episodes
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1.
Vaccines Calling the Shots
Diseases that were largely eradicated in the United States a generation ago—whooping cough, measles, mumps—are returning, in part because nervous parents are skipping their children’s shots. NOVA’s “V...
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2.
Rise of the Hackers
NOVA goes behind the scenes of the fast-paced world of cryptography to meet the scientists battling to keep our data safe. They are experts in extreme physics, math, and a new field called "ultra-para...
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3.
Why Planes Vanish
NOVA tells the inside story of the search for Flight MH370 and meets the key players, from all corners of the globe, who have spent months searching for the lost plane. How easy is it to make a plane...
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4.
Surviving Ebola
As the Ebola epidemic threatens to spiral out of control, NOVA reports from the hot zone, where courageous medical teams struggle to cope with a flood of victims, to labs where scientists are racing t...
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5.
Ben Franklin's Balloons
NOVA re-creates key flights, including the world’s first manned voyage on November 21, 1783. A descendant of the Montgolfier brothers, whose exploits fascinated Benjamin Franklin, will join a team to...
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6.
First Air War
When World War I began in 1914, the air forces of the opposing nations consisted of handfuls of rickety biplanes from which pilots occasionally took pot shots at one another with rifles. By 1918, the...
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7.
Bigger Than T. rex
Follow the paleontologists who are reconstructing this terrifying carnivore, a 53-foot-long behemoth with a huge dorsal sail, scimitar-like claws and superjaws. Bringing together experts in paleontolo...
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8.
Emperor’s Ghost Army
To defend himself in the afterlife, the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was buried in a vast mausoleum accompanied by around 9,000 life-sized terracotta statues. With exclusive access to ground...
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9.
Killer Landslides
In less than two minutes in March, a one-square-mile field of debris slammed into the Washington state community of Oso, killing 41 and destroying nearly 50 homes. Drawing on analysis of other recent...
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10.
First Man on the Moon
When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, he won instant fame. Yet this accomplished engineer and test pilot was so determined to stay out of the limelight that few know the personal story of how his...
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11.
Big Bang Machine
On July 4, 2012, scientists at the giant atom smashing facility at CERN announced the discovery of a subatomic particle that seems like a tantalizingly close match to the elusive Higgs Boson, thought...
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12.
Sunken Ship Rescue
Follow the epic operation to secure, raise, and salvage the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground and tragically capsized off the coast of Italy on January 13, 2012, killing 32 people. The ma...
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13.
Sinkholes—Buried Alive
These geological hazards have swallowed highways, apartment buildings, horses, camels, even golfers, with monster-size holes cracking the earth from Siberia to Louisiana. Filled with compelling eyewit...
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14.
Colosseum: Roman Death Trap
One of the ancient world's most iconic buildings, the Colosseum is a monument to Roman imperial power and cruelty. Its graceful lines and harmonious proportions concealed a highly efficient design and...
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15.
Petra: Lost City of Stone
In a daring experiment, an archaeologist and sculptors team up to carve an iconic temple-tomb to find out how the ancient people of Petra built their city of stone. Meanwhile, scientists using remote...
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16.
Hagia Sophia: Istanbul’s Ancient Mystery
Whether serving as Christian church, Islamic mosque, or secular museum, Hagia Sophia and its saring dome have inspired reverence and awe. For 800 years, it was the largest enclosed building in the wor...
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17.
The Great Math Mystery
Join NOVA on a mathematical mystery tour—a provocative exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries. We discover math's signature in the swirl of a nautilus shell, the whirlpool of a g...
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18.
Invisible Universe Revealed
Twenty-five years ago, NASA launched one of the most ambitious experiments in the history of astronomy: the Hubble Space Telescope. In honor of Hubble's landmark anniversary, NOVA tells the remarkable...
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19.
Nazi Attack on America
Long before 9/11, a far deadlier, little-known attack from the ocean depths struck our shores, lasting three-and-a-half years and claiming 5,000 lives. Now, famed undersea explorer Bob Ballard, discov...
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20.
Lethal Seas
Sharply rising carbon emissions are entering Earth's seas at a staggering rate, raising their acidity. Learn how scientists are researching the effects and looking for solutions.
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21.
Chasing Pluto
On July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft, one of the most advanced ever built, is scheduled to fly by Pluto to take the very first detailed images of the dwarf planet. After nine years and 3 bill...
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22.
Nuclear Meltdown Disaster
NOVA reveals the minute-by-minute story of the Fukushima nuclear crisis—the one you know about, and the one you likely don’t: the perilously close call at the other Fukushima nuclear power plant a few...