The BEST episodes of Through the Wormhole

Every episode of Through the Wormhole ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Through the Wormhole!

Hosted by Morgan Freeman, Through the Wormhole explores the deepest mysteries of existence - the questions that have puzzled mankind for eternity. What are we made of? What was there before the beginning? Are we really alone? Is there a creator? These questions have been pondered by the most exquisite minds of the human race. Now, science has evolved to the point where hard facts and evidence may be able to provide us with answers instead of philosophical theories. Through the Wormhole brings together the brightest minds and best ideas from the very edges of science - Astrophysics, Astrobiology, Quantum Mechanics, String Theory, and more - to reveal the extraordinary truth of our Universe.

Last Updated: 1/11/2024Network: Science ChannelStatus: Ended
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Is There a Shadow Universe?
star
8.06
244 votes

#1 - Is There a Shadow Universe?

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/23/2014

When we look up into the sky it appears we live in a universe that is filled with light. But scientists are now certain there is far more matter in the dark portions of our universe that we can’t see or touch. There’s something hiding in the shadows. Cosmologists agree that "dark matter" has helped shape our Universe, but now they need to figure out what dark matter is. What’s going on in this hidden world? Could it have formed its own dark stars, planets, and even life forms? Could this Shadow Universe threaten our world of light?

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Is Gravity an Illusion?
star
8.00
202 votes

#2 - Is Gravity an Illusion?

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/9/2014

We feel it every moment of our lives but for physicists, gravity is the longest running unsolved mystery of the universe. Why do all objects that have mass pull on one another? Cutting-edge theories are proposing unexpected answers: Gravity could be another force in disguise, a thermodynamic mirage, or even, a shadow of a hidden holographic universe. If so, the force that holds us to the surface of the earth, and holds the earth in orbit around the sun, may be a trick of the mind. We feel it, but it may not be real. Is Gravity an Illusion?

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Is There a God Particle?
star
7.99
381 votes

#3 - Is There a God Particle?

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/20/2013

Scientists explore the effects of the Higgs Boson discovery, which validates the Standard Model in particle physics and solidifies the understanding of subatomic particles; highlights include an in-depth discussion of the Higgs field and mass.

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Is Poverty Genetic?
star
7.98
183 votes

#4 - Is Poverty Genetic?

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/11/2014

Are the wealthy just born in the right place at the right time? Are the poor victims of a system designed to keep them down? Or do physics and biology determine who is rich and who is poor? Throughout history, distribution of wealth is governed by hidden forces: DNA, environmental stress, patterns of human migration and even the laws of thermodynamics! Nature seems to demand winners and losers in life. But does this mean greed is king, and the rich can take what they want? Or is cooperation – between microorganisms, monkeys, and humans – more essential to survival of a species?

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Will We Become God?
star
7.97
153 votes

#5 - Will We Become God?

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/16/2014

Humanity’s potential seems limitless. But could we become as powerful as God? Scientific breakthroughs grant our species seemingly divine abilities. Biologists tinkering with DNA are figuring out ways to grow new life forms, while neuroscientists try to create artificial consciousness. Statisticians around the world are using big data to predict the future and computer scientists have discovered a "God algorithm" that could solve any global problem in an instant. But to truly become God, we not only have to be all knowing, but all being. Quantum physicists are figuring out how to teleport matter at the speed of light!

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Will We Survive First Contact?
star
7.95
371 votes

#6 - Will We Survive First Contact?

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/6/2012

Mankind longs for proof that we are not alone in the universe, but the moment of first contact will certainly mean the end of the world as we know it. Whether that is a bad thing for humanity or the start of a great future is uncertain.

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Can We All Become Geniuses?
star
7.90
129 votes

#7 - Can We All Become Geniuses?

Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/20/2016

Genius lies somewhere in the human mind, bringing mathematical insight, sparking artistic inspiration and enabling some to see what most cannot. Might we augment our biology with technology to unlock the genius inside us all?

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Will Sex Become Extinct?
star
7.86
236 votes

#8 - Will Sex Become Extinct?

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/26/2013

Every single person who has ever lived was created from the genes of one man and one woman. But human sexual reproduction, unchanged for millions of years, is about to undergo radical change.

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Is God an Alien Concept?
star
7.83
228 votes

#9 - Is God an Alien Concept?

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/5/2014

Is God worshipped in other worlds, across the cosmos? How might alien deities differ from our own? The answer may lie buried on Earth. Animal behaviorists are testing elephants and finding them capable of having spiritual thoughts. Artificial intelligence researchers are building enlightened robots that contemplate the divine. Meanwhile, cosmologists are looking for universal equations that could replace God. Have advanced aliens discovered everything there is to know about the universe? Or are they looking to a higher power for answers?

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Can We Hack the Planet?
star
7.83
156 votes

#10 - Can We Hack the Planet?

Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/9/2017

Unless we can turn the planet's problems into solutions, humanity may be coming to an end. Scientists are unlocking the secrets of nature to tame the elements, harness energy, and even control life. Can we hack the planet to save humanity?

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Are We All Bigots?
star
7.82
165 votes

#11 - Are We All Bigots?

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/28/2015

If you had less than one second to make a life-or-death decision to shoot a man who might be armed with a lethal weapon, what would you do? Would the ethnicity of the man affect your decision? Are you sure? The outcome – whatever your race – will surprise you. Brain imaging studies are showing that negative cultural stereotypes hijack everyone’s subconscious decision-making. But some science says we can overcome bigotry through exposure, self-awareness and flexible social networks… and, most controversially of all, ultra-violent video games!

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What is Nothing?
star
7.82
412 votes

#12 - What is Nothing?

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/27/2012

Is empty space really empty? Scientists regard understanding the true nature of empty space may explain where the universe came from, whether it is fated to expand into oblivion or whether it will undergo another dramatic transformation that could destroy everything we know.

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Are There Aliens Inside Us?
star
7.81
172 votes

#13 - Are There Aliens Inside Us?

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/23/2015

Odds are pretty good that extraterrestrial life exists; new research shows we should look closer to home, possibly inside our bodies.

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The Riddle of Black Holes
star
7.81
1411 votes

#14 - The Riddle of Black Holes

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/16/2010

They are the most powerful objects in the universe. Nothing, not even light, can escape the gravitational pull of a black hole. Astronomers now believe there are billions of them out in the cosmos, swallowing up planets, even entire stars in violent feeding frenzies. New theoretical research into the twisted reality of black holes suggests that three-dimensional space could be an illusion. That reality actually takes place on a two-dimensional hologram at the edge of the universe.

Directors: Geoffrey Sharp
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Is a Zombie Apocalypse Possible?
star
7.78
209 votes

#15 - Is a Zombie Apocalypse Possible?

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/2/2014

It is a nightmare that has stalked us for centuries: hordes of human beings transformed into mindless, cannibalistic monsters. Could this civilization-ending nightmare become reality? Scientists have discovered pathogens that turn insects into the walking dead. New strains of viruses are attacking humans every day. Mathematicians have calculated the likelihood of surviving a zombie virus outbreak: they’re not hopeful. Now neuroscientists are discovering how easy it is for us to lose conscious control of our bodies. Are we at risk of becoming puppets? If we were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, would we even know it?

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Is There an Edge to the Universe?
star
7.77
765 votes

#16 - Is There an Edge to the Universe?

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/15/2011

It is commonly theorized that the universe began with the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. But since we can only see as far as light has traveled in that time, we can't actually make out the edge of the universe. Could it be that the universe is infinite? Is there any way to find out what the shape of the universe really is? Can we find the edge, discover what might lie beyond it, and perhaps even discover a universe next to ours?

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What Are We Really Made of?
star
7.77
870 votes

#17 - What Are We Really Made of?

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/21/2010

Our understanding of the universe and the nature of reality itself has drastically changed over the last 100 years, and it's on the verge of another seismic shift. In a 17-mile-long tunnel buried 570 feet beneath the Franco-Swiss border, the world's largest and most powerful atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, is powering up. Its goal is nothing less than recreating the first instants of creation, when the universe was unimaginably hot and long-extinct forms of matter sizzled and cooled into stars, planets, and ultimately, us. These incredibly small and exotic particles hold the keys to the greatest mysteries of the universe. What we find could validate our long-held theories about how the world works and what we are made of. Or, all of our notions about the essence of what is real will fall apart.

Directors: Geoffrey Sharp
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Beyond the Darkness
star
7.77
796 votes

#18 - Beyond the Darkness

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/28/2010

What is the universe made of? If you answered stars, planets, gas and dust, you'd be dead wrong. Thirty years ago, scientists first realized that some unknown dark substance was affecting the way galaxies moved. Today, they think there must be five times as much dark matter as regular matter out there. But they have no idea what it is — only that it's not made of atoms, or any other matter we are familiar with. And Dark Matter is not the only strange substance in the Universe — a newly discovered force, called Dark Energy, seems to be pushing the very fabric of the cosmos apart.

Directors: Geoffrey Sharp
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Is Privacy Dead?
star
7.76
145 votes

#19 - Is Privacy Dead?

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/6/2016

Examining a life without privacy in order to solve crimes and prevent terrorism.

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Is Reality Real?
star
7.75
255 votes

#20 - Is Reality Real?

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/17/2013

o we live in the "real world," or is it all in our mind? Our basic assumptions about life and the universe may be false. Is nothing certain? Or is reality real?

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Can We Eliminate Evil?
star
7.75
327 votes

#21 - Can We Eliminate Evil?

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/18/2012

What drives some to torture and kill without remorse? Why do seemingly normal people commit acts of cruelty and violence. Researchers are exploring our inner demons, looking for ways to isolate and neutralize the source of evil in the brain. Is it really possible to change human nature?

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What Makes Us Who We Are?
star
7.73
385 votes

#22 - What Makes Us Who We Are?

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/20/2012

What is it that makes you you? Scientists are searching the brain for the core of who we are - some would call it the soul, others, our personal identity. How do we become who we are?

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When Does Life Begin?
star
7.73
330 votes

#23 - When Does Life Begin?

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/5/2013

We can all trace our lives back to a beginning. But what defines the beginning? Is it the moment when two cells unite? Or does something have to know it is alive before its life can begin?

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Are There More Than Two Sexes?
star
7.73
114 votes

#24 - Are There More Than Two Sexes?

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/13/2016

Science reveals the line between male and female is blurred, and the battle of the sexes happens deep within our cells.

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Is There a Superior Race?
star
7.72
312 votes

#25 - Is There a Superior Race?

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/6/2012

How different are the races? Is there even such a thing as race? Could technology create a superior race? The answer may tell us where humanity is headed, what our descendants will look like and how they will think.

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