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Nova Season 41 Episodes
Season 41 Episode Guide
23 Episodes 2013 - 2014
Episode 1
Alien Planets Revealed
Wed, Jan 8, 201454 mins
From PBS - It's a golden age for planet hunters: recently, they've discovered more than 750 planets orbiting stars beyond our sun. Some of them, like a planet called Kepler-22b, might even be able to harbor life. What would that life look like? Combining startling animation with input from expert astrobiologists, Alien Planets Revealed takes viewers on a journey of the imagination as we "build" aliens from the ground up.
Episode 2
Zeppelin Terror Attack
Wed, Jan 15, 201453 mins
From PBS - In the early days of World War I, Germany, determined to bring its British enemies to their knees, launched a new kind of terror campaign: bombing civilians from the sky. But the aircraft delivering the lethal payloads weren't planes. They were Zeppelins, enormous airships, some the length of two football fields. With a team of engineers, explosives experts, and historians, NOVA investigates the secrets behind these deadly war machines. Zeppelin Terror Attack explores the technological arms race that unfolded as Britain desperately scrambled to develop defenses that could neutralize the threat, while Germany responded with ever bigger and more powerful Zeppelins. Why were these German monsters of the sky, filled with highly flammable hydrogen gas, so difficult to shoot down? How were their massive gas bags pieced together from the intestines of millions of cows? Experts reconstruct and detonate deadly WWI incendiary bombs and test fire antique flaming bullets, all to discover how the British came up with the unique artillery that would finally take down the biggest flying machines ever made.
Episode 3
Killer Typhoon
Wed, Jan 22, 201453 mins
From PBS - It was the strongest cyclone to hit land in recorded history. On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan -- what some are calling "the perfect storm" -- slammed into the Philippines, whipping the low-lying and densely-populated islands with 200 mile-per-hour winds and sending a two-story-high storm surge flooding into homes, schools, and hospitals. It wiped villages off the map and devastated cities, including the hard-hit provincial capital Tacloban. Estimates count more than 5,000 dead and millions homeless. What made Haiyan so destructive? In-depth interviews with the meteorologists charged with tracking and forecasting Pacific storms take us inside the anatomy of the typhoon, tracking its progress from its start as a low-pressure area over Micronesia to its deadly landfall and revealing why the Pacific is such fertile ground for cyclones. But that's just part of the story of why this storm was so deadly.
Episode 4
Ghosts of Murdered Kings
Wed, Jan 29, 201454 mins
From PBS - A corpse found in a bog in the hills of Ireland's County Tipperary dates to the Bronze Age, more than 3,000 years ago. A CAT scan reveals a violent demise: the body covered in axe marks, the spine snapped and the arm broken in two places. NOVA follows archaeologists and forensic experts in their hunt for clues to the identity and the circumstances of this and other violent deaths of victims unearthed in bogs. A new theory suggests that they were ritually murdered kings, slain to assure the fertility of land and people.
Episode 5
Roman Catacomb Mystery
Wed, Feb 5, 201453 mins
From PBS - Beneath the streets of Rome lies an ancient city of the dead known as the catacombs, a labyrinth of tunnels, hundreds of miles long, a cemetery for the citizens of ancient Rome. In 2002, maintenance workers stumbled through an opening in one of the tunnel walls and discovered a previously unknown complex of six small rooms, each stacked floor to ceiling with skeletons. It was a mass grave, locked away for nearly 2,000 years. Who were these people? Why were so many interred in one place, piled atop each other? And most important, what killed them? NOVA's forensic investigation opens up new insights into the daily life and health of Roman citizens during the heyday of the mighty Roman Empire
Episode 6
Great Cathedral Mystery
Wed, Feb 12, 201453 mins
From PBS - The dome that crowns Florence's great cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore -- the Duomo -- is a masterpiece of Renaissance ingenuity and an enduring source of mystery. Still the largest masonry dome on earth, it is taller than the Statue of Liberty and weighs as much as an average cruise ship. Historians and engineers have long debated how its architect, Filippo Brunelleschi, kept the dome perfectly aligned and symmetrical as the sides rose and converged toward the center. More than four million bricks could collapse at any moment -- and we still don't understand how Brunelleschi prevented it. To test the latest theories, a team of U.S. bricklayers will help build an experimental "mini-Duomo" using period tools and techniques.
Episode 7
Wild Predator Invasion
Wed, Apr 2, 2014
The effort to return apex predators-such as coyotes, bears and panthers-to the wild in order to restore the natural balance to off-kilter ecosystems is detailed.
Episode 8
Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius
Wed, Apr 9, 201453 mins
From PBS - Today, researchers are discovering that some creatures have mastered skills purportedly restricted to humans. Many are bird brains. Meet a cockatoo with a talent for picking locks; a wild crow on a mission to solve an eight-step puzzle; and a tame raven who can solve a puzzle box so quickly that his performance has to be captured with high-speed photography. Are these skills really evidence of high intelligence or just parlor tricks, the result of training and instinct? To find out, NOVA tests the limits of some of the planet's brainiest animals, searching for the secrets of a problem-solving mind.
Episode 9
Inside Animal Minds: Dogs & Super Senses
Wed, Apr 16, 201453 mins
From PBS - What is it like to be a dog, a shark or a bird? This question is now getting serious attention from scientists who study animal senses. Humans rely on smell, sight, taste, touch and sound; other animals have super-powered versions of these senses, and a few have extra senses we don't have at all. From a dog that seems to use smell to tell time to a dolphin that can "see" with its ears, discover how animals use their senses in ways we humans can barely imagine. But it's not just the senses that are remarkable -- it's the brains that process them. NOVA goes into the minds of animals to "see" the world in an entirely new way.
Episode 10
Inside Animal Minds: Who's the Smartest?
Wed, Apr 23, 201453 mins
From PBS - What makes an animal smart? Many scientists believe the secret lies in relationships. Throughout the animal kingdom, some of the cleverest creatures -- including humans -- seem to be those who live in complex social groups, like dolphins, elephants and apes. Could the skills required to keep track of friend and foe make animals smarter? To find out, NOVA goes inside the social lives of some of the smartest animals on the planet.
Episode 11
Why Sharks Attack
Wed, May 7, 201454 mins
From PBS - In recent years, an unusual spate of deadly shark attacks has gripped Australia, resulting in five deaths in 10 months. At the same time, great white sharks have begun appearing in growing numbers off the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, not far from the waters where Steven Spielberg filmed Jaws. What's behind the mysterious arrival of this apex predator in an area where it's rarely been seen for hundreds of years? Are deadly encounters with tourists inevitable? To separate fact from fear, NOVA teams with leading shark experts in Australia and the United States to uncover the science behind the great white's hunting instincts. With shark populations plummeting, scientists race to unlock the secrets of these powerful creatures of the deep in their quest to save people -- and sharks.
Episode 12
Escape from Nazi Alcatraz
Wed, May 14, 201454 mins
From PBS - Colditz Castle, a notorious prisoner of war camp in Nazi Germany, was supposed to be escape-proof. But in the dark days at the end of World War II, a group of British officers dreamt up the ultimate escape plan: in a secret attic workshop, they constructed a two-man glider out of bed sheets and floorboards. Their plan was to fly to freedom from the roof of the castle, but the war ended before they could put it to the test. Now a crack team of aero engineers and carpenters rebuild the glider in the same attic using the same materials, and they'll do something the prisoners never got a chance to try: use a bathtub full of concrete to catapult the glider off the roof of the castle. As the hair-raising launch ninety feet up draws near, the program explores the Colditz legend and exposes the secrets of other ingenious and audacious escapes. Then, after a 70-year wait, the team finally finds out if the legendary glider plan would have succeeded.
Episode 13
D-Day's Sunken Secrets
Wed, May 28, 2014114 mins
From PBS - On June 6, 1944, the Allies launched the biggest armada in history to invade the Normandy beaches and liberate Europe from the Nazis. In less than 24 hours, more than 5,000 ships crossed the English Channel, along with thousands of tanks and landing craft and nearly 200,000 men. Hundreds of ships sank while running the gauntlet of mines and bunkers, creating one of the world's largest underwater archeological sites. Now, NOVA has exclusive access to a unique collaboration between military historians, archeologists, and specialist divers to carry out the first complete survey of the seabed bordering the legendary beachheads. Dive teams, submersibles, and underwater robots will discover and identify key examples of the Allied craft that fell victim to German shellfire, mines, and torpedoes. D-Day's Sunken Secrets unfolds a vivid blow-by-blow account of the tumultuous events of D-Day and reveals how the Allies' intricate planning and advanced technology was vital to assure the success of the most ambitious and risky military operation ever launched.
Episode 14
Vaccines - Calling the Shots
Wed, Sep 10, 201456 mins
From PBS and NOVA - Diseases that were largely eradicated in the United States a generation ago--including whooping cough, measles, mumps--are returning, in part because nervous parents are skipping their children's shots. Vaccines - Calling the Shots, a new NOVA special, takes viewers around the world to track epidemics, explore the science behind vaccinations, and shed light on the risks of opting out. The vast majority of Americans vaccinate their children, and most do it on the recommended schedule. Yet many people have questions about the safety of vaccines, and in some communities, vaccination rates have fallen below the level needed to maintain "herd immunity" --allowing outbreaks to take hold and spread. This film draws on the latest, best available evidence to help parents find the answers. Highlighting real cases and placing them in historical context, Vaccines--Calling the Shots traces outbreaks of communicable diseases and demonstrates just how fast they can spread--and how many people can fall sick--when a community's immunity barrier falls.
Episode 15
Rise of the Hackers
Wed, Sep 24, 201456 mins
From PBS and NOVA - Our lives are going digital. We shop, bank and even date online. Computers hold our treasured photographs, private emails, and all of our personal information. This data is precious -- and cybercriminals want it. Now, NOVA goes behind the scenes of the fast-paced world of cryptography to meet the scientists battling to keep our data safe. They are experts in extreme physics, math and a new field called "ultra-paranoid computing," all working to forge unbreakable codes and build ultra-fast computers. From the two men who uncovered the world's most advanced cyber weapon to the computer expert who worked out how to hack into cash machines and scientists who believe they can store a password in your unconscious brain, NOVA investigates how a new global geek squad is harnessing cutting-edge science -- all to stay one step ahead of the hackers.
Episode 16
Why Planes Vanish
Wed, Oct 8, 201454 mins
The disappearance of Flight MH370 stunned the world. In an era of smart-phones and GPS, how could a 270-ton passenger jet vanish into thin air? It was a rude awakening for all of us, showing just how far we are from the world we imagined we lived in--in which every move is monitored all the time. NOVA tells the inside story of the search for Flight MH370 and meets the key players from all corners of the globe who have spent months searching for the lost plane. How easy is it to make a plane disappear? Or can new technology guarantee that in the future, nothing will ever be 'lost' again?
Episode 17
Surviving Ebola
Wed, Oct 8, 201454 mins
In December, 2013, in a small village in West Africa, a young boy died from the dreaded disease, Ebola. Over the next nine months the virulent killer would claim more victims than all previous Ebola epidemics put together. And for the first time, the disease escaped the isolated, rural villages where it had first appeared, and traveled in infected patients by air to densely populated cities in several African countries. As the epidemic threatens to spiral out of control, NOVA reports from the hot zone, where courageous medical teams struggle to cope with a flood of victims, to labs where scientists are racing to test vaccines and find a cure. Surviving Ebola includes chilling first-hand interviews of what it's like to catch--and--survive this terrible affliction.
Episode 18
Ben Franklin's Balloons
Wed, Oct 22, 201454 mins
From PBS and NOVA - The epic first stage in the adventure of human flight didn't begin with the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk but with daring inventors and aeronauts in 18th century Paris. In a period of just 19 months, humanity not only left the ground for the first time, but a handful of brilliant and colorful 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, and created a sensation in the city. To explore this extraordinary burst of innovation, NOVA recreates key flights, including the world's first manned voyage on November 21, 1783. A descendant of the Montgolfier brothers, who invented the hot air balloon, will join a team to build a highly accurate replica of the fragile paper and canvas craft using 18th century tools and materials. NOVA reveals the secrets of how the Montgolfiers invented flight, and evokes the thrilling and daunting prospect that the balloon pioneers faced as they left Earth for the first time.
Episode 19
First Air War
Wed, Oct 29, 201454 mins
From PBS and NOVA - When World War I began in 1914, the air forces of the opposing nations consisted of handfuls of rickety biplanes from which pilots occasionally took pot shots at one another with rifles. By the war's end, the essential blueprint of the modern fighter aircraft had emerged: it was now an efficient killing machine that limited the average life expectancy of a front line pilot to just a few weeks. To trace the story of this astonishingly rapid technological revolution, NOVA takes viewers inside The Vintage Aviator, a team of New Zealand-based aviation buffs dedicated to bringing back classic World War One fighters such as the SE5A and Albatros DV. NOVA joins the team as they discover the secrets of some of aviation's most colorful and deadly early flying machines, and explores how their impact played a key role in the nightmare slaughter of the Western Front.
Episode 20
Bigger Than T. Rex
Wed, Nov 5, 201453 mins
First discovered in 1912 by German aristocrat Ernst Stromer, the dinosaur called Spinosaurus was believed to be a meat eater even larger than Tyrannosaurus rex. Unfortunately for Stromer and the science of palaeontology, the world's only Spinosaurus skeleton was destroyed in World War II leaving behind many secrets. Modern day palaeontologist Nizar Ibrahim receives word that an amateur Moroccan fossil hunter has unearthed a new Spinosaurus skeleton so he travels to Morocco, along with a team of scientists that includes Paul Sereno, in order to verify these claims and find more Spinosaurus bones. Upon finding the fossil hunter who found the additional Spinosaurs material, Inbrahim's team are taken to the site of the excavation where they find yet more Spinosaurus bones. Upon studying the newly discovered skeleton, the team realise that they are looking at one of the weirdest dinosaurs ever found. The newly reconstructed Spinosaurus turns out to be the first aquatic dinosaur to be discovered by science.
Episode 21
Emperor's Ghost Army
Wed, Nov 12, 201454 mins
Nova's examination or how thousands to terra cotta soldiers in Qin dynasty's terra cotta army were created digresses into reviews of Qin history and technology.
Episode 22
Killer Landslides
Wed, Nov 19, 201454 mins
Just before 11 a.m. on March 22, 2014, an ominous rumble startled the residents of the community of Oso, Washington. It was the terrifying sound of what would become the United States' deadliest landslide in decades. The equivalent of one million dump truck loads of earth came plummeting down the valley. In a little over two minutes, a pile of debris up to 75 feet deep slammed into the neighborhood of close to 50 homes. While a massive search and rescue effort continues at the site, geologists are tracing the geological history of Oso to explain why the site was so unstable. But all around the world, scientists have reason to fear that the worst is yet to come. Globally, landslides and other ground failures take a tremendous human and economic toll, and with climate change bringing a sharp rise in precipitation, the threat of bigger, more frequent landslides is growing. As NOVA surveys landslide danger zones, discover how and why landslides happen, and how radar monitoring technologies could help issue life-saving warnings.
Episode 23
First Man on the Moon
Wed, Dec 3, 201454 mins
In-depth portrait of Neil A. Armstrong, world-famous for being the first human to set foot on another celestial body. Highlights include his service in the military, as a test pilot and in the U.S. space program. Personal biographical highlights include discussions with family and friends.
