The BEST episodes of Explorer season 2008

#1 - Finding Anastasia

Season 2008 - Episode 10 - Aired 7/22/2008

Did Romanov Princess Anasatasia survive a Bolshevik firing squad, or did she and her brother Crown Prince Alexis perish with their father, Tsar Nicholas II, before a Bolshevik firing squad in 1918?

#2 - Marijuana Nation

Season 2008 - Episode 14 - Aired 10/2/2008

Lisa Ling takes a look at the marijuana industry as she examines the different aspects by interviewing a grower, scientist, and members of law enforcement. Also included is the validity of medical marijuana.

#3 - Secret History of Gold

Season 2008 - Episode 13 - Aired 9/25/2008

Gold's appeal and value span time and cultures, but there is a little-known secret to the story of gold. Most of the gold mined throughout history remains in circulation today -- even the gold closest to your heart may have dark origins. From the Amazon jungle to the markets of Dubai, NGC examines the underbelly of the modern gold trade with a treasure hunter and an illegal miner to expose its volatile history.

#4 - Science of Evil

Season 2008 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/9/2008

Using cutting-edge functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques, scientists attempt to isolate the mechanics of moral judgment by mapping patterns in neurological processes. Could neuron activity in the brain really give rise to good or evil?

#5 - Science of Cats

Season 2008 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/10/2008

More than 600 million cats claim residence in households across six continents. The latest in scientific evidence reveals how the cat set off on a journey to conquer the world.

#6 - Testosterone Factor

Season 2008 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/13/2008

Leading researchers in psychology, biology and anthropology reveal this powerful male hormone's fascinating influence on strength, status, success, and even commitment.

#7 - Moment of Death

Season 2008 - Episode 11 - Aired 9/2/2008

This National Geographic documentary explores the physical and psychological changes experienced by the human body in the moments before and after death. When does a person really die, and what happens at that precise second when life ends? While the subject both frightens and fascinates, understanding both the science of death and the ways in which our bodies hold it off are key to understanding the complete cycle of human life.

#8 - Alaska's Last Oil

Season 2008 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/12/2008

The world is addicted to oil. But now the easy pockets of oil are gone and the race is on to find new sources. Nowhere is the battle more intense than in Alaska - source of nearly 15% of America's domestic production, and home to the nation's largest wildlife preserve, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where companies are pushing to drill. EXPLORER travels back millions of years to see how oil was created, and looks to the future to ask how far we'll go to find every last barrel and at what cost.

#9 - Congo Bush Pilots

Season 2008 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/16/2008

In order for the Congo to receive vital supplies, brave men and women known as bush pilots must risk life and limb to transport cargo to this remote region of the world. Landing strips are often little more than pitted dirt roads, local militia is known to fire on them and water buffalo may block the runway, so what drives them to do it? In this episode of Explorer, we'll meet some bush pilots, hear their harrowing accounts and witness firsthand the challenges they face in the Congo.

#10 - Guns in America

Season 2008 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/9/2008

We are the most heavily armed society in the world; nearly 80 million Americans own guns. Explore the gun culture in America, from a police officer to a young mother.

#11 - Shark Superhighway

Season 2008 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/8/2008

Sharks have thrived in the oceans for over 350 million years, but around 20 million years ago a new species emerged in the fossil records in a form unlike ever seen before... the Hammerhead Shark. Why did this bizarre looking creature evolve was it a need for greater maneuverability, a need for a more advanced sensory system or was it a genetic mistake? And how has the Hammerhead continued to survive? Scientific evidence suggests that Hammerheads seek out distant destinations but what prompts them to travel these great lengths? How do they navigate? Do they possess an internal compass? Do they possess a map? Dr. Pete Klimley is seeking to answer these questions and discover how Hammerheads live and survive across the turbulent seas by mapping their underwater movements. In a world threatened by over fishing and declining populations the Hammerhead Highway may be the key to understanding and ensuring the Hammerheads survival.

#12 - Tunnel to a Lost World

Season 2008 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/3/2008

While excavating for the deepest submerged tunnel in the world, engineers uncovered a hidden past. Now engineers are on a three billion dollar collision course with archaeologists in the battle of the century.

#13 - Bog Mummies

Season 2008 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/4/2008

#14 - Gorilla Murders

Season 2008 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/1/2008

National Geographic Explorer investigates the execution-style murder of six mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park. Their search reveals corruption and how Virunga has become one of the most dangerous places on earth

#15 - Death of the Iceman

Season 2008 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/1/2008

Entombed in a glacier in the Alps for more than 5,000 years, the Iceman is the oldest mummy ever discovered. Scientists now know he was murdered in cold blood, but why? In 2007, National Geographic sponsored a series of new CT scans that revealed three potential motives. Was the Iceman assassinated, a victim of clan warfare or part of a ritual murder? Forensic clues surrounding his death continue to illuminate the origins of conflict and violence in the Copper Age.

#16 - Lost Cities of the Amazon

Season 2008 - Episode 15 - Aired 11/20/2008

Over the centuries, explorers traded tales of a lost civilization amid the dense Amazonian rainforest. Scientists dismissed the legends as exaggerations, believing that the rainforest could not sustain such a huge population -- until now. A new generation of explorers armed with 21st-century technology has uncovered remarkable evidence that could reinvent our understanding of the Amazon and the indigenous peoples who lived there.