The series’ narrative thread is an examination of the power struggle over who will win the peace. The fight takes place between the big three wartime allies: The Soviet Union, Britain and America. Each country and leader is embedded in each programme as central characters; we become familiar with their approach and their particular cocktail of double-dealing.

1945: The Year That Changed the World

In 1970, 19-year-old William Powell published "Anarchist Cookbook" - a manifesto and bomb-making manual that sold more than 2 million copies. The film explores the book as an inspiration for decades of violent, anti-government attacks and provides Powell with the opportunity to explore his book's troubling legacy.

American Anarchist

Academy Award winning Director Errol Morris faces off with controversial political strategist and former Donald Trump adviser, Steve Bannon. This interview-style documentary reviews the controversial tactics and associations he employed in the realm of politics in the past, and his present day opinions on the American economy.

American Dharma

Over a 100 years ago, humanity witnessed the greatest war that had ever occurred  - World War I. Nearly 2 million men from across Asia were recruited to fight in the war. They were Indian soldiers from remote communities, Chinese farmers from rural outposts who worked as labourers, Vietnamese fishermen participating on behalf of their French colonial masters, and Japanese sailors in service of their emperor.

Asia in the Great War

On September 13, 1971 the State of New York shot and killed 39 of its own citizens, injured hundreds more, and tortured the survivors. The plan to retake D Yard led to one of the bloodiest days in American history, and set the stage for the worst aspects of modern policing. Firebrand lawyer Elizabeth Fink tells the story of the Attica prison rebellion and how she exposed the decades-long cover up.

Betrayal At Attica

Berlin was the symbol of the Cold War for 50 years. Here, thousands of KGB and CIA agents observed each other, cogs in the biggest information war in history.

CIA vs KGB: Battleground Berlin

From earth-shattering volcanic eruptions to devastating industrial accidents, this series revisits some of the worst disasters in living memory.

Code Red

In 1949, the USSR set off their first atomic bomb, just four years after the Americans. The speed with which they achieved this surprised the world. What nobody knew was that it was the result of espionage implemented at the heart of the United States.

Cold War Secrets: Stealing The Atomic Bomb

From royal families spanning centuries, to billionaire business tycoons and their clans, this series examines real-life historical instances of tragically ill-fated bloodlines.

Cursed Bloodlines

Survivors of the devastating Christchurch earthquake of February 22nd share their stories of panic and heart breaking loss, courage and miraculous survival, in a way that is truly insightful and inspiring.

Deadliest Earthquakes: Christchurch

On 20th November 1995 BBC Panorama broadcast a candid interview with Princess Diana in which she broke every protocol exposing traumas and scandal of life in the Royal Household.
 
25 years later, this film looks at how the broadcasting event of the century was orchestrated, what the interview revealed about modern society and new insights into the psychological portrait of Diana herself.

Diana: The Interview That Shocked The World

After the death of Diana Princess of Wales, conspiracy theories filled the headlines. As so many of the conspiracy theories are absurd, many simple questions about the fatal night of August 31st have never been asked. By the end not only Princess Diana but also Dodi Al Fayed and the driver Henri Paul were dead.

Diana: The Night She Died

From Victorians on the moon to 21st century deepfake, British journalist Ian Hislop looks back at 200 years of fake news, its causes and consequences.

Fake News: A True History

Featuring vivid dramatised recreations, this series explores bare-knuckle boxing, duelling and jousting as it traces the history of man to man – and woman to woman – fighting.

Fight Club: A History Of Violence

The remarkable story of Henrietta Boggs, who fell in love with a foreign land and José ‘Don Pepe’ Figueres, the man destined to transform its identity.

First Lady Of The Revolution

The secrets of King George III revealed: Robert Hardman explores the manic monarch’s fascinating personal files in the Royal Archives as they go public for the first time.

George III: The Genius of the Mad King

In 1900, sixteen-year-old Prince Charles Edward – Queen Victoria’s favourite grandson – inherited the Dukedom of Saxe Coburg and Gotha in Germany, altering the course of his life. Stripped of his British titles for serving in the German Army during WWI, a disillusioned Charles Edward became an enthusiastic supporter of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party, and unwittingly helped him in his rise to power.

Hitler's Favourite Royal

Academy Award nominee James Cromwell presents a documentary on the War on Terror's impact on civil liberties and the union it's creating between the libertarian right and progressive left.

Imminent Threat

Explore the richness of Islamic art in objects big and small, from monumental mosques and palaces, to exquisite ceramics, carved boxes, paintings and metal work.

Islamic Art: Mirror Of The Invisible World

A look at the Beatles legend's honest and heartfelt final interview, intertwined with footage and commentary from friends as December 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of his death.

Lennon's Last Weekend

A fascinating journey into the world of Hitler’s creatures, this film investigates the Nazi’s secret plans to control the animal kingdom.

Nazi Creatures

We know that life on our planet arose from dead matter 3.8 billion years ago. But how is that possible? Can life simply occur like that?

Now You Know: How Did Life on Earth Come About?

How old is humankind? Humans' closest relatives are the great apes - but human and chimp lineages diverged roughly five million years ago.

Now You Know: How old is humankind?

With on-the-ground witnesses and expert testimonies, go behind the scenes of some of the most terrifying nuclear disasters that the world has ever experienced.

Nuclear Meltdown: Minutes from Disaster

This is the remarkable story of a daring attack by 14 British and Australian commandos on Japanese ships anchored in Singapore harbour.

Operation Jaywick: Sinking Japan

July, 1944. As WWII raged on, a group of conspirators led by Claus von Stauffenberg plotted to assassinate Hitler and end this reign of terror. Using rare colour footage, painstakingly recreated dramatizations, detailed CG reconstructions and exclusive interviews with leading historians, this documentary presents the definitive record of what happened before, during and after these pivotal events.

Operation Valkyrie: The Plot to Kill Hitler

Against the backdrop of segregation, a Black lab technician and a white surgeon forged a partnership that led to a major medical breakthrough: a daring heart operation to treat “blue baby syndrome”.

Partners Of The Heart

For the 200th anniversary of Waterloo, Sean Bean tells the story of one of history’s bloodiest battles through the eyes of the soldiers who fought it.

Sean Bean on Waterloo

A heartstopping incursion into the world of Asia’s elite special forces, revealing their brutal training and cutting-edge combat capabilities. Explore the endurance needed for the world’s most dangerous missions, from raids on most-wanted criminals and terrorists, to resolving major hostage crises.

Special Forces

This landmark series deconstructs the pivotal events which have shaped the current Asian Century. From the death of Mao in China and the Partition of India, to the Philippines People’s Power Revolution and the fall of Indonesia’s Suharto, the series uses rare archival footage and eyewitness testimony to challenge accepted views and reveal the personalities and rivalries that made history.

The Asian Century

The strange story of "cold fusion" begins in 1989 when two respected scientists ruin their careers by announcing they can solve all the world's energy problems using batteries and seawater. Twenty some years later a band of scientists, a radio personality and a high school student are confident that cold fusion will save the world. They’re The Believers.

The Believers

Wars can be waged at home or thousands of miles away. They can be fought from the air or in the trenches. They can last days or years. But they are never cheap. From the economic and environmental costs, to the social and human impacts, this fascinating six-part documentary takes a forensic look at the mechanics of war to discover the price that must be paid – and who ultimately pays it.

The Cost of War

The story of how a six-day hostage drama inside a Swedish bank started the psychological phenomenon known as “Stockholm Syndrome”.

The Day Stockholm Became A Syndrome

Granted exclusive access to hundreds of private drawings and paintings by Orson Welles, filmmaker Mark Cousins dives deep into the visual world of this legendary director and actor, to reveal a portrait of the artist as he's never been seen before - through his own eyes, sketched with his own hand, painted with his own brush.

The Eyes of Orson Welles

In the midst of the Cold War, a KGB mole revealed confidential information to the French secret service – who passed them onto the CIA – ultimately leading to the fall of the Eastern Bloc.

The Farewell Case: The KGB Double Agent

An atmospheric film that paints an intimate, yet critical portrait of Harold Feinstein, a complex and inspirational underdog of 20th century photography.

The Man Who Shot New York

The Real Inglorious Bastards recounts the story of the most successful OSS mission of WWII and the two Jewish-American refugees of Nazi Germany who went behind enemy lines for vengeance.

The Real Inglorious Bastards

The story of General Tom Thumb, the world’s first global show business celebrity. Just 64cm tall, he went from humble beginnings in America to international superstardom, eventually performing on stage to over 50 million people, including President Lincoln and Queen Victoria. His stardom truly reflected the age of the time, exploding amidst the advent of the railroad and flash photography.

The Real Tom Thumb: History's Smallest Superstar

An astonishing account of KGB's highest ranking spy, Herman Simm, who infiltrated NATO for over 13 years, and sold its military secrets to the Kremlin.

The Spy Inside

With exclusive access to the prosecution and defence teams, this film chronicles the trial of Ratko Mladi? – the Butcher of Bosnia – accused of genocide and war crimes.

The Trial Of Ratko Mladic

30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, 57% of people in eastern Germany say they feel like second-class citizens. Are they right?

The World of Economics Explained: Berlin Wall - How Different Are Eastern And Western Germany?

Is the financial crisis over? While taxpayers were left to foot the bill, the rules for the industry have been tightened. The new requirements for banks, however, still do not go far enough. We explain why.

The World of Economics Explained: Lessons from the financial crisis

Beneath the high gloss and mannered style of James McNeill Whistler was an artist whose pioneering approach would revolutionise the art world in his time and beyond.

Whistler: For Art's Sake

Following the recent 50th anniversary of Churchill’s death, Andrew Marr discovers the untold story of Winston Churchill’s lifelong love for painting. He meets the PM’s descendants and explores the connections between his private passion for painting and his public career as politician and statesman.