Latest Documentaries
From crunchy crickets to nutty fly grubs, NOVA takes a tasty look at insect foods and how they could benefit our health and our warming planet. From Thailand to Texas, insect farmers are showing how the tiny critters stack up as an environmentally friendly alternative to beef protein and can, pound for pound, deliver better nutritional value than the finest steak. But will Americans overcome the “ick” factor and share the appetite of many cultures around the world for insect feasts?
NOVA PBS • 2021 • Environment
Are we in fact living in a simulation? This is the question postulated, wrestled with, and ultimately argued for in the latest provocation from acclaimed documentary stylist Rodney Ascher (Room 237, The Nightmare) through archival footage, compelling interviews with real people shrouded in digital avatars, and a collection of cases from some of our most iconoclastic figures in contemporary culture.
2021 • Science
Starting in the 5th century AD, the Franks migrated to France, the Anglo-Saxons to Britain, and the Goths to Spain and Italy. Europe and the Christian west grew out of their empires.
To Roman eyes, the tribe they called the Cimbri, the Cimbrians, lived at the edge of the inhabited world, in Jutland. In 120 B. C., they and other Germanic tribes began a mass migration. Now through excavations, we learn about these ancient tribes and their lives.
The Goths rocked the Roman Empire and wrote themselves into history. Who were these tribes from the north that ended the rule of Rome?
For the people of the ancient world, the Huns were "the most feared of all warriors". Never before had people experienced such brutal fighting. The power of the mounted nomads became a threat to Rome, but other tribes were also on the move and headed to the center of a weakened empire.
Join scientists on the most ambitious Arctic research expedition of all time. Experts from over twenty different nations join the voyage of the massive Polarstern icebreaker as it’s gripped by the polar ice and drifts for nearly an entire year. From this unique research station, they can make long-term observations and perform experiments in unprecedented detail. Facing hungry polar bears, perilous sea ice cracks, and brutal cold, the team strives to understand the forces that are changing the region—and the world—forever
Prince William, David Attenborough and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim see how we might reimagine our production lines to solve the problem of the vast amount of waste we produce.
S1E5 • The Earthshot Prize Repairing Our Planet • 2021 • Environment
Prince William, David Attenborough and Shakira find out about inspiring people and projects across the world that can help us stop damaging the oceans and enable their revival.
S1E4 • The Earthshot Prize Repairing Our Planet • 2021 • Environment
Prince William, Sir David Attenborough and astronaut Naoko Yamazaki hear the personal stories of people who are directly affected by air pollution and look at possible solutions.
S1E3 • The Earthshot Prize Repairing Our Planet • 2021 • Environment
Prince William, Sir David Attenborough and Christiana Figueres highlight inspiring and often unexpected solutions to the climate challenge.
S1E2 • The Earthshot Prize Repairing Our Planet • 2021 • Environment
Sir David Attenborough introduces us to inspiring people with solutions to help restore nature, and reveals the three finalists of the first ever Earthshot Prize for Nature.
S1E1 • The Earthshot Prize Repairing Our Planet • 2021 • Environment
Recommended Documentaries
Carl Sagan talks about religion and the universe
3/10 • The Sagan Series • 1989 • Astronomy
The next leg of my journey takes us north to Moldova, an ancient region covering the Easternmost part of the country. Originally twice its current size, it included northern Bucovina and Basarabia, now the separate and not to confused with the Republic of Moldova.
4/9 • Flavours of Romania • 2018 • Travel
For most of the Earth's history, life consisted of the simplest organisms; but then something happened that would give rise to staggering diversity, and, ultimately, life as complex as that which we see today. Scientists are still struggling to figure out just what that was.
The Economist • 2015 • Nature
On May 16, 2011, Professor of Physics Emeritus Walter Lewin returned to MIT lecture hall 26-100 for a physics talk and book signing, complete with some of his most famous physics demonstrations to celebrate the publication of his new book For The Love Of Physics: From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time - A Journey Through the Wonders of Physics, written with Warren Goldstein.
2014 • Physics
Degrasse discusses our nearest neighboring planet Venus and its climate, the climate change on Earth and if it is caused by humans.
S1E12 • Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey • Astronomy
Nothing has shrunk the globe more than our extraordinary ability to talk to one another across the oceans and continents. Episode three of The Genius of Invention reveals the fascinating chain of events that made such every-day miracles possible. It tells the story of the handful of extraordinary inventors and inventions who helped build the modern world by harnessing electricity and electromagnetism to enable us to send instant messages across vast distances. Michael Mosley and academics, Prof Mark Miodownik and Dr Cassie Newland tell the amazing story of three more of the greatest and most transformative inventions of all time; the electric telegraph, the telephone and wireless communication. Our experts explain how these inventions came about by sparks of inventive genius and steady incremental improvements. They separate myth from reality in the lives of the great inventors and celebrate some of the most remarkable stories in British history.
Part 3 • The Genius of Invention • 2013 • Technology
Travel Documentaries
China is a nation of contrasts, and nowhere is it more evident than along its dynamic coastline. This aerial journey takes us from the north's icy Chagan Lake to the tropical Hainan province's southern volcanoes, and from the nation's most populated cities in the east to an abandoned fishermen's village off Shanghai's coast. It's a spectacular voyage highlighting the country's diverse environments, evolving cultures, and growing prosperity.
3/4 • China from Above • 2018 • Travel
Adventurer and journalist Simon Reeve heads to Cuba to find a communist country in the middle of a capitalist revolution. Two years ago Cuba announced the most sweeping and radical economic reforms the country has seen in decades. From ending state rationing to cutting one million public-sector jobs, one of the last communist bastions in the world has begun rolling back the state on an unprecedented scale. Simon Reeve meets ordinary Cubans whose lives are being transformed, from the owners of fledgling businesses to the newly rich estate agents selling properties worth up to 750,000. Simon gets under the skin of a colourful and vibrant country famous for its hospitality and humour and asks if this new economic openness could lead to political liberalisation in a totalitarian country with a poor human rights record. Will Cuba be able to maintain the positive aspects of its long isolation under socialism - low crime, top-notch education and one of the best health systems in the world - while embracing what certainly looks like capitalism? Is this the last chance to see Cuba before it becomes just like any other country?
This World • 2017 • Travel
Giles and Monica arrive at Royal Mansour, one of the world's most discreet hotels, hidden deep in the heart of Marrakech's ancient Medina. In stark contrast to the developing country it inhabits, the 'jewel of the city' was built with a limitless budget by royal decree to showcase the kingdom to world leaders and to billionaire and celebrity guests.
4/6 • Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby • 2017 • Travel
Where is the population in the world the smallest? What countries have the least people? It’s not the size that matters, and with countries, that is often the case. Some of the least populated countries in the world are also the wealthiest in terms of personal wealth and gross national product. And some of the larger nations have problems equally as huge to address. Some of these smaller countries are thinly populated because they are super-difficult to get to or sit in some of the world’s harshest regions. Some simply get by on one or two key industries and foreign aid. Some were used as strategic bases during war time. Some are playgrounds for the rich and famous. And one is reserved for holy activities. Today we take a closer look at the smallest of these nations, in this episode of the Infographics Show, The Ten Least Populated Countries in the World.
The Infographics Show • 2018 • Travel
The adventurer reaches Sri Lanka, whose strategic location and tropical spices made it a target for invaders and colonisers for centuries. In the north he visits the scenes of vicious battles between the Tamil minority and the Sri Lankan army, traumatic events from which the population is still recovering. On his way to Bangladesh, he hitches a ride on a trawler, highlighting one of the Indian Ocean's fastest-growing industries - providing prawns for the West. But as he reveals, it comes at a price for the environment.
5/6 • Indian Ocean • Travel
Martin's travels take him 1,500 miles to the San Juan Islands in Washington State then down to the Channel Islands National Park, and across to Avery Island and Delacroix Island.
2/4 • Martin Clunes: Islands of America • 2019 • Travel
Astronomy Documentaries
Voyager 1 and 2 are truly the probes that just won’t quit. Launched almost 40 years ago these twin probes continue to stun the world. They've explored all the giant outer planets of our solar system, 48 of their moons, and are now leaving the solar system, on a journey into interstellar space.
1/6 • Space Probes • 2016 • Astronomy
NASA’s Curiosity mission is on a quest to find life on Mars, but what they uncover could reveal far more than what anyone expected
2/6 • Mars: The Secret Science Series 1 • 2014 • Astronomy
An abandoned orphan's dream opens the way to understanding the architecture of thought.
5/13 • Cosmos: Possible Worlds • 2020 • Astronomy
Look up at the night sky, and you see countless shining stars. Our galaxy has 100 billion of them. Astronomers are now hunting for clues that will reveal "the first star" that transformed the ancient universe and led to the creation of everything that followed: galaxies, planets and life itself.
6 • Cosmic Front • 2014 • Astronomy
When a solar flare strikes the planet and knocks out all communications, the Olympus Town team races against the clock to locate Marta.
Four astronomers celebrate 50 years of work and friendship by going on a road trip to revisit some of the world's greatest observatories. In California, a world leader in observational astronomy at a time when America's space programme was at its height, the astronomers spent their formative years developing friendships that would last a lifetime, and making scientific discoveries that would change the course of history. Together they represent the most productive period astronomy has ever had. Their journey through the southwestern United States allows them to see once again the places and landscape they explored as young men. Now in their 70s, they share their reflections on a life spent looking at the universe. Star Men celebrates the history of stargazing: the inventions and discoveries that have enabled us to learn so much about the universe, but more importantly to understand how much more we have yet to discover.
2016 • Astronomy
Randoms! Documentaries
Good to know as you travel to the Antipodes - Australia has the most venomous snakes and spiders in the world. But, if you’re bitten, can you rely on anti-venom? Dr Graham Phillips investigates the effectiveness of anti-venom.
3/10 • Catalyst: Season 1 • 2015 • Health
This episode counts down from 101 to 89 events that marketed the last century. From the discovery of king tut in the valley of the kings, to the evacuation of Dunkirk
1/8 • 101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History
Cities are growing faster than at any time in history, straining services and infrastructure. Technology-driven advances are at the forefront of solving this age-old problem
The Economist • 2017 • Technology
NASA's Juno probe has been orbiting the largest planet on our Solar System, the gas giant Jupiter, since July 4, 2016. As the February 2017 closest-to-the-planet flyby approaches, what secrets has its moon, Juno, revealed thus far and how has a simple valve altered a decade of planning?
2/2 • Destination: Jupiter • 2017 • Astronomy
Journalist Fiona Phillips is on a mission to find out the truth behind the recent headlines on sugar.
1/4 • The Truth About • Health
The center of the Milky Way is home to strange and deadly phenomena that we don't yet understand, but using the latest science, experts are revealing how the supermassive black hole our galaxy's core shapes life on Earth.
S8E8 • How the Universe Works • 2020 • Astronomy