In Obama’s Political Beginnings, historian Simon Schama explains how before Barack Obama was president, he worked to organize laid off factory workers in the South Side of Chicago. As a community organizer, Obama learned how to build alliances and the importance of being at the table. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Obama’s America, in which Simon Schama examines the challenges faced by Barack Obama on the world stage and at home.
In Phytoplankton, the Life-Giving Force Beneath the Waves, geologist Iain Stewart explains how oceans are vital to life on Earth, especially because of tiny phytoplankton which produce 50% of the oxygen we breathe! These microscopic organisms feed sea creatures and help turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy. Oceans also have a vast network of currents that connect all the seas, proven when 29,000 rubber ducks drifted across the world, showing how these currents link every ocean. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Earth: The Power of the Planet, a documentary series in which Dr. Iain Stewart discovers how Earth's forces can shape nature, species, and even the climate.
In Intelligent Life — Is It Out There?, Professor Brian Cox explains what happened when complex life developed and what this means for the search for life beyond Earth. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Microscopic Life in Ice, Professor Brian Cox explores an ice cave and finds microorganisms that are living in the ice. He discusses what this means for life on other planets and moons with scientist Richard Hoover. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Into the Darkness of Hydrothermal Vents, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores organic material that decays and creates a toxic lake in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico within hydrothermal vents. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.
In Subtle Signs of Life on the Seafloor, narrator David Attenborough journeys over two miles beneath the ocean's surface, where the pressure is immense — 300 times greater than at sea level. Here, marine snow, tiny organic particles drifting from above, slowly settles on the seafloor over months. This vast, flat expanse stretches for thousands of miles, with subtle signs of life visible in the soft sediment. Sea urchins sift through the accumulating snow, while shrimp carefully pick out edible particles. The monkfish, nearly indistinguishable from the sand, patiently waits for prey to be lured toward its deceptive trap, sometimes going days between meals. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Nocturnal Migration of Plankton, narrator David Attenborough explains how plankton retreats into the ocean depths as the Sun rises. To follow them, we descend in a submarine where pressure increases, and temperatures drop. At 500 meters (1,640 feet) below, strange creatures emerge. Organic particles, known as marine snow, drift down, serving as food for many animals like the sea spider, which uses feathered leg-like appendages to capture it. Meanwhile, the sawtooth eel waits motionless, ready to strike at silhouetted prey swimming near the faint glow from the surface. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Strange Creatures at 500 Meters Below, narrator David Attenborough explains how plankton retreats into the ocean depths as the Sun rises. To follow it, we descend in a submarine where pressure increases, and temperatures drop. At 500 meters (1,640 feet) below, strange creatures emerge. Organic particles, known as marine snow, drift down, serving as food for many animals like the sea spider, which uses feathered leg-like appendages to capture it. Meanwhile, the sawtooth eel waits motionless, ready to strike at silhouetted prey swimming near the faint glow from the surface. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Obama’s Political Beginnings, historian Simon Schama explains how before Barack Obama was president, he worked to organize laid off factory workers in the South Side of Chicago. As a community organizer, Obama learned how to build alliances and the importance of being at the table. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Obama’s America, in which Simon Schama examines the challenges faced by Barack Obama on the world stage and at home.
In Phytoplankton, the Life-Giving Force Beneath the Waves, geologist Iain Stewart explains how oceans are vital to life on Earth, especially because of tiny phytoplankton which produce 50% of the oxygen we breathe! These microscopic organisms feed sea creatures and help turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy. Oceans also have a vast network of currents that connect all the seas, proven when 29,000 rubber ducks drifted across the world, showing how these currents link every ocean. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Earth: The Power of the Planet, a documentary series in which Dr. Iain Stewart discovers how Earth's forces can shape nature, species, and even the climate.
In Intelligent Life — Is It Out There?, Professor Brian Cox explains what happened when complex life developed and what this means for the search for life beyond Earth. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Microscopic Life in Ice, Professor Brian Cox explores an ice cave and finds microorganisms that are living in the ice. He discusses what this means for life on other planets and moons with scientist Richard Hoover. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Into the Darkness of Hydrothermal Vents, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores organic material that decays and creates a toxic lake in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico within hydrothermal vents. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.
In Subtle Signs of Life on the Seafloor, narrator David Attenborough journeys over two miles beneath the ocean's surface, where the pressure is immense — 300 times greater than at sea level. Here, marine snow, tiny organic particles drifting from above, slowly settles on the seafloor over months. This vast, flat expanse stretches for thousands of miles, with subtle signs of life visible in the soft sediment. Sea urchins sift through the accumulating snow, while shrimp carefully pick out edible particles. The monkfish, nearly indistinguishable from the sand, patiently waits for prey to be lured toward its deceptive trap, sometimes going days between meals. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Nocturnal Migration of Plankton, narrator David Attenborough explains how plankton retreats into the ocean depths as the Sun rises. To follow them, we descend in a submarine where pressure increases, and temperatures drop. At 500 meters (1,640 feet) below, strange creatures emerge. Organic particles, known as marine snow, drift down, serving as food for many animals like the sea spider, which uses feathered leg-like appendages to capture it. Meanwhile, the sawtooth eel waits motionless, ready to strike at silhouetted prey swimming near the faint glow from the surface. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Strange Creatures at 500 Meters Below, narrator David Attenborough explains how plankton retreats into the ocean depths as the Sun rises. To follow it, we descend in a submarine where pressure increases, and temperatures drop. At 500 meters (1,640 feet) below, strange creatures emerge. Organic particles, known as marine snow, drift down, serving as food for many animals like the sea spider, which uses feathered leg-like appendages to capture it. Meanwhile, the sawtooth eel waits motionless, ready to strike at silhouetted prey swimming near the faint glow from the surface. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.