E3 - 53m 29s
Explore the revolutionary engineering behind Paris’s iconic landmark. Completed in 1889, the iron tower smashed the record for the tallest structure on Earth, ushering in a new age of global construction that reached for the skies.
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Easter Island Origins
S51 E2 - 53m 17s
The giant stone heads of Easter Island have inspired theories for centuries. Now, new research reveals intriguing evidence of the origins and inspirations of the ancient Rapanui people who created the iconic monoliths.
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When Whales Could Walk
S51 E1 - 53m 31s
A spectacular fossil graveyard reveals a 43-million-year-old whale that had four legs and could walk. Follow scientists as they search for new clues to how mammals moved from land into the sea to become the largest animals on Earth.
Extras + Features
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Are winters getting less snowy?
S51 - 4m 49s
Winters are getting warmer and they’re also getting shorter. So we’re getting less snow ... right?
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New map of the universe hints that dark energy may be evolving
S51 - 3m
An international group of astronomers have announced a hint that could fundamentally change what we think we know about the universe—and how we think it might come to an end.
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Decoding the Universe: Cosmos Preview
S51 E8 - 30s
How big is the universe? Will it ever end? Why is so much of it made of mysterious dark matter and energy? See how mind-bending discoveries over the past 50 years have revolutionized our understanding of the universe.
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How America watched the solar eclipse
S51 - 2m 13s
Cities across the US dipped into darkness during a total solar eclipse. Here’s what it looked like as seen by Americans all over the country.
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Great American Eclipse Preview
S51 E6 - 30s
Explore the spectacular cosmic phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. In April 2024, the Moon’s shadow is sweeping from Texas to Maine, as the U.S. witnesses its last total eclipse until 2044, and scientists scramble to unlock the secrets of our Sun.
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The Sun is way more chaotic than you think
S51 E6 - 3m 59s
A solar eclipse provides precious moments of darkness where scientists can explore a region of the Sun normally invisible, its outer atmosphere, the solar corona.
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How to watch the eclipse without burning your eyes
S51 - 1m 59s
Looking at the sun without eclipse glasses, even when 99% of the Sun is covered by the Moon, can cause retinal damage in your eye. Here’s the science behind why, and how you can protect your eyes.
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A.I. Revolution Preview
S51 E5 - 26s
A.I. tools like ChatGPT seem to think, speak, and create like humans. But what are they really doing? From cancer cures to Terminator-style takeovers, leading experts explore what A.I. can – and can’t – do today, and what lies ahead.
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How Large Language Models Like ChatGPT Work
S51 E5 - 1m 44s
By recognizing patterns in billions of words, these models can make guesses at the next word in a sentence but to do that well, the AI also has to understand the sentence.
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How Deepfakes Manipulate Reality
S51 E5 - 4m 22s
Correspondent Miles O’Brien investigates the world of A.I.-enabled deep fake imagery.
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How A.I. is fighting wildfires
S51 E5 - 1m 34s
In California an AI tool uses more than a thousand mountaintop surveillance cameras to look for early signs of wildfires.
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The Birth of Artificial Intelligence
S51 E5 - 3m 24s
Artificial intelligence might seem like something new but human beings have wondered for a very long time: can machines think like humans?
Schedule
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Image
NOVA
The Planets: Jupiter
Wednesday
Dec 4
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Jupiter's gravitational force made it a wrecking ball as it barreled through the early solar system, but it also helped shape life on Earth as it brought comets laden with water and possibly the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs. -
Image
NOVA
The Planets: Jupiter
Wednesday
Dec 4
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Jupiter's gravitational force made it a wrecking ball as it barreled through the early solar system, but it also helped shape life on Earth as it brought comets laden with water and possibly the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs. -
Image
NOVA
The Planets: Jupiter
Wednesday
Dec 4
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Jupiter's gravitational force made it a wrecking ball as it barreled through the early solar system, but it also helped shape life on Earth as it brought comets laden with water and possibly the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs. -
Image
NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Wednesday
Dec 11
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
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NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Thursday
Dec 12
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Thursday
Dec 12
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Sunday
Dec 15
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Sunday
Dec 15
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Tuesday
Dec 17
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Wednesday
Dec 18
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Rebuilding Notre Dame
Wednesday
Dec 18
1 Hour
A team of engineers, masons and timber workers restore France's Notre Dame Cathedral following the April 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Lost Tombs of Notre Dame
Wednesday
Dec 18
1 Hour
Scientists and historians study remains found in caskets under Notre-Dame de Paris' stone floor following the 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Lost Tombs of Notre Dame
Wednesday
Dec 18
1 Hour
Scientists and historians study remains found in caskets under Notre-Dame de Paris' stone floor following the 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Lost Tombs of Notre Dame
Thursday
Dec 19
1 Hour
Scientists and historians study remains found in caskets under Notre-Dame de Paris' stone floor following the 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Lost Tombs of Notre Dame
Thursday
Dec 19
1 Hour
Scientists and historians study remains found in caskets under Notre-Dame de Paris' stone floor following the 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Lost Tombs of Notre Dame
Thursday
Dec 19
1 Hour
Scientists and historians study remains found in caskets under Notre-Dame de Paris' stone floor following the 2019 fire. -
Image
NOVA
Lost Tombs of Notre Dame
Thursday
Dec 19
1 Hour
Scientists and historians study remains found in caskets under Notre-Dame de Paris' stone floor following the 2019 fire.
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