Curiosity NOW

A look at some of history's criminals, con artists, frauds and fakes, from Adam Worth, the 19th-century inspiration for Professor Moriarty, to a jewel thief named Diamond Doris and a count who sold the Eiffel Tower to gullible buyers twice.

A look at espionage; meeting spies from Delilah to Roald Dahl and along the way revealing the real model for James Bond.

A look at wars that lasted for centuries and others that were over in minutes, as well as the difficulty of ending a war; the possibility of starting a war over almost anything, from an unprovoked invasion to a lost ear, a pastry or a stolen bucket.

Throughout history, men and women have dedicated themselves to raking in wealth in the form of old money, new money and blood money; a look at how they got it, spent it and how it affected their happiness, from Robber Barons to Mansa Musa of Mali.

Dr. John Doy is a guide on the Underground Railroad attempting to lead a group of men, women, and children to safety in Canada.

Colonel Thomas Rose is one of more than 1000 officers held in the notorious Libby Prison of Richmond, Va., known for its stark white walls, numbing conditions and rats.

Pauline Cushman is a Union war widow, a stage actress and a spy.

The front lines of the Civil War lie hundreds of miles from Vermont, but Confederate Bennett Young plans to bring the war to the North; he leads a group of raiders into the town of St. Albans to rob its banks and burn its buildings.

Enslaved aboard the Confederate ship the CSS Planter, Robert Smalls has learned the skills of a naval captain.

Turnage was born a slave; he has made multiple escape attempts, and has been brutally beaten because of them.

An unlikely team of amateur historians finds the Steamboat Arabia, one of the best preserved shipwrecks in U.S. history, 45 feet beneath a cornfield in Kansas.

Dr. John Doy is a guide on the Underground Railroad attempting to lead a group of men, women, and children to safety in Canada.

Colonel Thomas Rose is one of more than 1000 officers held in the notorious Libby Prison of Richmond, Va., known for its stark white walls, numbing conditions and rats.

Pauline Cushman is a Union war widow, a stage actress and a spy.

The front lines of the Civil War lie hundreds of miles from Vermont, but Confederate Bennett Young plans to bring the war to the North; he leads a group of raiders into the town of St. Albans to rob its banks and burn its buildings.

Enslaved aboard the Confederate ship the CSS Planter, Robert Smalls has learned the skills of a naval captain.

Turnage was born a slave; he has made multiple escape attempts, and has been brutally beaten because of them.

An unlikely team of amateur historians finds the Steamboat Arabia, one of the best preserved shipwrecks in U.S. history, 45 feet beneath a cornfield in Kansas.

Dr. John Doy is a guide on the Underground Railroad attempting to lead a group of men, women, and children to safety in Canada.

Colonel Thomas Rose is one of more than 1000 officers held in the notorious Libby Prison of Richmond, Va., known for its stark white walls, numbing conditions and rats.

Pauline Cushman is a Union war widow, a stage actress and a spy.

The front lines of the Civil War lie hundreds of miles from Vermont, but Confederate Bennett Young plans to bring the war to the North; he leads a group of raiders into the town of St. Albans to rob its banks and burn its buildings.

Enslaved aboard the Confederate ship the CSS Planter, Robert Smalls has learned the skills of a naval captain.

Turnage was born a slave; he has made multiple escape attempts, and has been brutally beaten because of them.

An unlikely team of amateur historians finds the Steamboat Arabia, one of the best preserved shipwrecks in U.S. history, 45 feet beneath a cornfield in Kansas.

Dr. John Doy is a guide on the Underground Railroad attempting to lead a group of men, women, and children to safety in Canada.

Colonel Thomas Rose is one of more than 1000 officers held in the notorious Libby Prison of Richmond, Va., known for its stark white walls, numbing conditions and rats.

Pauline Cushman is a Union war widow, a stage actress and a spy.

The front lines of the Civil War lie hundreds of miles from Vermont, but Confederate Bennett Young plans to bring the war to the North; he leads a group of raiders into the town of St. Albans to rob its banks and burn its buildings.

Enslaved aboard the Confederate ship the CSS Planter, Robert Smalls has learned the skills of a naval captain.

Turnage was born a slave; he has made multiple escape attempts, and has been brutally beaten because of them.

An unlikely team of amateur historians finds the Steamboat Arabia, one of the best preserved shipwrecks in U.S. history, 45 feet beneath a cornfield in Kansas.

Dr. John Doy is a guide on the Underground Railroad attempting to lead a group of men, women, and children to safety in Canada.

Colonel Thomas Rose is one of more than 1000 officers held in the notorious Libby Prison of Richmond, Va., known for its stark white walls, numbing conditions and rats.