Grasslands: In Plain Sight • 2021 • episode "S1E1" • The Mating Game

59:06

This episode reveals how mammals developed from tiny nocturnal forest dwellers to the dominant form of life on the planet following the death of the dinosaurs. David explains how the meteoric rise of mammals led to an astounding diversity of life and laid the foundations for the ascent of man.

Part 2 • Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates • 2013 • Nature

58:34

The second episode of Andrew Marr's exploration of Darwin explores the impact of Darwin’s ideas on society and politics. Darwin’s first port of call on the Beagle was Salvador in Brazil – then a major port for the international slave trade. His experience there confirmed his enlightenment views of liberty and progress and his hatred of slavery. But his theory of evolution that began to take root on that epic voyage would describe a world of conflict, ruthless competition and struggle. It would be taken up and abused by some of the most reactionary movements of the late-19th and 20th centuries. The phrase “survival of the fittest” would help propel Darwin’s theory as a scientific justification for eugenics, enforced sterilisation and genocide. But after the Second World War, Darwin’s theory finds redemption in the United Nations statement on race which confirms Darwin’s long-held view that all humans are members of the same race and deserving of equal treatment. This is further reinforced in the extraordinary work of a small Jewish community in New York who used DNA testing and a voluntary and anonymous form of selective breeding to eliminate a debilitating disease from the Jewish community. DNA testing is the final frontier of Darwin’s Dangerous idea. But the lessons from history suggest that the new choices we face about what to do with the knowledge Darwin has given us when combined with genetics and DNA testing remains a major social and political challenge.

S1E2 • Darwin's Dangerous Idea • 2009 • Nature

21:24

David Attenborough employs the latest technologies to explore the violence, rivalries and deadly weaponry existing within the world of bugs. This first episode examines the survival tactics of its terrifying residents including killer ants, trap-setting spiders and beetles with the ability to shoot boiling chemicals at their enemies.

1 • Micro Monsters with David Attenborough • 2013 • Nature

52:08

The Galapagos Islands are home to some animals that washed up on the islands millions of years ago and have made adaptations. Penguins, iguanas, tortoises and cormorants have changed so they can survive the harsh climate. But possibly the oddest adaptation is that of the Vampire finch.

S1E2 • Wild Galapagos • 2017 • Nature

126:27

At the heart of the US-Canada border sit The Great Lakes - the world's largest freshwater ecosystem, containing as much as one fifth of the planet's supply. Chapter 1: Source to Sea The water's journey from source to sea spans half a continent - 2,000 miles - and takes more than three centuries to complete. This first of three documentaries charts the feature and its surrounding flora and fauna, showing how beavers, wolves, loons, moose help shape this incredibly vast watershed. Chapter 2: The Big Freeze s winter descends on The Great Lakes, life must contend with the return of the ice that carved this immense watershed thousands of year ago. A polar vortex paralyses fish and ducks and attracts hundreds of bald eagles. Wolves hunt deer trapped by ice, but are manipulated by ravens. Chapter 3: Marvels and Mysteries The spring thaw in America's Great Lakes creates ice tsunamis. Photosynthetic salamanders, fishing wolves, deep-diving moose, baby rattlesnakes and colourful fish hunting mid-air all illustrate unique adaptations to to the warmer, brighter season.

2022 • Nature

3:21

From eldritch aspen colonies to immortal jellyfish, the world is lousy with long-lived organisms. But what’s the oldest?

2015 • Nature