Understanding (1998-2004)

(Airdate: 3/3/04)

A tour of factories reveals how items as diverse as tractors, lipstick and robots are produced.

(Airdate: 1/30/04)

From subways to storage.

(Airdate: 12/4/03)

Money may be the most powerful tool humans have ever invented.

(Airdate: 5/12/03)

(Airdate: 5/5/03)

Obesity.

(Airdate: 1/30/03)

Remnants of a floating stone city; sandstone dwellings in canyon cliffs; huge, patterned lines in...

(Airdate: 11/23/02)

(Airdate: 11/21/02)

Tales of the paranormal have intrigued civilizations throughout history.

(Airdate: 11/4/02)

The body has a set weight that it strives to maintain.

(Airdate: 10/18/02)

Cutthroat politics shape Saddam Hussein; rivalries of Iraq's Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites.

(Airdate: 9/21/02)

(Airdate: 6/29/02)

(Airdate: 5/18/02)

(Airdate: 5/11/02)

(Airdate: 5/10/02)

(Airdate: 4/1/02)

Scientific evidence supports Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, but controversy surrounds it.

(Airdate: 3/29/02)

Skydivers; wave-riders; wing-walkers.

(Airdate: 2/20/02)

People imagine what life may be like 20 years from now.

(Airdate: 2/5/02)

The brain's intricate organization is revealed through real-life stories.

(Airdate: 1/15/02)

Amnesia victim; images of the war haunt a Vietnam veteran; altered memories.

(Airdate: 12/23/01)

High IQ; partial brain removal; 3-D imaging.

(Airdate: 11/15/01)

War.

(Airdate: 11/10/01)

Car travel becomes increasingly hazardous.

(Airdate: 8/15/01)

Earth nearly hits asteroids.

(Airdate: 5/17/01)

Why people kill.

(Airdate: 4/22/01)

Symbolism of pyramids; construction and alignment secrets.

(Airdate: 3/23/01)

Thrill-seeking behavior plays a vital role in human culture.

(Airdate: 1/15/01)

The formation of caves.

(Airdate: 1/13/01)

Air-traffic controllers safely navigate 200,000 airplanes every day.

(Airdate: 10/21/00)

The brain requires sleep and regulates it at all cost.

(Airdate: 10/15/00)

The world's tallest structures are designed to handle high winds, earthquakes and fire.

(Airdate: 10/8/00)

Scientists assess global warming's effect on the world's ice.

(Airdate: 3/28/00)

Chasing tornados with VORTEX; visiting NOAA's Space Environment Center.

(Airdate: 11/21/98)

Taking chances; perceiving the odds; compulsive gamblers; adaptive systems and artificial...

(Airdate: 8/29/98)

Hollywood depictions of extraterrestrials; SETI project; director Barry Sonnenfeld.

(Airdate: 6/27/98)

Physical principles, history and construction materials make up a study of bridges.

The world of quantum mechanics; uncertainty of a world in constant flux.

Race poses a challenge to the world community.

Scientists explore the complexities of the five senses.

Origins and future of sex; in-vitro fertilization; genetic engineering; computer sex.

Explaining the universe; new discoveries.

Genetic engineering; Dolly the sheep; forensics; gene-based drugs; temperament and health; ethical...

Automotive pioneers; electric cars; future of auto-making.

How televisions work; the making of a TV program.

Author Tom Clancy; actor John Travolta; jets; fighter planes.

Magnetic forces; effect on life; technology.

Links between time and gravity/magnetism.

Electricity powers life from the brain to the heart.

Lava junkies, victims and volcanologists have varying perspectives on volcanic power.

Interview with explorer Thor Heyerdahl; scientific knowledge of the world's oceans.

The explosive power of fire; agents search for a serial arsonist; land managers use fire to maintain...

Mankind's battle with bacteria; future technology.

Narrator Candice Bergen explores the often abstract and invisible inner workings of computers.

Laughing patterns; how the brain processes a joke; spontaneous laughter infects an African...

Research of the memory illuminates amnesia, Alzheimer's disease and gifted memory.

Humans perceive beauty in nature, the arts and themselves; the science behind beauty.

How cities live and die; symbols of civilization.

Astronauts, scientists, engineers explore the future of space travel.

Viruses; vaccines; the immune system.