Nova How Does The Brain Work

"This is one of NOVA's shining episodes–one of the most exciting works the venerable series has produced in recent years." – The Christian Science Monitor

Machines are everywhere. They run our factory assembly lines and make our coffee. But robots-machines with human-like capabilities-have long been the stuff of science fiction. Until now. Fueled by an ambitious DARPA challenge, the race is on to design a robot that can replace humans in disaster relief situations. Follow the robots-and the engineers that program them-as they strive to make their way out of the lab and into the real world. But how capable are they, really? How close are we to a future where humanoid robots are part of our everyday lives?

Where do nature's building blocks, called the elements, come from? They're the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smart phones. To unlock their secrets, David Pogue, technology columnist and lively host of Nova’s popular "Making Stuff" series, spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry: the strongest acids, the deadliest poisons, the universe's most abundant elements, and the rarest of the rare—substances cooked up in atom smashers that flicker into existence for only fractions of a second.

Is what you see real? Does your mind control you? Discover how your brain really works. How does your brain create your reality? Are you in control, or is your brain controlling you? Discover the surprising answers based on the latest research in this eye-opening journey into the human brain with neuroscientist Heather Berlin. Your brain – for centuries a black box – is slowly giving up its secrets to modern neuroscience, shedding light on big questions that go to the very heart of who you are.

In a new age of information, rapid innovation, and globalization, how can we prepare our children to compete? Once the envy of the world, American schools are now in trouble. Test scores show our kids lag far behind their peers from other industrialized countries, and as the divide between rich and poor grows wider, the goal of getting all kids ready for college and the workforce gets harder by the day. How can the latest research help us fix education in America? Can the science of learning - including new insights from neuroscientists, psychologists, and educators - reveal how kids' brains work and tell us which techniques are most likely to engage and inspire growing minds?

In just one devastating month, Houston, Florida, and the Caribbean were changed forever. In summer 2017, three monster hurricanes swept in from the Atlantic one after another, shattering storm records and killing hundreds of people. First, Harvey brought catastrophic rain and flooding to Houston, causing $125 billion in damage.

A look at contemporary art and artists.

Join renowned gadget geek and host David Pogue as he sets out on a quest to discover how batteries work, and uncover what the future has in store for our gadgets, our lives, and even our planet.

"This is one of NOVA's shining episodes–one of the most exciting works the venerable series has produced in recent years." – The Christian Science Monitor

Mighty, elemental forces molded North America—fiery eruptions, titanic floods, the grinding of great ice sheets, and massive impacts from space all shaped our homeland. The epic three-part series unfolds in a forgotten world that existed long before our own, crossed by long-lost mountain ranges, deserts the size of Africa, and vast inland seas spanning the length of the continent. Hosted by renowned paleontologist Kirk Johnson, this spectacular road trip through a tumultuous deep past explores three fundamental questions: How was the continent built?