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When the U.S. trade embargo left Cuba isolated from medical resources, Cuban scientists were forced to get creative. Now they’ve developed lung cancer vaccines that show so much promise, some Americans are defying the embargo and traveling to Cuba for treatment. In an unprecedented move, Cuban researchers are working with U.S. partners to make the medicines more widely available. (Premiered April 1, 2020)

Can Cuba's innovative lung cancer vaccines give new hope to patients across the world?

Cuba's Cancer Hope

General - US & Territories

For animals in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, the normal balance of competition and predation was upended when a war wiped out the top predators. The remaining animals didn’t simply grow in numbers—they began behaving in unusual ways, veering outside their typical territories and feeding patterns. Could it be that it’s not just predators’ kills that keep other populations in check, but also the fear they inspire? NOVA joins a team of scientists as they reintroduce wild dogs to Gorongosa to find out if restoring the park’s “landscape of fear” can restore balance to an entire ecosystem. (Premiered October 14, 2020)

Can bringing predators—and fear—back into an ecosystem help restore its natural balance?

Nature's Fear Factor

Just as writing changed the course of human history, the evolution of paper and printing revolutionized the spread of information. While the invention of paper boosted Chinese and Islamic societies, the simple fact that the Latin alphabet could be printed using a small number of discrete, repetitive symbols helped popularize moveable type, handing Europe a crucial advantage at the beginning of the Renaissance. The printing press itself kicked off the scientific revolution that fast-tracked us to the current digital age. (Premiered September 30, 2020)

The creation of printing, the first information technology, drove empires and revolutions.

A to Z: How Writing Changed the World

Rising sea levels and sinking land threaten to destroy Venice. Leading scientists and engineers are racing against the clock and battling the forces of nature to try to save this historic city for future generations. Discover the innovative projects and feats of engineering currently underway, including a hi-tech flood barrier, eco-projects to conserve the lagoon, and new efforts to investigate erosion beneath the city. This is Venice as never seen before, at a critical moment in its rich history. (Premiering Wednesday, September 28 at 9 pm on PBS.)

Rising seas threaten the survival of Venice. Can innovative engineering projects save it?

Saving Venice

NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

Almost 40 years after the discovery of HIV, could we be on the verge of ending the AIDS epidemic in America? As of 2019, in the U.S., there were only 34,000 new cases of the disease—a feat that once seemed near-impossible to achieve. How did scientists and the public health community tackle one of the most elusive deadly viruses to ever infect humans? Can innovative drugs bring new infections to zero? This is the story of an incredible scientific achievement and the public health work that still needs to be done to end HIV in America. (Premiering October 5 at 9 pm on PBS.)

Science has made extraordinary progress against HIV. Can innovative drugs and therapies finally end it?

Ending HIV in America

In police departments and courts across the country, artificial intelligence is being used to help decide who is policed, who gets bail, how offenders should be sentenced, and who gets parole. But is it actually making our law enforcement and court systems fairer and more just? This timely investigation digs into the hidden biases, privacy risks, and design flaws of this controversial technology. (Premiering October 12 at 9 pm on PBS)

Is artificial intelligence making policing and courts fairer, or is it increasing bias?

Computers v. Crime

The Mexican magic mushroom is a psilocybe cubensis, whose main active elements are psilocybin and psilocin - Mexican Psilocybe Cubensis. An adult mushroom raining spores.

Hallucinogenic drugs—popularly called psychedelics—have been used by human societies for thousands of years. Today, scientists are taking a second look at many of these mind-altering substances–both natural and synthetic–and discovering that they can have profoundly positive clinical impacts, helping patients struggling with a range of afflictions from addiction to depression and PTSD. (Premiering October 19 at 9 pm on PBS)

Psychedelics are unlocking new ways to treat conditions like addiction and depression.

Can Psychedelics Cure?

Lionfish – long prized in home aquariums – have invaded the Atlantic, and are now one of the ocean’s most successful invasive species, wreaking havoc in waters across the globe. Join ocean explorer Danni Washington on a journey to find out how they took over, why they’re doing so much damage, and what can be done about it. These fascinating creatures are a window into the impacts of invasive species in a globalized world where human activity is an increasingly powerful evolutionary force. (Premiering Wednesday, October 26 at 9 pm on PBS)

Meet one of the ocean’s most beautiful and destructive species: Lionfish.

Ocean Invaders

Composite image of bitcoin and a graph showing stock trends.

From Bitcoin to NFTs, crypto is making headlines. But what exactly is it, and how does it work? Experts go beyond the hype and skepticism to unravel the social and technological underpinnings of crypto – exploring how it came to be and why this new technology may change more than just money. (Premiering November 9 at 9 pm on PBS)

What exactly is crypto, and how does it work? This technology is more than just money.<hr/>

Crypto Decoded

A graphic of numbers going "into" infinity.

Zero and infinity. These seemingly opposite, obvious, and indispensable concepts are relatively recent human inventions. Discover the surprising story of how these key concepts that revolutionized mathematics came to be – not just once, but over and over again as different cultures invented and re-invented them across thousands of years. (Premiering November 16 at 9 pm on PBS)

Discover how the concepts of zero and infinity revolutionized mathematics.

Zero to Infinity

Following the April, 2019 fire that almost destroyed Paris’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, a team of engineers, masons, and timber workers set out on the daunting challenge of restoring France’s historic landmark. The program traces the dramatic human and technical challenges of the project’s first three years, going behind-the-scenes with carpenters shaping lumber for the new roof and spire, stone masons repairing gaping holes in the vault, and artisans who use traditional techniques to restore stained glass windows. A symbol of the nation’s identity and resilience, Notre Dame gradually rises from the ashes, thanks to a restoration project like no other. (Premiering Wednesday, October 5 at 9 pm on PBS)

A team of engineers and artisans tackles the restoration of iconic Notre Dame Cathedral.

Schedule

Upcoming Episodes

Saving Venice

Ending HIV in America

Computers v. Crime

Can Psychedelics Cure?

Ocean Invaders

Crypto Decoded

Zero to Infinity

Rebuilding Notre Dame

Recent Episodes

Cuba's Cancer Hope

Nature's Fear Factor

A to Z: How Writing Changed the World

Upcoming Episodes

Saving Venice

Ending HIV in America

Computers v. Crime

Can Psychedelics Cure?

Ocean Invaders

Crypto Decoded

Zero to Infinity

Rebuilding Notre Dame

Recent Episodes

Cuba's Cancer Hope

Nature's Fear Factor

A to Z: How Writing Changed the World

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