Smithsonian Channel Canada

The Great Wall of China is more than just a part of history, it's part of the world's geography, a sprawling, massive edifice of mud, reeds, and billions of bricks. But why did the Chinese go to such lengths to build it?

America undergoes it's greatest period of change and unprecedented growth; the 1920 Wall Street bombing; the Greenwood massacre.

Personal accounts of the atomic attack on Hiroshima in 1945; the comprehensive story of the bombing of Hiroshima, from those who built it, dropped it, and survived it.

The North American F-100 Super Saber, also known as the Hun, becomes a supersonic powerhouse after initial difficulties; it was used primarily in the Vietnam War.

When his company attempts to capture a small village, an American soldier, born in Mexico but raised in Texas, must crawl through an enemy minefield to capture two German machine gun nests holding up his unit.

Personal accounts of the atomic attack on Hiroshima in 1945; the comprehensive story of the bombing of Hiroshima, from those who built it, dropped it, and survived it.

The North American F-100 Super Saber, also known as the Hun, becomes a supersonic powerhouse after initial difficulties; it was used primarily in the Vietnam War.

When his company attempts to capture a small village, an American soldier, born in Mexico but raised in Texas, must crawl through an enemy minefield to capture two German machine gun nests holding up his unit.

The Great Wall of China is more than just a part of history, it's part of the world's geography, a sprawling, massive edifice of mud, reeds, and billions of bricks. But why did the Chinese go to such lengths to build it?

America undergoes it's greatest period of change and unprecedented growth; the 1920 Wall Street bombing; the Greenwood massacre.

Looking at the engineering genius that's taken repurposing underground, from a rotting shipyard transformed into a subterranean museum to a rusting bank vault that now serves cocktails.

An aerial tour over New England captures its beauty while celebrating its rich history; from the Massachusetts harbours, where Americans rebelled against the British, to the autumn colours that blanket the mountains of Vermont.

The history of the solar system might be preserved out in the dark domain of Pluto and beyond.

A dramatic repair mission gives the Hubble Space Telescope another chance to capture stunning pictures like only it can.

Finding out how the insidious 'standard man' makes it hard to find a place where the gap doesn't impact us.

The Amazon rainforest is one of the enduring mysteries of the natural world.

The history of skyscrapers is the history of American cities, technological ingenuity, and a global boom in urbanization; from west to east, from five stories up to one kilometer high, there's nowhere to go but up.

Discovering what it takes to become an astronaut, blasting into outer space at 17,000 mph.

The Great Depression dominates the decade; Franklin Roosevelt's Presidency; the White House fire of 1930; home movies filmed by Lou Hoover.

A new raven breeding program begins at the Tower of London as the retiring governor prepares to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's 93rd birthday.

Personal accounts of the atomic attack on Hiroshima in 1945; the comprehensive story of the bombing of Hiroshima, from those who built it, dropped it, and survived it.

The North American F-100 Super Saber, also known as the Hun, becomes a supersonic powerhouse after initial difficulties; it was used primarily in the Vietnam War.

When his company attempts to capture a small village, an American soldier, born in Mexico but raised in Texas, must crawl through an enemy minefield to capture two German machine gun nests holding up his unit.

From a Boeing 747 transformed into a residential roof to a revolutionary sci-fi theatre made from a relic of the Industrial Revolution, looking at two showstopping structures that have pushed repurposing innovation to its absolute limits.

The Great Depression dominates the decade; Franklin Roosevelt's Presidency; the White House fire of 1930; home movies filmed by Lou Hoover.

The clifftop ruins of Tintagel Castle are shrouded in a tumultuous history and believed to be the birthplace of King Arthur; experts use cutting-edge tech to unlock the secrets of this ancient structure and reveal the truth behind a legendary ruler.

Archaeologists investigate the fate of Nero and his buried Golden Palace.

Nubian pyramids reveal the rise of female power in Ancient Kush; a shocking satellite image uncovers secrets of an ancient ancestral Puebloan site in New Mexico.

The clifftop ruins of Tintagel Castle are shrouded in a tumultuous history and believed to be the birthplace of King Arthur; experts use cutting-edge tech to unlock the secrets of this ancient structure and reveal the truth behind a legendary ruler.

Archaeologists investigate the fate of Nero and his buried Golden Palace.

Nubian pyramids reveal the rise of female power in Ancient Kush; a shocking satellite image uncovers secrets of an ancient ancestral Puebloan site in New Mexico.

The Great Depression dominates the decade; Franklin Roosevelt's Presidency; the White House fire of 1930; home movies filmed by Lou Hoover.

From a Boeing 747 transformed into a residential roof to a revolutionary sci-fi theatre made from a relic of the Industrial Revolution, looking at two showstopping structures that have pushed repurposing innovation to its absolute limits.

A journey over America's western landscape featuring "wild" history and stories of colorful characters.

In the future, telescopes will allow scientists to see further to planets that may support life.

In an attempt to view the cosmos beyond the scope of human vision, infrared light and gamma radiation are used.

Genghis Khan is responsible for over 40 million deaths; 16 million people carry his personal DNA.

6 million African Americans leave the southern states in the Great Migration to seek freedom and opportunity in the north and west.

U.S. paratroopers that dropped into France before the D-Day landings battle Nazi defenders for a key bridge behind enemy lines.

Five months after D-Day, the ground war finally arrives on German soil as British soldiers attack in the shadow of Hitler's infamous Siegfried Line.

Egyptologists investigate rumors that the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb unleashed a deadly curse.

America as the leader of the free world; Pearl Harbor; a new era of consumerism; the birth of suburbia.

A behind-the-scenes look at an ambitious war commemoration and retirement gala; a look back at the Tower's vital role during times of war.

The clifftop ruins of Tintagel Castle are shrouded in a tumultuous history and believed to be the birthplace of King Arthur; experts use cutting-edge tech to unlock the secrets of this ancient structure and reveal the truth behind a legendary ruler.

Archaeologists investigate the fate of Nero and his buried Golden Palace.

A dam hidden in the Welsh valleys is the site of an experiment; a Belarusian fortress that withstood the wrath of Napoleon; an outpost on an island that offered respite to U.S. troops; ancient engineering that brought life to the plains of Mexico.

Be it an 866 million Euro concert hall fifty metres in the sky, or a revolutionary underground farm thirty metres underground, repurposing pioneers are showing that the possibilities for abandoned structures are endless.

Egyptologists investigate rumors that the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb unleashed a deadly curse.

America as the leader of the free world; Pearl Harbor; a new era of consumerism; the birth of suburbia.

The pride and joy of Benito Mussolini's fleet, which was once the fastest liner on the Atlantic; discovering why she was never turned into a troop ship during the war, but remained a target for the Allies, who sank her after Italy surrendered.

Flying on one of the biggest helicopters on Earth, on a quest to pull valuable timber from the forest; huge repairs threaten to bring this mission to a halt.

A new Olympic and Paralympic museum tests engineers with its trailblazing accessible design. A dazzling curved glass skyscraper battles gravity in Milan. And a student center built under a noisy railroad.

The pride and joy of Benito Mussolini's fleet, which was once the fastest liner on the Atlantic; discovering why she was never turned into a troop ship during the war, but remained a target for the Allies, who sank her after Italy surrendered.

A new Olympic and Paralympic museum tests engineers with its trailblazing accessible design. A dazzling curved glass skyscraper battles gravity in Milan. And a student center built under a noisy railroad.

Egyptologists investigate rumors that the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb unleashed a deadly curse.

America as the leader of the free world; Pearl Harbor; a new era of consumerism; the birth of suburbia.

Be it an 866 million Euro concert hall fifty metres in the sky, or a revolutionary underground farm thirty metres underground, repurposing pioneers are showing that the possibilities for abandoned structures are endless.

A flight over Northern California explores ancient forests, timeless coasts, golden cities and the region's pioneering spirit.

Advanced telescopes capture images of the night sky from the Atacama Desert.

The Northern Lights tells the story of the makeup of the planet, the sun and possibly life on other planets.

A platoon of American Buffalo Soldiers exceeds all expectations to advance on a Nazi-occupied castle in the foothills of Northern Italy.

With thousands of German soldiers trapped in the Falaise Pocket, a small Canadian tank squadron tries to close off the escape route.

A U.S. Parachute Infantry Regiment rushes to protect a critical bridge from a Nazi battle group during the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge.

Using computer simulations, it is possible to fly over other worlds and see how galaxies interact.

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Hitler's final days are revealed through recently discovered eyewitness accounts.

Newly uncovered documents reveal a secret Nazi-American plot to rig the 1940 election and ultimately keep the U.S. out of WWII.

In April 1945, the Yamato, the largest battleship in history, left for Okinawa to destroy American warships and prevent their landing; weighing 70,000 tonnes and armed with 150 guns, it faced the U.S.

In May 1905, after a year of stalemate in the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's Pacific squadron arrived at the Tsushima Strait.

In May 1941, as Hitler prepared to invade the USSR, a major turning point in WWII unfolds.

In the opening weeks of World War II, a German U-Boat Commander launches a shocking attack against the Royal Navy in its own home port.

In direct violation of Hitler's orders a German U-Boat Commander sinks a passenger ship on the first day of the war sparking an international crisis.

On Christmas morning 1944, an Allied merchant ship off the coast of Australia fights off a torpedo attack by a German U-Boat with its deck guns.

With thousands of German soldiers trapped in the Falaise Pocket, a small Canadian tank squadron tries to close off the escape route.

A U.S. Parachute Infantry Regiment rushes to protect a critical bridge from a Nazi battle group during the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge.

Blinded in one eye in the battle for Normandy, a defiant French-Canadian sniper sets out to liberate a Dutch city in the final days of the war.

The story of fast food is the story of the American Dream; from a converted streetcar in Wichita, Kansas, the humble patty goes on to global domination; fried chicken turns a serial failure into a serious success; a burger ends the Cold War.

Mary Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt and Laura Bush's role as First Ladies in calming the nation in times of war.

Witnessing wild weather, emergency landings, animal invaders, and pandemic panics at Alaska's Ted Stevens Airport (ANC).

The story of fast food is the story of the American Dream; from a converted streetcar in Wichita, Kansas, the humble patty goes on to global domination; fried chicken turns a serial failure into a serious success; a burger ends the Cold War.

An in-depth look at the life of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, reveals new truths about his controversial rule.

Racial unrest divides the nation; Russia has a nuclear bomb; the Cold War; the brutal murder of 14-year-old black Chicagoan Emmett Till.

An intercontinental astronomy project in the desert of Chile.

A high-flying tour over Illinois; the Windy City, prairies and rivers; the state's dramatic history of great fires, crime and historic battles; Chicago's unique skyscrapers and the Lincoln Tomb.

The second largest planet is also a mini-solar system with 60 moons and those crazy rings.

The Dawn mission explores the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres.

Blinded in one eye in the battle for Normandy, a defiant French-Canadian sniper sets out to liberate a Dutch city in the final days of the war.

After the landing on Normandy Beach, the Battle of Carentan breaks out and an American unit launches a desperate bayonet charge.

After months of fighting in Europe, U.S. troops finally enter Germany; with their sights set on the city of Aachen, the Americans must break through two rows of bunker fortifications to capture the old capital.

The search for water is actually the search for life, and that search is taking man to some unusual places, including a moon of Saturn.

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Recounting some of maritime warfare's explosions, from world wars and Vietnam to the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll.

The Ahnenerbe, an elite SS division, sets out to prove that sacred sites from around the world were part of a superhuman Aryan master race.

It is 1943, and the Allies launch a campaign to liberate Italy from the occupying Nazi forces; Military experts use the latest drone imaging technology to understand how the Nazis used the Italian landscape to their advantage.

Between 1940 and 1942, the Axis powers unleash over 3,000 bombing raids on Malta, an island key to controlling the southern coast of the Mediterranean; Conflict archeologists use cutting-edge drone technology to explore the defenses of Malta.

Military experts and historians crisscross Europe to revisit the war's most iconic sites to uncover untold stories and long-forgotten secrets.

An American submarine commander manages to penetrate the defenses of a Japanese convoy in the Luzon Strait; the tables are turned, however, when the convoy's escorts go on the attack.

After a spectacular collision and ensuing attack from a Japanese ship, an American submarine crew begins a desperate struggle for survival.

As carrier groups deliver destruction to Japanese strongholds, American subs risk everything to surface in enemy waters and rescue downed aviators.

After the landing on Normandy Beach, the Battle of Carentan breaks out and an American unit launches a desperate bayonet charge.

After months of fighting in Europe, U.S. troops finally enter Germany; with their sights set on the city of Aachen, the Americans must break through two rows of bunker fortifications to capture the old capital.

A Japanese American regiment fights through darkened forests, heavy rains and entrenched Nazis to reach a lost U.S. battalion in the Vosges Mountains.

A tour of the CIA's private museum reveals some of the agency's spy craft and the missions on which they were used.

Mike Davidson heads to Brazil, where an offshore crew is racing the clock to set up giant power ships to deliver electricity to a country in desperate need.

Traveling from Canada to Belgium to the Southern U.S. to examine an eye-popping school, museum and railway station and reveal how they were built.

A tour of the CIA's private museum reveals some of the agency's spy craft and the missions on which they were used.

An exploration of China's first emperor's mausoleum, highlighted by 8,000 terra-cotta warriors who guard the royal tomb.

Rare archival films, iconic news footage and home movies during a decade of revolution; the first televised Presidential debate.

An up-close look at NASA's decades-long mission to reach and explore Mars, including its latest rover, the high-tech Perseverance.

A flight over Indiana explores the Hoosier State's rich agriculture, busy highways and basketball legends; exploring the War Memorial and the Angel Mounds of the southwest.

Scientists are now probing to detect gravity waves in space and mapping the gravity patterns of the moon for the first time.

For more than 25 years, the shuttle was our ticket to space and our laboratory in orbit.

A Japanese American regiment fights through darkened forests, heavy rains and entrenched Nazis to reach a lost U.S. battalion in the Vosges Mountains.

During the Battle of the Bulge, a young U.S. scout gets trapped behind enemy lines.

The vast majority of information being gathered about Mars is by orbiters chronicling everything they can.

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A United States army cook manages to stall Himmler's attempt to recapture Strasbourg.

Gordon Welchman's top-secret work helped defeat the Nazis and impacted modern codebreaking.

How a rocket changed the course of WWII and space flight.

British Commandos raid two occupied Norwegian islands to wipe out fish oil factories used to make explosives.

A secret British regiment in 1942 led a daring raid on a Nazi-occupied Libyan harbor.

An elite squad of Norwegians destroy a power plant in 1943 that the Nazis may have been using for nuclear weapons research.

Navigating the narrow, deep fjords that lead to Narvik, Norway, where German and British forces faced off in April 1940; repeated torpedo failures threatened to sink the mission and leave Hitler's invading troops exposed and vulnerable.

Learning why a clash over Nazi ideology wrecked a bright U-boat commander's career.

Retracing the steps of a German U-boat that's willing to do anything to replace its dwindling fuel and food stores, and get back to port; examining how the crew, plagued by scurvy, turns the tables on the US submarines that try to ram their ship.

During the Battle of the Bulge, a young U.S. scout gets trapped behind enemy lines.

A United States army cook manages to stall Himmler's attempt to recapture Strasbourg.

A platoon of Canadian tank hunters engages a column of Nazi Panther tanks at nighttime.

Archaeologists investigate the fate of Nero and his buried Golden Palace.

Stumble upon the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard in the wake of an ominous storm, then assess a precious stone's bloody curse. Discover the unforeseen consequences of disturbing an immortal Chinese army and get mesmerized by a divisive Egyptian sculpture.

Incredible treasures left behind by the raiders that were never found are examined, revealing the source of Han's wealth and power.

Archaeologists investigate the fate of Nero and his buried Golden Palace.

Egyptian archaeologists discover a vast burial chamber filled with over a hundred coffins.

New breakthroughs in science help to explain the origins of life and whether humans are alone in the universe.

An inside look at the July 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde jet and series of events that caused the accident.