Monday, April 23

Can it be Built?: World’s Tallest Skyscraper

NatGeo, 8pm EST

The Dubai skyscraper Burj Khalifa stands 2,716 feet tall, or half a mile into the Arabian air. Over the course of seven years and at a cost of $1.5 billion, follow the construction of this desert tower and the never-before-seen obstacles that must be overcome to deem a mega-structure built on shifting sands safe to inhabit. How will construction and engineering teams overcome 115-degree heat and vortex winds at high altitudes, and what happens when the tallest construction crane in the world. [From NatGeo]

Tuesday, April 24

Explorer: Mystery of the Murdered Saints

NatGeo, 12pm EST

For the first time, the Catholic Church will allow scientific experts and historians to openly test the veracity of the remains of reported saints. NGC has exclusive access to the forensic investigation. Deep in the crypt below the Cathedral of Reggio Emilia lie a set of bones believed to be those of two ancient saints, Chrysanthus and Daria. For more than 1,500 years they've been hidden away ... until now. [From NatGeo]

American Experience: The Crash of 1929

PBS, Check Local Listing

Part of the American Experience’s collection, The 1930’s, this special covers how the great mood of the 1920’s drastically changed, and reality set in, after the Crash of ’29.

*Full episode available online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/crash/

Wednesday, April 25

Decoding Christianity: Angels

Smithsonian Channel, 5pm EST

Discover who and what angels really are, and where they come from.  Smithsonian travels to Rome, where some of the earliest depictions of angels have been found, all the way to Reno, to look at the present-day “angel-industry.”

Thursday, April 26

Ancient Discoveries: Ancient Death Machines

History Channel, 2pm EST

Military innovation is consistently at the cutting edge of technological advances. Almost all technology on the planet today owes its origins to inventions driven by one purpose--war. From apocalyptic skyscraper siege machines to ancient landmines and flamethrowers, which had the potential to extinguish hundreds of lives in minutes, most of today's lethal weapons owe their origins to the inventors of the ancient world. [From History Channel]

Arlington: Call to Honor

Smithsonian Channel, 5pm EST

Every graveyard tells a story, but few can talk to the living like Arlington National Cemetery. Visit the final home of war heroes from the Revolutionary War to 9/11 to the current struggle in Iraq. The American flag flies at half-staff more often than not as more than twenty-seven burials take place daily. Each section of the cemetery reflects a time in history, and each stone signifies a hero. [From Smithsonian]

Jesus Conspiracies: Jesus’ Lost Years

Discovery Channel, 9pm EST

What was Jesus doing from ages 12-30, a huge gap in the Biblical accounts of his life? Scholars explore Jesus' missing years, from a hidden bunker in a Nazareth home to clues that he may have been influenced by an apocalyptic desert sect. [From Discovery Channel]

*Followed by Jesus Conspiracies: Who Was Mary Magdalene?

Friday, April 27

Triggers: Weapons That Changed The World Thompson SMG

Military Channel, 9am

The evolution of one of the most iconic weapons in the world; the submachine gun.

Saturday, April 28

Third Reich: The Rise

History Channel, 1pm EST

A unique perspective on the rise of Nazi Germany and how millions of people were so vulnerable to fascism, told through rare and never-before-seen amateur films shot by the Germans who were there. [From History Channel]

*Followed by Third Reich: The Fall at 2pm EST.

*More on the fall of the Reich?  Check out this special on Allied bombing strategies, 3D Spies of WWII, full episode online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/spies-3d.html

Sunday, April 29

Sky View: The Tudor Age

Smithsonian Channel, 6am EST

Take an aerial trip through time as the mansions of the Tudor age are revisited.

The Universe Marathon

H2, 7am -12am EST

The Hunt for Bin Laden

Smithsonian Channel, 8pm EST

Take an in-depth look at the 20-year search for the most wanted man on earth.  First-hand accounts, taken from counter-terrorism experts in the White House, the CIA, and the FBI, reveal the inside story of frustrations and missed opportunities, and the operation up until the night Bin Laden’s reign of terror ended.