Last Watched

Oceans

   2021    Nature
Oceans are the largest ecosystem on earth, covering two thirds of our world’s surface and providing half the oxygen in our atmosphere. They are home to as much as 80 per cent of all life on earth, and nearly three billion people rely on them for their primary source of food.
But our planet’s oceans would be little more than stagnant wastelands, and life on planet earth would cease to exist, were it not for one simple factor: a global network of powerful ocean currents. Every drop of seawater on earth rides these currents, taking 1,000 years to complete a single circuit. Without the constant mixing of currents, tides and waves, our oceans would stop supporting life - and a healthy ocean is vital to a healthy planet.
Series: A Perfect Planet

Solar

   2021    Technology
We face one of the greatest challenges in the history of humanity, to eliminate the fuels that have driven progress and technology for over a century, while our thirst for energy only grows. The sun is the biggest source of energy in the solar system. It's like a nuclear reactor in the sky, and it provides endless power. If we can harvest just fractions of this, it can power all our consumption. Innovators are searching for new ways to capture more of the sun’s power, and make it available through the night, everywhere.
Series: Engineering the Future Series 3

Humans

   2021    Nature
A new force threatens our perfect planet. In the past, five mass extinction events were caused by cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. It was not the lava or ash that wiped out life, but an invisible gas released by volcanoes: carbon dioxide. Almost every part of modern life depends on energy created by burning fossil fuels, and this produces CO2 in huge amounts. Humans are changing our planet so rapidly, it’s affecting earth’s life support systems: our weather, our oceans and the living world. The greatest change to be made is in how we create energy, and the planet is brimming with natural power that can help us do just that. It’s these forces of nature - the wind, the sun, waves and geothermal energy - that hold the key to our future.
Through compelling animal-led stories and expert interviews, we discover how CO2 is destabilising our planet. We meet rescued orphaned elephants in Kenya, victims of ever worsening droughts, and join ocean patrols off the coast of Gabon fighting to save endangered sharks. In the Amazon, we witness wildlife teams saving animals in the shrinking forests, and in San Diego we enter a cryogenic zoo preserving the DNA of endangered species before they become extinct.
Series: A Perfect Planet

Secrets in our DNA

   2021    Medicine
Some 30 million Americans have sent their DNA to be analysed by companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA. But what happens once the sample is in the hands of testing companies, and how accurate are their results? The film explores the power of genetic data to reveal family connections, ancestry, and health risks—and even solve criminal cold cases.

The Story of German Beer

   2021    Technology
Beer, as popular today as ever. Beer, an ever present in changing times. German beer, protected for 500 years, it's a mark of quality and an export success the world over. This documentary looks at the history of beer starting with the Sumerians, who invented it 5.000 years ago, to the Middle Ages and to the new trend of the future: craft beer. Prost!

Hoist the Black Flag

   2021    History
In this documentary series we will see how the real-life pirates of the Caribbean violently plunder, stealing and form a surprisingly egalitarian republic. The historical drama portrays the rise and fall of the eponymous early-18th century pirate republic based in Nassau, Bahamas.
The series begins in 1715, shortly after the close of the War of the Spanish Succession, which pitted England against Spain. England had waged the war on the cheap, resorting to the use of privateers rather than incurring the expense of fully funding the Royal Navy. The ending of this war leaved thousands of Caribbean privateers unemployed, when the wreck of a treasure fleet creates new opportunities.
Series: The Lost Pirate Kingdom