NOVA Presents – Details, episodes & analysis

What does it feel like to make one of the biggest discoveries in physics? Adam Riess knows — because his work revealed that the universe isn’t just expanding, it’s accelerating. In this episode, the Nobel Prize–winning astrophysicist takes us behind the scenes of the moment that changed cosmology forever. How did his team use exploding stars as “standard candles” to measure the cosmos? Why did the data point to a mysterious force now called dark energy, making up nearly 70% of the universe? And what’s behind today’s biggest cosmic puzzle: the Hubble tension? Plus, Adam shares what new telescopes could uncover — and why the next decade might rewrite the laws of physics all over again.
 

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Guest Bio: 

Adam Riess is an astrophysicist, professor at Johns Hopkins University, and a distinguished astronomer at Space Telescope Science Institute. In 2011, he was named as a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the discovery that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating. Since then, he has continued refining measurements of cosmic expansion and the Hubble constant, aiming to find and measure the most distant type Ia supernovae known, to probe the origin of cosmic acceleration.

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:03:16) What Is a Type Ia Supernova? 

(00:10:52) The Discovery of Dark Energy

(00:44:39) What Is the Hubble Tension?

(00:58:59) Winning a Nobel Prize

(01:15:32) Credits

The universe isn’t adding up—and it’s creating a crisis in cosmology. Nobel Prize winner Adam Riess explains why measurements of the universe’s expansion rate from its earliest light and from nearby galaxies don’t match, and how this growing gap threatens the foundations of our standard model of the cosmos.

For more, check out the extended interview with Adam Riess

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There’s no single ‘smoking gun’ for life beyond Earth. Microbiologist Peter Girguis explains the subtle fingerprints scientists hunt for—and why finding them on Mars could change everything.

For more, check out the extended interview with Peter Girguis.

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Scientists are editing genes for human speech into mice to see if they can learn vocal patterns. Neuroscientist Erich Jarvis explains how this could unlock not just speech—but entirely new ways of thinking.

For more, check out the extended interview with Erich Jarvis. 

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Can we bring extinct species back to life? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro claims we just did. As Chief Science Officer at Colossal, her team made headlines in spring 2025 with the announcement of the de-extinction of the dire wolf. She takes us behind the headlines to explain how this is no “Jurassic Park” fantasy. She breaks down exactly how her team used ancient DNA, CRISPR genome editing, and the genomes of modern relatives to bring back lost traits and create animals capable of thriving in today’s ecosystems. Along the way, she dives into the surprising challenges of this work — from the quest for artificial wombs to the ethics of genetic engineering — and reveals how the same tools powering de-extinction are already helping endangered species survive. 

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Guest Bio: 

Beth Shapiro is an evolutionary biologist and Chief Science Officer at Colossal, a company notably responsible for the de-extinction of  the dire wolf. She is also a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on species evolution and the continued impact of human activities, considering questions about domestication, speciation and pathogen evolution. She is also exploring techniques to recover trace amounts of DNA from samples and the possible role of genomic technologies in the fields of conservation and medicine.

Timestamps

(00:00) What is De-Extinction? Reviving the Dire Wolf

(29:45) Ethics and Backlash for Cloning 

(38:10) Modifying DNA to Bring Species Back to Life

(45:31) The Future of De-Extinction

(54:30) Credits

Jurassic Park got it all wrong. Beth Shapiro would know… she’s Chief Science Officer at Colossal, the genetic engineering company that recently made headlines for bringing back the extinct dire wolf. She breaks down how de-extinction is really done, and why Jurassic Park can never happen.

For more, check out the extended interview with Beth Shapiro.

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The deepfake game is getting real. Deepfake detective Hany Farid gets under the hood of AI and explains exactly how it can now make such convincing fake content –  so convincing that he himself has trouble identifying his own real voice from an AI-generated fraud. Can you spot the deepfake?

For more, check out the extended interview with Hany Farid.

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Ever wonder why you get déjà vu? Or why you keep losing your keys? Your brain does some weird stuff. Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explains the surprising science behind these everyday mysteries.

For more, check out the extended interview with Heather Berlin.

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Space itself rings with gravitational waves when black holes collide—the most powerful events detected since the Big Bang. Astrophysicist Janna Levin reveals why, when the cosmic symphony fades, the merged black hole is stripped to flawless simplicity.

For more, check out the extended interview with Janna Levin.

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Could a Martian rock hold the most promising sign of life beyond Earth? Microbiologist Peter Girguis unpacks NASA’s stunning discovery of ‘leopard spots’ on a rock from Mars’s Jezero Crater—and why they look eerily like the handiwork of microbes on our own planet.

For more, check out the extended interview with Peter Girguis.

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