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.
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Sir Tim Hunt, awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the mechanism of how cells divide, recalls moments in his life that provided inspiration for his career as a scientist, from his father's intent scholarship which shaped his early methods to his mother's battle with cancer and the influence of this on his position at Cancer Research UK. Hunt recounts the events that informed his discovery and reveals his own opinions on the thought processes, both logical and emotional, that led to it.
S1E3 • Beautiful Minds • 2010 • People
From Brazilian favelas to dusty Congolese villages, from neolithic Scottish isles to modern soccer pitches, explore the little-known origins of our favorite sports. Cross time, languages and continents to discover how the ball has staked its claim on our lives and fueled our passion to compete.
2015 • People
Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously.
Filmed over two years and across three continents, this documentary tells the story of the campaign by Julian Assange's wife and father to prevent his extradition to America, where he faces a maximum 175-year prison sentence. Weaving historic archive and intimate behind-the-scenes footage, the film tracks their journey as they embark on a worldwide odyssey to rally a global network of supporters for one of the world's most famous prisoners. First broadcast by ITV in 2023. First released in Australia in 2021.
2021 • People
In May 1893, a man is thrown out of a train, on the platforms of the train station of Pietermaritzburg, a little city of South Africa, for daring to sit in a first-class compartment. This young Indian lawyer is named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
S3E6 • Butterfly Effect • 2018 • People
Follows the aftermath of Princess Diana's death in 1997, and the impact that this tragedy had on the way people felt about the royal family in the years to come. It features testimony from government insider Anji Hunter, director of government relations at the time, plus Diana's personal security consultant Colin Tebutt.
2017 • People