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.

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.

Iconic Biographies

This collection, including a six-part series and three two-hour specials, offers a deep look at renowned historical figures who were not only significant figures in Britain, but whose leadership and legacies also had a huge impact worldwide. All the biographies will explore both sides of their personalities and characters, to present rounded portraits of them all. Historical figures included are Winston Churchill, Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Edward Lawrence. Brunel: Building A Great Britain | 1x120' HD Nelson: Britain's Greatest Naval Hero | 1x120' HD The Real Lawrence of Arabia | 1x120' HD Winston Churchill | 6x60' HD

In The Footsteps Of Marco Polo

Stanley Johnson - author, environmentalist, and father of ex-PM Boris Johnson – and his youngest son Max set off from China’s far western border with Pakistan to undertake an epic 5,000km journey down the Silk Road. Following the trade route taken by Marco Polo 700 years ago, Stanley and Max’s seven week journey reflects on both ancient and modern China as they weave a path through what was the Yuan Dynasty’s land, ruled by Emperor Kublai Khan and to the capital city of Dadu, now known as Beijing. Stanley and Max throw themselves into every adventure along the way, embrace every encounter and share an unforgettable – and often hilarious – experience that brings them closer together and unites them in their love for Chinese culture. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MARCO POLO is a perfect blend of history, adventure, and a father and son’s once-in-a-lifetime journey.

Mysteries of China

Archaeologist Agnes Hsu, a director of New York-based China Institute goes on a quest to answer some of ancient China’s most beguiling mysteries.

The First World War: The People's Story

THE FIRST WORLD WAR: THE PEOPLE’S STORY draws on an extraordinary and little known archive of two hundred interviews with the last survivors from the battlefields and the home front, filmed over the past twenty-five years. Vivid and heart breaking accounts are told from the main theatres of war - such as Passchendaele and the Somme - as well as on the home front where families were devastated by the loss of loved ones. One of the most catastrophic wars in human history is seen and heard as never before, as emotional testimonies are combined with digitally restored WWI footage to tell THE PEOPLE'S STORY.

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.

Lost Home Movies Of Nazi Germany

Thousands of German attics have become dumping grounds for countless hours of private home movies, left gathering dust for decades. Hidden on these rolls of film is a different story of Hitler’s Third Reich; a private window into the inner most recesses of life in the Nazi Germany – at home during peacetime, but even more astonishingly, from the front lines of Hitler’s wars of conquest. This two-part series delves into these private collections to reveal how ordinary Germans – both civilian and military – recorded the dawn of an empire that they thought would last a thousand years. Ordinary citizens, Party organisations, firemen, local officials and soldiers on the frontline lovingly documented their own lives, exuding both national and domestic pride. However, as Hitler’s plans turned to ashes in the catastrophe of May 1945, much of this footage was hidden away. Now, as the war generation passes away, their children and grandchildren are finding these films and sharing them. What emerges is a candid and engaging look at what life was really like for those living under Hitler’s Swastika.

Sex: A Bonkers History

In SEX: A BONKERS HISTORY Amanda Holden (Britain's Got Talent) and bestselling author and historian Dan Jones go on an exploration of how sexual behaviours through the ages have shaped civilizations in ways we are only now beginning to discover. Through this five-part series, Amanda and Dan uncover history's best previously unknown sex stories - from the hidden meanings embedded in the Kama Sutra and the sexual demands of Spartan men and women, to the secret sex clubs of the Georgians. Amanda and Dan immerse themselves in this titillating history to highlight how attitudes towards sex and sexuality have evolved over time, and what it tells us about our ancestors.

Shadow of Dumont

Since the loss of his mother, Trevor Cameron has never felt so detached from his Métis roots. As he examines his childhood hero, Gabriel Dumont, Trevor realizes that he knows very little about the buffalo hunter turned freedom fighter outside of the textbook history of the 1885 Métis uprising in Canada. Backed with decades of research and kin folklore, Trevor follows the nomadic path of his great-great-great-uncle across North America in his dusty 80s camper van to visit the things, places and times that defined Canada’s last rebel.