The Air You Breathe Is Bacteria Poop | Peter Girguis
04/22/2026 | 1 mins.
Long before trees and grass, microbes were shaping our atmosphere. Evolutionary biologist Peter Girguis explains how ancient bacteria learned to split water for energy, and why their waste product changed Earth forever. For more, check out the extended interview with Peter Girguis. Learn more about NOVA and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
The Fish That Could Walk | Sean B. Carrol
04/15/2026 | 1 mins.
How did animals first make the giant step from water to land? Evolutionary biologist Sean B. Carroll explains how the discovery of Tiktaalik—a fossil with both fish and limb-like features—revealed a key moment in evolution. For more, check out the extended interview with Sean B. Carroll. Learn more about NOVA and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
When Whales Could Walk
04/14/2026 | 18 mins.
What if whales had legs? Once upon a time, they did. Sort of. An astonishing fossil trail shows that modern whales actually evolved from hooved land mammals. Whales still carry the fingerprints of this past, from their stomach anatomy to their swimming gait. Dive in to discover the wild story of how whales traded legs for fins, as we uncover clues about their ancestors, as well as their unlikely present-day relatives. To watch the full film, visit https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/when-whales-could-walk/ Learn more about NOVA and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
How Close Can You Safely Get to a Black Hole? | Janna Levin
04/08/2026 | 1 mins.
Black holes aren’t the cosmic monsters Hollywood makes them out to be. Astrophysicist Janna Levin explains why they’re so hard to detect, why they’re not as destructive as you might assume, and how you could safely orbit much closer than you think. For more, check out the extended interview with Janna Levin. Learn more about NOVA and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
A New Law of Nature? | Robert Hazen & Michael Wong
04/01/2026 | 2 mins.
Could the universe be governed by a law we haven’t discovered yet? Mineralogist Robert Hazen and astrobiologist Michael Wong propose a new rule—the law of increasing functional information—to explain why complex systems evolve and why complexity keeps emerging over time. For more, check out the extended interview with Robert Hazen and Michael Wong. Learn more about NOVA and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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