In the aftermath of Hiroshima, a group of scientists vowed never to turn knowledge into weapons again, and from that promise, CERN was born. Deep underground, researchers from nations in conflict have worked side by side for decades, driven by curiosity and shared wonder. For 70 years, CERN has stood as an act of hope, a place where collaboration transcends borders, even as the world above grows more divided. Blending poetry, music and rare archival footage of nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer with remarkable access to the Large Hadron Collider, the film explores how science, politics and culture collide.
2026 • Physics
Behind the billion-pound success of OnlyFans lies a hidden ecosystem of exploitation. A BBC Current Affairs investigation uncovers allegations of exploitation, coercion and violence committed by some of the hundreds of agents who manage many of the platform's creators as well as the potential for modern slavery. Through survivor testimony, undercover access to a managers' chat forum and expert legal analysis, the film exposes an industry where young women are trapped, threatened and profited from - raising urgent questions about accountability at the heart of one of Britain's most lucrative tech companies.
2026 • Economics
The story of the cloned sheep that was the first mammal to be created from an adult cell, and the unassuming lab that changed scientific history, leading to press stampedes, presidential panic, protests and even a failed kidnapping plot. As Dolly blinked up at the cameras, the Roslin science team's sleepy lab became the centre of an ethical uproar.
2026 • Science
ITER is an international attempt to meet humanity's energy needs by harnessing nuclear fusion. We take you within the ITER project to see how close the technology is to becoming a reality.
2026 • Science
With more than half of all primate species threatened with extinction, this episode follows scientists and conservationists working to understand and protect our closest animal relatives through groundbreaking research and conservation efforts.
A look at the extraordinary social lives of primates. From devoted fathers and protective relatives to lifelong friendships and complex hierarchies, the episode explores how family bonds help primates survive and prosper.
Primates have adapted to survive everywhere from mountains and forests to cities and savannahs. This episode reveals the ingenious strategies used by monkeys, apes, and lemurs to find food, avoid predators, and thrive in some of the world's most challenging environments.
An engaging overview of the history of money, exploring how societies evolved from barter systems to coins, paper currency, and modern financial systems. The video highlights the key developments that shaped trade, economics, and the way people exchange value throughout history.
2026 • Economics
Discover how restoring your natural "primal posture" can help reduce back pain, neck pain, and other common musculoskeletal problems
Hannah takes a drive to the National Highways control centre for the UK’s busiest motorway to meet the team that keep the motorways running 24/7.
S3E5 • The Secret Genius of Modern Life • 2025 • Technology
The rise of the smart doorbell is one of the great tech success stories of the 21st century. Hannah heads to Los Angeles to take a deep dive into doorbell history and talk to market leaders Ring.
S3E4 • The Secret Genius of Modern Life • 2025 • Technology
Hannah uncovers the wild origins of the modern-day rollercoaster and gets the inside story on the UK’s newest, tallest and fastest coaster – Thorpe Park's Hyperia.
S3E3 • The Secret Genius of Modern Life • 2025 • Technology
Beginning in Antarctica, Emperor Penguin chicks are abandoned by their parents as spring begins and must find their way across the treacherous sea ice to the rich waters of the Southern Ocean. In the Himalayas, the world's fluffiest cat hunts for gerbils and voles, while in the boreal forests circling North America, Europe and Asia, a Siberian tiger is on the lookout for black bears.
S1E1 • Frozen Planet II narrated by Sir David Attenborough • 2022 • Nature
For years, Miles Lagoze served in Afghanistan as a combat cameraman, shooting footage and editing videos for Marine Corps recruiting purposes. In this devastating film, Lagoze assembles his own footage and that of his fellow combat cameramen into a never-before-seen look at the daily life of Marines from the ultimate insider's point of view. More than a mere compilation of violence, the edit ingeniously repurposes the original footage to reveal the intensity and paradoxes of war in an age of ubiquitous cameras, when all soldiers can record themselves with helmet-cams and cellphones. Combat Obscura revels in the chasm separating civilian from military life and questions the psychological toll war exacts on all that it touches.
2018 • People
In France, Henry III still has no heir. Catherine de Medici is determined to prevent him from being the last of the Valois line and leaving the throne to Henry of Navarre. Yet again, the wind of revolt blows over the kingdom of France and leads to the assassination of Henry, Duke of Guise.
S2E6 • The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History
Emerging from the dinosaurs' shadows, mammals went from underdogs to global power, with game-changing adaptations that would conquer land, air and sea.
S1E7 • Life on Our Planet • 2023 • Nature
Saturn is the crown jewel of the Solar System. Using the latest discoveries, some of the world's top experts seek to unravel the mystery of why its extensive ring system exists and if any of its many moons could harbor alien life.
S2E1 • Mysteries of our Universe: Our Solar System • 2021 • Astronomy
Industrialized and processed food has dominated the last century. Now, the question is, what's next? We go around the world to meet pioneers in urban farming, veganism, and insect protein production to find out what will be the future of food.
S1E5 • The History of Food • 2018 • History
In part 2, Prof. Arthur Shapiro takes us through visual illusions that show how our brain processes retinal impressions from light and dark. Watch as things "move" while they are standing still. It will be hard to believe your eyes after watching this program!
There are 100 billion individual neurons in the human brain. Working together, they allow us to make sense of, and move through, the world around us. Scientists have built replicas of the human brain with computers, but no one has ever successfully made a brain out of humans. On this episode, I’ll travel back to my hometown of Stilwell, Kansas, and turn it into a working brain!
S3E3 • Mind Field • 2018 • Brain
What if each of us could make the symptoms of an illness disappear? Cast a spell so powerful it would actually rid us of pain, help us walk, or breathe better? For centuries placebos have been thought of as fake medicine involving trickery and deceit, but Brain Magic: The Power of Placebo pulls back the curtains on the proof that placebos can have powerful – and real – effects on our mind and body. New research is proving that everything from sugar pills, to saline injections, to sham surgery, can have real healing power. Placebos won’t shrink tumours or cure diabetes, but they can be effective in subjective conditions – where self-appraisal plays a role. And, as we’ll discover in Brain Magic, neuroscience is revealing how our bodies’ response to treatment is heavily influenced by our expectations, prior experiences, our beliefs, and the social cues that surround us.
S53E04 • The Nature of Things • 2015 • Brain
What new methods of analysis have been developed in the age-old struggle to discover if someone is telling the truth...or not? Some scientists have gone beyond the polygraph to model other ways of detecting whether we are getting a straight answer or being led down a crooked path.
2017 • Brain
Our brain is always making decisions - Nigel explores how it does this, and if we can help it to make better ones? Is it possible to change the brain we’re born with to a supercharged brain?
S1E3 • The Curious Mind • 2020 • Brain
Feeling anxious? You're not alone. Stand-up comedian Maria Bamford shares her personal experience with OCD in this examination of anxiety disorders.
S1E3 • The Mind, Explained • 2019 • Brain
Nowadays, many atheists declare not just that god is dead but that anyone who believes in him must be stupid. This seems a little harsh – we prefer to think about where religious beliefs come from: the pained parts of ourselves.
The School of Life • 2015 • Lifehack
Meet the most scientifically studied people in the world. A group of 1,037 New Zealanders born in one city have been followed since their births in 1972. Members are now dispersed around the globe but 96% of the original group are still taking part - an extraordinary achievement in such a long running study.
S1E1 • Predict my Future: The Science of Us • 2016 • Lifehack
The key to finding fulfilling work is to think a lot, analyse one's fears, understand the market, reflect on capitalism.
The School of Life • 2015 • Lifehack
Studying strategies. Help your brain acquire information in a scientific proven way!
AsapSCIENCE • 2015 • Lifehack
There’s a chicken waiting to cross the road, but every time she is about to take a step she asks herself "is now the right time?”
Mike Wooldridge reveals the huge role AI already plays in our daily lives – sometimes without us even realising its role. Mike investigates how games like chess and Go have become a training ground for AI, helping to bring about key advances we are now seeing in the field, and he reveals how simple methods of learning, like rewarding success, have been used to train AI in spectacular ways. We also feature some of the revolutionary innovations that AI has brought about in healthcare, from the use of AI tools in planning cancer treatment, to monitoring Parkinson's. Mike is joined by members of DeepMind's AlphaFold team, who use AI to predict the structures of large numbers of proteins, which will revolutionise the creation of new drugs across the world. We also reveal the huge impact AI has had on our creative lives – as it is able to write songs and create artworks in seconds. With the help of artist Eric Drass (aka shardcore), the audience creates a collaborative artwork and discovers how image generation works. Mike explores the thorny question of who the creator is – the AI itself, the human who set it to work, or the creators of the art that AI has learned from? The Christmas Lectures are the most prestigious event in the Royal Institution calendar, dating from 1825, when Michael Faraday founded the series. They are the world's longest running science television series, and always promise to inspire and amaze each year through explosive demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.
S1E2 • BBC Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: The Truth about AI • 2023 • Technology
David Attenborough explores the courtship displays of flame bowerbirds and pufferfish.
S1E5 • Life Story • 2014 • Nature
Beneath the hood of your car lies the history of the Universe. The iron in your chassis, the gold in your stereo and the copper in your electronics all owe their existence to violent cosmic events that took place billions of years ago.
S4E1 • How the Universe Works • 2015 • Astronomy
The invention of TV is born out of a David vs. Goliath competition between Sarnoff and Farnsworth.
S1E3 • American Genius • 2015 • Technology
An investigation into hate, produced by Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney. Extremism expert Sasha Havlicek explores ideological factors that fuel hate and violence.
S1E4 • Why We Hate • 2019 • Brain
View the birthplace of civilization: the Middle East, site of the world's first villages, towns and cities, from the hills of Turkey to the plains of Iraq. They were crucibles of invention and innovation-turbo-charging the pace of progress.
3 • First Civilizations • 2018 • History