What are things made of? It's a simple question with an astonishing answer. Fewer than 100 naturally occurring elements form the ingredients of everything in our world - from solid rocks to ethereal gases, from scorching acids to the living cells in our body. David Pogue, lively host of NOVA's popular "Making Stuff" series and personal technology correspondent for The New York Times, spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry on a quest to unlock the secrets of the elements. Why are some elements, like platinum and gold, relatively inert, while others, like phosphorus and potassium, are unhappyly explosive? Why are some vital to every breath we take, while others are potentially lethal? Punctuated by surprising and often alarming experiments, David Pogue takes NOVA on a roller coaster ride through nature's hidden lab and the compelling stories of discovery that revealed its secrets.

NOVA Season 39 Episodes...

• s39e01 - Engineering Ground Zero
• s39e02 - Surviving the Tsunami
• s39e03 - Finding Life Beyond Earth: Are We Alone?
• s39e04 - Iceman Murder Mystery
• s39e05 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - What is Space?
• s39e06 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - The Illusion of Time
• s39e07 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - Quantum Leap
• s39e08 - The Fabric of the Cosmos - Universe or Multiverse?
• s39e09 - Deadliest Volcanoes
• s39e10 - Bombing Hitler's Dams
• s39e11 - 3D Spies of WWII
• s39e12 - Mystery of a Masterpiece
• s39e13 - Ice Age Death Trap
• s39e14 - Separating Twins
• s39e15 - Cracking Your Genetic Code
• s39e16 - Hunting the Elements
• s39e17 - Deadliest Tornadoes
• s39e18 - Why Ships Sink
• s39e19 - Secrets of the Sun

NOVA Show Summary

Seen in more than 100 countries, NOVA is the most watched science based television series in the world and the most watched documentary series on PBS. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won many major television awards, most of them many times over.