Smithsonian Channel Follow the meteoric rise of the Macedonian conqueror who seized Egypt and built an empire that stretched from Europe to Asia; find out how founding the city of Alexandria and becoming a pharaoh transformed Alexander's life before his death at age 32. 2026-10-22 All ancient civilizations have to trade with their neighbors and enemies to survive. 2026-10-22 Classical historian Dr. Michael Scott explores the often-invisible treasures of one of the greatest ancient cities in the world: Istanbul. The city has been at the crossroads of Europe and Asia for over two and a half millennia. 2026-10-22 Follow the meteoric rise of the Macedonian conqueror who seized Egypt and built an empire that stretched from Europe to Asia; find out how founding the city of Alexandria and becoming a pharaoh transformed Alexander's life before his death at age 32. 2026-10-22 All ancient civilizations have to trade with their neighbors and enemies to survive. 2026-10-22 Classical historian Dr. Michael Scott explores the often-invisible treasures of one of the greatest ancient cities in the world: Istanbul. The city has been at the crossroads of Europe and Asia for over two and a half millennia. 2026-10-22 Follow the meteoric rise of the Macedonian conqueror who seized Egypt and built an empire that stretched from Europe to Asia; find out how founding the city of Alexandria and becoming a pharaoh transformed Alexander's life before his death at age 32. 2026-10-22 All ancient civilizations have to trade with their neighbors and enemies to survive. 2026-10-22 Visiting London's Gherkin, Seattle's Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and Lyon's Musée des Confluences to uncover how and why they were built. 2026-10-22 Nevada has over 40,000 abandoned mines posing dangers; Mike joins contractors for a week to secure five sites; alongside biologists, they explore and document wildlife; reaching these isolated mines requires barges, helicopters and bulldozers. 2026-10-22 Traveling the Dordogne River via traditional boats through the green heart of southwest France; drinking wine and hunting for truffles; riding a luxury cruiser to a lighthouse built for a king. 2026-10-22 Get petrified by cryptic rock structures normally hidden from view; look inside curious dwellings in the Peruvian Andes; visit a sacred monolith in Wyoming's Black Hills; haunt a Turkish stone village; spot an immovable waterfall in Mexico. 2026-10-22 A mysterious object is raised from the depths of the ocean; a stranded speedboat; an elite crew works to salvage America's biggest shipwreck before hurricane season. 2026-10-22 Traveling the Dordogne River via traditional boats through the green heart of southwest France; drinking wine and hunting for truffles; riding a luxury cruiser to a lighthouse built for a king. 2026-10-22 Get petrified by cryptic rock structures normally hidden from view; look inside curious dwellings in the Peruvian Andes; visit a sacred monolith in Wyoming's Black Hills; haunt a Turkish stone village; spot an immovable waterfall in Mexico. 2026-10-22 A mysterious object is raised from the depths of the ocean; a stranded speedboat; an elite crew works to salvage America's biggest shipwreck before hurricane season. 2026-10-22 Visiting Australia's One Central Park, the Oslo Opera House and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco to reveal their architectural secrets. 2026-10-22 Mike joins the Assault Craft Unit 5, the U.S. Navy's team for Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCACs); LCACs carry heavy vehicles and troops onto beaches; Mike helps fly & fix an overhauled LCAC during a U.S. Marines beach assault training mission. 2026-10-22 Tease out the common denominators that lead to tyranny; map the rise of some of the 20th century's dictators and discover how they seized power, exploited governing systems and gutted existing power structures to gain total control. 2026-10-22 Uncover the sinister ways that dictators convince their followers to worship them as heroes; watch how they weave mythical narratives around their abilities, selling themselves as saviors who should hold absolute power over the people. 2026-10-22 Dictators may appear omnipotent, but their position depends largely on a network of individuals who benefit from their rule, and their support does not come cheap. 2026-10-22 Dictators are characterized as charismatic, narcissistic and sadistic, but most of all by their thirst for power; once in power, holding on to it requires negotiation, coercion and force. 2026-10-22 Dictators often attempt to expand their jurisdiction beyond the borders of their country; this usually means armed invasion and the death of large numbers of soldiers and civilians. 2026-10-22 Consider the factors that inevitably cause dictatorships to crumble; look at how hubris destroys cults of personality; see how factions fracture military dictatorships; weigh the miscalculations that turn the tide against tyranny. 2026-10-22 Dig into a groundbreaking medieval silver mine revealed by a German sinkhole. 2026-10-23 Unraveling the mysterious decline of Angkor, the Khmer capital that was a marvel of urban engineering for 600 years; hunting for secrets hidden in the mud that could explain how the population of this Cambodian imperial city vanished without a trace. 2026-10-23 Exhume chilling insights into ancient rituals, legendary warriors, and brutal deaths; investigate dozens of children's skeletons in Peru, find out if Amazon warriors once lived in Russia, and see what a UK cave full of butchered remains reveals. 2026-10-23 Dig into a groundbreaking medieval silver mine revealed by a German sinkhole. 2026-10-23 Unraveling the mysterious decline of Angkor, the Khmer capital that was a marvel of urban engineering for 600 years; hunting for secrets hidden in the mud that could explain how the population of this Cambodian imperial city vanished without a trace. 2026-10-23 Exhume chilling insights into ancient rituals, legendary warriors, and brutal deaths; investigate dozens of children's skeletons in Peru, find out if Amazon warriors once lived in Russia, and see what a UK cave full of butchered remains reveals. 2026-10-23 Dig into a groundbreaking medieval silver mine revealed by a German sinkhole. 2026-10-23 Unraveling the mysterious decline of Angkor, the Khmer capital that was a marvel of urban engineering for 600 years; hunting for secrets hidden in the mud that could explain how the population of this Cambodian imperial city vanished without a trace. 2026-10-23 Visiting Australia's One Central Park, the Oslo Opera House and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco to reveal their architectural secrets. 2026-10-23 Mike joins the Assault Craft Unit 5, the U.S. Navy's team for Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCACs); LCACs carry heavy vehicles and troops onto beaches; Mike helps fly & fix an overhauled LCAC during a U.S. Marines beach assault training mission. 2026-10-23 Rumoured to be the cleanest river in Europe, few dispute it's the coldest; cascading down from the Dinaric Alps in Serbia, it soon crosses the border into Bosnia-Herzegovina, where marine biologist and fisherman Sanel Riđanović casts for salmon. 2026-10-23 Witness animal spectacles from high above the Earth; watch a whirling herd of northern nomads; see undersea behemoths show off in the Pacific shallows; track a U.S. porcine stampede; confront top ocean predators on the Florida coast. 2026-10-23 A salvage maestro returns to raise more valuable tropical hardwood trying not to wreck his own boat in the process; the multimillion dollar operation to salvage America's biggest shipwreck. 2026-10-23 Rumoured to be the cleanest river in Europe, few dispute it's the coldest; cascading down from the Dinaric Alps in Serbia, it soon crosses the border into Bosnia-Herzegovina, where marine biologist and fisherman Sanel Riđanović casts for salmon. 2026-10-23 Witness animal spectacles from high above the Earth; watch a whirling herd of northern nomads; see undersea behemoths show off in the Pacific shallows; track a U.S. porcine stampede; confront top ocean predators on the Florida coast. 2026-10-23 A salvage maestro returns to raise more valuable tropical hardwood trying not to wreck his own boat in the process; the multimillion dollar operation to salvage America's biggest shipwreck. 2026-10-23 Exploring the design and engineering stories behind D.C.'s Museum of African American History, the Montreal Tower and the Equinor building in Oslo. 2026-10-23 Mike pushes himself to the limit to work with an elite team of high ropes techs on fixes hundreds of feet in the air; starting 45 stories up on the side of a skyscraper, then working and dangling on the edge. 2026-10-23 Exploring maritime heroes who left their mark on history through their bravery and skill, including Larry Chambers, Ernest Evans, and Robert Smalls. 2026-10-23 Recounting some of maritime warfare's explosions, from world wars and Vietnam to the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. 2026-10-23 Stories of historic Black struggle for equality in maritime combat; an enslaved powder boy who served during the French and Indian War; a Civil War gunner; the first African American to command a vessel with a fully integrated crew: Hugh Mulzac. 2026-10-23 A comprehensive look at the naval battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942 and the heroic efforts of U.S. sailors who held off powerful Imperial Navy. 2026-10-23 A look at how technological advances over the centuries have transformed maritime warfare. 2026-10-23 A look at how maritime task forces and the Coast Guard are keeping commercial vessels and US shores safe from pirates and drug smugglers. 2026-10-23 The German war industry urgently needs more iron; Hitler has his eye on the Norwegian coast and especially on the harbor of Narvik, through which iron ore is shipped from Sweden. 2026-10-24