Plumbing its the arteries of civilization, surging with life-giving water and tons of waste. It feeds the fixtures that spoil us and flushes us with pride. Its potential is explosive and its history overflows with innovation.

Thomas Edison registered over 1,000 patents, but his favorite invention was one of his first. Rare photographs and early recordings show how the young inventor and his team outfoxed Alexander Graham Bell.

Though now considered a country cousin when compared to the sophisticated television, merely a century ago, the radio galvanized communications as it linked the world without wires. The program examines the long life of the radio.

An exploration of the intense competition, the romance, the success and disappointment that led to the miracle of long distance communication.

The complete story of the feuds, the mistakes, ingenuity, and successes that made movies possible--and kept Edison at the front of the inventor pack. Includes rare early films from the Edison Studios.

An exploration of the world's most popular entertainment, from the boy genius who invented it to the RCA "General" who made it a reality.

When "poliomyelitis" swept the nation, thousands died or were disabled before American ingenuity, trial and error, and blatant acts of desperation led to one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history. We'll see how polio shaped the vision of FDR, and catapulted the young unknown doctor Jonas Salk to international celebrity.

In 1941, penicillin was first used to save human life. But now, bacteria has emerged resistant to every known antibiotic, and scientists have begun to fear that the era of the wonder drugs is near to its end.