Dolphin intelligence takes NOVA back to the first light-sensing cells

Sanjay Gupta and evolutionary researchers trace the brain's history, while a separate physics episode revisits an electrical experiment involving monks.

Channel: NOVA PBS Official Story of October 20, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

Evolution: Brain Power | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

A dolphin's hunting skills are the starting point, not the whole story. In "Evolution: Brain Power | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS," NOVA rewinds from complex marine mammals to organisms that could sense light but had no brains at all.

The documentary was the most-watched of the channel's four new uploads, reaching roughly 95,000 views. Neurosurgeon and journalist Sanjay Gupta introduces the dolphins' adaptations; in Costa Rica, biologist Stephanie Valle Cubero examines velvet worms and their comparatively simple eyes. Later, the film connects ancient viral infections with the insulating myelin that helps nerve signals travel quickly, before following mammals into nocturnal life and eventually back into the sea.

Some graphics were made using AI tools, which NOVA acknowledges. That choice became a specific discussion point in the comments, with viewers weighing the disclosure against their preference for real animal footage. Elsewhere, eye spots prompted a thank-you, a teacher planned to use the film with students, and one viewer wondered whether dolphins discuss us as we discuss them.

The week's other releases included a walking dolphin relative, a U.S. nuclear test in space, and "Does Electricity Move Instantly? | What the Physics?!" Host Athena Brensberger takes the electrical question back to Jean-Antoine Nollet's experiment connecting monks with wire. Science history does occasionally supply its own startling setup.

Across the channel, weekly views reached about 1.6 million, with subscribers unchanged and daily viewing running below its usual level. RocaNews and Channel 4 Documentaries had busier weeks for views. NOVA's strongest current viewing draw, though, is its slightly older hogan video, exploring how Diné building knowledge regulates heat in the desert, followed by its sinkhole documentary and the new brain film.

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More from NOVA PBS OfficialViews jump 13x the channel's usual paceThree million views in a day for NOVA, and not from its new Chauvet filmThe week's uploads, from a cystic fibrosis treatment before birth to a short asking whether dogs tell jokes, account for only a small slice of it.Channel: NOVA PBS Official · Story of October 5, 2026 Also in Documentaries and journalismVideo taking off 17x its usual first dayIs Haiti safe enough to go back to? FRONTLINE goes to lookSebastian Walker's documentary follows the end of Temporary Protected Status from deportation flights in Cap-Haïtien to ankle monitors in Springfield, Ohio.Channel: FRONTLINE PBS | Official · Story of October 22, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo taking off 57x its usual first dayNew Mexico's attorney general wants Epstein's estate in survivors' handsRaúl Torrez announces a federal civil suit against the estate's co-executors, whom C-SPAN's title identifies as Epstein's attorney and accountant.Channel: C-SPAN · Story of October 22, 2026

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The videos drawing views on NOVA PBS Official right now

That time the U.S. nuked space #nuclear #nuclearweapons #space #satel…53,136 views · 2026-10-13 Does Electricity Move Instantly? | What the Physics?!43,738 views · 2026-10-15 The ancient dolphin relative that could walk #evolution #dolphin #wha…11,010 views · 2026-10-15 How to Build Your Own Heat-Regulating Hogan | NOVA | PBS458,417 views When the Earth Swallows You Whole | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS436,933 views

The numbers

Here is the week's viewing and subscriber picture for NOVA PBS Official.

views gained this week: this channel and similar channels

RocaNews

2,964,791

Channel 4 Documentaries

2,589,672

VICE Sports

1,915,271

NOVA PBS Official

1,624,024

Spark

1,061,153

Brandon Buckingham

870,225

Real Wild

354,420

Natural World Facts

341,553

Boy Boy

126,521

subscribers

1,530,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

285,359,174

views per day

176,858

typical day: 284,395

first-day views of each video posted this week

Evolution: Brain Power | Full Documenta…

49,397

That time the U.S. nuked space #nuclear…

18,552

Does Electricity Move Instantly? | What…

31,046

The ancient dolphin relative that could…

7,057

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

Spark

2,000,000

Real Wild

1,900,000

NOVA PBS Official

1,530,000

Brandon Buckingham

1,370,000

Boy Boy

1,310,000

RocaNews

1,160,000

VICE Sports

1,130,000

Channel 4 Documentaries

1,120,000

Natural World Facts

1,070,000

As of October 20, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.