NOVA: Season 33

Season 33 overview

The season opens with investigations of a prehistoric megaflood, a sunken battleship, relativity, volcanic danger, and a World War II maritime mystery. These stories combine physical evidence with unresolved historical questions.

Key story beats

  1. Megaflood Theory Emerges — A maverick geologist argues that enormous floodwaters scoured the American Northwest near the end of the last ice age. The theory is initially rejected by mainstream scientists.
  2. Searching for Yamato — An expedition searches for the wreck of the Yamato, a powerful Japanese battleship sunk by American planes during World War II.
  3. Meaning of E Equals MC Squared — The episode explains how the relationship between mass and energy emerged from the development of special relativity.
  4. Volcano Threatens City — A restless mountain threatens a bustling metropolis built on its flanks.
  5. Sunken Heavy Water Mystery — The program investigates the 1944 sinking of the Norwegian ferry Hydro and whether its cargo of heavy water was aboard when it went down.
  6. Newton's Hidden Pursuits — The episode examines the contrast between Newton's work on universal gravitation and his private interest in biblical meanings and alchemy.
  7. Katrina Destroys a City — The episode reconstructs how Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana coast and transformed a city of more than one million people into an uninhabitable swamp.
  8. Mummy and Pharaoh Question — A mummy discovered in Niagara Falls raises the question of whether it could be the remains of a long-lost pharaoh.
  9. Deaths on Mount McKinley — Doctors, rescuers, and mountaineers investigate why climbers die while attempting to ascend Mount McKinley.
  10. Secrets of Bog Bodies — Forensic investigators study exceptionally well-preserved bodies buried long ago under peat bogs.
  11. Life Preserved in Amber — The episode investigates ancient life-forms preserved in amber and considers what the specimens reveal about the distant past.
  12. Solar Neutrino Breakthrough — A forty-year search for solar neutrinos produces a new understanding of matter.
  13. Northwest Passage Expeditions — The episode recreates two expeditions that sought the legendary Northwest Passage through the Arctic.
  14. Driverless Desert Race — Autonomous vehicles compete in a 130-mile race across the desert.
  15. Mission to Titan — A mission to Saturn and Titan searches for clues about the origins of life.

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).