Origins: The Journey of Humankind

Aired 2017-03-06

Harnessing fire gave us the power to create, to destroy and to transform. But it also taught us hard lessons about what we can and cannot control. This is the story of how fire transformed our biology and carried us from the savannah to the moon.

Aired 2017-03-13

Microscopic armies have waged war on humanity for thousands of years. Medicine is our great weapon to fight back against invisible, unthinkable death.

Aired 2017-03-20

Money is the most successful story imagined by humans, because it's the only story everyone believes. From a simple act of trade to the greed for gold to today’s global economy, the meaning of money and what we value changes as civilization evolves. If modern money is a reflection of who we are, what does it say about us?

Aired 2017-03-27

If knowledge is power, communication is the jet fuel, the delivery system, the gift we give each other that links the modern world. But it has a dark side.

Aired 2017-04-03

War brings out the best and worst in humanity. It has revolutionized medicine, transportation and communication, and changed how we live and how we think.

Aired 2017-04-09

The human race has moved from bone huts to skyscrapers. Today, we are seemingly everywhere ... everywhere we want to be. Our walls and structures dominate the landscape. They don't just protect us, they define us. They represent our dream of the modern world. "Shelter" is the story of how we shaped the world around us, and how that world shaped us back.

Aired 2017-04-10

When it comes to the edge of the darkness, the bend in the horizon or the distant stars, humans can't help ourselves: exploration is in our nature. We have climbed to the summits of the earth, peered into the depths of the oceans and planted our feet on the moon. Our primal curiosity has sparked new inventions and revealed the mysteries of the universe.

Aired 2017-04-17

Freedom of movement has given us freedom of mind. The flow of people and materials exposes us to new ideas, new ways of life and new understanding. This is the story of how transportation turned society inside out. How engines and animals powered the rise of civilization. And how the innovations that drive humanity forward made us modern.