Part 2 • 2009 • episode "S1E2" • Lost Land of the Volcano

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

20:57

A look at why a herd of wild elephants check into the same hotel every year and what is causing giant bubble rings off the coast of Portland, Maine.

S1E22 • Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved • 2019 • Nature

58:28

Simon discusses the challenge of preserving unspoilt wildernesses, from the icy expanses of Siberia to the tropical forests of central and South America. Simon reflects on how his past series have dealt with the causes and impact of climate change, as well as remembering a memorable report exposing the extent of plastic pollution in the ocean. He also recalls meeting indigenous people around the world and hearing their first-hand experiences of ecological damage.

S1E4 • Incredible Journeys with Simon Reeve • 2021 • Nature

23:15

From penguins whose salt-removing eye glands shield them from the harsh ocean to caterpillars whose fake facial markings are meant to mimic a snake's, animals have evolved in amazing ways to see and be seen. Meet these creatures and see how they use eyes and illusions to their advantage.

S1E4 • Mysteries of Evolution • 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

80:00

Fantastic Fungi is a descriptive time-lapse journey about the magical, mysterious and medicinal world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth that began 3.5 billion years ago.

2019 • Nature