The Nature of Things (1960)
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.
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Episode 1 - The Hobbit Enigma
Release Date: 2008-10-16One 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.
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Episode 2 - Rodney's Robot Revolution
Release Date: 2008-10-23Has 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!
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Episode 3 - The Adventurers: The Last Nomads
Release Date: 2008-10-30Linguist 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.
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Episode 4 - The Adventurers: The Everlasting Oasis
Release Date: 2008-11-06University 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.
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Episode 5 - The Adventurers: A Story Told in Stone
Release Date: 2008-11-13Archeologist 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.
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Episode 6 - The Suzuki Diaries: Europe
Release Date: 2008-11-16David 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.
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Episode 7 - The Adventurers: The Lost People of Baja
Release Date: 2008-11-20Canadian 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.
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Episode 8 - The Brain that Changes Itself
Release Date: 2008-11-27Based on the best-selling book by Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Norman Doidge, a look at how we view the human mind.
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Episode 9 - Gone Sideways
Release Date: 2009-01-08A light-hearted look at serendipity in science, from life-saving cancer cures to the x-ray machine and the discovery of North America.
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Episode 10 - Black Wave: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez
Release Date: 2009-01-15A saga about what happens when ordinary people struggle for justice against a huge corporation that has destroyed both their environment and their livelihoods.
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Episode 11 - Supercar: Building the Car of the Future
Release Date: 2009-01-29Engineering professor Brian Fleck on a quest to meet the engineers, designers and even students who are trying to build the car of the future.
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Episode 12 - Living City: A Critical Guide
Release Date: 2009-02-05What'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.
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Episode 13 - Inuit Odyssey
Release Date: 2009-02-12Canadian Arctic anthropologist Niobe Thompson takes us on a visually stunning journey across the North, tracing the origins of the modern Inuit.
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Episode 14 - American Savannah
Release Date: 2009-02-19Our 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.
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Episode 15 - Arctic Meltdown: A Changing World
Release Date: 2009-06-20From 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?
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Episode 16 - Arctic Meltdown: The Arctic Passages
Release Date: 2009-06-27Until 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.
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Episode 17 - Arctic Meltdown: Adapting to Change
Release Date: 2009-07-04A 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.