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The Deepest Breath

   2023    Culture
(Click CC for subtitles) Descending to remarkable depths below the sea on one single breath, Alessia Zecchini enters what she describes as the last quiet place on Earth. The Italian champion is determined to set a new world record in freediving, a dangerous extreme sport in which competitors attempt to reach the greatest depth without the use of scuba gear. Freedivers are often subject to blackouts upon ascent, necessitating the help of safety divers like Stephen Keenan, a free-spirited Irish adventurer who fell in love with the sport in Dahab, Egypt.
Having formed a special bond on the freediving circuit, Alessia and Stephen train together to make an attempt on Dahab’s legendary Blue Hole and its challenging 85-foot-long tunnel 184 feet below the Red Sea, their fates inextricably bound together.

Roman Engineering

   2016    History
Millions of tourists photograph the ancient monuments of Rome every year. But is there more to them than people guess? There's new evidence that these ruins were once machines, designed by Rome's emperors to connect their power with the sun. Did Roman emperors harness the power of the universe to awe and terrify the people of Rome? We uncover the last, great mysteries of the ancient world's greatest empire.
Series: The Universe Season 8

Egypt on the Brink

   2013    Culture
Egypt on the Brink: Arab Spring climaxed in the overthrow of President Mubarak in Egypt. But for many Egyptians, the situation has actually gotten worse. China's Ghost Towns: Fifteen years ago, China changed its policy so people could buy their own homes. Real-estate investments boomed, and new cities began popping up. The problem is: people don't live in what have become 'ghost cities.'
Series: Vice

Moral Licensing

   2019    Medicine
Moral psychology isn't always an easy thing to study. Experiments that actually puts people in what feels like a real scenario may get realistic results, but researchers must always balance the benefits of what we could learn with the safety and well-being of the people they study. Often what we learn from moral psychology experiments doesn't make humans look good.
We are imperfect creatures. But the more we learn about why and how we make the moral choices that we do, the better we'll be able to tackle difficult questions in the future.
Series: Mind Field

Gauguin Vision After The Sermon

   2020    Art
The Vision After the Sermon, also known as Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, is a painting full of symbolism and mystery. But what does Gauguin’s famous work have to do with a 17-year-old girl called Madeleine, with Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, and with sumo wrestlers?
Waldemar Januszczak reveals all as he investigates Gauguin’s epic religious painting about good and evil, temptation and desire.
Series: The Art Mysteries

Race For Satellites

   2005    Technology
During 1953-1958, as the Cold War intensifies, Korolev is asked to build a rocket capable of carrying a five-ton warhead to America - he designs and constructs the R-7 Semyorka, and is later allowed to use it to launch the first satellite, Sputnik 1. Meanwhile, von Braun struggles to persuade the US government to allow him to launch his own satellite - after Sputnik's launch and the failure of the US Navy to launch a Vanguard satellite, he is finally allowed to launch the first American satellite, Explorer 1.
Series: Space Race