Putting the Orient Express – also called „the train of trains“ – on its tracks called for considerable stamina. Several times, the ambitious project of Georges Nagelmackers was on the brink of failure as the Belgian entrepreneur was facing the bankruptcy of his sleeping car company.
Where earth meets sky: how the most thrilling and dangerous point at the top of the world continues to fascinate, and what it takes to conquer the Big One.
2021 • Math
Psychedelics have impacted history for as long as there have been people wanting to get their minds blown. Discover who's been under the influence from Salem witches and Santa Claus to 1960s hippies and Steve Jobs, and find out how mind-altering substances have changed our world.
2021 • Math
Ever wonder what happens after a global pandemic? Sometimes the secrets of the future can be found in the past. In the wake of the Spanish Flu, the 1920s become the decade of flappers, jazz, and the speakeasy, and for many a time of unprecedented opportunity.
2021 • History
Get the inside track on five of the greatest heists in history. These are not petty robberies, but high-stakes operations meticulously planned and audaciously executed, with a cast of colorful characters from the mastermind to the snitch. Find out who gets away with the loot, and who doesn't.
2021 • History
It's June 1944. the Soviet Red Army and the Western Allies are in a race to the finish line. The prize is Hitler's Berlin, and whoever is first to cover 700 miles will not only win the war but will get to decide
2021 • History
The Amazon rainforest is one of the enduring mysteries of the natural world - and no wonder, it is as big as the whole continental US! It’s home to over 2 million Indigenous peoples, and a massive 10…
2021 • History
Since the earliest pioneers million commercial flights each year, discover how innovation, coach class, and sex have made our flying fantasies come true.of flight,we've dreamed of conquering the skies. From the first brave passenger flying across Tampa Bay in 1915 in a rickety rust bucket to 40
2021 • History
The history of skyscrapers is the history of American cities, technological ingenuity, and a global boom in urbanization. From West to East, and 5 stories up to 1km high, there’s nowhere to go but up.
2021 • History
Putting the Orient Express – also called „the train of trains“ – on its tracks called for considerable stamina. Several times, the ambitious project of Georges Nagelmackers was on the brink of failure as the Belgian entrepreneur was facing the bankruptcy of his sleeping car company.
2021 • History
In the second of this three-part series, Professor Robert Bartlett explores the impact of the Norman conquest of Britain and Ireland. Bartlett shows how William the Conqueror imposed a new aristocracy, savagely cut down opposition and built scores of castles and cathedrals to intimidate and control. He also commissioned the Domesday Book, the greatest national survey of England that had ever been attempted. England adapted to its new masters and both the language and culture were transformed as the Normans and the English intermarried. Bartlett shows how the political and cultural landscape of Scotland, Wales and Ireland were also forged by the Normans and argues that the Normans created the blueprint for colonialism in the modern world.
2/3 • The Normans • 2010 • History
Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law. Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, a 'brief moment in the sun' for African Americans, when they could advance and achieve education, exercise their right to vote, and run for and win public office.
2019 • History
D-Day is underway, but at Omaha Beach, 'the Bedford Boys', volunteers of the US 29th Infantry Division, find themselves thrown into freezing surf and a murderous German cross-fire. As the first assault waves are mown down on the ramps of their landing craft, it looks like the Allied invasion of Europe might be careering towards disaster. But at other beaches the British, Canadian and US troops are soon able to advance inland. For the local French population it is a moment of joy, but also great danger. Hundreds are killed when the RAF bombs the Norman town of Caen – one of their D-Day objectives. The fighting inland is no less fierce than on the beaches. As 'the Longest Day' draws to a close, rumours circulate on both sides that the enemy is shooting its prisoners.
3/4 • D-Day: The Soldiers Story • 2012 • History
This episode we count down from 88 to 74 events that have shaped and influenced thought, marked wars, changes fashion, and rebuilt economies
2/8 • 101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History
The world is linked like never before. Modern transport and communications have resulted in a world that is wealthier, healthier, more mobile and better informed than ever before.
4/12 • Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History
Examine the process of "destructive creation"-the idea that fear, rivalry and conflict strengthen community bonds while stimulating an arms race of technological progress. The result is civilization. Ancient Mesoamerica exemplifies this development.
Part 1 • First Civilizations • 2018 • History