Our planet has amazing power, and yet that's rarely mentioned in our history books. This series tells the story of how the Earth has influenced human history, from the dawn of civilisation to the modern industrial age. It reveals how geology, geography and climate have been a far more powerful influence on the human story than has previously been acknowledged. A combination of epic story telling, visually stunning camerawork, extraordinary locations and passionate presenting combine to form a highly original version of human history" In the first episode professor Iain Stewart explores the relationship between the deep Earth and the development of human civilisation. He visits an extraordinary crystal cave in Mexico, drops down a hole in the Iranian desert and crawls through seven-thousand-year-old tunnels in Israel. His exploration reveals that throughout history, our ancestors were strangely drawn to fault lines, areas which connect the surface with the deep interior of the planet. These fault lines gave access to important resources, but also brought with them great danger.

By vividly recounting the TT's legendary rivalries and the Isle of Man's unique road racing history, this 3D feature documentary will discover why modern TT riders still risk their lives to win the world's most dangerous race. The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is the greatest motorcycle road race in the world, the ultimate challenge for rider and machine. It has always called for a commitment far beyond any other racing event, and many have made the ultimate sacrifice in their quest for victory. A story about freedom of choice, the strength of human spirit and the will to win. It's also an examination of what motivates those rare few, this elite band of brothers who risk everything to win.

Leaving Everest base camp to take the high road to Lhasa to see what the Chinese have done to Tibet. He sees that religion is once again tolerated, while the old Tibetan centre of the city is being replaced with modern Chinese shopping malls and nightclubs. Following the pilgrims to the holy Namtso Lake, he gets warm in a hot spring before learning how to milk a yak with a nomad family.

In 1927, Prohibition agent Eliot Ness narrowly escapes a hit ordered by Al Capone. Determined to prove to Capone that he's not intimidated, Ness and his team of Untouchables execute a series of high-profile raids on Capone's breweries. Over the course of a few months, they destroy more than 200,000 gallons of beer, worth a modern-day equivalent of $134 million - and the newspapers cover it all. Capone lashes out against Ness in the press. What Capone doesn't realize is that Ness and the Prohibition agents aren't the only ones trying to take him down. For the past four years, another government agency with more manpower and resources than Ness has been going after the infamous kingpin: the Internal Revenue Service.

With optional Hebrew subtitles. Simon Schama's history of the Jewish experience plunges into the lost world of the shtetl, the Jewish towns and villages sewn across the hinterlands of Eastern Europe which became the seedbed of a uniquely Jewish culture. Shtetl culture would make its mark on the modern world, from the revolutionary politics of the Soviet Union to the mass culture of Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood. It was also the birthplaces of Hasidism, the most visible, iconic and, arguably, most misunderstood expression of Jewish faith and fervour. This chapter of the story travels from the forests of Lithuania, where Simon's own family logged wood and fought wolves, to the streets of the Lower East Side where the sons of shtetl immigrants wrote the American songbook. With grim inevitability, the story returns to Eastern Europe in 1940 - where the genocidal mechanisms of the 'final solution' were beginning to grind the shtetl world into dust and ash.

Did you know that 1% of the white noise you see on old televisions is background radiation from The Big Bang? That the gold on a wedding ring comes from a star that exploded 5 billion years ago? And, that we're connected to the salt water of the first oceans through the water in our bodies? Our human story is actually 14 billion years old and the clues are all around us. This CGI-driven special will tell the history of our world in two hours, an ambitious story that will give surprising connections to our daily lives. From the formation of the earth and the emergence of life, to the advance of man and the growth of civilization, it’s a rapid-fire view of our unforgettable story.