Origins: The Journey of HumankindEpisodes Guide

Harnessing fire is the ultimate origin event that made us modern. Fire allowed us to create, to destroy and to transform. But it also taught us hard lessons about what we can and cannot control.

Microscopic armies have waged war on humanity for thousands of years. The human species is in an escalating arms race with super-bugs and super-viruses: living organisms that attack our bodies, adapt to our treatments, evolve and fight back. Medicine is our great weapon to fight back against invisible, unthinkable death.

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 knowledge is power, communication is the jet fuel, the delivery system, the gift we give each other that links the modern world. Through wireless connections and mobile phones, billions of people can make their voices and ideas heard around the globe. But it has a dark side.

War makes humans who they are; it shapes not just the world, but human destiny as a species.

From bone huts to skyscrapers, our shelters have evolved with us, every step of the way.

Our primal curiosity has sparked new inventions and revealed the mysteries of the universe.

Engines and animals powered the rise of civilization, driving humanity into the modern world.