Mao’s Cold War

Mao’s Cold War is a stunning and unique historical angle on China’s involvement in the Cold War, told through the declassified top-secret Chinese army film record of their campaigns. There are always two sides to every story, and the PLA archive combined with first person accounts and expert commentary paints a far more complex picture of the Cold War than has ever been told before.

The Real Spies Among Friends

The real story behind hit drama series A Spy Among Friends. This documentary on Kim Philby, and his fellow Cambridge traitors, reveals the worst spy ring in history. From Cold War Washington to contemporary Moscow, Beirut backstreets to Buckingham Palace, the story is as gripping as any espionage thriller. The treachery of the privileged Philby, Burgess, Maclean, and Blunt shows how old school ties blinded the British establishment. Contributors include ex-officers from MI5, CIA and KGB who lift the lid on their secret tradecraft, and shed light on the ongoing threat from espionage. Ben Macintyre, author of the book behind the drama, is lead contributor.

Bettany Hughes' Grand Tour: From Paris To Rome

Prof. Bettany Hughes is on the journey of a lifetime through France and Italy to understand how travel, art, and culture can enrich our lives. Inspired by the 18th Century’s Grand Tourists, Bettany is making her own modern, pleasure-filled pilgrimages to some of Europe’s most beautiful cities including Paris, Nice, Florence, Lake Como, Venice, and Rome. Over four stunning episodes, Bettany reveals the honeypot of art and culture that make these the world’s most desired and popular destinations. This landmark series is a sumptuous treat filled with staggering access, good food, fine wines, and the most inspiring art and history. Think charisma, culture, and Camparis - the ultimate chance for the armchair traveller to relax, learn, discover, delight, and enjoy.

Lost Worlds: Deeper Into The Black Sea

A journey to the depths of the Black Sea yields the greatest series of ancient shipwrecks ever discovered. In 2015, an international team of scientists began a three year exploration of the Black Sea in search of evidence of the ancient empires that sailed their ships into unknown waters in pursuit of trade, treasure and conquest. This documentary captures a series of astonishing discoveries; a treasure trove of shipwrecks uniquely preserved that date back 2500 years to the Greek and Roman empires, culminating in maritime archaeology’s greatest ever wreck. A fully intact Roman wreck, perfectly preserved in the anoxic waters of the Black Sea.

Passage

PASSAGE charts the fatal true story of John Rae (1813-1893), The Hudson’s Bay Company doctor, who solved the two great mysteries of the 19th Century: the fate of the doomed Sir John Franklin expedition, and the location of the last navigable link in the North West Passage. Rae’s findings included the tragic news that the Franklin crew had resorted to cannibalism, and it was this truth that was his undoing.

Warbird Workshop

They are the planes that wrote history in the sky. Military aircraft long since pensioned off – outdated, corroded or wrecked beyond repair. But now WARBIRD WORKSHOP is prising open the hangar door to join the pilots and engineers fighting to return rare aviation relics to the skies decades – even a century – after their last flight.

How The Victorians Built Britain

In less than a century, the Victorians totally transformed the face of industry, technology, transport, communications, medicine, public health, and the home. They built iconic buildings, constructed the Underground, sewers, cotton mills and invented cutting-edge technology. In this exciting series we discover the surprising stories and hidden heroes behind the epic constructions and inventions and find out how their incredible advances forged the way we live life today.

Unsinkable: Japan's Lost Battleship (Musashi)

How did this unsinkable giant go down so fast? Was it overwhelming American air power? Or a fatal design flaw? Musashi was literally the King Kong of the sea— the largest and most heavily armed battleship of its time. Built in total secret Musashi was finally unleashed in the world’s largest sea battle, which began on October 24, 1944 in the Philippines. Japan’s navy gambled on winning a decisive victory to turn the tide of World War II. Instead Musashi, the pride of the Japanese fleet, ended up at the bottom of the ocean. How did this unsinkable giant go down so fast? Was it overwhelming American air power? Or a fatal design flaw? 70 years later American deep sea explorers and Japanese military experts are determined to solve this 70-year old mystery. But first they must find the missing Musashi.

China's Ghost Army

Uncovering the secret of how Emperor Qin Shihuangdi’s army of terracotta warriors was made reveals the true extent of the First Emperor’s power.

Should We Bomb Auschwitz?

In April 1944 two men miraculously escaped from Auschwitz and revealed to the world the shocking truth about the Holocaust. When the Allies heard their story they devised a chilling plan: to end the slaughter by bombing Auschwitz. But not everyone agreed the plan should go ahead. Meanwhile the killing machine ground on… and, in Budapest, 800,000 Jews were being held in an old brick factory awaiting transport to Auschwitz. By November, the Allies had decided to bomb the death camp. But by then, it was too late… For the first time on television, we will tell the whole of this incredible story – and ask the biggest moral question of our time: should the Allies have done the unthinkable and bombed Auschwitz?