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.
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.
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 32 episodes
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
"Origins: Earth is Born" gives viewers a spectacular glimpse of the tumultuous first billion years of Planet Earth—a time of continuous catastrophe. Vivid animation lets viewers witness the traumatic birth of the moon from a titanic collision between Earth and an object believed to have been the size of Mars. Bombarded by meteors and comets, rocked by massive volcanic eruptions, and scoured by hot acid rain, the early Earth seems a highly improbable place for life to have taken root. Despite such violent beginnings, scientists have found new clues that life-giving water and oxygen appeared on our planet much earlier than previously thought.
Episode credits
Directed by Alice HarperWritten by Joseph McMasterGuest stars Neil deGrasse Tyson
"Origins: How Life Began," zeroes in on the mystery of exactly how it happened. Join the hunt for hardy microbes that flourish in the most unlikely places: inside rocks in a mine shaft two miles down, inside a cave dripping with acid as strong as a car battery's, and in noxious gas bubbles erupting from the Pacific ocean floor. The survival of these tough microorganisms suggests they may be related to the planet's first primitive life forms. Host astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson deepens the search by investigating tantalizing and controversial chemical "signatures" of life inside three-billion-year-old rocks and meteorites found around the world.
Episode credits
Directed by Alice HarperWritten by Joseph McMasterGuest stars Neil deGrasse Tyson
In "Origins: Where are the Aliens?," host astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explores such provocative questions as: would "ETs" resemble us or the creatures of science fiction? Are there "aliens" already amongst us on Planet Earth—brainy creatures whose intelligence is very different from our own? And are planets on which life can flourish rare or common in our universe?
Episode credits
Directed by Larry Klein, Julia CortWritten by Larry Klein, Julia CortGuest stars Neil deGrasse Tyson
"Origins: Back to the Beginning" explores how the colossal, mind-boggling forces of the early universe made it possible for habitable worlds to emerge. The clues begin with a race among scientists to capture lingering echoes of the big bang's ferocious energy in a microwave "whisper" from deep space. The race pits underdog astronomer Tony Readhead and his improvised detector in the high Andes against NASA scientists and their state-of-the-art satellite probe. Host astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson shares his excitement with viewers as computer animation of the big bang's echo emerges on the screen. It's as close as we can get to a "photograph" of the primordial universe. Here we glimpse the seeds from which all the galaxies, stars, and planets eventually grew.
Episode credits
Directed by Thomas LevensonGuest stars Neil deGrasse Tyson
Follow an expedition to a remote cave in the Judean desert, first excavated by the famed Israeli archeologist Yigael Yadin in 1960-61. Yadin uncovered a cache of ancient documents, human skulls, and artifacts that shed light on a legendary revolt by Jews against the Roman Empire in the year 132. The uprising, led by Jewish patriot Shimon Bar-Kokhba, is said to have resulted in the Roman slaughter of 580,000 Jews. NOVA explores the last refuge of one group of Bar-Kokhba's followers with an historian whose bold theories have rocked the world of biblical archeology.
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Directed by Kirk WolfingerWritten by Matthew Collins, Gary HochmanGuest stars Keith David
NOVA follows a team of scientists as the monitor the Martian rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Spirit runs into some problems, but Opportunity takes a photograph that may confirm the existence of water on Mars.
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Directed by Mark DavisWritten by Mark DavisGuest stars Neil Ross
For decades, a fossil skull discovered in Piltdown, England, was hailed as the missing link between apes and humans. Entire careers were built on its authenticity. Then in 1953, the awful truth came out: "Piltdown Man" was a fake! But who done it? In "The Boldest Hoax," NOVA gets to the bottom of the greatest scientific hoodwinking of all time.
Episode credits
Directed by Kate BartlettGuest stars Richard Donat
Ever since its sensational unveiling by Yale University scholars in October 1965, the Vinland Map has been a lightning rod for passionate debate. Most reviews of the arguments, including NOVA's program, have focused on scientific tests designed to gauge the authenticity of the map's ink. The opinions of experts in cartography and historical manuscripts have commanded much less attention, yet from the outset scholars in these disciplines pointed out glaring anomalies in the case for the Vinland Map's authenticity.
On December 26, 2004 a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean kills more than 250,000 people. NOVA takes an in depth look at just what happened on that fateful day.
Episode credits
Directed by Lara Acaster, Alex WilliamsWritten by Martin WilliamsGuest stars Gene Galusha
Explores the Nazi quest for atomic weapons as it follows a mission to recover barrels of heavy water bound for Berlin from a Norwegian hydroelectric plant.
The auction of some of Newton's papers early in the 20th century uncovers the fact that he had a side other than the genius mathematician and visionary the world knew him as.
An exploration of the devastation wrought on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina details failures of levees and disaster-relief planning; why the city was unprepared; and what made Katrina so powerful.
