Smithsonian Channel

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.

A look at the U.S. clandestine intelligence team of the 1980s called FOG (Field Operations Group) and how it paved the way for today's special ops forces.

In less than 200 years, the Aztecs rose from nomadic origins to build the powerful empire of Tenochtitlan. Combining archaeology and stunning 3D reconstructions, this series reveals the rise and fall of a remarkable civilization.

The engineering secrets behind the world's steepest mountain railway, a remodeled 145-year-old museum and a futuristic condo.

Mike Davidson goes to the biggest automated package sorting facility in the world, UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky; two million packages go through here every day.

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.

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.

Salvaging a 50-foot motor yacht in Islamorada, Fla.; a 44-foot launch hung up on a dam on the Mississippi River; repairing a major storm gate in the British Isles.

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.

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.

Salvaging a 50-foot motor yacht in Islamorada, Fla.; a 44-foot launch hung up on a dam on the Mississippi River; repairing a major storm gate in the British Isles.

Visiting London's Gherkin, Seattle's Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and Lyon's Musée des Confluences to uncover how and why they were built.

In Philadelphia, Mike is on streets, in tunnels, on tracks and in trolley restoration garages; he is working shoulder-to-shoulder with the team that keeps one of America's largest and oldest mass transit systems running smoothly and on time.

A look at the U.S. clandestine intelligence team of the 1980s called FOG (Field Operations Group) and how it paved the way for today's special ops forces.

In less than 200 years, the Aztecs rose from nomadic origins to build the powerful empire of Tenochtitlan. Combining archaeology and stunning 3D reconstructions, this series reveals the rise and fall of a remarkable civilization.

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.

A look at the U.S. clandestine intelligence team of the 1980s called FOG (Field Operations Group) and how it paved the way for today's special ops forces.

In less than 200 years, the Aztecs rose from nomadic origins to build the powerful empire of Tenochtitlan. Combining archaeology and stunning 3D reconstructions, this series reveals the rise and fall of a remarkable civilization.

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.

Mummy expert Ramy Romany investigates a mysterious underwater grave believed to be guarded by a Mayan serpent deity; when Ramy dives in, he uncovers evidence of biological warfare.

The remains of Tutankhamun's parents.

Mummy expert Ramy Romany investigates a mysterious underwater grave believed to be guarded by a Mayan serpent deity; when Ramy dives in, he uncovers evidence of biological warfare.

The remains of Tutankhamun's parents.

Mummy expert Ramy Romany investigates a mysterious underwater grave believed to be guarded by a Mayan serpent deity; when Ramy dives in, he uncovers evidence of biological warfare.

The remains of Tutankhamun's parents.

Visiting London's Gherkin, Seattle's Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and Lyon's Musée des Confluences to uncover how and why they were built.

In Philadelphia, Mike is on streets, in tunnels, on tracks and in trolley restoration garages; he is working shoulder-to-shoulder with the team that keeps one of America's largest and oldest mass transit systems running smoothly and on time.

Tackling the grade 6 rapids and untamed waters of the Buller River on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, blessed by a Māori elder of the Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō.

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.

Jeremy Birch takes on a salvage to raise a vessel with a concrete hull; it's been in the Fraser River for a month, collecting silt and mud, adding 30 tons to its deadweight.

Tackling the grade 6 rapids and untamed waters of the Buller River on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, blessed by a Māori elder of the Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō.

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.

Jeremy Birch takes on a salvage to raise a vessel with a concrete hull; it's been in the Fraser River for a month, collecting silt and mud, adding 30 tons to its deadweight.

Visiting Australia's One Central Park, the Oslo Opera House and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco to reveal their architectural secrets.

Mike helps fix the vessels that the U.S. Coast Guard use to keep the oceans safe; he replaces key parts of ship engines, removes a large crane from a buoy tender, and fixes a helicopter for a critical exercise.

The Hawker Harrier flies as fast as a jet and hovers like a helicopter; uncover the groundbreaking technology behind this unique ability and how the Harrier became crucial for Britain in the Falklands War.

Customs agents intercept a grenade launcher smuggled into the U.S.; a blizzard threatens to cut off a remote island airport; warm winter weather turns a village runway to mud.

In Mexico's North, ancient runners defy impossible distances and living fossils reveal Earth's secrets; from Monterrey's industrial city to Guanajuato's revolutionary past, discover how mighty mountains forge unbreakable spirit.

Mummy expert Ramy Romany investigates a mysterious underwater grave believed to be guarded by a Mayan serpent deity; when Ramy dives in, he uncovers evidence of biological warfare.

The remains of Tutankhamun's parents.

Dig into a groundbreaking medieval silver mine revealed by a German sinkhole.

The Sphinx, the Shroud of Turin, El Dorado, and other ancient mysteries.

Open burial sites filled with secrets. Find powerful artifacts in a French rulers tomb, see what a tomb adorned with conch shells says about sacred ceremonies, and expose complex beliefs about animals and the afterlife in an Egyptian zoo graveyard.

Dig into a groundbreaking medieval silver mine revealed by a German sinkhole.

The Sphinx, the Shroud of Turin, El Dorado, and other ancient mysteries.

Open burial sites filled with secrets. Find powerful artifacts in a French rulers tomb, see what a tomb adorned with conch shells says about sacred ceremonies, and expose complex beliefs about animals and the afterlife in an Egyptian zoo graveyard.

Dig into a groundbreaking medieval silver mine revealed by a German sinkhole.

The Sphinx, the Shroud of Turin, El Dorado, and other ancient mysteries.

Visiting Australia's One Central Park, the Oslo Opera House and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco to reveal their architectural secrets.

Mike helps fix the vessels that the U.S. Coast Guard use to keep the oceans safe; he replaces key parts of ship engines, removes a large crane from a buoy tender, and fixes a helicopter for a critical exercise.

The St. Lawrence River is one that forged North America, allowing ships to traverse the continent; the adventure begins in Canada's first capital city of Kingston and near Canada's second-largest city of Montreal.

Get a bird's-eye view of a mysterious explosion in China and a quickly melting glacier on Earth's iciest continent; investigate an orange haze enveloping the Big Apple, then float over a toxic, too-hot-to-handle lake in New Zealand.

Chris Ward sets out with Josh Moreira and Ward's younger brother to salvage a light aircraft that's sitting on the seabed; Jeremy Birch braves the arctic conditions to salvage two vessels that have fallen prey to the crushing ice conditions.

The St. Lawrence River is one that forged North America, allowing ships to traverse the continent; the adventure begins in Canada's first capital city of Kingston and near Canada's second-largest city of Montreal.

Get a bird's-eye view of a mysterious explosion in China and a quickly melting glacier on Earth's iciest continent; investigate an orange haze enveloping the Big Apple, then float over a toxic, too-hot-to-handle lake in New Zealand.

Chris Ward sets out with Josh Moreira and Ward's younger brother to salvage a light aircraft that's sitting on the seabed; Jeremy Birch braves the arctic conditions to salvage two vessels that have fallen prey to the crushing ice conditions.

Exploring the design and engineering stories behind D.C.'s Museum of African American History, the Montreal Tower and the Equinor building in Oslo.

Mike helps fix the machines that keep one of the United States' biggest ports moving; he assists a team in moving a 3-million pound crane.

Mummy expert Ramy Romany investigates a mysterious underwater grave believed to be guarded by a Mayan serpent deity; when Ramy dives in, he uncovers evidence of biological warfare.

The remains of Tutankhamun's parents.

Dig into a groundbreaking medieval silver mine revealed by a German sinkhole.

The Sphinx, the Shroud of Turin, El Dorado, and other ancient mysteries.

Open burial sites filled with secrets. Find powerful artifacts in a French rulers tomb, see what a tomb adorned with conch shells says about sacred ceremonies, and expose complex beliefs about animals and the afterlife in an Egyptian zoo graveyard.

The technological race intensifies as superpowers use imported German scientists for rockets and nukes; high-stakes intelligence relies on spy balloons and planes over the North Pole.

The history of the F-111 and how the fighter-bomber no one wanted went on to dominate both air and battlefields in the late 20th century.

First-hand accounts, re-creations and expert interviews of D-Day in 1944, where the Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada and France attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France.

The technological race intensifies as superpowers use imported German scientists for rockets and nukes; high-stakes intelligence relies on spy balloons and planes over the North Pole.

The history of the F-111 and how the fighter-bomber no one wanted went on to dominate both air and battlefields in the late 20th century.