The Deep Dive: Tick Tock, Tick Tock

This week, we’re taking a deep dive into clocks and the concept of time. We’re nearing the start of 2026, and this year flew by so fast. How did that happen? Read on to find out.

Yours in media,
Elizabeth He, Visual Communications Editor

P.S. For the full printable primetime schedule, visit gbh.org/explore and sign up for GBH Daily for news and a daily reminder of programming you don’t want to miss.

Time Is Ticking

NOVA: How Atomic Clocks Keep Perfect Time (2 min clip)

Modern timekeeping relies on the accuracy of atomic clocks, which revolutionized timekeeping by using the quantum behavior of atoms to measure time. Discover how these incredibly precise clocks work.

NOVA: How to Calculate Time With an Islamic Astrolabe (2 min clip)

Here is one of Islamic science’s most important and complex astronomical instruments. How does this ancient star reader work?

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: Gilbert Optic Eye Clock (1 min clip)

Made by the William L. Gilbert Clock Company in 1910, this clock was designed for opticians’ shops. How much is it worth?

Your Internal Clock

Night Owl or Early Bird? Here’s How Your Inner Clock Impacts Your Health (article & 35 min audio)

To better understand her circadian rhythm, science journalist Lynne Peeples spent 10 days in a bunker, without sunlight or clocks. Here’s what she learned.

To Optimize Health, Sync Your Habits with Your Body Clock (article & 3 min audio)

Scientists say the return to “standard time” is good for our health. But the time change from daylight savings can be disruptive, and it means adjusting to longer winter darkness. Here’s how to sync our habits to our natural rhythms.

The History of Daylight Saving Time and Its Effect on Our Health (7 min clip)

Explore the history of changing the clocks and the growing movement to end the practice once and for all. Falling back and springing forward.

Recipe of the Week

Pasta with Sausage Ragu from Cook’s Country (recipe)

Ready in under an hour, this revamped ragu is now set to join the weeknight rotation. So yummy!

Let’s Time Travel

NOVA: How to Slow Down Time (3 min clip)

Both your brain and the laws of physics can slow down time — each in its own way. Become your own master of time.

Genius by Stephen Hawking: Can We Time Travel? (54 min episode)

World-famous scientist Stephen Hawking sets three ordinary people a series of mind-blowing challenges. Can they think like a genius?

The Culture Show Talks Back to the Future (55 min podcast)

Revisit the 1985 sci-fi comedy that made time travel cool — and Michael J. Fox a star. Four decades later, the hosts ask: does this time-travel classic still stand the test of time — or has the future finally caught up to it?

On Story: Time Travel and the Filmmaker’s Trek (26 min episode)

Rian Johnson (Looper), Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), and Roberto Orci (Star Trek), are masters of weaving time travel into the fabric of film. Watch them dissect the elements for writing a comprehensible timeline for a screenplay. Go behind the script.

Off Topic

1. Could this be ANTIQUES ROADSHOW’s youngest new appraiser? Watch this painting appraisal. (1 min short)
2. You know her; she never complains and never explains. See the Dowager Countess’ most iconic lines. (Photo carousel)
3. Why are you hitting so many speed bumps? Let’s find out what’s happening in eastern Mass. (7 min clip)