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Arts & Culture

Humanity From Space

North America's Electric Grid. In just 100 years, Thomas Edison’s electrical grid expanded from a few city blocks to a vast network in North America and around the globe.
Courtesy of DSP/HANDEL
North America's Electric Grid. In just 100 years, Thomas Edison’s electrical grid expanded from a few city blocks to a vast network in North America and around the globe.

Airs Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV

Trace humankind’s long journey from hunter-gatherer to dominant global species.

From the perspective of space, this two-hour special uses mind-boggling data and CGI to disclose the breathtaking extent of humanity’s influence, revealing how we’ve transformed our planet and produced an interconnected world of extraordinary complexity.

A trip through 12,000 years of development, the documentary shows how seemingly small flashes of innovation — innovations that touch all of us in ways unimaginable to our ancestors — have changed the course of civilization.

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As our global population soars, the program considers the challenges humanity will face in order to survive.

"Humanity From Space" was produced by Darlow Smithson Productions and Handel Productions Inc.