The Nature of Things

Season 48

17 episodes · Oct 16, 2008

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  • S48E1

    The Hobbit Enigma

    Oct 16, 2008

    One of the greatest controversies in science today: just what did scientists really find when they uncovered the tiny, human-like skeleton of a strange creature on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003? Since the discovery was made public a bitter dispute has split the world of anthropology.

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  • S48E2

    Rodney's Robot Revolution

    Oct 23, 2008

    Has the time come to meet an artificially intelligent robot? Engineer and inventor Rodney Brooks thinks so. Forget about all those shiny robotic home-helpers of the past-Brooks is out to design a robot that can think for itself!

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  • S48E3

    The Adventurers: The Last Nomads

    Oct 30, 2008

    Linguist Ian Mackenzie has tracked the last true nomadic hunting and gathering people on earth - the Penan of Borneo. Their way of life is quickly disappearing as aggressive logging interests swallow up their forest habitat.

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  • S48E4

    The Adventurers: The Everlasting Oasis

    Nov 6, 2008

    University of Toronto archaeologist Tony Mills travels to the eastern desert of Egypt where he and other archaeologists have unearthed an untouched marvel: a site of over 500,000 years of uninterrupted human habitation.

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  • S48E5

    The Adventurers: A Story Told in Stone

    Nov 13, 2008

    Archeologist Edmundo Edwards pulls back the vines and trees of the jungle to find huge stone cities that sprawled across the interiors of Tahiti, Raivavae and the Marquesas Islands.

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  • S48E6

    The Suzuki Diaries: Europe

    Nov 16, 200860m

    David Suzuki and his daughter Sarika head out on a road trip across Europe to see sustainability in action and meet the people who are working towards restoring the equilibrium between human needs and planetary limits.

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  • S48E7

    The Adventurers: The Lost People of Baja

    Nov 20, 2008

    Canadian paleo-pathologist Eldon Molto is leading the search for clues of the mysterious Pericu people of Baja California, Mexico - a fierce, primitive tribe that disappeared over a century ago, after being exposed to European disease. They left virtually nothing behind but their bones.

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  • S48E8

    The Brain that Changes Itself

    Nov 27, 200860m

    Based on the best-selling book by Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Norman Doidge, a look at how we view the human mind.

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  • S48E9

    Gone Sideways

    Jan 8, 2009

    A light-hearted look at serendipity in science, from life-saving cancer cures to the x-ray machine and the discovery of North America.

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  • S48E10

    Black Wave: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez

    Jan 15, 2009

    A saga about what happens when ordinary people struggle for justice against a huge corporation that has destroyed both their environment and their livelihoods.

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  • S48E11

    Supercar: Building the Car of the Future

    Jan 29, 2009

    Engineering professor Brian Fleck on a quest to meet the engineers, designers and even students who are trying to build the car of the future.

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  • S48E12

    Living City: A Critical Guide

    Feb 5, 2009

    What's wrong with Canada's cities? What's right? Award-winning urban affairs columnist Christopher Hume takes a cross-country journey to explore the sustainability, viability and liveability of Canada's population centres.

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  • S48E13

    Inuit Odyssey

    Feb 12, 2009

    Canadian Arctic anthropologist Niobe Thompson takes us on a visually stunning journey across the North, tracing the origins of the modern Inuit.

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  • S48E14

    American Savannah

    Feb 19, 2009

    Our lawns are one of our simplest pleasures. Grass is a luxury that represents relaxation, freedom, time off and of course, time away from the world of tarmac and concrete. A wild and quirky ride into the world of one of America's longest-standing obsessions, the perfect lawn.

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  • S48E15

    Arctic Meltdown: A Changing World

    Jun 20, 2009

    From new companies rushing to claim the Arctic's plentiful resources to the effect climate change has had on animals as well as plant life. As the Arctic meltdown continues at an ever accelerating pace, who will protect it?

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  • S48E16

    Arctic Meltdown: The Arctic Passages

    Jun 27, 2009

    Until recently, only a few ships braved travel through these ice-strewn waters. More and more ships cross these seas each year and with more traffic come higher risks.

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  • S48E17

    Arctic Meltdown: Adapting to Change

    Jul 4, 2009

    A look at two different Arctics - one that is the storybook land of ice, snow and polar bears and the other that is covered with petroleum plants and pipelines carrying fossil fuels.

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