Connecting the World • 2013 • episode "4/12" • Mankind Decoded

58:59

China's last empire, the Qing, lasted from 1644 to 1912. It began in violence and war as the Manchus swept down from the north, but invaders became emperors, with three generations of one family ruling the country. Among them, Michael Wood argues, was China's greatest emperor - Kangxi.

S1E5 • The Story of China • 2016 • History

26:00

How did one man succeed in relaunching the Olympic spirit and turn the Games into a global event?

S2E5 • Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

54:08

This in-depth documentary examines the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the Republic of Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. One of the most fascinating personalities of his time: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. November 10 2018 marks the 80th anniversary of his death. His revolution, which quickly and radically transformed the declining Ottoman Empire into today's Turkey and profoundly changed culture and society, is rooted in European thinking. But Ataturk's unconditional determination also shows dictatorial traits. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - Monuments to the father of modern Turkey can be found in every city, the anniversary of his death is commemorated every year, derogatory words about him are punishable by law. Rarely has a politician changed a society so radically in such a short time as Ataturk did in Turkey, which was born out of the declining Ottoman Empire. He acted with unconditional determination when it came to catapulting a deeply backward country into modernity. His reforms still have an impact today. Ataturk's revolution is rooted in European thinking, in the French Enlightenment, in the process of secularization in western states. In many ways it is a turning to the West. It is also based on the idea of equality between men and women - unique in the Islamic world at the time. With his cultural revolution, however, he also overwhelms many traditionally oriented Turks. It still has an effect today. How did a young Ottoman officer become the hero of Gallipoli in World War I? How did this hero become the charismatic founder of today's Turkey through the war of independence? How does he push his reforms through in just fifteen years: abolition of polygamy, introduction of Swiss civil law, dress reform, hat reform, language and writing reform? The docu-drama tells the story of Mustafa Kemal Pasha - from his birth in multicultural Salonika to his death on November 10, 1938. Along with interviews with historians, a rich trove of archival footage and photographs enhance the documentary. These are further illuminated by reenactments depicting the intellectual evolution of Ataturk the man, as well as his revolution and political philosophy. Inner monologues drawn from the wide range of the nation's founder's writings and diaries, notes and letters lend authenticity and credibility to the film.

2018 • History

46:55

Tales of Cold War Britain, from nuclear threat to upper-class spies, eerie ghost bunkers and our very own Chernobyl. In Cold War military buildup Britain constructed bunkers for the civilian population and created its own nuclear missile defense. Professor Alice Roberts explores the UK's response to the threat of nuclear attack during the early years of the Cold War in the 1950s, when a network of upper-class spies began merrily sharing British military secrets with the Soviet Union. We also visit a nuclear-bomb-proof command center and inspect the legendary Avro Vulcan jet bomber.

S1E3 • Fortress Britain • 2022 • History

50:02

Japanese General, Hideki Tojo is a cold blooded control freak, who takes millions to their deaths in the dirtiest war ever known. This is the story of the dictator responsible for Pearl Harbor, an Asian Holocaust and the torture of thousands of POWs.

4/10 • Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

26:00

How the Atlantic was conquered by air ranging from the pioneering epic of Lt Cdr Read USN in his Curtis flying boat and Alcock and Brown in their converted Vickers Vimy bomber in 1919, to Charles Lindbergh's epic solo crossing of 1927 and the record speed flights, including Concorde. Once man had conquered the power of flight, his next goal was to find a way to cross the Atlantic. The pioneer was Lt Commander Read of the US Navy who crossed the North Atlantic in a Curtiss NC-4 flying boat. In 1919 he was followed by Alcock and Brown in their converted Vickers Vimy bomber; and a few years later Charles Lindbergh made his epic solo flight across the Atlantic. In the following years the record breaking attempts were aimed at speed with Concorde's breaking of the sound barrier.

1/20 • The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History