Smithsonian Channel

President Harry Truman decides to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Emperor Hirohito surrenders, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrives to oversee the country's occupation; mortal enemies must now become partners in Japan's rebirth.

In pursuit of their Aryan dream, the Nazis were encumbered by an ideological war from within that would undermine their ability to succeed in World War II.

Take a look at some of the escapes that took place during World War II.

Witness amazing buildings, bridges, lifts, and other structures that pushed structural concrete engineering to the edge.

Mike joins the U.S. Marines' Heavy Haulers helicopter squadron and gets inside their battle to keep a fleet of souped-up Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion choppers flying as they prepare for intense war games in the desert and mountains.

Going under one of the world's largest lakes for a multi-million dollar tunnel boring project in one of the fastest growing cities on Earth.

Witness amazing buildings, bridges, lifts, and other structures that pushed structural concrete engineering to the edge.

Mike joins the U.S. Marines' Heavy Haulers helicopter squadron and gets inside their battle to keep a fleet of souped-up Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion choppers flying as they prepare for intense war games in the desert and mountains.

Going under one of the world's largest lakes for a multi-million dollar tunnel boring project in one of the fastest growing cities on Earth.

Witness amazing buildings, bridges, lifts, and other structures that pushed structural concrete engineering to the edge.

Mike joins the U.S. Marines' Heavy Haulers helicopter squadron and gets inside their battle to keep a fleet of souped-up Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion choppers flying as they prepare for intense war games in the desert and mountains.

Investigate an abandoned village in the shifting sands on Dubai's outskirts and a collection of inexplicable stone circles in Colombia; a mysterious hilltop tower in Iran and a puzzling purple phenomenon in Chile's Atacama Desert.

Phil Risko's team at Northstar works fast to refloat a trawler that's been blown onto the shore of a national park in New Jersey; the team improvises to get it back to sea before it suffers further damage.

Meandering through the black waters of a primordial river immortalized in a folk song.

Come across a set of disturbingly familiar stone monoliths in Colombia, then explore a lost city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; puzzle over an ancient ruin in Corinth, Greece, and explore an old structure on a Maltese island.

At the mouth of the Suez Canal, Lino Arosemena and his crew have a monster repair job of removing and refitting a 20-ton propeller.

Meandering through the black waters of a primordial river immortalized in a folk song.

Come across a set of disturbingly familiar stone monoliths in Colombia, then explore a lost city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; puzzle over an ancient ruin in Corinth, Greece, and explore an old structure on a Maltese island.

At the mouth of the Suez Canal, Lino Arosemena and his crew have a monster repair job of removing and refitting a 20-ton propeller.

Challenges beset a sculptural new transportation hub for New York's World Trade Center; Amsterdam gains a building inspired by a mountain valley; a new launchpad for space travel prepares for liftoff in the New Mexico desert.

At Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, Mike embeds with the talented teams that maintain the amazing machines behind Cirque du Soleil's stage shows.

Witness amazing buildings, bridges, lifts, and other structures that pushed structural concrete engineering to the edge.

Mike joins the U.S. Marines' Heavy Haulers helicopter squadron and gets inside their battle to keep a fleet of souped-up Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion choppers flying as they prepare for intense war games in the desert and mountains.

Going under one of the world's largest lakes for a multi-million dollar tunnel boring project in one of the fastest growing cities on Earth.

Witness amazing buildings, bridges, lifts, and other structures that pushed structural concrete engineering to the edge.

Mike joins the U.S. Marines' Heavy Haulers helicopter squadron and gets inside their battle to keep a fleet of souped-up Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion choppers flying as they prepare for intense war games in the desert and mountains.

Going under one of the world's largest lakes for a multi-million dollar tunnel boring project in one of the fastest growing cities on Earth.

The Airbus BelugaXL is a gravity-defying giant; its incredible engineering allows it to fly oversized cargo across Europe, and it remains one of the biggest aircraft in commercial service.

Bush aviators push the limit of their plane to deliver a two-ton generator; in Fairbanks, slippery runways threaten the International Ice Carving Championship and a high-tech airframe inspection on a Boeing 737 uncovers a potential issue.

A journey across Central Italy from the air reveals the ancient Rome, the bloody medieval battles of Tuscany and the colossal marble quarries of Carrara.

The Airbus BelugaXL is a gravity-defying giant; its incredible engineering allows it to fly oversized cargo across Europe, and it remains one of the biggest aircraft in commercial service.

Bush aviators push the limit of their plane to deliver a two-ton generator; in Fairbanks, slippery runways threaten the International Ice Carving Championship and a high-tech airframe inspection on a Boeing 737 uncovers a potential issue.

A journey across Central Italy from the air reveals the ancient Rome, the bloody medieval battles of Tuscany and the colossal marble quarries of Carrara.

The Airbus BelugaXL is a gravity-defying giant; its incredible engineering allows it to fly oversized cargo across Europe, and it remains one of the biggest aircraft in commercial service.

Bush aviators push the limit of their plane to deliver a two-ton generator; in Fairbanks, slippery runways threaten the International Ice Carving Championship and a high-tech airframe inspection on a Boeing 737 uncovers a potential issue.

Challenges beset a sculptural new transportation hub for New York's World Trade Center; Amsterdam gains a building inspired by a mountain valley; a new launchpad for space travel prepares for liftoff in the New Mexico desert.

At Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, Mike embeds with the talented teams that maintain the amazing machines behind Cirque du Soleil's stage shows.

A journey on Scotland's River Spey, traveling from its source in the Highlands, winding by boat through the mountains to where the river meets the North Sea.

Unlock an abandoned site on a remote Antarctic isle and check out mysterious shapes in the Finnish snow. Puzzle over an inexplicable monolith in the far reaches of Norway, then get shocked by a blood-red frozen waterfall at the bottom of the world.

Veteran salvor Paul Hay and his team rescue a clam-dredging crew's harvest lost in a storm off the New Jersey coast; following an annual cleanup operation in New Zealand that salvages fishing equipment gone astray.

A journey on Scotland's River Spey, traveling from its source in the Highlands, winding by boat through the mountains to where the river meets the North Sea.

Unlock an abandoned site on a remote Antarctic isle and check out mysterious shapes in the Finnish snow. Puzzle over an inexplicable monolith in the far reaches of Norway, then get shocked by a blood-red frozen waterfall at the bottom of the world.

Veteran salvor Paul Hay and his team rescue a clam-dredging crew's harvest lost in a storm off the New Jersey coast; following an annual cleanup operation in New Zealand that salvages fishing equipment gone astray.

Exploring the engineering and architectural masterpieces like The Copper in Manhattan to Gardens By the Bay in Singapore.

With wildfire season ahead, Mike works with an aerial firefighting company as they fix and convert aircraft into firefighting machines, including the transformation of a 1960's C130 plane from aged military aircraft into a stateofthe art waterbomber.

The Airbus BelugaXL is a gravity-defying giant; its incredible engineering allows it to fly oversized cargo across Europe, and it remains one of the biggest aircraft in commercial service.

Bush aviators push the limit of their plane to deliver a two-ton generator; in Fairbanks, slippery runways threaten the International Ice Carving Championship and a high-tech airframe inspection on a Boeing 737 uncovers a potential issue.

A journey across Central Italy from the air reveals the ancient Rome, the bloody medieval battles of Tuscany and the colossal marble quarries of Carrara.

The Airbus BelugaXL is a gravity-defying giant; its incredible engineering allows it to fly oversized cargo across Europe, and it remains one of the biggest aircraft in commercial service.

Bush aviators push the limit of their plane to deliver a two-ton generator; in Fairbanks, slippery runways threaten the International Ice Carving Championship and a high-tech airframe inspection on a Boeing 737 uncovers a potential issue.

A journey across Central Italy from the air reveals the ancient Rome, the bloody medieval battles of Tuscany and the colossal marble quarries of Carrara.

The discovery of a pre-Civil War cemetery of enslaved ironworkers provides new insights into the role African-Americans played in the Industrial Revolution.

Take a deeper look at the Aztec religion and ritual human sacrifice. Tap into the profound spiritual logic that led priests to offer blood and human hearts in exchange for protection from the gods, who could destroy the universe at any moment.

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.

The discovery of a pre-Civil War cemetery of enslaved ironworkers provides new insights into the role African-Americans played in the Industrial Revolution.

Take a deeper look at the Aztec religion and ritual human sacrifice. Tap into the profound spiritual logic that led priests to offer blood and human hearts in exchange for protection from the gods, who could destroy the universe at any moment.

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.

The discovery of a pre-Civil War cemetery of enslaved ironworkers provides new insights into the role African-Americans played in the Industrial Revolution.

Take a deeper look at the Aztec religion and ritual human sacrifice. Tap into the profound spiritual logic that led priests to offer blood and human hearts in exchange for protection from the gods, who could destroy the universe at any moment.

Exploring the engineering and architectural masterpieces like The Copper in Manhattan to Gardens By the Bay in Singapore.

With wildfire season ahead, Mike works with an aerial firefighting company as they fix and convert aircraft into firefighting machines, including the transformation of a 1960's C130 plane from aged military aircraft into a stateofthe art waterbomber.

A journey along Ireland's longest river, the Shannon, through an emerald green landscape of rolling hills and sparkling waters; how Vikings, monks and kings have all made their mark.

The view from above reveals baffling behavior from one of the ocean's fastest fish; whales with a strange, aquatic accessorizing habit; a confounding congregation of sharks down under; a perplexing collection of circles decorating the seabed.

Capt. John Ward and his crew are called to raise a sunken houseboat near Pensacola, Fla.; the owner of the boat wants it back, but the current occupiers of the boat living in it don't want John's services; there've been reports of gunfire too.

A journey along Ireland's longest river, the Shannon, through an emerald green landscape of rolling hills and sparkling waters; how Vikings, monks and kings have all made their mark.

The view from above reveals baffling behavior from one of the ocean's fastest fish; whales with a strange, aquatic accessorizing habit; a confounding congregation of sharks down under; a perplexing collection of circles decorating the seabed.

Capt. John Ward and his crew are called to raise a sunken houseboat near Pensacola, Fla.; the owner of the boat wants it back, but the current occupiers of the boat living in it don't want John's services; there've been reports of gunfire too.

Exploring the engineering and architectural masterpieces like The Copper in Manhattan to Gardens By the Bay in Singapore.

Mike works with the U.S. Army in Germany inside the massive fix facility the MAK, Maintenance Activity Kaiserslautern, as teams repair over one hundred Bradley fighting vehicles, then embeds with troops in a massive two-week-long battle exercise.

The discovery of a pre-Civil War cemetery of enslaved ironworkers provides new insights into the role African-Americans played in the Industrial Revolution.

Take a deeper look at the Aztec religion and ritual human sacrifice. Tap into the profound spiritual logic that led priests to offer blood and human hearts in exchange for protection from the gods, who could destroy the universe at any moment.

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.

The discovery of a pre-Civil War cemetery of enslaved ironworkers provides new insights into the role African-Americans played in the Industrial Revolution.

Take a deeper look at the Aztec religion and ritual human sacrifice. Tap into the profound spiritual logic that led priests to offer blood and human hearts in exchange for protection from the gods, who could destroy the universe at any moment.

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.

A missing mummy could rewrite the history of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination; mummy expert Ramy Romany investigates a potential government cover-up that allowed John Wilkes Booth to escape capture after murdering President Lincoln.

A discovery of a fracture in Tutankhamun's skeleton, signalling the injury that led to his death.

A missing mummy could rewrite the history of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination; mummy expert Ramy Romany investigates a potential government cover-up that allowed John Wilkes Booth to escape capture after murdering President Lincoln.

A discovery of a fracture in Tutankhamun's skeleton, signalling the injury that led to his death.