Each episode covers a single topic from history and shows connections between that topic and various fields of science and social science. Sixteen half-hour episodes aired in the first season, followed by a two-hour finale drawing connections between the sixteen topics.[2] The series has been criticized by Media Life Magazine for its factual inaccuracies.[3]
The series takes its title from a coinage by David Christian who describes Big History as an emerging academic discipline and approach to history that is less interested in wars and monarchs than it is in the way events are connected thematically and even molecularly, back to the Big Bang.[4]
List of Big History episodes
No.
Title
Original air date
Summary
1
"The Superpower of Salt"
November 2, 2013
Just as we can't live without food, water, and air, so too do we need salt to survive. Salt is part of our chemistry that makes up our body, especially our brain. Our need for salt has determined the location of the first cities, built monuments like the Erie Canal and the Great Wall of China, and sparked revolutions in France and India.
In England, salt-producing towns have names ending in "wich" such as Greenwich.
2
"Horse Power Revolution"
November 2, 2013
The horse is one of the most unique creatures in the world. Its nature gave it the ability to run long distance, and made it easy for man to domesticate. Once it became domesticated it revolutionized the size of empires, the languages we speak, and the clothes we wear.
3
"Gold Fever"
November 9, 2013
Humans are hard-wired to desire for shiny things, such as water and gold. Gold's unique properties make it the most shiny metal in the world, and prevents it from corroding. Humanity's lust for gold has driven them to cross oceans in search of it.
Cold has shaped the Universe and humanity in many ways, from the creation of stars to the color of your skin. While warm areas have produced civilizations, cold areas have produced barbarians.
Frederic Tudor sets up the ice trade in the early 1800s in the Boston area.
5
"Megastructures"
November 16, 2013
The biology and emotions of human beings have given them a desire to build massive structures, from the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Empire State Building. This is also a reflection of the basic principle embedded in the structure of the Universe.
6
"Defeating Gravity"
November 16, 2013
Without the right kind of air and the perfect materials flight would be impossible. But Earth has the perfect ingredients for flight, from birds and bug to planes and helicopters.
In the 1800s in England, George Cayley designs gliders. Next, in 1852, Henri Giffard invents an airship with an imperfect engine.
7
"World of Weapons"
November 23, 2013
With small teeth and no claws humans are vulnerable. But with our bodies, such as throwing arms, and the right material, such as ancient bat poop, humans are able to make weapons for hunting and warfare.
Silver kills germs. Supernovas produce silver as stars explode. On the other hand, supernovas don't make gold which explains why gold is rarer than silver; the supernovas of neutron stars is an exception because they also make gold.
The mines of Laurion near ancient Athens contain lots of silver. Around 480 BCE, the Greeks use silver to pay their men and build warships.
Thaler was the name of the silver coin in the Holy Roman Empire's Czech region. Today, the English word "dollar" is derived from "thaler."
Spanish conquerors found lots of silver near Potosí.
17
"The Big History of Everything"
December 28, 2013
Abiogenesis gives rise to the first life forms: bacteria.
The Alpide belt stretches across two continents: from the Himalayas to the Alps.
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