Richard Wright - Black Boy
Richard Wright - Black Boy is the first documentary film on the life, work and legacy of Richard Wright. Born outside Natchez, Mississippi in 1908, Wright overcame a childhood of poverty and oppression to become one of America's most influential wri...
SuperFly : A History of Genetics
With two thirds of the same DNA as our own and a two-week breeding cycle, Drosophila melanogaster, or the fruit fly, is an ideal lab specimen. Using specialized photography, 3-D animation, and graphics, this program tells the story of the fruit fly'...
The Hidden Order: Chemistry and the Elements, from John Dalton to Henry Moseley
At the beginning of the 19th century, 55 elements had been discovered, and although scientists had no idea how many more they might yet find, they already had a suspicion that there was some sort of unifying pattern behind them all. This program cha...
What Is the Secret of Life?: A History of Biology and Genetics
This program tells the story of how the secret of life has been pursued through the ages, using the prism of the most complex organism known—the human body. It begins with Galen’s attempts to save the lives of gladiators in ancient Rome, continu...
What Is the World Made Of?: A History of Chemistry and Physics
Both greed and grand idealism have propelled the quest to discover what makes up the material world. No matter how abstract or elusive the goal, its promise has inspired an unquestionable impact on humanity. By trying to learn the nature of matter, ...
Who's Afraid of a Big Black Hole?
Black holes are by definition invisible, and there is no scientific theory that can adequately explain them. Nevertheless, researchers are determined to unravel the mysteries of black holes in the hope of answering some of the universe’s most pres...
The Ghost in Your Genes
Could the trauma of a terrorist attack change the genetic characteristics of one’s descendants? This program examines the emerging science of epigenetics, which studies biological heredity unrelated to DNA sequencing. With commentary from leading ...
Double Helix
This fast-paced dramatization starring well-known actor Jeff Goldblum is about the race to solve one of the greatest mysteries of 20th-century science—the structure of DNA. It is the story of the diligent research, creative analysis, and persevera...
Diet: A Look at Processed Food, Nutrition, and Obesity in the 20th Century
Attitudes about the industrialization of food have changed greatly over the past several decades. What used to be considered a scientific miracle now seems like a horrific joke: piglets being reared in incubators that look like tiny iron lungs; fish...
Into the Mind: Emotions
Where do emotions come from, and why do we experience them? Is there a connection between reason and emotion? In this program, host Michael Mosley uses vintage footage and his own willingness to be a test subject to review classic and sometimes dist...