By the Scientific Revolution, great strides had been made in understanding the geometry of objects fixed in time and space; the race was now on to discover the mathematics of objects in motion. In this program, Professor Marcus du Sautoy investigates mathematical progress during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in Europe. Topics include the linking of algebra and geometry by René Descartes; the properties of prime numbers, discovered by Pierre...

This program studies European exploration and conquest, beginning in the late Middle Ages and leading up to the emergence of the major colonial powers. Byzantium's fall in 1453 sets the narrative stage for Henry the Navigator's massive initiative to find new trade routes into Asia. Henry's nautical school at Sagres is described in detail, along with the voyages of Columbus, Gil Eannes, Vasco da Gama, and contemporaneous Arabian and Chinese adventurers....

Why History? puts the viewer in the passenger seat for an adventurous field trip through the heartland of the United States. Traveling highways and byways through six states, our host visits a variety of people and places in search of the true meaning of history. Why History? dispels the myth that history is limited to the study of names, dates, and events from the distant past. Instead, it reveals how analyzing and interpreting history is an integral...

During Europe's Middle Ages, mathematics flourished primarily on other shores. This program follows Professor Marcus du Sautoy as he discusses mathematical achievements of Asia, the Islamic world, and early-Renaissance Europe. Topics include China's invention of a decimal place number system and the development of an early version of sudoku; India's contribution to trigonometry and creation of a symbol for the number zero, as well as Indians' understanding...

In this program, Professor Marcus du Sautoy addresses mathematical advances of 20th-century Europe and America. Topics include Georg Cantor's exploration of the concept of infinity; chaos theory, formulated by Henri Poincaré; Kurt Gödel's incompleteness theorems; the work of André Weil and his colleagues with algebraic geometry; and the influence of Alexander Grothendieck, whose ideas have influenced mathematical thinking about the hidden structures...

Global energy use increases by the day. Polluting the atmosphere with ever more carbon dioxide is not a viable solution for our future energy needs. Can new technologies such as carbon sequestration and ethanol production help provide the energy we need without pushing the concentrations of CO2 to dangerous levels?

Ocean systems operate on a range of scales, from massive systems such as El Niño that affects weather across the globe, to tiny photosynthetic organisms near the ocean surface that take in large amounts of carbon dioxide. This program looks at how ocean systems regulate themselves and thus help maintain the planet's habitability.

The atmosphere is what makes the Earth habitable. Heat-trapping gases allow ecosystems to flourish. While the NOAA Global Monitoring Project documents the fluctuations in greenhouse gases worldwide, MIT's Prof. Kerry Emanuel looks at the role of hurricanes in regulating global climate.

While essential to the lives of humans and animals, fresh water only accounts for six percent of the world's water supply. Scientists in Florida's Everglades and the water challenged Southwest consider the optimum use of existing sources of fresh water for both humans and ecosystems.

Earth's essential systems are being stressed in many ways. There are many tipping points in the environment, beyond which there could be serious consequences. Will human ingenuity, resiliency, and cooperation save us from the worst outcomes of our global experiment?