You can now hold in your hand a computer more powerful than those that once filled rooms. Computers, in turn, help researchers develop the next big - or, more likely, small - thing. NOVA contemplates where technology will take us in the coming decades, and how we got where we are today.

Over four days, Making Stuff traces different aspects of technology from the distant past to the near future. In Stronger New York Times technology reporter David Pogue examines spider silk to learn how we can make stronger, lighter materials. Smaller follows the trend towards the tiny, from household gadgets to the latest advances in nanotechnology. Smarter deals with the stuff of science fiction, with materials that can 'learn' on the job, including an antibacterial film modelled on shark skin. Finally, in Cleaner, Pogue asks whether renewable energy sources can break our dependency on fossil fuels.