Oceans • 2021 • episode "S1E4" • A Perfect Planet

54:08

See the extraordinary wildlife and people of the Andes. Pumas hunt guanaco, shape-shifting frogs hide in remote cloud forests and the descendants of Inca build bridges of grass. The world’s driest desert, huge salt lakes and spectacular peaks are all found in the world’s longest mountain range.

S1E3 • Kingdoms of the Sky • 2021 • Nature

42:55

Leading experts examine a rock in a crate of finds from an archaeological dig in Africa, which could contain a very rare 200-million-year-old dinosaur skull. The museum staff prepares for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. Other artefacts from the museum featured in this episode include meteorite fragments that are older than the solar system and the oldest complete beetle specimens ever found in the UK.

S1E4 • Natural History Museum: World of Wonder • 2021 • Nature

58:55

The air we breathe, and all the food we eat, is created from water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and a few minerals. It sounds simple, but this process is one of the most fascinating and complicated in all of science, and without it there could be no life on earth. For centuries people believed that plants grew by eating soil. In the 17th century, pioneer botanists began to make the connection between the growth of a plant and the energy from the sun. They discovered how plants use water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce sugars - how, in fact, a plant grows. The process of photosynthesis is still at the heart of scientific research today, with universities across the world working hard to replicate in the lab what plants do with ruthless efficiency. Their goal is to produce a clean, limitless fuel and if they get it right it will change all our lives.

S1E2 • Botany: A Blooming History • 2011 • Nature

20:57

A look at how a bird could sing without using its voice and how an octopus could simply disappear from his aquarium tank.

S1E7 • Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved • 2019 • Nature

57:57

With the help of some surprising creatures from around the world, this series sets out to discover how animals take to the air, defying the force all airborne animals must conquer, gravity. Part 1: Defying Gravity In Africa, a caracal's 'rocket-propelled' launch enables it to catch birds in flight. In the Australian outback, a kangaroo's hop is key to finding water in a desert of over a million square kilometres. On an English farm, an insect's ultimate ejector seat accelerates it to 700G with help from a clutch in its crotch. And high above the jungles of Borneo, a leaping snake's unique shape allows it to glide, even without wings.

S1E1 • Life in the Air • 2016 • Nature

28:54

James May gives a nuts and bolts explanation of the fascinating science of engineering.

S2E5 • James May's Things You Need to Know • 2012 • Nature