Skip to main content

Up Next

The Telescope

The Telescope

Season 1 Episode 1
54:51
The Airplane

The Airplane

Season 1 Episode 2
54:51
The Robot

The Robot

Season 1 Episode 3
54:51
The Car

The Car

Season 1 Episode 4
54:51
The Rocket

The Rocket

Season 1 Episode 5
54:51
The Smartphone

The Smartphone

Season 1 Episode 6
54:51
Humanoid Robots

Humanoid Robots

Video
4:19
Abass Ibn Firnas

Abass Ibn Firnas

Video
2:53
Back to Show
Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

Preview

Take a mind-blowing journey through human history, told through six iconic objects that modern people take for granted, and see how science, invention and technology built on one another to change everything.

Support Provided By
The Smartphone
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:51
Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone.
The Rocket
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:51
Blast off into history to see how rockets originated not in the sky, but in a cave.
The Car
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:51
Go for a ride through the 9,000-year history of the ultimate freedom machine: the car.
The Robot
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:51
Check out the history of robots and learn how they are becoming a part of everyday life.
The Airplane
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:51
Take to the sky with the dreamers whose work gave humans the ability to fly.
The Telescope
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:51
Look back in time to see how humans invented the telescope.
Active loading indicator