The Smithsonian Network

We go behind the scenes and into the minds of artists as they capture, commemorate, and, at times, condemn our presidents.

Documentary which follows crocodile expert Brad Bestelink on a quest to dive with crocodiles without a cage or any other protection.

The drama documentary tells the real life story of Samurai woman Takeko Nakano who in 1868 fights for her clans' independence in a final battle that marks the end of the Samurai era.

A high-tech autopsy on a Nile crocodile unlocks secrets behind its hunting prowess.

Herman Melville's epic ocean adventure "Moby Dick" is an American masterpiece. But was this stirring tale of violence and revenge simply an allegory, or were there real giants of the deep deliberately attacking whaling ships? With the help of centuries old witness accounts and modern day science, we explain how the legend of the great white whale came to be. Then we determine if the multiple sperm whale assaults on ships in the 19th century were indeed premeditated and coordinated.

In China's Valley of the Kings, there stands a tall, carved stone. It honors the resting place of a woman named Wu Zetian, who rose from concubine to become China's only female emperor. For more than a millennia, history claimed she killed her own children, held power through a ruthless rule of terror, and brought China to the edge of ruin. But are any of these claims true? Join the investigation as we revisit old evidence and reveal new truths, using artifacts and forensic tools to tell the true story of China's Emperor of Evil.

A documentary which follows two lion brothers as they become rulers of a pride in Botswana after a battle for dominance.

20 years after the TV Mini-Series "Tales of the Serengeti", our crew reunites to truly explore the Serengeti, with no fiction. We almost didn't survive it.

Enter the harsh and unforgiving Kalahari and follow a lion pride attempt to save their threatened bloodline.

This is the story of a cheetah born into the Linyanti cheetah coalition. He is the runt of the litter and will have to fight hard for every scrap of food and attention to survive.

In 1960, a lone assassin planned a deadly attempt on the life of President-Elect John F Kennedy. With a Buick packed with dynamite, nothing was going to stop Kennedy's Suicide Bomber.

Honeybees are in crisis – but there is hope. Biologists are studying the estimated 20.000 bee species in the world to look for viable pollinators of our crops. In their quest they discover the marvellous world of bees: bees that live in flowers, invade other hives, produce perfumes – and pollinate our crops without us even realizing.

Ascension Island, a remote Mid-Atlantic outpost famous for its big game fishing, is under siege. Tiger sharks, hammerheads, even great whites, lured here every year by the bountiful reefs, are displaying aggressive behavior, culminating in the island's first shark attacks in its history. Join us as we dive into the mystery behind the altered behavior of these hungry predators, and explore whether efforts to bring this delicate ecosystem back into balance is a case of too little, too late.

In Austria, he was known as an art collector and idealist. In Mexico, he was a colonialist aggressor responsible for thousands of deaths. And in France, he lost an empire. But who was the real Archduke Maximilian? Join us as we examine the brief and contentious reign of the last emperor of Mexico, a complex and conflicted member of the powerful Habsburg family, from his royal childhood in Vienna to his alliance with Napoleon III, who wanted to expand his empire to the Western Hemisphere.

Roughly 20 miles off the coast of west Africa, sits a volcanic relic now completely blanketed in equatorial rainforest: the island of Bioko. It's home to some very rare species, including the drill -- one of the most endangered primates in the world. Join us on a jungle expedition as we uncover the secret life of these reclusive primates and track down the seasonal migration of the goby -- a plucky fish battling its way upriver past strong currents, deadly predators, and even a 100-foot waterfall, to reach the spawning grounds of its youth.

China, as we know it today, would not exist without the Han Dynasty. About two millenniums ago, its emperors ruled for over 400 years, and yet, few visible remains of this period exist above ground. Underground, however, it's a different story. Join a team of archaeologists as they enter the royal tombs of three emperors spanning the reign of the Han Dynasty. By excavating these sites, they hope to further our knowledge of their wealth, their beliefs, their quest for immortality, and how their culture and philosophy shaped modern China.

When Mount Vesuvius obliterated the city of Pompeii in 79 A.D., it preserved the bodies of about 2,000 victims, freezing them in their final moments. But who were these fated ancient Romans? To find out, forensic scientists will take CT scans and digital X-rays to reveal who these people were and how they lived before the eruption 1,700 years ago. Meanwhile, a team of architects and archaeologists will conduct traditional digs and use modern 3D mapping to reveal new evidence and dispel old myths about this doomed city.

A colorful portrait of Uganda's gamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a place where orphaned and rescued chimpanzees - victims of the illegal exotic pet and bushmeat trades - are given a second chance at life in a community of chimps.

Even 2,000 years after his death, General Hannibal's battle strategies are still studied today. But of all his military feats, perhaps his greatest was leading his massive Carthaginian army of men and three-dozen elephants across the Alps and into the heartland of Rome in 218 B.C. Until now, the route they took has been a matter of dispute, but thanks to modern-day technology, geomorphologist Bill Mahaney and microbiologist Chris Allen believe they've accurately traced this ancient journey.