Power Surge

134:01

Reveals the events that led to the 1986 nuclear accident. Ch1: Meltdown The events that led up to the nuclear disaster in 1986, hearing from those who were caught up in the tragedy, and those who risked their lives cleaning up afterwards. The series also details events in 2022, when Russian forces took over Chernobyl during its war against Ukraine, and the plant was once again set on a potentially catastrophic course. Narrated by Ben Fogle. Ch2: Firestorm With the reactor on fire and radiation spewing out into the atmosphere, firefighters battle to bring the blaze under control. A former Soviet helicopter pilot reveals what it was like flying over the core, while a historian who grew up in neighbouring Belarus reveals how her mother pulled her out of school and kept her inside when her father - a nuclear scientist - heard rumours of an explosion. Ch3: Fallout Reveals the huge sacrifice made by thousands to contain this devastating nuclear disaster. Contributors include those who risked persistent deadly radioactive levels to clean up the site.

2022 • Environment

89:00

Liz Bonnin works with some of the world's leading marine biologists and campaigners to discover the true dangers of plastic in our oceans and what it means for the future of all life on our planet, including us. Trillions of pieces of plastic are choking the very lifeblood of our earth, and every marine animal, from the smallest plankton to the largest mammals, is being affected. Can we turn back this growing plastic tide before it is too late?

2018 • Environment

59:45

Dr Helen Czerski reveals how shifting ocean water distributes heat and nutrients around the Earth. This process is linked to almost every aspect of human existence, and the lecture explores how dependent we are on the ocean for weather, food supply and connection between land masses - as well as exploring what needs to be done by humans to maintain this vital element of the Earth's ecosystem.

S1E2 • BBC Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Planet Earth: A User's Guide • 2020 • Environment

58:31

No season brings more surprises than an Alaskan summer. It lures hummingbirds up from the tropics, exposes deserts in the Arctic and relies on parachuting firefighters to tackle forest fires in its vast wilderness. Summer is a narrow window of plenty, when the land is bathed in 24-hour sunlight - but in this land of extremes, you can have too much of a good thing.

S1E2 • Alaska: Earth's Frozen Kingdom • Environment

105:41

This feature documentary tells the story of the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. In 1971 a brave group of young activists set sail from Vancouver in an old fishing boat. Their mission: to stop Nixon's atomic bomb tests in Amchitka, a tiny island off the west coast of Alaska. It was from these humble but courageous beginnings that the global organisation that we now know as Greenpeace was born. Chronicling the fascinating untold story behind the modern environmental movement and with access to dramatic footage that has not been seen for over 40 years, this gripping new film tells the story of eco-hero Robert Hunter and how he, alongside a group of like-minded and idealistic young friends in the '70s, would be instrumental in altering the way we now look at the world and our place within it. These campaigning pioneers captured their daring and sometimes jaw-dropping actions on a range of film cameras and Greenpeace granted acclaimed director Jerry Rothwell access to this vivid archive to make his thrilling, sometimes terrifying film. Greenpeace was born in 1971 when a ragtag group of journalists, hippies, and scientists living in Vancouver tried to stop a US atomic test. Fortunately, they were media savvy from the beginning, capturing their seat-of-their pants activist adventures on film. The youthful energy is palpable in action-packed scenes, including one in which activists confront a Russian whaling ship in a tiny Zodiac dingy. Soon, though, idealism comes up against reality, compromise, human nature, and the complexities of managing a growing organization. This insightful film is also a vibrant, moving reflection about the ongoing struggle to balance the political and the personal.

2015 • Environment

21:16

Steamy underworlds hiding mysterious treasures, extreme waters teeming with unique life, and jarring rock formations made of frozen lava.

S1E9 • Secrets of the Earth • 2013 • Environment