Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

Dr. Thomas Asbridge introduces the epic story of the Crusades – a tale of religious fanaticism and unspeakable brutality, of medieval knights and Jihadi warriors; of castles and kings; of heroism, betrayal, and sacrifice. He explains how, using fresh evidence, eye-witness testimonies and contemporary accounts – from both the Christian and Islamic worlds – we are able to re-examine this epic medieval drama, and how he has retraced the steps of the Crusaders from a small town in France to the magnificent cities of the Holy Land, bringing to life the human experience of the Crusades, and shedding new light on how it was that two of the world’s great religions waged war in the name of God.

This is our home, the earth it's, it's the only place we've got. It is one strange rock because it's ours and we are here and we don't know if any other place in the universe, yet, that can support life. We're very lucky to have it as our home.
Astronauts including the legendary Peggy Whitson, who spent 665 days in space, speak about how their concepts of home have changed since their experience.

Dr Aleks Krotoski concludes her investigation of how the World Wide Web is transforming almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Al Gore and the neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, Aleks examines the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and asks how they are changing our relationships. And, in a ground-breaking test at University College London, Aleks investigates how the Web may be distracting and overloading our brains.

Japan's landscapes range from snowy mountains to subtropical warmth. They are full of wildlife - and animals' and people's lives often cross as they adapt to these extremes. The central island of Honshu is home to over 100 million people, and its biggest city, Tokyo, is one of the largest urban metropolises on earth. But it has a wild heart - most of Honshu is mountainous. This wilderness is home to an astonishing range of wildlife - black bears, monkeys, exquisite fireflies and even cow demons. But all across this island, from the mountains to the edge of the sea, people and nature are drawn together in the most unexpected ways.

On a dusty highway between Australia's most isolated city and its largest gold pit lies Coolgardie - where the arrival every three months of a new pair of foreign backpackers to work the only bar in town is a keenly anticipated event. Fresh off the plane and lured by the promise of an authentic outback experience, Finnish travellers Lina and Steph find themselves en route to a dot on the map - to pour beers, replenish depleted travel funds, and live amongst the locals. But their working holiday quickly deteriorates into a baptism of fire.
Harangued by their new boss, relentlessly pursued by booze-addled patrons, and prey to the madness and malaise of an environment as claustrophobic as it is isolated - the girls soon realise that to meet expectations out here, they'll need to do more than just serve drinks.

Push the limits of your imagination as astronomers attempt to grasp the mind-boggling extremes of size, distance and speed within our universe by bringing them down to earth. In this episode, our cast uses awesome analogies to bring the biggest objects, farthest distances and fastest speeds down to earth. To truly understand the scale of the cosmos, we jump behind the wheel of monster trucks, scale the Golden Gate Bridge, and race across the desert in a rocket-powered car.