Explorer Season 2010

Many, like ex-punk rocker and special Explorer correspondent Henry Rollins, have struggled with feelings of aggression their entire lives, and NGC is on a mission to figure out why. Scientists are investigating a single gene -- dubbed the warrior gene -- that has been associated with violent behavior, raising the disturbing possibility that some people are Born to Rage. Henry tests this theory on a colorful crew: outlaw bikers, mixed martial arts fighters, monks and former gang members.

America's Doomsday plan. It's the government's ultimate playbook, with a strategy for even the darkest hours - developed when Cold War tensions were high, but never used until 9/11. We'll fly an E4-B - the president's command, control and communications center for times of national catastrophe; go inside the secret bunker used by government officials on September 11; and witness how the luxurious Greenbrier Resort became a critical, top secret congressional bunker.

Animal domestication was a major prerequisite for human civilization to evolve. How did such an important and dramatic shift from wild to tame happen? In the past few years, science has begun to reveal the genetic code that made it all possible. DNA and archaeological evidence are now painting a very different picture of human / animal history. Domestication means altering the size, shape, and behavior of animals through long-term selective breeding. Not all animals can be domesticated however. Why did the horse accept mans control but not the zebra? The answer may lie somewhere in the DNA, and pinpointing the exact gene is the next step in discovering what makes one animal afraid and another curious. It may even suggest that some great apes, and perhaps even humans are actually self-domesticated.

Nat Geo embarks on an expedition to Papua New Guinea to understand human mummification. Our goal is to find a well-preserved mummy to gain clues into this incredible form of mummification in the tropics. Nat Geo cameras travel to Koke, a native village with an ancient mummy tradition, to learn about their process of mummification and assist with the restoration of an aging mummy. We'll trek through caves, villages and mountains to uncover the secrets of the ancient tradition.

With streaks of orange, red and black oil creating havoc in Gulf waters, NGC cameras are on the front lines with the individuals tasked with fighting the growing disaster. Gaining extended access to the Coast Guard and command center teams leading the cleanup, Explorer follows the first two months after the spill, tracking cleanup efforts from sea, land and air.

Virulent disease claims millions of lives. New scientific advances increase the potential for them to be used as bioweapons. Join NGC as we explore the dangers surrounding bioterrorism and what every nations leaders need to know.

Explorer follows a soccer team in Tanzania, a group that consists mostly of people with albinism, in their first ever league season in the Tanzanian 3rd Division. Over the last year, more than 40 albinos have been murdered in Tanzania, some as young as six months old. Many more have been attacked with machetes, their limbs cut off while alive. Their body parts are used by witchdoctors in potions and remedies as they are believed to bring wealth and success in business.

Explorer tells the second-by-second story of a moment that changed the world forever: the dropping of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Through the eyes of those in the air and on the ground, including the last interview with the weapons test officer who armed the bomb, we'll experience the events as they unfolded that tragic day.

With unprecedented access to undercover footage, Explorer reveals the inner workings of a sting operation designed to bring down one of the world's most prolific and untouchable criminals, international arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar. Through the eyes of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and their undercover informants, we'll see how an elite team risked their lives to catch Kassar in the act of selling deadly weapons illegally.

Three months after the devastating oil rig explosion in the Gulf, get an up-close look at those left behind to battle the spreading oil. Stories from frontline men and women who share a fierce commitment to solving this unprecedented national crisis at any personal cost including. Each hoping for an answer to the question: When will this end?

What do future presidents need to know about existential dangers this country could face? Explorer investigates the science behind the dangers of a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or HEMP. Picture an instantaneous deathblow to the vital engines that power our society, delivered by a nuclear weapon designed not to kill humans but to attack electronics. What could happen if an electromagnetic pulse surged to earth, crippling every aspect of modern society's infrastructure?

Eight years after 9/11, the Taliban remains a formidable enemy, maintaining a shadow government that straddles Afghanistan and Pakistan in an area dubbed Talibanistan. Explorer takes you inside the forbidden zone, to provide first-person coverage of the fight on the ground and the skies above this vast, rugged region and the challenges NATO and Pakistani forces face

All of us have an occasional night when we can't fall asleep, but for people with fatal familial insomnia, or FFI, it's the beginning of the end. An extremely rare genetic disease passed down through generations, FFI's primary symptom is sleeplessness - but with a fatal twist. Victims are dead within months. To understand FFI, Explorer delves into the science of sleep - the most elusive biological function we have - to find out why we need sleep and what happens to us when we don't get it.

Europa - an icy moon of Jupiter 485 million miles away from Earth - may be our best hope for finding alien life in our solar system. Everywhere we find water on Earth, we find life. What does this mean for the search for life beyond Earth? Scientists believe that on Europa there is a liquid ocean buried beneath its icy crust . To find out if this alien ocean holds life, well need to get there, penetrate the ice shell, and navigate in an alien sea. In this episode of Explorer, well plunge headlong into the challenges of discovery on an alien world. Well meet the scientists, adventurers, and engineers who are determined to launch a mission to Europa - and follow them through the challenges, frustrations, and triumphs that come with planning a distant mission to an alien world. Through high-end CGI and quests to the edge of our planet, well go on a journey to and alien moon called Europa. To answer the basic question: Are we alone in the universe?

Today, more than 80,000 Americans are in solitary confinement. Explorer looks at the science of solitary and discovers what it means to be absolutely alone. We go inside Colorado State Penitentiary (CSP) and witness prisoners on the edge and the guards who watch over them. Then, we look at experiments on whether isolation dramatically alters behavior and ongoing new research on how solitary actually could cause long-term mental problems like paranoia, disorientation and delirium.

What could we do if we had evidence terrorists were close to acquiring nuclear weapons, or even making their own? How would we defend ourselves from a blast with fireballs hotter than the sun? Race from motorcade to helicopter to confidential meeting, as scientists and intelligence experts brief viewers on the hard facts about the world's most lethal weapons - and the unbreakable physical laws that govern them.

In January 2009 it was a patch of lawless Afghan desert, riddled with Taliban fighters. Today, Camp Leatherneck is home to more than 10,000 troops. Go inside the epicenter of the war in Afghanistan and meet the men and women who work in and pass through the camp. Learn what daily life is like for the people who find themselves in this place. How violence, boredom, excessive heat, separation from family and cultural differences affect the mind-set of the warriors.