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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. (Premiered December 14, 2022)

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

Rebuilding Notre Dame

Thousands of years of human innovation have allowed us to shape the environment to improve lives. The consequences of our activities are not always benign – but there are solutions. 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. Premiering November 27, 2024 at 9 pm on PBS.

From electric flight to artificial noses, engineers are finding new ways to preserve our planet.

Building Stuff: Change It!

From the time our species first evolved, we’ve been on the move. Not content to stay in one place, we’ve imagined and invented and built our way from one place to the next. 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. Premiering November 20, 2024 at 9 pm on PBS.

Humans are born to roam. See how engineers are inventing new ways to explore and extend our range.

Building Stuff: Reach It!

Human Skeleton in front of a dark blue background

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? Follow a team of archaeologists and historians as they attempt to solve centuries-old mysteries using the latest scientific investigation techniques. What can forensic analysis of the remains reveal about one of the world’s most famous cathedrals and those who devoted their lives to it? (Premiering December 18 at 9 pm on PBS.)

Mysterious bodies are found under one of the world’s most famous cathedrals.

Lost Tombs of Notre Dame

Black holes are the most enigmatic and exotic objects in the universe. They’re also the most powerful, with gravity so strong it can trap light. And they’re destructive, swallowing entire planets, even giant stars. Anything that falls into them vanishes…gone forever. Now, astrophysicists are realizing that black holes may be essential to how our universe evolved—their influence possibly leading to life on Earth and, ultimately, us. In this two-hour special, astrophysicist and author Janna Levin takes viewers on a journey to the frontiers of black hole science. Along the way, we meet leading astronomers and physicists on the verge of finding new answers to provocative questions about these shadowy monsters: Where do they come from? What’s inside? What happens if you fall into one? And what can they tell us about the nature of space, time, and gravity? (Premiered January 10, 2018)

Take a mind-blowing voyage to the most powerful and mysterious objects in the universe.

Schedule

Upcoming Episodes

Lost Tombs of Notre Dame

Black Hole Apocalypse

Recent Episodes

Rebuilding Notre Dame

Building Stuff: Change It!

Building Stuff: Reach It!

Upcoming Episodes

Lost Tombs of Notre Dame

Black Hole Apocalypse

Recent Episodes

Rebuilding Notre Dame

Building Stuff: Change It!

Building Stuff: Reach It!

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