Episode V • 2020 • episode "5/10" • The Last Dance

85:27

Richard Turner is renowned as one of the world's greatest card magicians, yet he is completely blind. This is an in-depth look at a complex character who is one of magic's greatest hidden treasures.

2017 • People

5:48

Peaks of Life is a short Documentary about UK rider and downhill racer Tom Wheeler. The documentary illustrates Tom's lengthy recovery and rehabilitation process after loosing the use of his right arm whilst racing in Rheola, Wales back in 2011. Despite paralysing his right arm, Tom's determination and dedication means he's able to do the things he loves most including riding his mountain bike again. A touching story that some may consider a tragedy at first, but with such a great out look of life Tom isn't letting his paralysed arm slow him down.

People

52:01

A language that can be spoken, hummed, or whistled? A language with no unique words for colour or numbers? Linguistics professor Daniel Everett claims that the unique language of the Piraha people of the Amazon is exactly that. More than 30 years ago, he travelled as a missionary into the Amazon rainforest to teach the tribe, but they ended up teaching him. Their way of life and unique form of communication have profoundly changed Everett, and inspired a theory that could undermine the most powerful theory (or theorist) of linguistics.

2012 • People

49:59

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.

S1E7 • The 101 People who Made the 20th Century • 2016 • People

41:32

From Luke Skywalker's light sabre to Darth Vader's Death Star, the Star Wars franchise is one of the defining science fiction works of the later 20th century. George Lucas' prolific imagination has already inspired two generations of scientists and engineers to push the envelope of technology. By introducing computers into the filmmaking process, he changed the way movies are made, and the way we all see the future.

S1E8 • Prophets of Science Fiction • 2011 • People

46:07

The early years of Bin Laden, from timid Saudi schoolboy to revered freedom fighter. The first episode begins with Osama Bin Laden's schooldays in Saudi Arabia. He grew up in a wealthy family, loved westerns and soccer, and avoided fights in the schoolyard. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980, like many Arab men, he joined the resistance to liberate the country from the occupying forces. In Peshawar, Pakistan, just across the Afghan border, he sets up a "service bureau" and uses his connections to organize money for the fight. He keeps promising his mother not to go into battle himself, but then joins the mujahideen commander Sayed Wahidyar, who is only called "Fearless". According to Wahidyar, bin Laden is initially a burden because he has no idea about fighting. The wealth he inherited and the family's connections to the construction industry come in handy when he begins to build much-needed infrastructure such as roads, warehouses and clinics on his own. In the Battle of Jaji, the Soviet troops were finally repulsed with the help of the experienced Afghan mujahideen - a decisive victory for bin Laden, which resulted in the superpower's final withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988. It is the beginning of a myth fueled in part by Bin Laden himself. His supposed military success gives him enormous prestige. In the same year, Bin Laden founded Al-Qaeda. The die is cast.

S1E1 • Bin Laden: The Road to 9.11 • 2021 • People