How a remote desert town in Mali became world famous Read more
now playing
The tales of Timbuktu
How a remote desert town in Mali became world famous
J. William Fulbright: Scholarships and Soft Power
The man behind the renowned scholarship programme
The life and works of William Blake
Radical visionary, artist and poet
The invention of numbers
How numbers and counting shaped our world
Pioneers of surgical hygiene
The painful route to cleanliness in 19th century hospitals
Mark Twain: The 'father of American literature'
Bridget Kendall and guests discuss the life, work and legacy of Mark Twain
Vincent van Gogh: The struggling artist
Charting the highs and lows of the influential Dutch post-Impressionist painter
Christina of Sweden: Queen of surprises
The rebellious monarch who scandalised 17th-century Europe
Waiting for Godot: The play that changed the rules of theatre
How a play in which nothing happens created a revolution in contemporary theatre
Empress Nur Jahan: Leader of the Mughals
The woman who wielded unparalleled power over the Mughal Empire in 17th century India
Friedrich Engels: The Man Behind Karl Marx
The eventful life of Engels and his pivotal contribution to Marxism
The Acropolis: Cradle of democracy
How the Acropolis of Athens provided the West with its foundations of politics and drama
The American author James Baldwin
A giant of twentieth century American culture
The Making of Modern Japan
Rajan Datar and guests discuss the astonishing transformation of Japan over 150 years
Edgar Allan Poe: Master of horror
The dark, tumultuous life of America鈥檚 great gothic writer
The Jet Engine
The trailblazing technology which made the air age soar
Frida Kahlo: A life in colour
The life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, known for her ground-breaking self-portraits
Cool: Sunglasses, style and American counter-culture
Exploring the elements of that seemingly effortless pose to which so many aspire
Karl Kraus: Austria鈥檚 fearless satirist
The scathing critic of deceit and corruption in Vienna
Who was the real Cleopatra?
Unpicking fact from fiction in the life of the last queen of Egypt
Cambodia's ancient Khmer Empire
Builders and sculptors of South East Asia's awe-inspiring monuments
Calm in the chaos: The story of the Stoics
A philosophy for resilience and equanimity
Lifting the lid: The history of the toilet
An invention many rely on, but prefer not to discuss
Coal: a Burning Legacy
How coal created empires and wealth but also caused misery and unprecedented pollution
Charlie Chaplin
The life and work of early Hollywood's most successful comedian
Diaghilev and the ballet revolution
The Russian impresario whose Ballet Russes company transformed 20th century dance
The Iranian Coup of 1953: Overthrow of a Prime Minister
How British and US intelligence agencies helped oust Iran鈥檚 leader Mohammad Mossadeq
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Revealing the Gulag
The Russian writer who exposed the grim, nightmarish world of Soviet forced labour camps
The Emergence of Modern Turkey
The birth of the secular republic of Turkey from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire
Fermentation: Ancient Food Alchemy
What's your brew? Friendly microbes making our fare tastier
The Master and Margarita: Devilish satire
One of Russia鈥檚 favourite novels that combines magical fantasy with dark political satire