Living Past • 2018 • episode "1/4" • China from Above

10:38

Where is the population in the world the smallest? What countries have the least people? It’s not the size that matters, and with countries, that is often the case. Some of the least populated countries in the world are also the wealthiest in terms of personal wealth and gross national product. And some of the larger nations have problems equally as huge to address. Some of these smaller countries are thinly populated because they are super-difficult to get to or sit in some of the world’s harshest regions. Some simply get by on one or two key industries and foreign aid. Some were used as strategic bases during war time. Some are playgrounds for the rich and famous. And one is reserved for holy activities. Today we take a closer look at the smallest of these nations, in this episode of the Infographics Show, The Ten Least Populated Countries in the World.

The Infographics Show • 2018 • Travel

59:02

In this first episode, Simon travels to Burma to find out the roots of this crisis - as well as heading to Bangladesh to witness the drama that is still unfolding. He begins his journey in the biggest city in the country, Yangon, and drives north into Burma's Buddhist heartlands and the stunning ancient capital of Bagan - a sight that rivals the great wonders of the world. He meets the monks who supported the people through the darkest days of dictatorship. And he is granted an audience with some of the most contentious figures in the country - ultranationalist monks preaching hate against the country's Muslim Rohingya. Stopped from visiting the scene of the military crackdown against the Rohingya, Simon travels to Bangladesh to meet the refugees traumatised by the violence

1/2 • Burma with Simon Reeve • 2018 • Travel

45:03

A hundred miles south of Cairo a stretch of the Nile was once considered Egypt's main highway, used by Cleopatra to travel the country. More than 2,000 years after her, Bettany visits a vast desert catacomb where tens of thousands of mummified animals were once left as an offering. Further upstream, there is a chance to swim in the Nile, and look inside the tombs where Tutankhamen's discoverer, Howard Carter, first got hooked on Egypt. Bettany explores the longest tomb yet found, before heading to the Dendera temple, where Cleopatra herself may have once wowed her lover Julius Caesar.

2/4 • The Nile: Egypt's Great River with Bettany Hughes • 2019 • Travel

59:00

Japan's northernmost - and wildest - island, a place totally unlike the rest of the country. Every year it swings from a bitter Siberian winter into the warmth of a Mediterranean-like summer, when the thaw reveals a landscape changed beyond all recognition. It takes tough animals and tough people with real ingenuity to survive, and even thrive, in this ever-changing place.

3/3 • Japan - Earth's Enchanted Islands • 2015 • Travel

59:06

Simon travels travels down the east coast to the magnificent cities of Sydney and Melbourne in the final part of his journey. Simon's journey starts in Surfers Paradise near the city of Gold Coast, the Las Vegas of Australia. Behind the sun and surf, this area has become the organised crime capital of Australia. Police are cracking down on outlaw motorcycle clubs, accused of being criminal gangs. Simon meets the most notorious and feared biker group in Australia to hear their side of the story. Arriving in Sydney, Simon discovers a city of huge cultural diversity closely linked to its booming Asian neighbours, India and China. One in ten Aussies are now of Asian origin. Simon gauges Australia's attitude to immigration and meets the country's first Muslim ladies Aussie Rules Football team. On the very last stretch of the journey, Simon takes to the air to witness the devastating and deadly bush fires ripping through the country, before reaching his final destination, Melbourne, just in time to celebrate Australia Day.

3/3 • Australia with Simon Reeve • 2013 • Travel

45:14

On board a timeless dahabiya cruise boat, the historian sets off on a 900-mile adventure up the Nile to Egypt's southern border, seeing the country as the ancient Egyptians once did. She arrives at Egypt's gateway to the world - the Nile's mouth - then meets the crew that will guide her upstream. A visit to the Cairo Museum and its collection of Egyptian mummies follows, before Bettany braves the underground tunnels of a collapsed pyramid.

1/4 • The Nile: Egypt's Great River with Bettany Hughes • 2019 • Travel