Smithsonian Channel Documentaries

The January 2015 terror attack in Paris began as an assault on free speech but soon spread into a three day siege that would horrify a city, traumatize a nation, and send shockwaves around the world. Follow the attacks against the famous satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the police, and a local grocery store and the countrywide manhunt that followed. It's a story told through the powerful testimonies of those who were there and lived to tell about it.

In a cave by the Dead Sea, a copper scroll treasure map from the time of Jesus was found, promising riches estimated to be worth billions by today's standards. Over half a century later, mystery still surrounds this ancient manuscript. Could these fragments of corroded metal really hold the clues to a massive buried fortune? If so, where did these vast treasures come from? Why were they buried? And are they still out there? Join the investigation as we reveal the secrets behind this very unique and valuable Dead Sea Scroll.

Snakes live in forests and deserts, underground and underwater, and in every continent but Antarctica. Over the course of 150 million years, they have relentlessly adapted, changing to fit the circumstances of their climate, habitat, and access to food. Take an up-close look at cobras, black mambas, vipers, flying snakes, and some of the other 3,000 species alive today. From evil incarnate to one of evolution's great success stories, we show how the snake continues slithering forward on the path to survival.

In February 1945, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the image of five U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy Corpsman hoisting the American flag atop a mountain in Iwo Jima. The identities of these men have been accepted for 70 years, but new evidence shows that one Marine was never identified. We finally reveal an unnamed hero using modern science to examine the iconic photo in ways that we have never seen before. Then we look at the battle and the stories of the men who risked it all for their country and their brothers in arms.

The great hammerhead is one of the most advanced predators of the ocean, equipped with incredible senses that drive it to detect, locate, and devour its prey. But what triggers each of its hunting mechanisms? How does it lock onto prey with eyes that are so far apart? And why is its head shaped like a hammer? Follow shark experts as they dive into dangerous waters and use a series of modern experiments. Then join conservation biologist Dr. Craig O'Connell to go beneath the skin of this giant in a unique dissection of this mysterious creature.

The great hammerhead is one of the most advanced predators of the ocean, equipped with incredible senses that drive it to detect, locate, and devour its prey. But what triggers each of its hunting mechanisms? How does it lock onto prey with eyes that are so far apart? And why is its head shaped like a hammer? Follow shark experts as they dive into dangerous waters and use a series of modern experiments. Then join conservation biologist Dr. Craig O'Connell to go beneath the skin of this giant in a unique dissection of this mysterious creature.

Deep in the remote basin of the Pacific Ocean is an island where dragons still roam, a Jurassic-type underworld, where every day is a fight for supremacy and survival. Welcome to Komodo Island, home to the world's largest living lizard on the planet, the Komodo dragon. Witness the start of a new era as we follow the island's current monarch, Drogo. He has just overthrown the old king and must now defend his title against a group of young dragons, here on one of the harshest and hottest habitats on the planet.

From the deserts of the American Southwest to the jungles and villages of Africa, vipers are notorious for their bad attitudes, diamond-shaped heads, and the longest snake fangs on Earth. But these snakes are not simply cold-blooded killers. The females have a softer side when it comes to family. Travel around the globe as we examine their maternal instincts. Then enter the lab as we dissect specimens in hopes of better understanding these viper queens.

Deep in the forests of Japan, a territorial war is playing out, featuring killer hornet armies, yellow jacket battalions, and honeybee squadrons. All are fighting for the resources of their kingdoms, all are on constant alert, and all are prepared to battle to the death. Witness the conflicts and the carnage up-close as we follow these winged warriors into enemy territory, armed with potent venom, large numbers, and a simple battle plan: win or die. To us, it's a story of clans at war, but to these insects, it's a race for survival.

When Mount Vesuvius obliterated the city of Pompeii in 79 A.D., it preserved the bodies of about 2,000 victims, freezing them in their final moments. But who were these fated ancient Romans? To find out, forensic scientists will take CT scans and digital X-rays to reveal who these people were and how they lived before the eruption 1,700 years ago. Meanwhile, a team of architects and archaeologists will conduct traditional digs and use modern 3D mapping to reveal new evidence and dispel old myths about this doomed city.

A great metropolis has been discovered, buried beneath the pastures of the Danube. Archaeologists claim that the lost city of Carnuntum was a place where men trained, fought, and died as gladiators. Through excavations and high-tech research using ultra-high resolution cameras and scanners, we reconstruct this ancient civilization from the Roman Empire. See what life was like 2,000 years ago, in this megacity and in the arenas, where slaves, prisoners, and volunteers fought to the death before roaring crowds.

The RMS Queen Mary is the last survivor of the golden age of ocean liners. She was bigger and faster than any ship ever built before. Her presence was a symbol of new hope and a better future during the Great Depression and through the darkest days of World War II. Decades after her maiden transatlantic voyage, we celebrate the amazing story of this queen of the seas, told through rarely seen footage and interviews with some of the many millions of people whose lives she touched and changed forever.

China, as we know it today, would not exist without the Han Dynasty. About two millenniums ago, its emperors ruled for over 400 years, and yet, few visible remains of this period exist above ground. Underground, however, it's a different story. Join a team of archaeologists as they enter the royal tombs of three emperors spanning the reign of the Han Dynasty. By excavating these sites, they hope to further our knowledge of their wealth, their beliefs, their quest for immortality, and how their culture and philosophy shaped modern China.

Yellowstone National Park is home to a vast array of landscapes and a huge diversity of animals, united in a fascinating ecosystem, one that is currently in severe trouble. The area once contained over 19,000 elk, but its numbers have plummeted by 80% in the last two decades. The mysterious decline has sparked many questions, and researchers are in a race to provide answers. Join them as they investigate a series of theories and suspects, from wolves to bears to trees to trout, in an attempt to solve this alarming puzzle.

Americas National Parks at 100 The National Park Service has been active for over a century preserving and protecting over 400 units across America, from the wild and natural to the man-made and historic. Take a tour through iconic Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon and discover smaller, hidden treasures throughout the country as we explore the agency's evolution over the last century. Through rarely seen footage and stunning aerial views, we celebrate the sites and stories of the national landmarks that reflect our country's past, present, and future.

In China's Valley of the Kings, there stands a tall, carved stone. It honors the resting place of a woman named Wu Zetian, who rose from concubine to become China's only female emperor. For more than a millennia, history claimed she killed her own children, held power through a ruthless rule of terror, and brought China to the edge of ruin. But are any of these claims true? Join the investigation as we revisit old evidence and reveal new truths, using artifacts and forensic tools to tell the true story of China's Emperor of Evil.

They provide shade in blistering heat, shelter to animals in desperate need, and feasts when the rest of the region has dried up. They are the miracle trees of the African savannas, giving predators and herbivores the tools to stay alive in some of the harshest environments on Earth. Join us as we take a look at the sausage tree of Zambia, the marula of the Manyeleti, and the camel thorn of the Kalahari, each tree uniquely evolved to adapt to Africa's extremes, and each one an integral part of the lives of the inhabitants.

When "Star Trek" first aired in 1966, it expanded the viewers' imaginations about what was possible in their lifetimes. Today, many of the space-age technologies displayed on the show, like space shuttles, cell phones, and desktop computers, have already gone from science fiction to science fact. Other innovations, like warp drive, teleportation, and medical tricorders are actively in development. Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of "Star Trek" - a show that continues to inform, enrich, and inspire.

Enter the remains of Petra and Hegra, cities whose old inscriptions and new discoveries suggest were once ruled by women.

On a high plateau in a remote desert in northern Chile lies the largest observatory on Earth, ALMA, or Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array. The name refers to a network of 66 massive radio telescopes, working in unison to observe the birth and death of stars and planets, and answer centuries-old questions about the origins of our universe. Witness the history of ALMA, the remarkable product of a 20-year global effort, and see how it is already changing our basic understanding of the cosmos, and astronomy itself.

Narrated by actor and ocean conservationist Ted Danson, this film reveals a frightening truth about our oceans. An Ocean Mystery: The Missing Catch follows the work of the world's premier fisheries scientist, Dr. Daniel Pauly, as he investigates how close we are to a global crash in fish populations. It's a detective story that ranges from the Atlantic coastline to the reefs of the Bahamas and the shores of Senegal. Along the way Dr. Pauly and his team make startling discoveries about the impact of black market fisheries, the recreational fishing industry and more. And with 3 billion people around the world dependent on fish for protein it's one of the most important stories of our time. As government and industry regulators track the quantity of fish we catch, and claim the oceans can handle the huge catches, fish numbers keep dropping. Dr. Pauly's research shows that we have drastically underestimated the amount fish we catch globally and that we are running out of fish much faster ...

Two treasure hunters in southwest Poland say they have found a hidden tunnel containing a train that may hold rare Nazi gold. It's a claim the local government seems ready to accept, as this is a region where the Nazis were known to hide treasures, from a secret underground super project to a fairy tale castle redesigned as a headquarters for Hitler himself. Witness their attempt to excavate this potential buried treasure, on a mission that will take us into the dark heart of World War II.

The Last Buffalo For thousands of years, the Great Plains were home to countless numbers of American bison, but in the late 1800s, the number of bison dropped from nearly 30 million to just a few hundred in less than 100 years. What happened to place this national icon on the brink of extinction? Join us as we detail the events that led to this mass extermination. Then follow the story of William Temple Hornaday, a chief taxidermist at the Smithsonian Institution who headed west to hunt bison for the museum, but ended up saving the species instead.