James May charts the journeys of explorers through experiments and messing about in boats. Chapter 1: Christopher Columbus The host profiles famous explorers, beginning with Christopher Columbus. He may be celebrated as a national hero for 'discovering' the USA - but he never set foot there. James starts by travelling to south-west Spain, from where these world-changing voyages began. May takes the helm of his own sailboat to test the cutting-edge sail technology that allowed ships to travel further than ever - and the rudimentary navigation techniques that Columbus had to rely on. Chapter 2: Sir Walter Raleigh James follows Walter Raleigh's rise from rural Devon to London high-society. He meets top barrister Benet Brandreth KC at The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple to learn the techniques of persuasion that allowed Raleigh to talk his way to the top. James also explores the darker and more complex corners of Raleigh's legacy. Chapter 3: Captain Cook Captain James Cook was the last explorer in the age of sail - and one of the busiest, charting one third of the globe. His voyages brought huge advancements in navigation, biology, and geography, and in Britain he is generally thought of as a hero - but in other parts of the world, that's not the story. James May examines how this studious and serious son of a farmer broke through the class ceiling to become the greatest naval captain of his age.
2025 • Travel
Gabriel Gatehouse tries to solve the biggest mystery in tech: who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? Now a multi trillion-dollar industry, its pseudonymous inventor has not been heard from since 2011. Whoever it is could be one of the richest people on the planet, and yet their identity remains unknown. Whilst on the trail for Bitcoin's inventor, Gabriel uncovers a conspiracy to end democracy and transform the world as we know it.
2025 • Technology
The fight to break free from a New Zealand Christian cult. Gloriavale hides the darkest of secrets - as the promise of heaven on earth descends into seclusion and subordination. Chapter 1: In 1969 an Australian preacher set up a religious community in New Zealand known as Gloriavale. Today it is home to 650 people who live a closeted existence away from the rest of society. This documentary examines the dark secrets at the heart of this Christian sect and the allegations that its followers are indoctrinated to an oppressive existence for life. Chapter 2: Focuses on what life was like for the second and third-generation members of Gloriavale, growing up in a world where every decision is made for them. New Zealand journalist Melanie Reid recounts her experience of going undercover inside the community in the 1990s, and the work she did to try to stop the abuse she discovered. Chapter 3: Charts the impact of the loss of Gloriavale's charismatic leader Hopeful Christian and his successor's struggle to keep the community running. Meanwhile, an underground network helps one member leave, while two former children of Gloriavale expose one of its most shocking secrets.
2025 • People
Across Asia, elephants must use their intelligence and understanding of us to adapt to the human world.
S1E4 • Secrets of the Elephants • 2023 • Nature
Revealing the secrets of the world's most elusive elephant species and how they have adapted to life in their rainforest home.
S1E3 • Secrets of the Elephants • 2023 • Nature
Elephant families face the challenges of life in the deserts of Namibia.
S1E2 • Secrets of the Elephants • 2023 • Nature
Family relationships are the secret of success for savanna elephants. Emotional bonds and wisdom help them navigate a changing world.
S1E1 • Secrets of the Elephants • 2023 • Nature
The second episode delves into the moral framework that religions are often cited as providing and argues against the indoctrination of children. Dawkins compares religious faith to a virus, being passed from parents to offspring and teachers to pupils. He visits a London Hasidic Jewish school, where students are largely isolated from outside ideas, and Phoenix Academy, a semi-independent city academy following the American Accelerated Christian Learning curriculum. Dawkins interviews the headteacher about the integration of biblical stories into various academic subjects and explores the differences between secular ethics and morality based on religious law. He also discusses concepts from evolutionary biology, such as reciprocal altruism and kin selection, as explanations for morality.
S1E2 • The Root of All Evil • 2006 • People
In the first episode, Dawkins examines the unproven beliefs held as facts by many religions and the extremes to which some followers take them. He argues that faith is not a way of understanding the world but is fundamentally opposed to modern science, which tests hypotheses and builds theories to describe the world. Dawkins visits the United States to interview Pastor Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and travels to Jerusalem to interview Yousef al-Khattab, an American-born Jew who settled in Israel before converting to Islam. He uses Bertrand Russell's celestial teapot analogy to respond to charges that scientific understanding does not entitle one to reject religion.
S1E1 • The Root of All Evil • 2006 • People
Levison Wood tracks down some of the most iconic but endangered animals on Earth and gets a better understanding of how they are surviving against worsening odds. Chapter 1: Orangutans Deep in Borneo's forests, Levison meets the last-remaining endangered orangutans, and learns more about their unique lives and their environment, as they face the threat of deforestation and poaching. Chapter 2: Lions In Namibia's extreme environment, Levison tracks down some of the last remaining desert lions and learns about the vital work that's giving them a fighting chance of survival. Chapter 3: Polar Bears Levison travels deep into the vast arctic wilderness of east Greenland to track down some of the most elusive populations of polar bears on the planet. But will he get up close and personal with one?
2023 • Nature
In the vast Canadian wilderness, there lives a very special bear family. Just out of hibernation, two black cubs have a pure white mother. She's not a polar bear or albino - locally she's known as a ghost bear. This far north, winter is never far away, and this unusual family must work hard to find enough food to see them through. They will also need to avoid other large predators, but being so different could bring them unwelcome attention.
2015 • Nature
The forces tearing apart our democracy have never been more frightening or powerful, but who is actually behind them? BAD FAITH reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, Christian Nationalists have succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening democracy.
2024 • History
At 38 years old, Susan Polgar has reached heights that few women have ever equalled in the chess world. Despite the common assumption that men’s brains are better at understanding spatial relationships, giving them an advantage in games such as chess, Susan went on to become the world’s first grandmaster. Susan’s remarkable abilities have earned her the label of ‘genius’, but her psychologist father, Laszlo Polgar, believed that genius was “not born, but made”. Noting that even Mozart received tutelage from his father at a very early age, Polgar set about teaching chess to the five-year-old Susan after she happened upon a chess set in their home. “My father believed that the potential of children was not used optimally,” says Susan.
S1E1 • My Brilliant Brain • 2007 • Brain
A breakthrough called CRISPR opens the door to curing diseases, reshaping the biosphere, and designing our own children. A provocative exploration of its far-reaching implications, through the eyes of the scientists who discovered it.
2019 • Science
The great mountain ranges are some of the planet's most spectacular landscapes, but they are unforgiving places to live in, and only a few animals have what it takes to live at extreme altitude. Mountain animals are amongst the most elusive in the world, and this film provides unique and intimate glimpses into their secretive lives. Witness the moment four snow leopards come together when a mother and cub become trapped between two rival males. Join grizzly bears as they dance against trees to rub off their winter fur and soar with golden eagles hunting amongst Europe's snow-capped peaks.
S1E2 • Planet Earth II • 2016 • Nature
Join a team of scientists as they launch a probe to actually touch the Sun. Then they make a surprise discovery on the tiny planet Mercury. An exhilarating real-life space adventure, revealing that our nearest star could pose a serious threat to our modern way of life.
S1E2 • Secrets of the Solar System • 2020 • Astronomy
Steve finds out how washing our clothes is harming our marine life. Why has the fish and chips supper changed? And which lobster is making a comeback? Plus why is one man fascinated by 'the Christmas Tree fish of the sea? Chris finds out. Presented from Herne Bay in Kent .
S1E4 • Blue Planet UK • 2019 • Nature
The world's deserts force animals to come up with ingenious ways of coping with hostile conditions, giving rise to the most incredible survival stories on earth.
S1E4 • Planet Earth II • 2016 • Nature
The dream of sending humans to Mars is closer than ever before. In fact, many scientists think that the first person to set foot on the Red Planet is alive today. But where should the first explorers visit when they get there? Horizon has gathered the world's leading experts on Mars and asked them where would they go if they got the chance - and what would they need to survive? Using incredible real images and data, Horizon brings these Martian landmarks to life - from vast plains to towering volcanoes, from deep valleys to hidden underground caverns. This film also shows where to land, where to live and even where to hunt for traces of extraterrestrial life.
Dark matter is the biggest mystery of the cosmos. Scientists know that it has been vital to the universe since its birth, and new discoveries reveal that it could create black holes, cause mass extinctions, and might even shape life on Earth itself.
S5E8 • How the Universe Works • 2017 • Astronomy
Deep in the mountains of West Virginia, the Green Bank Observatory has been receiving a mysterious signal from deep space. Could this be a message from an advanced civilization, or is it a much stranger and violent occurrence? Visit the largest steerable radio telescope on the planet for answers.
2018 • Astronomy
Scientists on the BICEP and Planck missions are attempting to solve a mystery about the earliest moments of our universe, by searching for patterns in the cosmic microwave background. If successful, the missions will help to answer the biggest question anyone can ask: how did our universe begin?
On Exoplanet Atlas, dense gravity creates a thick atmosphere allowing airborne life forms to thrive - but also providing a lesson in adaptability.
S1E1 • Alien Worlds • 2020 • Astronomy
This film follows Judi’s journey through the seasons and her mission to understand her woodland’s vital role in our history and our future. With the help of some of the best tree scientists and historians in the world, Judi unlocks the remarkable secret lives of trees and the stories that they tell us.
2017 • Environment
From artificial photosynthesis to vegan diets, changes in science and behavior are helping improve Earth's air quality.
S1E2 • Age of Humans • 2021 • Environment
The Great Lakes region provided geologists with much of the evidence for the frequent ice ages that visited North America. But the lakes may be a rather transient feature of the continent dependent upon the recurring ice ages to maintain their existence.
S1E7 • How the Earth Was Made • 2009 • Environment
Off Australia's northeast coast lies a wonder of the world, a living structure so big it can be seen from space, more intricate and complex than any city, and so diverse it hosts a third of all fish species in Australia. The Great Barrier Reef as we know it -- 8,000 years old and home to thousands of marine species -- is dying in our lifetime.
S1E4 • Catalyst: Series 18 • 2017 • Environment
Scientists are just now unlocking the amazing secrets of how rain is made; some raindrops form around micrometeorites from outer space, others are created by bacteria that float into the upper atmosphere.
S1E1 • Secrets of the Earth • 2013 • Environment
Steamy underworlds hiding mysterious treasures, extreme waters teeming with unique life, and jarring rock formations made of frozen lava.
S1E9 • Secrets of the Earth • 2013 • Environment
Europe, a continent of 50 countries, famed for cities and ancient civilizations, home to some 700 million people, and yet with a staggering diversity of natural wilderness teeming with wildlife.
2020 • Travel
Discover the secrets of humanity’s advanced skill set and predominance on earth. It was the rapid growth of our brain, originating about 2 million years ago, that allowed us to be the predominant species of the world. What caused this rapid growth of our cerebral cortex?
2021 • Science
Samsara is a documentary that explores the world through images to discover the connection between humanity and nature. The film was shot in 25 different countries over 5 years to deliver a powerful and unique insight into natural wonders, disaster zones and sacred places around the world. The world Samsara means “The ever turning wheel of life”; a Tibetan word which is something Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson have explored in a precisely filmed documentary using 70mm camera specially made for the film as well as using a dynamic music score. Prepare for a journey through the human soul.
2011 • People
Professor Lawrence Krauss and Professor Michio Kaku explain the physics behind the events in the first second of The Big Bang, events which range from the first fractions of a second after creation: The Plank Era.
2012 • Astronomy
Internationally known graffiti artist, Banksy, left his mark on San Francisco in April 2010. Little did he know that this act of vandalism would spark a chain of events that includes one of his rats being removed from a wall, Museums ignorantly turning down a free Banksy street work, and a NY gallerist who has made it his business model to remove Banksy street works from all over the globe doing whatever it takes to get the rat in his possession.
2017 • People
Kabwita Kasongo is a 28-year-old Congolese aspiring farmer with a young wife and three children. He earns a living making and selling charcoal while dreaming of a better future for his family. His only resources are the strength of his arms, the bushland around him, and his iron determination. When he sets out on a treacherous journey to the market in the nearest town where he hopes to sell his produce, he learns the true value of his efforts and the price he must pay to achieve his dreams.
2017 • People