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Nova Season 51 Episodes
Season 51 Episode Guide
21 Episodes 2024 - 2024
Episode 1
When Whales Could Walk
Wed, Jan 31, 202453 mins
Giant fossils uncovered in the Sahara Desert reveal new secrets of how whales evolved.
Episode 2
Easter Island Origins
Wed, Feb 7, 202453 mins
Easter Island. The small island in the South Pacific is world-famous for one thing: its mysterious stone statues. For many years, it was believed that their construction led to a collapse of society. But new research contradicts old theories and offers new explanations for the purpose of the statues. Who created them and why? How were they moved? And what became of those who erected them?
Episode 3
Building the Eiffel Tower
Wed, Feb 14, 202453 mins
Explore the revolutionary engineering behind Paris's iconic landmark. Completed in just over two years for the 1889 World's Fair, the iron tower smashed the record for the tallest structure on Earth. How did the engineers do it?
Episode 4
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Wed, Feb 21, 202453 mins
For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. Researchers struggled to find DNA in fossils that could survive millions of years. Then, one scientist had the idea to look for DNA not in fossils - but in dirt.
Episode 5
A.I. Revolution
Wed, Mar 27, 2024
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.
Episode 6
Great American Eclipse
Wed, Apr 3, 202454 mins
Explore the 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.
Episode 7
Secrets in Your Data
Wed, May 15, 2024
Whether you're on social media or surfing the web, you're probably sharing more personal data than you realize. That can pose a risk to your privacy - even your safety. But at the same time, big datasets could lead to huge advances in fields like medicine. Host Alok Patel leads a quest to understand what happens to all the data we're shedding and explores the latest efforts to maximize benefits - without compromising personal privacy.
Episode 8
Decoding the Universe: Cosmos
Wed, May 22, 202454 mins
Explore big discoveries that have revolutionized our understanding of the universe.
Episode 9
Sea Change: Bounty in the Gulf of Maine
Wed, Jul 24, 2024
Discover the Gulf of Maine and how its bounty was forever changed by a global appetite for fish. Now with the Gulf warming faster than 97 percent of the world's oceans, witness how wildlife and people are adapting to rapid change.
Episode 10
Sea Change: Peril in the Gulf of Maine
Wed, Jul 31, 2024
Dive into Cashes Ledge with scientists as they race to discover if this remote and relatively pristine part of the Gulf of Maine is vulnerable to rapid warming. Can Cashes still offer hope for the Gulf's more than 3,000 species?
Episode 11
Sea Change: Survival in the Gulf of Maine
Wed, Aug 7, 2024
At a crossroads for the future of the Gulf of Maine and our oceans, Indigenous peoples and scholars practice climate resilience and adaptation, scientists track developments, and entrepreneurs find new ways to make a living from the sea.
Episode 12
Solar System: Storm Worlds
Wed, Oct 2, 2024
Across the solar system, wild storms are raging. From globe-spanning dust storms, to monsoons of liquid methane, to monstrous storms with lightning bolts ten times more energetic than anything on Earth.
Episode 13
Solar System: Strange Worlds
Wed, Oct 9, 2024
From a dwarf planet that looks like a deflated football, to a tiny moon with cliffs taller than Mt. Everest, to the rings of Saturn, discover how the effects of gravity produce the amazing variety of weird worlds in our solar system.
Episode 14
Solar System: Volcano Worlds
Wed, Oct 16, 2024
Discover the powerful volcanic eruptions that have shaped worlds across our solar system. The explosive forces that molded each of these worlds - and what makes the volcanoes right here on Earth so special.
Episode 15
Solar System: Icy Worlds
Wed, Oct 23, 2024
Visit some of the strange, frozen worlds of our solar system to discover why the ice here on Earth so special - and why we wouldn't be here without it.
Episode 16
Solar System: Wandering Worlds
Wed, Oct 30, 2024
From the meteorites that impact Earth, to a moon that orbits backwards, to an imposter lurking in the asteroid belt, these wandering worlds are rewriting what we know - and even how we think about - our solar system.
Episode 17
Decoding the Universe: Quantum
Wed, Nov 6, 202454 mins
When we look at the world at the tiniest scales in the subatomic realm, things get weird - very weird. Welcome to the quantum universe, where particles can spin in two directions at once and observing something changes it.
Episode 18
Building Stuff: Boost It!
Wed, Nov 13, 202454 mins
Around the world, engineers are finding ingenious ways to amplify our abilities and senses - allowing us to access and shape the world way beyond our natural gifts.
Episode 19
Building Stuff: Reach It!
Wed, Nov 20, 202454 mins
From deep sea subs to wind-resistant skyscrapers to next-gen space habitats, see how today's engineers are designing and building creative new ways for us to get all around - and even off - our planet.
Episode 20
Building Stuff: Change It!
Wed, Nov 27, 202454 mins
From electrifying aviation, to building robots to protect threatened coral reefs, a new generation of engineers is finding creative solutions to some of our most critical environmental challenges.
Episode 21
Lost Tombs of Notre Dame
Wed, Dec 18, 202454 mins
After the devastating 2019 fire at Notre Dame, two mysterious sarcophaguses were discovered under the cathedral's stone floor. Who is buried in them, and what secrets will these coffins reveal?