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Breakthrough
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Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer put their storytelling acumen to work as executive producers of "Breakthrough," a series of hourlong documentaries highlighting the stories, people, and technology behind the world's most cutting-edge scientific innovations. After considering more than 100 scientific topics for the series, the pair -- helped by National Geographic archives and research, along with the scientific resources of partner GE -- selected biotechnology, neuroscience, anti-aging technology, alternative energy, water conservation, and global pandemics. Each episode is directed by a prominent Hollywood star -- Howard himself helms "The Age of Aging," joining actors Angela Bassett ("Water Apocalypse") and Paul Giamatti ("More Than Human"), directors Peter Berg ("Fighting Pandemics") and Brett Ratner ("Decoding the Brain"), and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman ("Energy From the Edge").
Latest episodes
aired 160 days ago
As water goes into increasingly short supply, scientists and engineers struggle to create local solutions for a global problem.
aired 167 days ago
Reliance on fossil fuels is leading to a global energy crisis; developments in energy production could avert disaster and usher in a new era of clean, safe energy.
aired 195 days ago
Scientists and medical practitioners work to find breakthrough methods to combat pandemic viruses.
aired 202 days ago
Shedding light on the human brain and mystery of consciousness with research that may help those suffering from conditions like epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.
aired 209 days ago
Advances in science are fusing biology and technology to make us better, stronger, faster and smarter; manipulating our genetic code; building exoskeletons that give super strength; giving hope to people with traumatic spine injuries.
aired 216 days ago
Studying the aging process has opened up new ways that could help us live healthier and longer; a group of researchers believe the breakthrough is extending the period of life spent free of disease.
aired 680 days ago
Engineers make a dangerous trek across the Himalayas to bring power to a remote monastery.
aired 687 days ago
Cutting-edge innovations and advancements from scientists at leading universities and institutions.
aired 689 days ago
Cutting-edge innovations and advancements from scientists at leading universities and institutions.
aired 701 days ago
Maverick doctors supercharge killer T cells, creating a breakthrough treatment for cancer.
aired 705 days ago
A look inside the shadowy world of hackers, where good battles evil.
aired 715 days ago
Renegade researchers explore a controversial cure for vices: psychedelic drugs.
VOD available
Scientists investigate the way the Sun builds its power -- through fusion -- hoping to find a way to use fusion as a less dangerous and less radioactive waste-producing path to energy than fission. But there are some major difficulties along the way...
VOD available
An extraordinary new discovery of a dinosaur fossil so pristine and complete, that it shows off the texture, patterns, and color of a prehistoric giant. Discover this brand new species that roamed during the late Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
VOD available
New evidence suggests humans arrived in North America far earlier than previously thought, and that they may have traveled along paths now buried deep beneath the sea.
VOD available
As the number of people affected by Alzheimer's Disease continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, researchers worldwide are racing to discover a cure. While stopping the disease is the ultimate goal, could a team in the UK have cracked a method to reverse Alzheimer's Disease?
VOD available
The Mars InSight lander is on a 6-month journey to the Red Planet, with hopes of uncovering some of our planetary neighbor's secrets. Digging deep into Martian soil, the lander will measure marsquakes and also study the deep interior of Mars - perhaps revealing the origins of the planet.
VOD available
For the first time, scientists have captured a photograph of a black hole. The image verifies one of the most important theories in physics and will help unlock the greatest mysteries of the cosmos.
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Actor Kal Penn is producer/host of a series that attempts to explain how things like money, sex, food, sports and crime influence daily lives. The consequences are shown by analyzing data maps, and episodes investigate different themes through data mapping, creative visualization of information and in-depth personal stories involving fascinating characters. As well, documentary vignettes tell stories that personalize the number crunching, introducing real people who live and work at key intersections of each theme being explored. Penn serves as guide, making the information relatable to viewers.
"Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, in a departure from the type of material he is best known for, pays homage to Carl Sagan's award-winning and iconic "Cosmos" with this docuseries. Through stories of humankind's quest for knowledge, viewers travel across the universe. Scientific concepts are presented clearly, with both skepticism and wonder, to impart their full impact. Renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts, and Sagan's original creative collaborator, Ann Druyan, serves as an executive producer.
From the producers of the multiple-award-winning miniseries "The Men Who Built America," National Geographic Channel chronicles competitions in innovation that pit history's brightest minds in the race to lay claim to the future. For them, the greatest challenge wasn't beating the odds -- it was beating their adversaries. From Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates to William Hurst vs. Joseph Pulitzer, each hourlong episode focuses on a specific rivalry, delving into fierce power struggles, deceit, fluke timing and raw ambition out of which great ideas turned into reality. The conflicts play out through re-enactments that feature interviews with modern-day visionaries like Bill Nye, Steve Wozniak, Jack Welch, Steve Wynn and Michio Kaku.
How did we get here? How did humankind evolve from apes swinging in trees to astronauts walking on the moon? National Geographic's eight-part time-travel adventure series delves deep into history to highlight pivotal "origin" moments that fundamentally and irrevocably created modern living. Host Jason Silva ("Brain Games") guides viewers through a dazzling audio-visual portal to explore these events, such as the discoveries and applications of fire, medicine, money and transportation, while experts across each field inject commentary. The series also incorporates scripted storytelling and documentary sequences.
Julia Child melded TV and food 50 or so years ago. Now with scads of celebrity chefs, cooking shows, and networks devoted to it, cuisine is even more popular. National Geographic Channel's six-hour miniseries salutes its history, science and culture. Each episode tackles a central theme: revolutionaries, meat, sugar, seafood, junk food, and grains -- with stories and reflections by a smorgasbord of chefs, authors, scientists, etc. Interviewees include Padma Lakshmi, Nigella Lawson, Simon Majumdar, Rachael Ray, Marcus Samuelsson, Anna Boiardi and Graham Elliot.
Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman explores the meaning of life, God, and many big questions in between in an effort to understand how religion has evolved and shaped society. A different divine subject is covered in each hourlong episode, titles of which include "Creation," "The Devil Inside," "Afterlife," "Apocalypse," and "Who Is God?" To explore these topics, host and narrator Freeman visits nearly 20 cities in seven countries to see some of the world's greatest religious sites, among them Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, India's Bodhi Tree, Mayan temples in Guatemala, and the pyramids of Egypt, and he immerses himself in religious experiences and rituals. "In some places I found answers, and others led to more questions. The constant through it all is that we're all looking to be part of something bigger than us. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that we certainly are," Freeman says.
Host Tim Shaw takes science out of the lab and onto the streets of America as he looks to amaze and dumbfound in equal measure. The irreverent "game show" offers the people Shaw meets -- and viewers -- the chance to predict the outcomes of a series of increasingly spectacular experiments, and once correct answers are revealed, the science behind each probe is explained. With explosive results and shattering conclusions, Shaw reveals the effect of everyday science on the world around us.
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