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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5 things to know about the Eiffel Tower
S51 E3 - 1m 40s
The Eiffel Tower is an engineering icon that changed the face of the modern world.
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Inside the Construction of the Statue of Liberty
S51 E3 - 2m 59s
The iron and steel interior of Lady Liberty works together to hold her over 300 feet above New York harbor more than 100 years after construction.
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Why is the Eiffel Tower Shaped Like That?
S51 E3 - 1m 58s
At the time of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure ever built. That meant that the engineers had a key challenge: making sure the structure could survive the wind.
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How Ancient Easter Island statues “walked”
S51 E2 - 2m 17s
A new generation of researchers is revealing the rich history, innovation, and resilience of the Rapanui people.
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What really led to the collapse of Easter Island?
S51 E2 - 2m 58s
There are multiple theories about what happened to the people of Rapa Nui - also known as Easter Island - and the famous Moai statues. Some say the civilization fell into collapse and ruin. But a new theory tells a different story, one of resilience and ingenuity against all odds.
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Easter Island Origins Preview
S51 E2 - 30s
How were Easter Island’s giant stone heads made? New research challenges the idea that their construction led to environmental and social collapse – and uncovers surprising clues about the origins, innovations, and resilience of the Rapanui people.
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Ancient whale fossils found in the desert
S51 E1 - 2m 10s
This part of the Sahara Desert is the resting place of some of the earliest whales ever found. These fossils may hold the key to how whales evolved.
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When Whales Could Walk Preview
S51 E1 - 30s
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.
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How Did Whales Evolve From Land Mammals?
S51 E1 - 3m 8s
The oceans are thought to be where life started but about 50-million years ago, something incredible happened: some mammals found their way back into the water.
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The whale that could walk
S51 E1 - 2m 48s
A small furry carnivore that lived both on land and sea is the ancestor of modern whales.
Schedule
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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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