Curiosity Stream

Modern surgery saves millions of lives every year - but its origins are far more astonishing than most people realize. 🩺

Thousands of years ago, people were drilling holes into human skulls in a procedure known as trephination. In Ancient Rome, the physician Galen advanced medical knowledge by treating wounded gladiators. Centuries later, medieval barber surgeons performed operations with razors and saws long before medicine became the scientific discipline we know today.

Even kings played a role. During the reign of Louis XIV, surgery gained new recognition, helping transform a trade once viewed as little more than bloody craftsmanship into a respected medical profession.

*The Invention of Surgery* traces the remarkable 3,000-year journey that forever changed how we heal the human body.

Watch the two-part series, streaming only on Curiosity Stream

Can a monarchy built on centuries of tradition adapt to the expectations of the modern world?

For generations, royal families have evolved to survive changing times. But in the 21st century, the pressures of constant media attention, global audiences, and shifting public expectations have created challenges unlike any before.

*Royals: Keeping the Crown – The Pursuit of Normal* explores one of the most talked-about chapters in recent royal history, examining how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's proposed new role sparked a broader conversation about duty, tradition, public service, and whether one of the world's oldest institutions can successfully reinvent itself.

Through historical context and expert analysis, this Curiosity Original looks beyond the headlines to examine how monarchies evolve—and what it takes to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Watch Royals: Keeping the Crown, now streaming on Curiosity Stream.

What happens when a monarchy loses the confidence of its people?

History shows that crowns are rarely secured by tradition alone.

In the late 1970s, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced into exile as the Iranian Revolution transformed the nation. Once one of the world's most powerful monarchs, he spent his final months far from home, witnessing the collapse of the dynasty he had ruled for decades.

*Royals: Keeping the Crown* explores this pivotal moment in modern history - not to pass judgment, but to examine how changing public expectations, political upheaval, and the pressures of leadership have shaped monarchies around the world.

From revolution to reform, the series asks a timeless question: what does it take for a monarchy to survive in a rapidly changing world?

Watch the series Royals: Keeping the Crown, streaming on Curiosity Stream.

Hidden deep inside limestone caves lives one of the strangest animals on Earth: the olm.

Blind, colorless, and perfectly adapted to eternal darkness, this cave salamander survives where life barely exists. With heightened senses of smell, taste, and hearing—and an uncanny ability to detect the electrical signals of prey—the olm thrives without sight.

In a world with almost no food, it can survive up to ten years without eating and may live for more than a century. Its ghostly appearance once convinced people it was a baby dragon, waiting to emerge from the mountains.

Journey underground with scientists in Secret Life Underground and meet the creatures that defy everything we think life needs to survive.

Secret Life Underground - Streaming on Curiosity Stream.