Latest Documentaries
In this episode, they unpick the dramatic shift in advice on drinking alcohol. After warnings that there's no longer any safe limit, what's the truth on whether it's still ok to have a drink? And what about all the previous reports that suggest the occasional drink might actually be a good thing? The shocking secrets of how Britain snacks are revealed, but it seems the mid-afternoon energy slump that prompts millions to reach for treats may just be all in the mind. Also, the controversial 5:2 diet is put to the test. With the experts still divided, could regular fast days really be the key to losing weight?
S1E5 • Food: Truth or Scare • 2016 • Health
In this episode, they investigate whether we should really be giving up bacon and sausages, after new research suggested they're bad for us. The programme explores why eggs, for years demonised as unhealthy, are now firmly back in fashion and apparently now about as healthy as you can get. Could butter or dripping be next? Plus why white bread isn't necessarily as unhealthy as assumed.
S1E4 • Food: Truth or Scare • 2016 • Astronomy
Gloria Hunniford and Chris Bavin unravel the truth behind food stories that have dominated the front pages. In this episode, they discover how it's not just what you eat that can make a difference to how you feel, but when you have it and how you cook it. The truth behind the headlines about the dangers of cooking with olive oil, and barbecues, is revealed. Several long-established beliefs are put to the test, with experiments to see whether three meals a day is the most effective way to fuel your body, and if breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.
S1E3 • Food: Truth or Scare • 2016 • Health
Gloria Hunniford and Chris Bavin make sense of which foods we should and shouldn't be eating. Gloria reveals her own experience of being diagnosed as pre-diabetic. With headlines suggesting millions are at risk of developing diabetes, she exposes how changing your diet can stop the condition in its tracks, and perhaps even reverse it. Chris unpicks which fruit and veg are best to eat. After years of working as a greengrocer, even he's unsure if he's eating enough, and how those five-a-day really stack up.
S1E2 • Food: Truth or Scare • 2016 • Health
Following reports that taking extra vitamins is pointless and possibly even dangerous, Gloria discovers whether the vitamins she takes each day are really necessary or if she can get all the nutrients she needs from her food? Chris tests out a new meal plan to see what difference changing what you eat makes to how you power through the day, and even how you sleep.
S1E1 • Food: Truth or Scare • 2016 • Health
For over fifty years, Dieter Rams has left an indelible mark on the field of product design with his iconic work at Braun and Vitsoe, and his influence on Apple. So, at 87 years old, why does he now regret being a designer? Rams is a design documentary, but it is also a rumination on consumerism, sustainability and the future of design. Dieter's philosophy is about more than just design. It is about a way to live. The film also features an original score by pioneering musician Brian Eno.
2019 • Design
Recommended Documentaries
The first programme in the series uncovers what happens in our minds when we learn, remember and have original ideas. It explores what we can do to improve our ability to learn and manipulate knowledge, and shows how eating fish oils can boost our brain power.
1/3 • The Human Mind • 2007 • Brain
David Attenborough explores the courtship displays of flame bowerbirds and pufferfish.
5/7 • Life Story • 2014 • Nature
Astronaut Mike Massimino explores the dwarf planet Pluto, a tiny frozen world surrounded in secrets; using the latest science, he investigates the possibility of life in its mysterious ocean.
S1E6 • The Planets (US) • 2017 • Astronomy
Liz Bonnin presents a controversial and provocative episode of Horizon, investigating how new scientific research is raising hard questions about zoos - the film explores how and why zoos keep animals, and whether they need to change to keep up with modern science, or ultimately be consigned to history. Should zoos cull their animals to manage populations? Liz travels to Copenhagen Zoo, who killed a giraffe and fed it to the lions, to witness their culling process first hand. They think it is a natural part of zoo keeping that is often swept under the carpet. Should some animals never be kept in captivity? In a world exclusive, Liz visits SeaWorld in Florida and asks if captivity drove one of their orcas to kill his trainer. But could zoos be the answer to conserving endangered species? Liz examines their record, from helping breed pandas for the wild to efforts to save the rhinos. She meets one of the last surviving northern white rhinos and discovers the future of this species now lies in a multimillion-dollar programme to engineer them for stem cells. Veteran conservation scientist Dr Sarah Bexell tells Liz the science of captive breeding is giving humanity false hope.
The acerbically witty and severely facially disfigured broadcaster Adam Pearson presents a personal film about genetics. He and his twin brother Neil are genetically identical and both share the same genetic disease, Neurofibromatosis 1 (Nf1) - yet they are completely different. Adam's face is covered with growths, whereas Neil has none. Neil has short term memory loss, whereas Adam is razor sharp. How can the same genetic disease affect identical twins so differently? Adam is on the cusp of a successful film and television career, but the disease has left tumours on his face that are growing out of control and he could lose his sight. For years, everyone thought Adam's brother Neil had escaped symptoms, but today his life is governed by epilepsy and a mysterious memory loss that suddenly came on during his teens. Determined to save their future, Adam tries to find out why the disease affects the twins so differently.
Our lives are going digital. We shop, bank, and even date online. Computers hold our treasured photographs, private emails, and all of our personal information. This data is precious—and cybercriminals want it. Now, NOVA goes behind the scenes of the fast-paced world of cryptography to meet the scientists battling to keep our data safe. They are experts in extreme physics, math, and a new field called "ultra-paranoid computing," all working to forge unbreakable codes and build ultra-fast computers. From the sleuths who decoded the world's most advanced cyber weapon to scientists who believe they can store a password in your unconscious brain, NOVA investigates how a new global geek squad is harnessing cutting-edge science—all to stay one step ahead of the hackers.
NOVA PBS • 2014 • Technology
Lifehack Documentaries
Science helps you figure out the correct way to cook and what utensils, pots and pans are the most effective to use so that your meals turn out just right.
2/2 • The Science of Everyday Living • 2011 • Lifehack
Use Anchoring to your advantage!
Bite Size Psych • 2015 • Lifehack
The Dunedin Study has identified a fundamental developmental mechanism that completely rewrites the nature versus nurture argument. It is a genetic switch which is thrown by life events , nature loads the gun but nurture pulls the trigger. This episode tracks the hunt for the mechanism using three specific examples - violence in men, depression, and cannabis induced schizophrenia
3/4 • Predict my Future: The Science of Us • 2016 • Lifehack
Take a journey deep inside the intriguing world of non-verbal communication. As human beings, our bodies communicate our inner emotions and feelings in ways that can often be easily seen by others, but at other times, are barely visible. On every continent and in every ethnicity, expressions of emotions such as happiness, surprise, anger and fear are universally recognized. These expressions are hard-wired into our facial muscles for reasons that have everything to do with human evolution and survival of the species. To the trained observer, the way people move can be more revealing than the things people say. Body Language Decoded features interviews with some of the world’s leading experts in human communication.
2017 • Lifehack
How TV rubs our noses in other people's superior lifestyles.
3/6 • How TV Ruined Your Life • 2011 • Lifehack
The video game industry is a global phenomenon. There are over 1.2 billion gamers across the planet, with sales projected soon to pass $100 billion per year. But their very popularity fuels the controversy that surrounds them. They frequently stand accused of corrupting the young - of causing violence and addiction. But is this true? Horizon reveals a scientific community deeply divided. Some are convinced that video games incite aggression. Others insist they have no effect whatsoever on real-world violence. But away from the controversy, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests video games may help keep the brain sharp, and could soon revolutionise how we combat mental decline as we age.
Music Documentaries
John Eliot Gardiner goes in search of Bach the man and the musician. The famous portrait of Bach portrays a grumpy 62-year-old man in a wig and formal coat, yet his greatest works were composed 20 years earlier in an almost unrivalled blaze of creativity. We reveal a complex and passionate artist; a warm and convivial family man at the same time a rebellious spirit struggling with the hierarchies of state and church who wrote timeless music that is today known world-wide. Gardiner undertakes a 'Bach Tour' of Germany, and sifts the relatively few clues we have - some newly-found. Most of all, he uses the music to reveal the real Bach.
2013 • Music
The composer examines the middle to late 19th century, exploring the European craze for opera and music that dealt with death and destiny. He suggests that composers were inspired by Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique to write about witches, ghouls, trolls and hellish torment, and that the death of the heroine in Verdi's La Traviata was a comment on the hypocrisies of wider society. Howard also argues that the image of the composer as a misunderstood genius was cemented in the public imagination during this period.
4/6 • Howard Goodall's Story of Music • 2013 • Music
Suzy Klein takes us back to the volatile years following the Russian Revolution and World War I, when music was seen as a tool to change society. Suzy explores the gender-bending cabarets of 1920s Berlin and smashes a piano in the spirit of the Bolshevik revolution. She also reveals why one orchestra decided to work without a conductor, uncovers the dark politics behind Mack the Knife and probes the satirical songs which tried to puncture the rise of the Nazis. Suzy's musical stories are brought to life with the help of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and its Chorus, as well as solo performers. This was a golden age for music, and its jazz, popular songs, experimental symphonies and classics like Rachmaninoff all provoke debate - what kind of culture do we want? Is music for the elite or for the people? Was this a new age of liberal freedom to be relished - or were we hurtling towards the apocalypse?
1/3 • Tunes for Tyrants • 2017 • Music
DJ and broadcaster Rita Ray travels to Nigeria, home of some of the most influential African music of the last 60 years. The country's extraordinary polyrhythms have powered highlife, funk and Afrobeat for decades, and can still be heard in modern pop music. Travelling to Lagos and beyond, Rita traces the importance of rhythm in Nigeria's music and discovers the many different musical styles it has created, from Yoruba juju music, to acoustic singer-songwriters and world-class pop.
1 • Africa: A Journey into Music • 2018 • Music
Randoms! Documentaries
Deep in the remote basin of the Pacific Ocean is an island where dragons still roam, a Jurassic-type underworld, where every day is a fight for supremacy and survival. Welcome to Komodo Island, home to the world's largest living lizard on the planet, the Komodo dragon. Witness the start of a new era as we follow the island's current monarch, Drogo. He has just overthrown the old king and must now defend his title against a group of young dragons, here on one of the harshest and hottest habitats on the planet.
2016 • Nature
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are homes to the deadliest storms in our solar system, and new discoveries reveal the secrets of this hellish alien weather, helping experts understand these alien worlds better than ever.
Space's Deepest Secrets • 2019 • Astronomy
Modern life would be impossible without plastic – but we have long since lost control over our invention. Why has plastic turned into a problem and what do we know about its dangers? This video is a collaboration with UN Environment and their Clean Seas campaign, If you want to take action to turn the tide on plastics, go to http://www.cleanseas.org and make your pledge.
In a Nutshell • 2019 • Environment
David Attenborough examines creatures that have baffled us for centuries. This episode looks at how fleas jump and tracks the true speed of a cheetah.
S3E1 • Natural Curiosities • Nature
Where is the population in the world the smallest? What countries have the least people? It’s not the size that matters, and with countries, that is often the case. Some of the least populated countries in the world are also the wealthiest in terms of personal wealth and gross national product. And some of the larger nations have problems equally as huge to address. Some of these smaller countries are thinly populated because they are super-difficult to get to or sit in some of the world’s harshest regions. Some simply get by on one or two key industries and foreign aid. Some were used as strategic bases during war time. Some are playgrounds for the rich and famous. And one is reserved for holy activities. Today we take a closer look at the smallest of these nations, in this episode of the Infographics Show, The Ten Least Populated Countries in the World.
The Infographics Show • 2018 • Travel
It's known as the Miracle of Dunkirk: in May 1940, approximately 340,000 Allied troops were trapped with their backs to the sea. Sitting ducks, the troops were subjected to an endless barrage of bombs and bullets as the Luftwaffe apparently bombed at will. The situation seemed hopeless. Then a fleet of ships appeared on the horizon, mostly sent by the Royal Navy but joined by smaller craft captained by plucky civilians. The soldiers were rescued from the beaches and taken safely back to Britain. They would later return to win the war. But behind the Miracle of Dunkirk there's another, hidden story. Soldiers and mariners, angry that they'd apparently been left undefended against the Luftwaffe, blamed the RAF. Historians have long viewed Dunkirk as the RAF's poorest hour. But now, recently released MoD files reveal that, far from being absent, the RAF were suffering massive losses supporting the evacuation.
Secret History • 2017 • History