NOVA: Season 38

Season 38 overview

The season begins with investigations of cathedrals, a collapsed mine, elevators, dogs, Stonehenge, and the contested search for Solomon's mines. These episodes combine engineering, archaeology, biology, and human survival.

Key story beats

  1. Cathedral Engineering Investigation — Engineers, architects, art historians, and computer scientists investigate how Gothic cathedrals were built and why some are close to catastrophic collapse.
  2. Chile Mine Rescue — The episode examines the fate of 33 miners trapped after a mine collapse and the engineering, medical, and logistical challenges of bringing them to the surface.
  3. Elevator Entrapment — A documentary explores modern elevators and recounts one individual's experience of being trapped inside one for an extraordinarily long period.
  4. Human Dog Bond — Research into genetics and emotional responses investigates the origin of dogs and the biological basis of the bond between humans and dogs.
  5. Stonehenge Origins — New investigations examine who built Stonehenge, why it was built, and how prehistoric people quarried, transported, shaped, and raised its stones.
  6. Search for Solomon's Mines — The episode investigates treasure-seekers' searches for Solomon's mines and the controversial physical evidence associated with early biblical kings.
  7. Antarctic Ice Threat — Scientists assess the consequences of Antarctic ice loss after an ice shelf the size of Manhattan collapsed and consider the risk of catastrophic coastal flooding.
  8. Haiti Earthquake Evidence — Geologists enter Haiti after a devastating earthquake to determine what happened underground and evaluate continuing risks.
  9. Quest for Strong Materials — Host examines competing definitions of strength and compares materials and biological structures, including steel, Kevlar, carbon nanotubes, mollusks, and a toucan's beak.
  10. Microscopic Technologies — Host investigates increasingly small technologies, including nano-circuits and micro-robots that could potentially travel through the human body to treat disease.
  11. Cleaner Energy Materials — Host explores materials and technologies for cleaner energy, including hydrogen, lithium batteries, biofuels, and solar power.
  12. Adaptive Smart Materials — Host examines materials that respond to their environment or learn, including an adaptive airplane wing, a sharkskin-inspired hospital coating, and an invisible material.
  13. Machine Intelligence Challenge — The episode examines the difficulty of augmenting human intelligence and follows a computing system preparing to compete against human contestants on Jeopardy!
  14. Flight 447 Investigation — Pilots, engineers, and safety experts investigate how Air France Flight 447 disappeared over the Atlantic with the loss of all 228 people aboard.
  15. Venom and Medical Science — The episode explains how venom affects biological systems and investigates whether toxins can contribute to treatments for heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, and other illnesses.

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).