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Watch David Pogue's hilarious out-takes from NOVA's "Hunting the Elements."

Elemental Bloopers

Sharks are known to be sensitive to the electrical fields of magnets, but surprisingly, this non-magnetic rare earth metal repels them.

This Rare Earth Metal Repels Sharks

Where do nature's building blocks, called the elements, come from? They're the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones. To unlock their secrets, David Pogue, technology columnist and lively host of NOVA's popular "Making Stuff" series, spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry.

A two-hour special from the producers of "Making Stuff"

Hunting the Elements

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US, US Territories, Canada, Mexico

Where do nature's building blocks, called the elements, come from? They're the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones. To unlock their secrets, David Pogue, technology columnist and lively host of NOVA's popular "Making Stuff" series, spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry

Hunting the Elements Preview

Marine biologist Patrick Rice is using rare earth elements to repel sharks.

Kryptonite for Sharks

the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

The Department of Energy

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Where do nature's building blocks, called the elements, come from? They're the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones. To unlock their secrets, David Pogue, technology columnist and lively host of NOVA's popular "Making Stuff" series, spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry: the strongest acids, the deadliest poisons, the universe's most abundant elements, and the rarest of the rare—substances cooked up in atom smashers that flicker into existence for only fractions of a second.

Gatorade Sports Science Institute

CTO, Corning Glass

Research Physicist, LLNL

CTO, Molycorp

Physicist, Ames Laboratory

Ordnance Technician

Nuclear Engineer, ANS Trinity

Director, Mendeleev Museum

Lab Supervisor, Barrick Gold

Head, Physical Conditioning, IMG

Chemist and Author

Commodities Trader

Senior Research Chemist

Managing Director, CME Group

MPC, Ames Laboratory

Bell Maker, Verdin

Refinery Supervisor, Barrick Gold

Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Laboratory

Director, NIF

Cornell University

New York Times Tech Columnist

Marine Biologist

Paleoclimatologist

Miner, Barrick Gold

Brandeis University

Dir., Nat'l Mus. of Nuclear Science

Microbial Biologist

A two-hour special from the producers of "Making Stuff"

Physics & Math

Colossal explosions shake a remote corner of the Siberian tundra, leaving behind massive craters. In Alaska, a huge lake erupts with bubbles of inflammable gas. Scientists are discovering that these mystifying phenomena add up to a ticking time bomb, as long-frozen permafrost melts and releases vast amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. What are the implications of these dramatic developments in the Arctic? Scientists and local communities alike are struggling to grasp the scale of the methane threat and what it means for our climate future. (Premiered February 2, 2022)

In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate.

Arctic Sinkholes

The top half of Jupiter in blue and green against a night sky

A composite image of Jupiter using images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.

Explore the cosmos, delve into ancient history, and follow an extreme rescue with NOVA’s most-watched documentaries released in 2022.

NOVA’s most popular science documentaries of 2022

Four bright orange loops brand off of a dark blue blob

A transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (orange) replicating from the plasma membrane of an infected H9 T cell. Credit: NIAID, Flickr

Scientists have cured a handful of people of HIV by piggybacking on treatments they received for blood cancer. But does that bring a widespread cure any closer?

Hunting the Elements

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Making Stuff: Stronger

Island of Stability

Hunting the Elements

Elemental Bloopers

Magnetic Fish Hooks Save Sharks

Elements in the Ocean

Making Chemicals Naturally

Sharks Are Showing Up Earlier—and Staying Longer

Metal Fundamentals

Why Sharks Attack

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Transcript

Credits

Participants

Support Provided By

Explore More

Making Stuff: Stronger

Island of Stability

Hunting the Elements

Elemental Bloopers

Magnetic Fish Hooks Save Sharks

Elements in the Ocean

Making Chemicals Naturally

Sharks Are Showing Up Earlier—and Staying Longer

Metal Fundamentals

Why Sharks Attack