Origins: The Journey of Humankind

2017 • National Geographic Channel
4.1
131 reviews
TV-14
Rating
Eligible
Watch in a web browser or on supported devices Learn More

Season 1 episodes (10)

1 Spark of Civilization
3/6/17
We are the “fire species.” Harnessing fire gave us the power to create, to destroy and to transform. But it also taught us hard lessons about what we can and cannot control. This is the story of how fire transformed our biology and carried us from the savannah to the moon.
2 Cheating Death
3/13/17
The human species is in an escalating arms race with superbugs and superviruses — living organisms that attack our bodies, adapt to our treatments, evolve and fight back. Though we’ve made incredible strides in medical science, we may have to look back to move forward. Can the lessons of the past help us defeat these modern-day plagues?
3 Power of Money
3/20/17
In a society filled with human innovation, one invention stands out above them all: money. From a simple act of trade to today’s global economy, the meaning of money and what we value changes as civilization evolves. If modern money is a reflection of who we are, what does it say about us? Host Jason Silva takes us on a tour of commerce throughout history to find out.
4 The Writing On the Wall
3/27/17
This is the story of how our world came to be — how communication defined our species and created the modern age, giving voice to the boundless human imagination, connecting us globally and to the stars. Communication gives us self-expression and collective knowledge — but it can also subvert and corrupt, and even manipulate entire populations.
5 Progress of War
4/10/17
Despite all our advances, humans keep inventing terrible new ways to kill each other. What if the same thing that gave us civilization also led to an unending cycle of violence? We learned to work together, and we learned to fight together. Much of our technology was created to fight wars. For all its evils, war is the origin of the modern world.
6 Building the Future
4/17/17
The human race has moved from bone huts to skyscrapers. Today, we are seemingly everywhere … everywhere we want to be. Our walls and structures dominate the landscape. They don’t just protect us, they define us. They represent our dream of the modern world. “Shelter” is the story of how we shaped the world around us, and how that world shaped us back.
7 Into the Unknown
4/24/17
When it comes to the edge of the darkness, the bend in the horizon or the distant stars, humans can’t help ourselves: exploration is in our nature. We have climbed to the summits of the earth, peered into the depths of the oceans and planted our feet on the moon. Our primal curiosity has sparked new inventions and revealed the mysteries of the universe.
8 The Road Ahead
5/1/17
Freedom of movement has given us freedom of mind. The flow of people and materials exposes us to new ideas, new ways of life and new understanding. This is the story of how transportation turned society inside out. How engines and animals powered the rise of civilization. And how the innovations that drive humanity forward made us modern.
101 Origins Teaser
2/19/17
Hosted by Jason Silva, ORIGINS: THE JOURNEY OF HUMANKIND rewinds all the way back to the beginning and explores the innovations that made us modern.
102 Official Trailer
3/19/17
Join host Jason Silva as he explores the innovations that made humanity modern in ORIGINS: THE JOURNEY OF HUMANKIND.

About this show

ORIGINS celebrates the story of how man became modern, in a time-travel adventure delving deep into history to find the pivotal ‘origin’ moments that fueled our evolutionary ascension. World-class future-thinker Jason Silva guides us through the exploration of these key developments, such as fire, medicine, war, money, and communication, that fundamentally and irrevocably shaped our modern lives.

Ratings and reviews

4.1
131 reviews
A Google user
March 4, 2017
Incredible
20 people found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?

Rate this show

Tell us what you think.