About this season
The Nature of Things is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on November 6, 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that humans have on it. The program was one of the first to explore environmental issues, such as clear-cut logging. The series is named after an epic poem by Roman philosopher Lucretius: "Dē Rērum Nātūrā" — On the Nature of Things.
Episodes (17)
1. The Hobbit Enigma
Aired 16 October 2008
One of the greatest controversies in science today: just what did scientists really find when they uncovered the tiny, human-like skeleton of a strange creature on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003? Since the discovery was made public a bitter dispute has split the world of anthropology.
2. Rodney's Robot Revolution
Aired 23 October 2008
Has the time come to meet an artificially intelligent robot? Engineer and inventor Rodney Brooks thinks so. Forget about all those shiny robotic home-helpers of the past-Brooks is out to design a robot that can think for itself!
3. The Adventurers: The Last Nomads
Aired 30 October 2008
Linguist Ian Mackenzie has tracked the last true nomadic hunting and gathering people on earth - the Penan of Borneo. Their way of life is quickly disappearing as aggressive logging interests swallow up their forest habitat.
4. The Adventurers: The Everlasting Oasis
Aired 6 November 2008
University of Toronto archaeologist Tony Mills travels to the eastern desert of Egypt where he and other archaeologists have unearthed an untouched marvel: a site of over 500,000 years of uninterrupted human habitation.
5. The Adventurers: A Story Told in Stone
Aired 13 November 2008
Archeologist Edmundo Edwards pulls back the vines and trees of the jungle to find huge stone cities that sprawled across the interiors of Tahiti, Raivavae and the Marquesas Islands.
6. The Suzuki Diaries: Europe
Aired 16 November 2008 • 60 min
David Suzuki and his daughter Sarika head out on a road trip across Europe to see sustainability in action and meet the people who are working towards restoring the equilibrium between human needs and planetary limits.
7. The Adventurers: The Lost People of Baja
Aired 20 November 2008
Canadian paleo-pathologist Eldon Molto is leading the search for clues of the mysterious Pericu people of Baja California, Mexico - a fierce, primitive tribe that disappeared over a century ago, after being exposed to European disease. They left virtually nothing behind but their bones.
8. The Brain that Changes Itself
Aired 27 November 2008 • 60 min
Based on the best-selling book by Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Norman Doidge, a look at how we view the human mind.
9. Gone Sideways
Aired 8 January 2009
A light-hearted look at serendipity in science, from life-saving cancer cures to the x-ray machine and the discovery of North America.
10. Black Wave: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez
Aired 15 January 2009
A saga about what happens when ordinary people struggle for justice against a huge corporation that has destroyed both their environment and their livelihoods.
11. Supercar: Building the Car of the Future
Aired 29 January 2009
Engineering professor Brian Fleck on a quest to meet the engineers, designers and even students who are trying to build the car of the future.
12. Living City: A Critical Guide
Aired 5 February 2009
What's wrong with Canada's cities? What's right? Award-winning urban affairs columnist Christopher Hume takes a cross-country journey to explore the sustainability, viability and liveability of Canada's population centres.
13. Inuit Odyssey
Aired 12 February 2009
Canadian Arctic anthropologist Niobe Thompson takes us on a visually stunning journey across the North, tracing the origins of the modern Inuit.
14. American Savannah
Aired 19 February 2009
Our lawns are one of our simplest pleasures. Grass is a luxury that represents relaxation, freedom, time off and of course, time away from the world of tarmac and concrete. A wild and quirky ride into the world of one of America's longest-standing obsessions, the perfect lawn.
15. Arctic Meltdown: A Changing World
Aired 20 June 2009
From new companies rushing to claim the Arctic's plentiful resources to the effect climate change has had on animals as well as plant life. As the Arctic meltdown continues at an ever accelerating pace, who will protect it?
16. Arctic Meltdown: The Arctic Passages
Aired 27 June 2009
Until recently, only a few ships braved travel through these ice-strewn waters. More and more ships cross these seas each year and with more traffic come higher risks.
17. Arctic Meltdown: Adapting to Change
Aired 4 July 2009
A look at two different Arctics - one that is the storybook land of ice, snow and polar bears and the other that is covered with petroleum plants and pipelines carrying fossil fuels.