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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 470 days ago
As water goes into increasingly short supply, scientists and engineers struggle to create local solutions for a global problem.
aired 477 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 505 days ago
Scientists and medical practitioners work to find breakthrough methods to combat pandemic viruses.
aired 512 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 519 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 526 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 990 days ago
Engineers make a dangerous trek across the Himalayas to bring power to a remote monastery.
aired 997 days ago
Cutting-edge innovations and advancements from scientists at leading universities and institutions.
aired 999 days ago
Cutting-edge innovations and advancements from scientists at leading universities and institutions.
aired 1,011 days ago
Maverick doctors supercharge killer T cells, creating a breakthrough treatment for cancer.
aired 1,015 days ago
A look inside the shadowy world of hackers, where good battles evil.
aired 1,025 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
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.
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.
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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.
"Naked Science" strips away the layers of a scientific investigation into one of the big mysteries of our time, revealing through expert analysis realistic scenarios that either confirm or deny long-held assumptions and misconceptions.
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.
Maritime mysteries -- old and new -- come to life in this 10-episode series, combining scientific data and digital re-creations to reveal shipwrecks, treasures, and sunken cities on the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans around the world. Innovative technology allows viewers to see what lies on the floors of large bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Nile, the Indian Ocean, the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean as if they had been drained. Then, in a quest to explain natural wonders and man-made catastrophes, stories tell of how vessels sank, what ancient geological formations reveal about life on Earth, where Nazi secrets now reside, and why so many continue to search for the legendary city of Atlantis.
This documentary series focuses on extreme construction projects -- be they the biggest, tallest, longest or deepest in the world -- and the machines used to create extraordinary structures. Episodes include the people responsible for the cutting-edge design and engineering of each build, talking about how concept transformed to reality. The processes that go into staffing and operating the modern marvels once they are completed are also covered.
From the award-winning team of filmmaker Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan") and producer Jane Root ("America the Story of Us"), this 10-part cinematic event series explores the fragility and wonder of planet Earth -- one of the most peculiar, unique places in the universe. Host Will Smith guides viewers on an unprecedented exploration, bolstered by an elite group of eight astronauts who provide unique perspectives and relate personal memoirs of the planet seen from a distance. Hourlong episodes delve into monumental events such as genesis, cosmic violence, human intelligence and alien life, oxygen, and survival vs. destruction.
"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.
National Geographic Channel's first late-night talk show stars renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and is based on his popular podcast of the same name. The TV series' hourlong episodes provide a unique opportunity, Tyson says, to show how culturally pervasive and entertaining science can be. Guests including President Jimmy Carter, director Christopher Nolan, astronaut Chris Hadfield, journalist Arianna Huffington, actor George Takei and writer Norman Lear talk about topics like space travel, extraterrestrial life, the big-bang theory, the future of Earth and the environment. By bridging the intersection between pop culture and science, Tyson hopes to inspire everyone to "keep looking up."
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.
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.
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