Inside PBS Blog

Hollywood has been glamorizing the work of spies and detectives for decades. This week, get a look at real-life intrigue and investigations, from the animal kingdom to outer space.

• We all know international spies need to cross borders to complete their missions -- but did you know, they sometimes cross into another atmosphere altogether? This week on NOVA, delve into the world of “Astrospies,” a group of secret military astronauts who worked during the space race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in the 1960s.  Go back to a time when tensions were high enough on Earth to reach into orbit at 8pm ET on July 28th (check local listings).

• Who says you need a big brain to solve a crime? Sometimes, just having the right touch -- or exoskeleton -- is enough to break the case. It’s called organism-assisted criminology, and it’s the focus of this week’s episode of Nature, “Crime Scene Creatures,” airing at 8pm ET on August 2 (check local listings). In the meantime, try your hand at analyzing forensic evidence with our interactive crime scene. 

• Time can be a detective’s biggest foe, but for the professionals on History Detectives, the passage of time provides the habitat for discovery. This week, the detectives investigate a possible piece of the plane flown by Amelia Earhart, whose plane mysteriously disappeared during a flight over the Pacific. Dust off your magnifying glass and settle in for an evening of investigation on July 27th at 9pm ET (check local listings).

What mystery would you most like to solve?

Related Posts:

NOVA: Dr. Oliver Sacks Answers Your Questions

Five Good Questions with History Detectives' Tukufu Zuberi