Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

Beef and brine. This 'Best Of' episode of the Mind of a Chef explores the wet and dry side of our culinary world. Magnus Nilsson dry-ages a steak in kidney fat as long as he possibly can, April Bloomfield hallucinates while at a butcher shop, Ed Lee makes a ribeye with eel puree, and more.

This BBC six-episode documentary film series presents the story of Auschwitz and the Holocaust through interviews with former inmates and guards and re-enactments. The first episode explores the beginnings of Auschwitz, and how the camp was originally intended for a purpose very different from that of the genocide of the Jews.

Our strange rock itself can also be lethal. We tend to think of Earth as our life support but it's not there to support us at all. It's a place that's violent, that's beautiful, that's crazy, that's intense. Mother Nature is a serial killer. We wouldn't be here without mass suicide and events so devastating it makes the extinction of the dinosaurs looks like a tea party. There have been 5 mass extinctions on the planet and 99.9 percent of all species that have ever lived are gone.
Explore the story of how life on Earth has evolved, becoming lethal for life to thrive.

the final episode deals with plants that live in hostile environments. Attenborough visits Ellesmere Island, north of the Arctic Circle, to demonstrate that even in a place that is unconducive to life, it can be found. Algae and lichens grow in or on rock, and during summer, when the ice melts, flowers are much more apparent. However, they must remain close to the ground to stay out of the chilling wind. In the Tasmanian mountains, plants conserve heat by growing into 'cushions' that act as solar panels, with as many as a million individual shoots grouped together as one. Others, such as the lobelia in Mount Kenya, have a 'fur coat' of dense hairs on their leaves. The saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert flourishes because of its ability to retain vast amounts of water, which can't be lost through leaves because it has none. Many desert dwellers benefit from an accelerated life cycle, blooming rapidly within weeks after rainfall. Conversely, Mount Roraima is one of the wettest places on Earth. It is a huge sandstone plateau with high waterfalls and nutrients are continuously washed away, so plants have to adapt their diet if they are to survive. A bladderwort is shown invading a bromeliad. Inhabitants of lakes have other problems to contend with: those that dominate the surface will proliferate, and the Amazon water lily provides an apt illustration. Attenborough ends the series with an entreaty for the conservation of plant species.

Following the stories of Bruce Lisker and Reggie Cole who spent year after year in prison for murders they didn't commit - audiences get a harrowing look at how barbaric the US justice system is. The film ultimately asks how we can survive the prison model at all, and looks at better solutions for conflict resolution, harm reduction, crime and more. Hosted by filmmaker Matthew Cooke and guest hosting representatives from the massive range of Americans joining forces to change this broken system.

'It's really about terror and intimidation and people basically fighting for survival and often committing extraordinary violence in order to protect themselves or to stay safe. It's kind of like the weak dog in the pack. If others spot weakness, they're gonna pounce on you for a couple of reasons. You pounce on that guy, that gives you a little more status. So, I had to ask myself, are you gonna be a victim? No, I ain't gonna be a victim. Well, that really only left me one choice in my mind. That means I gotta be the victimizer. At some point, for some reason, might be legitimate, might not be, someone's gonna test you.. Even if you lose, you're gonna have to stand up for yourself. '
'A guy comes over, and it's your day to get your package, and he tries to take your package from you that your people sent you, if you let him do it, there's gonna be 10 other dudes, oh, yeah, he let that guy take his package, I'm gonna go get his TV, right down the line until somebody's after your ass. But if you stand up that first time and they see you'll stand up for yourself, even if you lose, people will respect that. Oh, don't mess with him. There's easier prey. Why do you have to go and get that guy and get a couple lumps for it when he can go get that guy's stuff over there, don't cost you nothing. It usually only has to happen once or twice but just as importantly that you didn't go to the man for help... you're gonna be all right.'