Watch The Hidden Power of Microbes

2025
1 Season

Follow the steps that transform cacao beans into chocolate as an example of fermentation—an intricate process mediated by different microbes. The ability of certain microorganisms to turn nutrients into energy in the absence of oxygen is what makes fermentation possible. Also, look at wine, cheese, and yogurt production, and consider the health benefits of fermented foods as well as the risks.

The Hidden Power of Microbes is a series that ran for 1 seasons (24 episodes) between October 23, 2025 and on The Great Courses

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24. Using Microbes to Solve Humanity

October 23, 2025

Our heroine Lina is now an adult, working in bioremediation to clean up water pollution. Bioremediation is a natural process that uses living organisms to degrade contaminants, and it is one of several applications of microbes covered here. See how the solution to sustainable agriculture, alternative food sources, climate change, and other daunting problems might just be microbes.

23. The Cutting Edge of Microbe Research

October 23, 2025

Who would have guessed that a single-celled organism could generate electricity? Or build an internal magnetic GPS? Researchers are documenting an ever-growing list of the powers of microbes, inspiring biomedical and biotechnological innovations that have the potential to improve the lives of everyone. Explore the promise of microbial cancer killers, pharmaceutical factories, and power stations.

22. A World without Microbes

October 23, 2025

You

21. Extraterrestrial Microbes

October 23, 2025

Is there life beyond Earth? Could extraterrestrial microbes have seeded life on our planet? And what is life, anyway? Address these questions, drawing on research into the survivability of microorganisms in space and the habitability of different regions of the solar system. Zero in on the most promising candidates, among them Mars, the moons Europa and Enceladus, and the atmosphere of Venus.

20. How Plants and Microbes Feed the World

October 23, 2025

Plants and microbes have been interacting and co-evolving for millions of years. Learn how every plant you see hosts an enormous diversity of microbes from root to leaf tip, improving the health of their hosts through enriched nutrition and protection from aggressive microbes. Also, look at probiotics in agriculture. As discussed earlier, they should always be used with caution.

19. How Microbes Make Soil

October 23, 2025

Soil microbes are a key link in the planetary cycling of nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus

18. The Crucial Roles of Marine Microbes

October 23, 2025

A drop of seawater contains about a million cells, each playing a vital role in planetary nutrient cycles and oxygen production. Investigate the evolution of marine microbes and their crucial roles within the biosphere. As a dominant force in biology, they rival only humans. Reflect on the effects of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide on marine life and the repercussions for terrestrial life.

17. Learning to Live in Extreme Environments

October 23, 2025

The most life-threatening environments on, above, and below Earth typically harbor microbes that evolved to survive the harsh conditions. From the stratosphere to the ocean bottom to deep underground, microorganisms are truly everywhere. Probe some of the strategies they use to outwit extremes of temperature, pressure, salinity, pH, and radiation. They

16. Immunizations and the Discovery of Vaccines

October 23, 2025

Chart the history of vaccines, from traditional practices that protected against smallpox (although at the time no one knew why they worked) to today

15. Viruses and Bacteriophages

October 23, 2025

People generally think of viruses as the enemy, but these microbes play a much broader and often beneficial role in ecosystems. For example, bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect and kill specific types of bacteria. For some antibiotic-resistant infections, a specially targeted phage may be the best hope for a cure. Learn about the discovery of phages and their subsequent history.

14. The Growing Threat of Antibiotic Resistance

October 23, 2025

Catch up with Lina, whose young friend Sam has contracted an infection that won

13. The Story of How Microbes Were Discovered

October 23, 2025

Ancient records show that physicians occasionally argued that invisible particles caused disease, but they were either ridiculed or ignored. With the invention of the microscope in the 1600s microbes were finally observed. However, not until the 1800s were they conclusively linked to scourges such as puerperal fever and tuberculosis. Trace the milestones in this medical detective story.

12. Zoonotic Diseases and Pandemics

October 23, 2025

From the Black Death to COVID-19, humans are vulnerable to zoonotic diseases

11. Cooperation among Microbes

October 23, 2025

Microbes can be vicious competitors, but very often the fittest microbes aren

10. Survival of the Microbial Fittest

October 23, 2025

Cover the incessant war among microbes, which can lead to collateral damage in humans. Look at cases of competitive exclusion, and tactics such as frontal assault, chemotaxis, chemical weapons, and coordinated and even suicidal attacks

9. How to Endure: Adapt, Be Small, and Go Quiet

October 23, 2025

The amazing adaptability of some microbes can create problems for us. A child

8. When Is a Microbiome Helpful or Harmful?

October 23, 2025

Dig deeper into how microbes and hosts establish their symbiotic relationships, and how the human partnership with microbes can sometimes lead to chronic diseases. Find that some insects and animals have no microbiome at all. What they have instead is a readily digestible diet, with little or no assistance required from microorganisms. Dr. Booth also cautions against microbiome miracle cures.

7. How Lifestyle Influences Your Microbiome

October 23, 2025

Return to our fictional microbe host, Lina, who is now a toddler living in a rural setting. Compare her microbiome with that of her urban cousin, noting differences depending on pets, farm animals, siblings, playmates, and other factors. Evaluate the connection between allergies and exposure to different microbes. Also, consider the best diet to promote a healthy assortment of microorganisms.

6. Can Microbes Control Your Mind and Behavior?

October 23, 2025

Microbes are known to make creatures do strange things, such as zombie ants that climb to a specific height to die and spread the infecting agent. Rabies is another example since it alters animal behavior to promote spread of the virus. Dr. Booth investigates whether microbes within us may hijack our minds for their own benefit. Discover that one line of defense is the blood-brain barrier.

5. The Functions of Your Gut Microbiome

October 23, 2025

Explore the diverse environments of the human gut from a microbe

4. Fermentation: Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate

October 23, 2025

Follow the steps that transform cacao beans into chocolate as an example of fermentation

3. Skin, Gut, and Respiratory Tract Microbes

October 23, 2025

Any part of the human body that has contact with the outside world is a potential homestead site for microbes. But why do our bodies tolerate their presence? Here, you

2. The Human Microbiome

October 23, 2025

Continue your tour of Lina

1. Welcome to the Microbial Jungle

October 23, 2025

Begin your study of the oldest and most widespread forms of life on Earth: microbes. Dr. Melissa Booth outlines the course and introduces Lina, the fictional character whose life will be explored from the perspective of the microbes that live in, on, and around her, from birth to adulthood. Learn how the microbes that colonize an infant during its earliest weeks influence long-term health.

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Where to Watch The Hidden Power of Microbes

The Hidden Power of Microbes is available for streaming on the The Great Courses website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch The Hidden Power of Microbes on demand at Prime Video and Amazon.