The Ultimate Guide Season 2, Episode 2: Volcanoes

Mastodon in your Backyard

Not long ago North America was host to saber tooth cats, camels, mammoths and lions. Among these now seemingly exotic creatures, was the distant relative of the elephant: the mastodon. This story is launched from a backyard pond in Hyde Park, New York, where the most recent mastodon site was discovered. With the cooperation of some of today's leading paleontologists, learn how the mastodon evolved, how it migrated out of Africa and how it survived in the North American forests for roughly 3.7 million years. We'll show how it differed from its more famous cousin, the mammoth and we'll explore the controversy among the major theories explaining how and why this keystone species disappeared.

49 min

Iceman

On the basis of the more recent research methods on the Similaun mummy, it has been suggested empirically that the death of our progenitor, 5300 years ago, could probably be considered the oldest detective story in the history of humanity

50 min

Pregnancy

This visually stunning program takes viewers from the moment of conception to the moment of birth. Checking in at four-week intervals, it uses a broad array of high-tech photographic and computer imaging to capture every stage of embryonic and fetal development as well as the changes experienced by expectant mothers during pregnancy. In addition, a molecular embryologist and an obstetrician/gynecologist from Georgetown University Medical Center provide caring clinical commentary on the birth process. The program culminates with the filming of two births, one with and one without surgical intervention.