Smithsonian Channel

The islands of Italy come in all shapes and sizes; they are home to volcanoes, ancient civilizations and some of the bluest waters on Earth.

A wolverine overcomes first-time flyer's nerves to travel to a new home. A helicopter pilot hunts for a showstopping ice cave. An 80-year-old cargo plane flies into the Arctic, and a wall of arctic fog threatens the airport wit.

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

Zoom in on some otherworldly sights; spot a giant glacier on the Red Planet, let the milky seas off the coast of Java bathe your vision, ponder a huge hexagon floating above Saturn and take a spin around a doughnut-shaped lake in Saskatchewan.

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.

Explores strongholds abandoned by their architects; a lost city in the Amazon jungle; a desert fortress made by humanity's most notorious empire; explores a city of identical castles; examines a Greek isle's bloody history from the air.

Arctic conditions continue to wreak havoc in British Columbia; Jeremy Birch is called upon to raise a concrete-hulled vessel.

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.

Explores strongholds abandoned by their architects; a lost city in the Amazon jungle; a desert fortress made by humanity's most notorious empire; explores a city of identical castles; examines a Greek isle's bloody history from the air.

Arctic conditions continue to wreak havoc in British Columbia; Jeremy Birch is called upon to raise a concrete-hulled vessel.

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.

A US sub shows unbelievable courage in the face of impossible odds. A look into how a bomb dropped by the Japanese forces pushes the craft into a deadly dive, and ignites a toxic chemical fire that leaves the crew fighting for their lives.

A wolverine overcomes first-time flyer's nerves to travel to a new home. A helicopter pilot hunts for a showstopping ice cave. An 80-year-old cargo plane flies into the Arctic, and a wall of arctic fog threatens the airport wit.

The islands of Italy come in all shapes and sizes; they are home to volcanoes, ancient civilizations and some of the bluest waters on Earth.

A wolverine overcomes first-time flyer's nerves to travel to a new home. A helicopter pilot hunts for a showstopping ice cave. An 80-year-old cargo plane flies into the Arctic, and a wall of arctic fog threatens the airport wit.

The islands of Italy come in all shapes and sizes; they are home to volcanoes, ancient civilizations and some of the bluest waters on Earth.

Witnessing the devastating impact of the German blitzkrieg as new tank strategies take the world by storm; learning how Germany overcame the inferiority of its panzers and swept through Poland and France with innovations in logistics and strategy.

New high-tech investigations uncover what sunk a World War I cruiser, a World War II submarine, a British destroyer from the Falklands War, and more.

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.

Witnessing the devastating impact of the German blitzkrieg as new tank strategies take the world by storm; learning how Germany overcame the inferiority of its panzers and swept through Poland and France with innovations in logistics and strategy.

New high-tech investigations uncover what sunk a World War I cruiser, a World War II submarine, a British destroyer from the Falklands War, and more.

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.

Witnessing the devastating impact of the German blitzkrieg as new tank strategies take the world by storm; learning how Germany overcame the inferiority of its panzers and swept through Poland and France with innovations in logistics and strategy.

New high-tech investigations uncover what sunk a World War I cruiser, a World War II submarine, a British destroyer from the Falklands War, and more.

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.

Explores strongholds abandoned by their architects; a lost city in the Amazon jungle; a desert fortress made by humanity's most notorious empire; explores a city of identical castles; examines a Greek isle's bloody history from the air.

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.

Peek at landmarks in places where they shouldn't be; wing your way over an imperial pyramid in the Netherlands, a metal sphere in remote Russia, a lion shape carved into an English hillside and a bare swath cut through an Austrian forest.

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.

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.

Peek at landmarks in places where they shouldn't be; wing your way over an imperial pyramid in the Netherlands, a metal sphere in remote Russia, a lion shape carved into an English hillside and a bare swath cut through an Austrian forest.

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.

A look at the failures that forced a US submarine commander to rebuild his crew's trust, one person at a time; discovering how this commanding officer overcame dissent on board and refocused on targeting enemy ships in dangerous Japanese waters.

An American submarine crew gets an order: to hunt Japanese ships that are conducting a secret VIP evacuation in the Philippines in June 1945; examining the stealthy, dangerous tactics they used that would set a US Navy record.

Witnessing the devastating impact of the German blitzkrieg as new tank strategies take the world by storm; learning how Germany overcame the inferiority of its panzers and swept through Poland and France with innovations in logistics and strategy.

New high-tech investigations uncover what sunk a World War I cruiser, a World War II submarine, a British destroyer from the Falklands War, and more.

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.

Witnessing the devastating impact of the German blitzkrieg as new tank strategies take the world by storm; learning how Germany overcame the inferiority of its panzers and swept through Poland and France with innovations in logistics and strategy.

New high-tech investigations uncover what sunk a World War I cruiser, a World War II submarine, a British destroyer from the Falklands War, and more.

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.

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.

Visiting the heart of history in the Dahshur necropolis, where the first of the great pyramids was built; examining what a mini-scanner called a LiDAR reveals about this landmark's enduring mysteries.

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.

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.

Visiting the heart of history in the Dahshur necropolis, where the first of the great pyramids was built; examining what a mini-scanner called a LiDAR reveals about this landmark's enduring mysteries.

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.

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.

Visiting the heart of history in the Dahshur necropolis, where the first of the great pyramids was built; examining what a mini-scanner called a LiDAR reveals about this landmark's enduring mysteries.

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.

Peek at landmarks in places where they shouldn't be; wing your way over an imperial pyramid in the Netherlands, a metal sphere in remote Russia, a lion shape carved into an English hillside and a bare swath cut through an Austrian forest.

The journey down the attraction-packed Niagara River is filled with adventure and beauty; navigating the fascinating history and engineering of this border river between Canada and the United States, arriving at the world-famous Niagara Falls.

Confront objects that make no sense; spot a spinning island in an Argentinian marsh, a colossal triangle stuck in the Arizona desert, mysterious multicolored pools across northern Ethiopia and a huge human figure hidden in the Australian outback.

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.

The journey down the attraction-packed Niagara River is filled with adventure and beauty; navigating the fascinating history and engineering of this border river between Canada and the United States, arriving at the world-famous Niagara Falls.

Confront objects that make no sense; spot a spinning island in an Argentinian marsh, a colossal triangle stuck in the Arizona desert, mysterious multicolored pools across northern Ethiopia and a huge human figure hidden in the Australian outback.

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.

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.

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.

Visiting the heart of history in the Dahshur necropolis, where the first of the great pyramids was built; examining what a mini-scanner called a LiDAR reveals about this landmark's enduring mysteries.

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.

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.

Visiting the heart of history in the Dahshur necropolis, where the first of the great pyramids was built; examining what a mini-scanner called a LiDAR reveals about this landmark's enduring mysteries.

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.

Unlock the secrets of Newgrange, a 5,000-year-old Irish tomb aligned with the winter solstice sun; analyze DNA evidence that reveals a powerful, incestuous dynastic bloodline and suggests that this monument was built to honor a lost ruling class.

Re-evaluating what we know about evolution, extinction, and animals' sacred roles. Dig up a Canadian dinosaur that sparks questions about fossilization, meet a prehistoric survivor in China, and see the religious parts crocodiles played in Egypt.

Determining if exotic dancer Mata Hari was a spy or just a wartime scapegoat; solving the riddle of Kaspar Hauser, the boy who appeared from nowhere; trying to identify the Man in the Iron Mask, who died in a French prison without revealing his face.

Unlock the secrets of Newgrange, a 5,000-year-old Irish tomb aligned with the winter solstice sun; analyze DNA evidence that reveals a powerful, incestuous dynastic bloodline and suggests that this monument was built to honor a lost ruling class.

Re-evaluating what we know about evolution, extinction, and animals' sacred roles. Dig up a Canadian dinosaur that sparks questions about fossilization, meet a prehistoric survivor in China, and see the religious parts crocodiles played in Egypt.