Episode 1
Infinite Secrets
55m
A battered manuscript turns up after 1000 years revealing the mind of the Greek genius Archimedes
Episode credits
Directed by Liz TuckerGuest stars Jeremiah Kissel
TV series
NOVA
1974TV-PG53 seasons7.0 / 10
PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Where to watch in United States
Checked Sep 1, 2026
NOVA is available to stream on DirecTV On Demand, Hoopla, Prime Video, and YouTube TV in United States. You can also rent or buy it from Google Play, Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
Synopsis
PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.
Season 31 episodes
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Where to watch NOVA
Episode 2
Who Killed the Red Baron?
55m
Forensic experts investigate the most famous aviation mystery of World War 1.
Episode credits
Directed by Peter NicholsonGuest stars Jeremiah Kissel
Episode 3
The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream (1)
55m
Part 1, "Einstein's Dream," introduces string theory and shows how modern physics—composed of two theories that are ferociously incompatible—reached its schizophrenic impasse: One theory, general relativity, successfully describes big things like stars and galaxies, while another, quantum mechanics, is equally successful at explaining small things like atoms and subatomic particles. Albert Einstein, the inventor of general relativity, dreamed of finding a single theory that would embrace all of nature's laws. But in this quest for the so-called unified theory, Einstein came up empty-handed, and the conflict between general relativity and quantum mechanics has stymied all who've followed. That is, until the discovery of string theory.
Episode credits
Directed by Joseph McMasterGuest stars Brian Greene
Episode 4
The Elegant Universe: String's the Thing (2)
55m
Part 2, "String's the Thing," opens with a whimsical scene in a movie theater in which the history of the universe runs backwards to the Big Bang, the moment at which general relativity and quantum mechanics both came into play, and therefore the point at which our conventional model of reality breaks down. Then it's string theory to the rescue as Greene describes the steps that led from a forgotten 200-year-old mathematical formula to the first glimmerings of strings—quivering strands of energy whose different vibrations give rise to quarks, electrons, photons, and all other elementary particles. Strings are truly tiny, being smaller than an atom by the same factor that a tree is smaller than the solar system. But, as Greene explains, they are able to combine the laws of the large and the laws of the small into a proposal for a single, harmonious theory of everything.
Episode credits
Directed by Joseph McMasterGuest stars Brian Greene
Episode 5
The Elegant Universe: Welcome to the 11th Dimension (3)
55m
Part 3 of "The Elegant Universe” with host Brian Greene shows how Edward Witten of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, aided by others, revolutionized string theory by successfully uniting the five different versions into a single theory that is cryptically named "M-theory," a development that requires a total of eleven dimensions. Ten...eleven...who's counting? But the new 11th dimension implies that strings can come in shapes called membranes, or "branes" for short. These have truly science fiction-like qualities, since in principle they can be as large as the universe. A brane can even be a universe—a parallel universe—and we may be living on one right now.
Episode credits
Directed by Joseph McMaster, Julia CortGuest stars Brian Greene
Episode 6
Wright Brothers' Flying Machine
55m
Relive the engineering challenges that two bicycle makers overcame to become the first in flight.
Episode credits
Directed by David AxelrodWritten by Michael Barnes, Kate Hudec, David AxelrodGuest stars Neil Ross
Episode 7
Magnetic Storm
55m
Is the magnetic field protecting Earth from deadly radiation about to reverse direction or even dissapear?
Episode credits
Directed by Duncan CoppWritten by David SingtonGuest stars Gene Galusha
Episode 8
Volcano Above the Clouds
55m
Join a scientific expedition to the glacier-capped summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain.
Episode credits
Directed by Hugh ThomsonWritten by Hugh ThomsonGuest stars Jeremiah Kissel
Episode 9
MARS Dead or Alive
55m
Go inside NASA's risky field trip to the red planet in this tense and dramatic behind-the-scenes chronicle of the $820 million Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project.
Episode credits
Directed by Mark DavisWritten by Mark DavisGuest stars Neil Ross
Episode 10
Secrets of the Crocodile Caves
55m
Rare lemurs and crocodiles with bizarre cave-dwelling behavior draw scientists to remote corner of Madagascar.
Episode credits
Directed by Jacinth O'DonnellWritten by Julia CortGuest stars Lance Lewman
Episode 11
Dogs and More Dogs
55m
NOVA goes beyond the wagging tails and floppy ears to reveal surprising insights into the origin and evolutionary strategy of our canine companions. From a wolf research facility in rural Indiana to New York’s Westminster Dog Show, you’ll discover some amazing dog facts. Did you know the Saluki can beat any other mammal on earth in a three-mile race? That dogs developed spots for a specific reason? And that their evolution is helping us learn about our own?
Episode credits
Directed by Noel Buckner, Rob WhittleseyGuest stars John Lithgow
Episode 12
Descent Into the Ice
55m
A team of "glacionauts" verntures into a labyrinth of unexplored and hazardous glacier caves on France's Mt. Blanc.
Episode credits
Directed by Liesl ClarkWritten by Liesl ClarkGuest stars Jeremiah Kissel
Episode 13
Crash of Flight 111
55m
One of the most exhaustive investigations in aviation history reveals telling clues to the cause of a dissaster off Nova Scotia.
Episode credits
Directed by Gary GlassmanWritten by Gary GlassmanGuest stars Will Lyman
Episode 14
Life and Death in the War Zone
55m
While other reporters were embedded in fighting units during the Iraq War, NOVA was covering the emergency medical response, living night and day with the doctors, nurses, and medics in a frontline Combat Support Hospital (CSH). The program captures a period of the conflict in April and May of 2003 when CSH units faced a deluge of injured Iraqi soldiers and civilians who had little support from their country's collapsed health-care system.
Episode credits
Directed by Dimitri Doganis, Callum MacraeGuest stars Will Lyman
Episode 15
Hunt for the Supertwister
55m8.0 / 10
Scientists, meteorologists and storm chasers try to uncover the secrets of F5 tornadoes, the largest, most powerful and most dangerous on Earth. Included are looks at how funnels form and the devastating 2003 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, plus "tornado tourists," who pay companies to take them to the ferocious phenomena to see them first-hand.
Episode credits
Directed by Thomas LucasWritten by Julia Cort, Thomas LucasGuest stars Gene Galusha
Episode 16
World in the Balance: The People Paradox (1)
55m
Nova investigates the impact of forces that are radically changing populations in both rich and poor nations.
Episode credits
Directed by Sarah HoltWritten by Sarah HoltGuest stars Oliver Platt
Episode 17
World in the Balance: China Revs Up (2)
55m
Nova investigates the impact of forces that are radically changing populations in both rich and poor nations.
Episode credits
Directed by Chris SchmidtWritten by Chris Schmidt, Joel OlickerGuest stars Oliver Platt
Episode 18
Battle Plan Under Fire
55mfinale
Can the US military's high tech weaponry prevail against insurgants.
Episode credits
Directed by C. Scott WillisWritten by Michael WinshipGuest stars Will Lyman, Calvin Sims, C. Scott Willis
Episode information updated Sep 2, 2026
More about NOVA
Cast
Corey JohnsonNarrator
Jay O. SandersSelf - Narrator (voice)
Demetri GoritsasNarrator
Richard SmithHost
Lance LewmanNarrator (voice)
Ted MarcouxNarrator
Peter ThomasNarrator
Brian GreeneHostProduction details
- Status
- Returning Series
- Series type
- Documentary
- Episodes
- 1,025
- Original language
- English
Networks & production
PBSUnited States
GBHUnited States
Themes
candiddramaticfactualinspirationalinstructivenature
