What is the Evidence for Evolution? • Stated Clearly

48:01

Across the dunes of the Kalahari, a towering, 200-year-old tree extends its branches to the heavens. This camel thorn Acacia is a secret refuge for those in the know. Colonies of sociable weavers use its branches for their oversized nests. Oryx, kudu, and other herbivores feed on her ripened pods, helping soften the seeds for germination. As the rainy season descends, its branches become draped with golden flowers, a magnet for pollinating insects. For many, the Acacia is a 'tree of life.' It's a relationship as old as the Kalahari itself.

S1E1 • Rooted • 2018 • Nature

54:35

While most know chicken as a dinner-plate staple, few pause to consider this bird’s many virtues. In this fascinating and gently comic documentary, director Mark Lewis delves into the under-recognized complexities of this seemingly simple animal. Through interviews with those who have formed unique bonds with chickens and narrative vignettes depicting the birds at their magical best, Lewis allows us to rethink our relationship to a creature we have previously taken for granted, while at the same time providing a lens through which we can view ourselves anew.

2000 • Nature

30:49

Predators listen for frantic footsteps, cocktail ants craft a battle cry, and lions embrace the transformative power of rolling rain and thunder.

S1E5 • Earth Sounds • 2024 • Nature

58:40

Life and Death explores the impact of Darwin’s ideas on our understanding of the meaning of extinction and the interconnections between all life on earth and the environment. Darwin learned many lessons from the giant fossils of extinct animals he found in Argentina and Chile. He eventually revealed to us the unpalatable truth that the logical conclusion to evolution is not perfection but extinction. The extinction of one species creates an environmental niche for new species to fill. Darwin’s theory also gives us vital knowledge we can use to help prolong the existence of our species by respecting the interconnections between all elements of the natural world and the environment. It’s a story in which Darwin’s ideas are taken up with great enthusiasm by his followers throughout the 20th century. But humanity misses one opportunity after another to acknowledge and reduce its destructive impact on the planet. As a result we have set in motion the sixth mass extinction of life on earth. And we are running out of time to do something about it by preserving ecological "hotspots" like certain rainforests which are some of the most productive cradles of evolution. This programme is a warning, but also a celebration, of the knowledge Charles Darwin gave us in his theory of evolution. It confirms that Darwin’s theory continues to inform our understanding of ourselves, our planet and the intricate interconnections between all life on earth.

S1E3 • Darwin's Dangerous Idea • 2009 • Nature

53:29

The relationship between man and his noble steed is almost as old as civilization itself, allowing our species to explore, conquer and flourish side by side with the horse.

S1E1 • Equus Story of the Horse • 2019 • Nature

58:30

The wildlife inhabiting the world's oceans, from the shallow seas of the tropics, where predators like the lionfish can become the prey to one of the world's oddest hunters, to the greatest depths, where a massive siphonophore, longer than a blue whale, and a gulper eel with huge jaws are captured on film using specialised vessels designed to withstand the pressure. The episode also features the mating dances of mobula rays and the symbiotic relationship between Columbus crabs and turtles.

S1E2 • Planet Earth III • 2023 • Nature