Zen meditation reached the U.S. from Japan after World War II. Broadly gaining followers in the 1960s, American Zen has become its own distinct stream of Buddhist practice,…
Some of us are excited about the possibility of conscious computers, while others among us recoil in horror at the notion. But what does it mean to say that a computer could be…
There are, unfortunately, numerous extinction-level threats to Earth, but one for which we’re conspicuously unprepared is impact by an asteroid. However, many scientists are…
D-Day, June 6, 1944, was the culmination of intensive planning and the use of new inventions for the war. From dummy paratroopers to an entire floating harbor, these advances in…
Saturn was visible to our ancestors, but its rings weren’t seen until Galileo took a look. The rings are made from remnants of moons, asteroids, and comets. Now, we wonder why it…
Over 900 people died gruesomely at Jonestown, a symbol of “doomsday” cults. Charismatic, autocratic Jim Jones ruled with brute force, leading his followers to madness and beyond.…
Crime fiction author Agatha Christie was a lifelong follower of true crime. Her novels often reflected cases from the day’s headlines. With the founding of a group for mystery…
We all want justice. We want crimes to be solved. We want the right person held responsible. Why is this important to us? Two theories of justice help us to understand why, where…
The Dark Web is a part of the Deep Web that allows users to be totally anonymous. It’s known for being a locus of illicit activities, and is also at the center of an ethical…
Marco Polo introduced the Far East to Europe. His travels fostered innovation and exploration for centuries. Do the facts bear him out, or was he a fraud who stole work from…
Julius Caesar altered the course of the Roman republic, yet the greatest impact he had came about in the aftermath of his assassination in 44 BCE. His death would change the…
When cats died, they would be buried in gold as their families mourned. Even the goddess Bastet was depicted as one. With all the practical and symbolic value they held, it’s no…
Feared for over two centuries, the Vikings have been misunderstood ever since. But modern archeology has revealed the extent of their reach across medieval Europe. Their…
Get Access to Premium Documentaries
Start your 14-day trial of MagellanTV and get access to 2,000+ documentaries, available anywhere, on any device
Enjoy the sizzling summer this month and remember to extend your summer pleasures with July’s marvelous offerings from MagellanTV. From the forgotten Ukraine war and our favorite…
From American hero Sgt. York to Australian true crime stories to the threat of killer asteroids, and much more, MagellanTV’s new releases for June are television worth watching.
We’ve reviewed MagellanTV’s ever-growing library of documentaries, and the data is in! Let’s take a look at the best of 2021, with winners and runners-up in True Crime,…
December brings the holidays and the debut of dozens of documentaries on MagellanTV. From the history of tanks to the search for the edge of the Universe, and much more, we have a…
NASA revolutionized the trajectory of space exploration through its Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s. Over four and a half years they sent a dozen men to the Moon, and…
Is Pluto a planet? Astronomers agreed in 2006 to rename it a “dwarf planet.” But planetary scientists disagree. They say its status as a planet should never have been changed.…
Are we alone in the Universe? Many people wonder if we’ll ever encounter an intelligence from beyond our planet. Space science organizations are searching our galaxy to uncover…
The aurora has inspired countless myths and legends for thousands of years, but scientists only recently were able to prove how it actually forms. Let’s take a deep dive into the…
WWII gave rise to military tactics that targeted psychological weaknesses in the enemy. It redefined what constituted a battlefield. At the expense of civilians and civility,…
World War I shook mankind to its core as nations mobilized for a war unlike any other. A new age of carnage came about by technological advancements, but the causes of WWI…
Humans have waged wars for millennia, but is war ever justifiable? Just war theorists offer principles that explain when war is justified and how war should be conducted.
In retrospect, the American Civil War was inevitable. The conflict’s fundamental issue was human rights, and the basic cause was freedom. But these principles were made real by…
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was a man of vision, designing structures that broke with European precedent. Best known for his homes for wealthy patrons, when the Great Depression…
Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous painting ever, entertaining six million viewers each year at the Louvre. But its subject, most likely the Italian…
Was Shakespeare gay or bisexual? Amid debate, new research reveals undeniable queer themes throughout his work, in poems and in plays. Did he do this intentionally? If so, the…
Charles Darwin is remembered as the father of evolutionary theory, but he wasn’t alone in arguing for the crucial role of natural selection. A lesser known colleague joined him in…
The history of the United States is complicated and often distressing. Public schools that ignore or gloss over the difficulties do a great disservice to the children who will…
The myth of Santa Claus began with a real-life monk named St. Nicholas, and evolved through the poetry and lore of Dutch immigrants, political propaganda during the American Civil…
A huge victory for American conservation came after magazine reporters witnessed the 1894 arrest of a notorious buffalo hunter in Yellowstone Park. Promoted ever since as a lucky…
Buried treasure, sword fights, and eyepatches – it’s easy to be enthralled by tales of pirates in books and film. But even without the fluff and fantasy of Hollywood’s version,…
The Monterey Pop Festival, an unprecedented gathering of young people and performers, many of them high on LSD, launched 1967’s Summer of Love, merged music and film, and…
Was there a real Jesus of Nazareth, and was he the Son of God? Time-travel to the Holy Land in that era to explore the clues to the historical Jesus, physical objects called…
Clint Eastwood gained international stardom in a so-called spaghetti western that brought a new sense of drama to a tired genre. But his last “cowboy movie,” Unforgiven, reveals…
French 19th century painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s long-standing anti-Semitism affected his career choices, his aesthetic strategies, and his painterly style. Explore the…
One lesson of History is that hubris and military aggression are inevitably followed by defeat. Overestimating one's own power while underestimating the strength of an adversary…
The U-505 was taken on the high seas by a U.S. Navy task force through planning, valorous action, and a lot of luck. Slated for demolition after the war, it was saved again by a…
The Nazis revered so-called “Aryan” motherhood. During the Nazi era, the ability of “racially valuable” women to give birth was a prime goal. Even so, low birth rates pushed the…
Invasive species degrade biodiversity, incur large economic costs, and threaten indigenous plants and animals with potential extinction. Literally thousands of such species have…
Worldwide, there’s been a significant shift away from ordinary tap water to bottled, even though many bottles are filled from the same sources as our taps. Learn how you can…
Modern storms are growing increasingly devastating, fueled by climate change. While some anti-storm measures already exist, the need for new solutions on larger scales is only…
The story of life on Earth is one of triumph, but also loss. Going back in time we can examine five mass extinction events that changed evolution through destruction, killing off…
Take a step on the wild side and discover some of the coolest creatures you’ve never heard of. From Sparklemuffins to Jabiru storks, there are amazing and unbelievable animals all…
Protected since 1975, grizzly bears have gradually returned to the U.S. West. Shy animals, they are fierce guardians of their cubs and food supplies if people blunder into their…
The green cities movement can benefit cities’ economies, citizens’ health, and the world’s climate. Here’s an overview of the movement – its benefits, its complexities, the most…
Whales’ wellbeing has been threatened by centuries of human activity on the seas. Now people are finding a way to defend whale territory with sanctuaries and heritage sites. Is…
Our unconscious mind controls many of our actions and our thoughts. But science-backed methods of influencing our brain, such as meditation and visualization, can put us back in…
Familicide is the act of killing family members, including children. Filicide is the act of a parent killing their child. One is more often committed by men, the other, women. So,…
We all love horror movies and true crime videos, but what if the killer on the screen is closer than you know? Being able to identify the terrifying traits and disorders that…
Hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, DMT, and psilocybin are known for their mind-expanding effects, and they have potential for treating some of the trickiest mental afflictions…
-The_Battle_of_Port_Arthur-art-width-3840px.jpg?width=475&height=260&quality=75&jpg=true)
