Distant Voices

This is episode 3 of James Burke's brilliant series "Connections", which explores the surprising and unexpected ways that our modern technological world came into existence. Although it was filmed in the 1970s, it's still fascinating and relevant. Note that the movie is split in to five parts, but should skip to the next part automatically.

This episode suggests that telecommunications exist because Normans had stirrups for horse riding which in turn led them to further advancements in warfare.

Yesterday, Tomorrow and You

This is episode 10 of James Burke's brilliant series "Connections", which explores the surprising and unexpected ways that our modern technological world came into existence. Although it was filmed in the 1970s, it's still fascinating and relevant. Note that the movie is split in to five parts, but should skip to the next part automatically.

This episode starts with the plow, from which you get craftsmen, civilization, irrigation, pottery and writing, mathematics, a calendar to predict floods, empires, and a modern world where change happens so rapidly you can’t keep up.

Car of the Future

Tom Magliozzi has a problem. The wacky co-host of NPR's Car Talk needs to replace his beloved 1952 MG roadster. But where do you turn to in today's car market? Is new technology about to transform the way we drive?

Hunting the Hidden Dimension

You may not know it, but fractals, like the air you breathe, are all around you. Their irregular, repeating shapes are found in cloud formations and tree limbs, in stalks of broccoli and craggy mountain ranges, even in the rhythm of the human heart. In this film, NOVA takes viewers on a fascinating quest with a group of maverick mathematicians determined to decipher the rules that govern fractal geometry.

For centuries, fractal-like irregular shapes were considered beyond the boundaries of mathematical understanding. Now, mathematicians have finally begun mapping this uncharted territory. Their remarkable findings are deepening our understanding of nature and stimulating a new wave of scientific, medical, and artistic innovation stretching from the ecology of the rain forest to fashion design. The documentary highlights a host of filmmakers, fashion designers, physicians, and researchers who are using fractal geometry to innovate and inspire.

How Does Your Memory Work?

You might think that your memory is there to help you remember facts, such as birthdays or shopping lists. If so, you would be very wrong. The ability to travel back in time in your mind is, perhaps, your most remarkable ability, and develops over your lifespan.

Horizon takes viewers on an extraordinary journey into the human memory. From the woman who is having her most traumatic memories wiped by a pill, to the man with no memory, this film reveals how these remarkable human stories are transforming our understanding of this unique human ability.

The findings reveal the startling truth that everyone is little more than their own memory.

Hunting the Edge of Space, part 2: The Ever Expanding Universe

In this two-hour special, NOVA examines how a simple instrument, the telescope, has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe. What began as a curiosity—two spectacle lenses held a foot apart—ultimately revolutionized human thought across science, philosophy, and religion. "Hunting the Edge of Space" takes viewers on a global adventure of discovery, dramatizing the innovations in technology and the achievements in science that have marked the rich history of the telescope.

Hour 2, "The Ever-Expanding Universe," introduces a new generation of ever-larger telescopes that is poised to reveal answers to longstanding questions about our universe—and, in turn, to raise new questions.

Hunting the Edge of Space, part 1: The Mystery of the Milky Way

In this two-hour special, NOVA examines how a simple instrument, the telescope, has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe. What began as a curiosity—two spectacle lenses held a foot apart—ultimately revolutionized human thought across science, philosophy, and religion. "Hunting the Edge of Space" takes viewers on a global adventure of discovery, dramatizing the innovations in technology and the achievements in science that have marked the rich history of the telescope.

Hour 1, "The Mystery of the Milky Way," chronicles the history of telescopes, from Galileo's refractor to Newton's reflector and beyond. It looks at key discoveries, such as those made by William Herschel and his sister Caroline, including the discovery of the planet Uranus. Hour 1 also looks at recent missions: the voyage of the Cassini spacecraft to Saturn, the Kepler telescope's search for planets beyond our solar system, and the Herschel Space Observatory's examination of the Milky Way, which is so large that it would take 100,000 years traveling at the speed of light to cross from one edge to the other.