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Nova Season 45 Episodes
Season 45 Episode Guide
23 Episodes 2018 - 2018
Episode 1
Black Hole Apocalypse
Wed, Jan 10, 2018111 mins
Astrophysicist Janna Levin explores black hole science.
Episode 2
The Impossible Flight
Wed, Jan 31, 2018112 mins
Two pilots fly a solar-powered airplane around the world.
Episode 3
First Face of America
Wed, Feb 7, 201853 mins
One unlucky day 13,000 years ago, a slight, malnourished teenager missed her footing and tumbled to the bottom of a 100-foot pit deep inside a cave in Mexico's Yucatán. Rising seas flooded the cave and cut it off from the outside world-until a team of divers chanced upon her nearly complete skeleton in 2007. Intricate detective work reveals that the young woman's bones are among the earliest known human remains in the Americas. What drove her to venture nearly a mile underground inside a vast cave? Where did her people come from, and why does she look so distinct from today's Native Americans? From a stunning Mexico cave to the wilderness of the Yukon, from the genetics lab to the forefront of forensics, NOVA pursues tantalizing new clues that are rewriting the story of the forgotten first people who ventured into our continent.
Episode 4
Great Escape at Dunkirk
Wed, Feb 14, 201852 mins
Archaeologists and divers recover remains of ships and planes that were lost in Dunkirk, France during World War II.
Episode 5
Prediction by the Numbers
Wed, Feb 28, 201852 mins
A look at why some predictions fail while others succeed at forecasting the future.
Episode 6
Decoding the Weather Machine
Wed, Apr 18, 2018113 mins
Scientists around the world strive for a better understanding of the workings of the weather and climate machine known as Earth.
Episode 7
Rise of the Superstorms
Wed, Jun 27, 201853 mins
In summer 2017, three monster hurricanes swept in from the Atlantic one after another, shattering storm records and killing hundreds of people. Dive into the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. How can scientists better predict these storms, and what does the 2017 season tell us about the likelihood of similar storms in the future?
Episode 8
Transplanting Hope
Wed, Sep 26, 2018
A look at transplanting organs; organ donation/availability and the scientific solutions being developed.
Episode 9
Operation Bridge Rescue
Wed, Oct 3, 201852 mins
Follow the race to rebuild the Old Blenheim Bridge in New York State, an icon of 19th century American engineering, destroyed by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Watch a team of elite craftsmen faithfully reproduce the massive, intricate wooden structure under grueling time pressure as flooding threatens their worksite. In China, witness craftsmen restoring thousand-year-old covered bridges based on ingenious frameworks of woven timber beams. Discover how Chinese artisans are keeping traditional skills alive to ensure the survival of these stunning ancient structures.
Episode 10
Volcano on Fire
Wed, Oct 10, 2018
Climb with volcano experts to the summit of Nyiragongo, a highly active volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Twice in recent memory it has erupted, devastating Goma, a neighboring city of 1 million people. To investigate when it might erupt next, scientists climb into its crater toward a bubbling lava lake to deploy sensors and monitor the volcano's activity.
Episode 11
Volcano on the Brink
Wed, Oct 10, 2018
Explore Nyamuragira, one of the world's most active and mysterious volcanoes in Africa. Decades of civil strife have prevented scientists from investigating the volcano, but a brief pause allows an international team of experts to fly by helicopter to the summit to investigate.
Episode 12
Addiction
Wed, Oct 17, 201852 mins
Discover how opioid addiction affects the brain and how evidence-based treatments are saving lives.
Episode 13
Flying Supersonic
Wed, Oct 24, 201852 mins
Archival and 3-D imagery of the supersonic aircraft and its structure reveal how the dream of building the airliner became reality.
Episode 14
The Last B-24
Wed, Nov 7, 201852 mins
Underwater archaeologists and technical divers excavate the wreckage of the B-24 Liberator bomber Tulsamerican in hopes of finding out what happened to the three airmen who went missing when the plane crashed off the coast of Croatia in 1944.
Episode 15
Thai Cave Rescue
Wed, Nov 14, 2018
Rescue workers race against the clock to save twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave system in Thailand.
Episode 16
World's Fastest Animal
Wed, Nov 21, 201852 mins
The peregrine falcon reaches high speeds to become the world's fastest animal; bird trainer Lloyd Buck attempts to get his peregrine, Moses, to go faster.
Episode 17
Apollo's Daring Mission
Wed, Dec 26, 2018
Astronauts and engineers of Apollo 8 explain the inside story of the first mission to circumnavigate the moon.
Episode 101
What Are Animals Saying?
Wed, Apr 25, 2018
The series premiere examines animal communication. Some animals demonstrate they can learn human language-like Chaser the dog, who recognizes hundreds of words, and Kanzi the gorilla, who understands some English spoken in context. Included: researchers who are deciphering how animals share information critical to their survival-from a cacophony of ultrasonic bat squeaks to spider thumps and mice mating songs.
Episode 102
NOVA Wonders: What's Living in You?
Wed, May 2, 2018
Microbes play a central role in your life. Right beneath your nose-on your face, in your gut, and everywhere in between-trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi are so abundant in your body, they outnumber your human cells.
Episode 103
NOVA Wonders: Are We Alone?
Wed, May 9, 2018
The search for extraterrestrial life is an age-old quest. But recent breakthroughs make today an era unlike any in the history of astronomy. The prospects for finding life beyond Earth have never been stronger.
Episode 104
NOVA Wonders: Can We Build a Brain?
Wed, May 16, 2018
Artificially intelligent machines are taking over. They're influencing our everyday lives in profound and often invisible ways. They can read handwriting, interpret emotions, play games, and even act as personal assistants.
Episode 105
NOVA Wonders: Can We Make Life?
Wed, May 23, 2018
A revolution in genetic engineering and thrilling innovations in synthetic biology are bringing that dream-or nightmare, as the case may be-closer to reality. New tools allow researchers to use cells to create their own DNA.
Episode 106
NOVA Wonders: What's The Universe Made Of?
Wed, May 30, 2018
The universe is hiding something. In fact, it is hiding a lot. Everything we experience on Earth, the stars and galaxies we see in the cosmos-all the "normal" matter and energy that we understand-make up only 5% of the known universe.
