Latest Documentaries

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Edge of Existence

This is a story about the greatest risks to humanity, and what we can do about it. We are living in a time when human-made risks pose the biggest threat to our existence. Technological progress has brought us to a precipice. For the first time ever, we have the capacity to destroy ourselves. Edge of Existence lays out how we can pull ourselves back from this precipice in order achieve a vast and extraordinary future.

2022 • Environment

We Are Not Dead Yet

Russia invades Georgia and Ukraine, putting Putin under intense scrutiny. While disinformation thrives, threats of nuclear war persist.

S1E9Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

Moscow Will Not Be Silent

Russia struggles to find a national identity as Vladimir Putin comes to power. With the Cold War in the rearview, a war on terror begins.

S1E8Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

The End of History

A new Russian leader emerges, and the republics seek independence. As the Soviet Union dissolves, several powers sign a landmark treaty on nuclear arms.

S1E7Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

Empire Is Untenable

The USSR's grasp on Eastern Europe weakens as the Berlin Wall comes down and the Communist Party mounts a coup against a prominent Soviet Union leader.

S1E6Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

War Games

With both sides planning for the worst-case scenario, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev find common ground. Tragedy strikes after a nuclear disaster.

S1E5Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

The Wall

The US and Soviet Union get caught in a nuclear arms race. A wall divides Berlin. John F. Kennedy looks for a peaceful solution after a crisis in Cuba.

S1E4Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

Institutional Insanity

Preparing for war against the Soviet Union, the US starts to test thermonuclear weapons. The CIA forms and interferes with global politics.

S1E3Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

Poisoning the Soil

As communism takes off in Russia and China, Joseph Stalin begins his ruthless reign and the Soviet Union enters an era of terror.

S1E2Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

The Sun Came Up Tremendous

During World War Il, the US begins to work on a top-secret project that results in the atomic bombings on Japan - and a global conflict lasting decades.

S1E1Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • History

20 Days in Mariupol

An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city as Russian forces close in, they capture what become some of the most defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.

2023 • History

Eating You Alive

How and why what we eat is the cause of the chronic diseases that are killing us, and changing what we eat can save our lives one bite at a time.

2018 • Health

Recommended Documentaries

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Mars

The dramatic, moving and powerful story of humanity’s conquest of Mars, told by the people who risked entire careers to explore the red planet. Did we find evidence for life back in the ’70s? Some believe we did.

S1E4Secrets of the Solar System • 2020 • Astronomy

Killer Volcanoes

NOVA follows a team of volcano sleuths as they embark on a worldwide hunt for an elusive volcanic mega-eruption that plunged the medieval earth into a deep freeze. The mystery begins when archaeologists find a hastily dug mass grave of 4,000 men, women, and children in London. At first they assume it's a plague pit from the Black Death, but when they date the bones, they're a century too early. So what killed off these families? The chronicles of that time describe a run of wild weather that devastated crops and spread famine across Europe. NOVA's expert team looks for the signature of a volcanic eruption big enough to have blasted a huge cloud of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere, which chilled the entire planet. From Greenland to Antarctica, the team finds telltale "fingerprints" in ice and soil layers until, finally, they narrow down the culprit to a smoldering crater on a remote Indonesian island. Nearly 750 years ago, this volcano's colossal explosion shot a million tons of rock and ash into the atmosphere. Across the globe, it turned summer into winter. What would happen if another such cataclysm struck again today?

NOVA PBS • 2017 • Environment

Life

Without the chemistry of photosynthesis, ozone, and a molecule called Rubisco, none of us would be here. So how did we get so lucky? To find out, host David Pogue investigates the surprising molecules that allowed life on Earth to begin, and ultimately thrive. Along the way, he finds out what we’re all made of—literally.

S1E2Beyond the Elements • 2020 • Science

Colourful Planet

From space, Earth is a kaleidoscope. Turquoise plankton blooms trigger a feeding frenzy, China turns yellow with rapeseed flowers, and mysterious green lights appear in the ocean.

S1E3Earth from Space • 2019 • Environment

The Pale Blue Dot

In this final episode Professor Brian Cox travels to Iceland, where the delicate splendour of a moonbow reveals the colours that paint our world, and he visits a volcano to explain why the sun shines. By exploring how sunlight transforms the plains of the Serengeti, drives the annual migration of humpback whales to the Caribbean and paints the moon red during a lunar eclipse, Brian reveals the colour signature of our life-supporting planet. Finally, at an observatory high in the Swiss Alps, he shows how these colours aren't simply beautiful, but that understanding how they're created is allowing us to search for other Earths far out in the cosmos.

Part 4Forces of Nature With Brian Cox • 2016 • Nature

The Placebo Experiment

Could the power of fake pills be used to treat some of our most common medical complaints? To find out, Dr Michael Mosley embarks on Britain's largest ever trial to investigate the placebo effect. He is heading to Blackpool to gather 117 people suffering from backache - one of the leading types of chronic pain - before trying to treat them with nothing but fake pills and the power of the mind. Working with experts from the University of Oxford, Michael discovers that the placebo effect is more than just a medical curiosity. The brain is actually capable of producing its own drugs, and these can be more powerful than prescription painkillers. Michael's volunteers come from all walks of life, but they have all suffered with bad backs for years and feel their conventional medication isn't up to the job. They include Stacey, who is struggling to keep up with her two energetic daughters, wheelchair user Jim, who longs to be able to get back on a boat, and poker player Moyra, who is looking for a painkiller which doesn't affect her performance. They think they are taking part in the trial of a powerful new painkiller, but their blue and white capsules actually contain nothing but ground-up rice. Can this fake treatment make a real difference? And how will the volunteers react when Michael reveals the truth? Michael also finds out about some remarkable placebo experiments from around the world, including a woman in Oxfordshire who experienced a near-miraculous recovery after undergoing fake surgery to fix her chronic shoulder pain. Plus a team in Lancashire who want to see if the placebo effect can cure a broken heart. And Michael discovers a team in Germany working on a placebo that works even if you know you are taking it, which might improve the lives of transplant patients. Michael also tests this out on himself - attempting to train his own body to respond to a fake treatment - a foul-tasting green drink - as if he were taking actual drugs.

Horizon • 2018 • Brain

Travel Documentaries

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West Transylvania

Charlie wraps up his explorations in western Transylvania, where he descends into an ancient Roman gold mine and drinks a locally made palinca.

S2E10Flavours of Romania • 2023 • Travel

Part 4

After seven months of hiking, Levison Wood reaches his final country - Egypt - and with 900 miles still to go to reach the Mediterranean, the authorities give him just 45 days to finish. After walking the barren shores of Lake Nasser and exploring deserted temples, Lev reaches Aswan and spends a night at a historic hotel. Moving on, he discovers more of Egypt's wonders, from magnificent buildings in the ancient city of Luxor, to the Pyramids of Giza, where he's given a hero's reception. The journey then takes him through strongholds for the Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, and as the security situation deteriorates he finds himself accompanied by police vans and armed officers.

S1E4Walking the Nile with Levison Wood • 2015 • Travel

Gallipoli to the Syrian Border

The first leg of his journey begins in Istanbul, from which he travels along the Aegean coast to the hostile border with Syria. He meets refugees trying to start a new life and a billionaire taking advantage of a property boom. He moves on into the Taurus Mountains and the Black Sea Coast, and visits a community trying to keep an ancient language alive.

S1E1Turkey with Simon Reeve • 2017 • Travel

Armenia to Iran

Levison travels through Armenia and Europe's forgotten war zone Nagorno-Karabakh, before heading into Iran towards Tehran, the Caspian Sea and the journey's end.

S1E4From Russia to Iran: Crossing the Wild Frontier with Levison Wood • 2017 • Travel

Crisana

In Cri?ana, Charlie appreciates the historical monuments of the region and recounts the story of St. Ladislaus and the origins of the Oradea Fortress.

S2E7Flavours of Romania • 2023 • Travel

Part 2

The odyssey continues as Colin Stafford-Johnson completes his journey along Ireland's Atlantic rim. Exploring the wildlife and mountains around his home inlet of Clew Bay, Colin then heads north for Donegal - golden eagle country - before reaching the island's northern tip and turning east along the coast of Northern Ireland.

S1E2Wild Ireland: The Edge of the World • 2017 • Travel

Economics Documentaries

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Economics is for Everyone!

‘Economics is for everyone’, argues legendary economist Ha-Joon Chang in our latest mind-blowing RSA Animate. This is the video economists don’t want you to see! Chang explains why every single person can and SHOULD get their head around basic economics. He pulls back the curtain on the often mystifying language of derivatives and quantitative easing, and explains how easily economic myths and assumptions become gospel. Arm yourself with some facts, and get involved in discussions about the fundamentals that underpin our day-to-day lives.

RSA • 2016 • Economics

Doubt

Watch part two of The Power of Big Oil, a three-episode FRONTLINE docuseries investigating the fossil fuel industry’s history of casting doubt and delaying action on climate change. This part chronicles how, as scientific evidence of human-caused climate change mounted in the 2000s, the industry continued to question the science, and went to new lengths to shape American politics and stall climate policy.

S1E2The Power of Big Oil • 2022 • Economics

1929: The Great Depression

This is the story of how the world's leading economy sinks into the Great Depression, with repercussions that allow Hitler to rise to power. Eventually, President Franklin D. Roosevelt brings hope and optimism back into the hearts of the US population.

S1E21929 • 2009 • Economics

The Stock Market

Does the stock market accurately reflect the status of the economy? Finance specialists discuss market history, valuations and CEO incentives.

S1E7Explained • 2018 • Economics

Ice Cream

The ever-enthusiastic Jeff Goldblum takes viewers on a tasty ride through ice cream's history. Jeff meets Ben & Jerry, and discovers the link between food and nostalgia onboard a US Navy aircraft carrier.

S1E2The World According to Jeff Goldblum • 2020 • Economics

One Child Nation

Thirty-five years of relentless propaganda and harsh brutal punishments left the Chinese people living in fear of their country's one-child policy. That rule, which was abandoned in 2015, has left the country with an ageing population and tens of millions more men than women. The documentary's directors, Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang, unmask the tightly held, hidden secrets of how the Chinese government enforced its one-child policy and explores its devastating effect. Wang, a new mother now living in the US, travels back to the rural village she was born in and speaks to midwives, village leaders and journalists, revealing chilling stories of forced abortions, sterilisation, abandoned babies and state-sponsored kidnappings. Her own family share the grim choices they were forced to make in order to avoid harsh punishments from the state. With new information on tens of thousands of abandoned and kidnapped children (nearly all of them infant girls), One Child Nation breaks open decades of silence on a vast, unprecedented social experiment that shaped - and destroyed - countless lives.

Storyville • 2019 • Economics

Randoms! Documentaries

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David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet

One man has seen more of the natural world than any other. This unique feature documentary is his witness statement. Having spent decades traveling the globe and producing some of the most memorable documentaries of all time, few people know the natural world quite like David Attenborough. That’s why he’s so concerned about the issue of climate change, which will threaten humanity’s very survival unless urgent action is taken to halt the damage it has already caused. Attenborough’s latest offering, A Life On Our Planet, is a reflective piece, looking back on his 94 years on Earth and sending a desperate appeal for help in securing its future.

2020 • Environment

The River: A Year in the Life of the Tay

Helen Macdonald traces the dramatic journey of Britain's greatest river, the Tay, over an entire year. Mixing natural history, cutting-edge science and historical biography with a spectacular travelogue, the film is a celebration of our largest river as it transforms from melting Highland snow to a vast torrent flowing into the cold North Sea.

2019 • Nature

Frozen South

The wildlife of Antarctica, from king penguins that must evade leopard seals to feed at sea to albatrosses responding to diminishing number of females in their population, as well as rare footage of the Antarctic blue whale, the largest animal to have ever lived. As the programme ventures into the heart of the continent, surprising footage reveals one of the most volcanic regions on Earth, with unexpected sand dunes hidden in a rare ice-free valley.

S1E4Frozen Planet II narrated by Sir David Attenborough • 2022 • Nature

Lightning War

This film shows how the Nazis developed a terrifying new military tactic - Blitzkrieg - and how it caught first Poland and then Britain and France utterly unprepared. It charts the fall of Poland and how Hitler then conquered France in just a few weeks, an achievement that had eluded Germany throughout all the four years of World War One. It also reveals how heroic French resistance allowed the British to escape from Dunkirk and live to fight another day.

2/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Super Telescope: Mission to the Edge of the Universe

As Nasa releases the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, this film tells the inside story of the telescope's construction and the astronomers taking its first picture of distant stars and galaxies. Will it be the deepest image of our universe ever taken? The successor to Hubble, and 100 times more powerful, the James Webb is the most technically advanced telescope ever built. It will look further back in time than Hubble to an era around 200 million years after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies appeared. Webb's primary mission is to capture the faint light from these objects on the edge of our visible universe so that scientists can learn how they formed, but its instruments are so sensitive it could also be the first telescope to detect signs of life on a distant planet. The James Webb Telescope is an ?8 billion gamble on the skills of its engineering team. It’s the first telescope designed to unfold in space – a complicated two-week operation in which 178 release devices must all work - 107 of them on the telescope's sun shield alone. If just one fails, the expensive telescope could become a giant piece of space junk. From its conception in the late 1980s, the construction of Webb has posed a huge technical challenge. The team must build a mirror six times larger than Hubble’s and construct a vast sun shield the size of a tennis court, fold them up so they fit into an Ariane 5 rocket, then find a way to unfold them in space. This film tells the inside story of the James Webb Space Telescope in the words of the engineers who built it and the astronomers who will use it.

2022 • Astronomy

Your Body Killed Cancer 5 Minutes Ago

Somewhere in your body, your immune system just quietly killed one of your own cells, stopping it from becoming cancer, and saving your life. It does that all the time. The vast majority of cancer cells you develop will be killed without you ever noticing. Which is an incredibly hard job because of what cancer cells are: parts of yourself that start to behave as individuals even if it hurts you. What is cancer and how does your body kill it all the time?

In a Nutshell • 2023 • Health