If this episode teaches us anything it’s that revolutionaries come in many different forms. All thirteen of our subjects have been pioneers and leaders in their fields and have changed everything, from the way we watch films to how we connect and work. For some the word revolutionary might only be a title but for others, such as Castro and Ghandi, it is far more real. This episode of heroes and villains features some of the most famous and infamous faces of the twentieth century.
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Counting down from 62 to 50 we list scientists, revolutionaries, Generals… and even “the king”. But Elvis Presley isn’t the only surprise in this episode as he stands shoulder to shoulder with Amelia Earhart, Edwin Hubble and more. This episode touches on some issues which remain vital today and choices that changed the world and the way we live.
2016 • People
If this episode teaches us anything it’s that revolutionaries come in many different forms. All thirteen of our subjects have been pioneers and leaders in their fields and have changed everything, from the way we watch films to how we connect and work. For some the word revolutionary might only be a title but for others, such as Castro and Ghandi, it is far more real. This episode of heroes and villains features some of the most famous and infamous faces of the twentieth century.
2016 • People
The Sixth Episode features some major players from war and peace, from east and west. From inventors who have changed the way we live and fight to artists who have given us reasons to do both, we count through 35 to 24 and cover some of the most influential and infamous people who made the twentieth century – a long reigning monarch, a murderous dictator and the “father of the Atom Bomb”. Quite a mixture!
2016 • People
From a painter who changed the face of modern art to the most recognised figure of WWII, this episode spans the century, highlighting people of such profound influence that they can reasonably be termed “iconic”. Whether they’re reshaping a nation or reinventing the tools that will forever change the way we live, no one could argue that the Top Twenty are all people who made the twentieth century.
2016 • People
What would the world we live in look like without our Top Ten? It is hard to imagine but one thing’s for sure, in making the twentieth century they have indelibly influenced the world we know today. In our final episode we reveal our picks for the most significant people “Who Made the Twentieth Century”. The results will surprise many. Some will disagree with the choices, everyone will remain gripped up to the final reveal.
2016 • People
Women and girls in computing science discuss the lack of diversity and gender equality in the industry and strategies to change this.
2015 • People
Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela use violence and guile to turn the Cali Cartel into a $7 billion-per-year criminal operation.
S1E2 • Drug Lords • 2017 • People
Dr Tara Shine explores the gases that make up the air we breathe, one of which may provide the answer to transport in the future.
S1E3 • BBC Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Planet Earth: A User's Guide • 2020 • People
He put a man on the Moon in the Victorian Era. He criticized the Internet...in 1863. Jules Verne is the ultimate futurist, with a legacy of sci-fi stories predicting everything from fuel cell technology to viral advertising. The extraordinary voyages of Jules Verne have inspired art, industry, culture, and technology.
S1E6 • Prophets of Science Fiction • 2011 • People
The true story of the supposedly straight-laced Queen Victoria.
S1E1 • Private Lives of the Monarchs • 2017 • People
Marco Polo: World's Greatest Overland Explorer? Or World's Biggest Liar? Perhaps no land journey in human history is more famous than Marco Polo's legendary 24 year trek across Asia. But was it all just a big lie? As described in his 1299 book, the peripatetic Venetian merchant encountered such wonders as the "singing sand dunes" of Dunhuang, China, "mountains of salt" in present-day Afghanistan, and the glories of the Mongol court of Kublai Khan. Generations of Europeans were spellbound by Polo's account, yet in recent years some scholars have questioned its authenticity. National Geographic Photographer Mike Yamashita sets out to visually document one of the greatest overland journeys ever made: the 24-year odyssey of Marco Polo. 700 years ago a young Venetian set out on what was to become one of the most influential journeys ever made. His adventures took him well beyond the boundaries of the known world of Persia to a land that was almost completely unexplored - the mysterious Middle Kingdom. But ever since he returned there were those who doubted Marco Polo. Did he really see what he described in his legendary book, 'Description of the World' or did he merely describe what others told him. In this film, Mike Yamashita follows Marco's book from the lofty heights of the Pamir Mountains to the fabled city of Xanadu in Mongolia. In so doing he attempts to unravel some of the age old mystery: Did Marco Polo really go to China? In the course of this incredible journey Mike stumbles onto a nomadic Kazak wedding in Aksai and investigates the controversy of the Great Wall - why did Polo never mention this in his famous travelogue "The Description of the World"? And why did he never mention tea or chopsticks? Yamashita talks to noted Chinese historian Professor Liu Yingsheng about these and many other Polo conundrums. In Yunnan province, he visits the bound feet women, and travels to inner Mongolia to film the famous herds of the Mongolian horsemen. As Yamashita reaches Xanadu he ponders on how Polo became a trusted confidant to the Khan and spent 17 years in his service. What sights he must have seen. But did he? The mystery slowly but surely reveals itself.
2022 • People