Plastics
Plastics have transformed how we live, but progress comes at a high price: 7.8 billion tons of waste. Are plastics a miracle or a catastrophe?
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More from this season
S1 E1
Fast Food
Cheap, quick and tasty, fast food became a culinary craze in the 1950s. But has our quest for convenience created an irreversible health crisis?
S1 E2
The Space Race
Fifteen international agencies spend $62 billion every year on space travel. What's fueling our costly — and dangerous — drive to explore the universe?
S1 E3
The Rise of China
In the 21st century, China has become a global economic powerhouse. Why was the rest of the world so slow to notice its rise to the top?
S1 E5
Oil and the Middle East
Oil has brought great wealth to the Middle East and ignited major wars. Is it a blessing or a curse for the region, as well as the rest of the world?