NOVA: Season 14

Season 14 overview

The season opens with deep space observations using infrared satellites and traces human ancestry to ancient African populations. Viewers are introduced to cutting-edge astronomical tools and controversial genetic theories that reshape our understanding of the universe and human evolution.

Key story beats

  1. IRAS Satellite Discovery — NOVA scans the universe with infrared technology to reveal unseen comets, stars, and galaxies.
  2. African Ancestry Theory — A controversial theory traces human ancestry to a small group of women living in Africa 300,000 years ago.
  3. Pilot Error Investigation — NOVA examines pilot negligence accounting for 60 to 80 percent of commercial airplane accidents.
  4. Orangutan Habitat Study — Cameras follow scientists studying wild orangutans in one of their last remaining habitats.
  5. Freud Legacy Debate — Fifty years after his death, the creator of psychoanalysis remains the subject of intense academic debate.
  6. Ozone Hole Expedition — An emergency scientific expedition travels to Antarctica to study a baffling hole in the Earth's protective ozone layer.
  7. Kistiakowsky Interview — Harvard chemist and former atomic bomb scientist recounts his eventful career to interviewer Carl Sagan.
  8. Season Highlights Compilation — NOVA presents two hours of the best segments from its 14 seasons of science coverage.
  9. Global Soil Crisis Report — Farmers worldwide take more from the soil than they return, resulting in massive starvation.
  10. Desertification Analysis — Once-productive farms turn to desert due to water resource mismanagement in rich and poor countries alike.
  11. Galileo Mission Delay — NOVA chronicles the ambitious and long-delayed Galileo mission to Jupiter, still on the ground after its planned launch.
  12. Supernova 1987 Observation — The film features the 1987 explosion of a supernova first observed by a Canadian astronomer in Chile.
  13. Cuban Missile Crisis Spies — NOVA investigates the spy planes and satellites that played a critical role during the 25th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis.
  14. Plant Medicine Search — NOVA follows urgent efforts to track down new medicines in nature as plants produce potent chemicals against disease.
  15. Ovshinsky Innovation Case — Japanese industries bet on Detroit inventor Stanford Ovshinsky's simpler and less expensive alternative to silicon.

Seasons

Interactive Features

Episode Guide

Content sources

Plot analysis generated from content on Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related entry on Wikidata (Q3071768), public domain (CC0).