NOVA: Season 52

Season 52 overview

The season opens with questions about UFOs and follows engineering, fossil, and archaeological evidence. Its early episodes explore both present-day construction and discoveries from ancient history.

Key story beats

  1. Investigating UFOs — The episode asks whether science can reveal the secrets of mysterious objects seen in the skies.
  2. Building a Major Airport — The episode follows the race to build a world-class airport at one of America's busiest flying hubs.
  3. Birds After the Asteroid — Fossils reveal how birds survived the killer asteroid and became the only living dinosaurs today.
  4. Amun's Ancient Cemetery — The discovery of a long-lost ancient cemetery opens a window onto a distinctive period in Egyptian history.
  5. Pompeii's Hidden Past — Archaeologists uncover new truths about Pompeii, described as a wealthy Roman playground with dark secrets.
  6. Baltimore Bridge Investigation — The episode follows the investigation into a deadly container ship collision that closed the Port of Baltimore.
  7. Revolutionary War Technology — The episode explores military technologies used in the American colonies' fight for freedom.
  8. Forests and Climate — Scientists investigate how complex forest ecosystems may help cool the planet.
  9. Understanding Health Disparities — The episode examines why Black Americans are nearly twice as likely as White Americans to suffer from chronic diseases, addressing false beliefs in modern medicine and damaging life experiences.
  10. Preparing a Crash Experiment — A first-of-its-kind experiment aims to stage a high-speed, multi-vehicle crash to study safety without endangering lives.
  11. Analyzing the Pileup — After experts carry out a remote-controlled multi-vehicle pileup, investigators analyze the data for insights into driver behavior and vehicle design.
  12. The Origins of Homo sapiens — The episode explores human origins and the innovations, communication, and ritual that helped make Homo sapiens distinctive.
  13. Human Journeys Across the World — Homo sapiens travel farther than other human species, developing tools for challenging environments and possibly encountering hobbit-like humans.
  14. Neanderthal Encounters — The episode examines what happened when Homo sapiens arrived in regions where Neanderthals had thrived for 400,000 years, and how those encounters affected human DNA.
  15. Journey Into the Americas — Ancient humans make a perilous journey into the Americas, facing an Ice Age landscape, mammoths, and other dangerous animals.

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).