Latest Documentaries
The culture of Japan is incredible, from bloom festivals to ultra-modern cities. But there are also more than 130 mammals and 600 bird species dwelling in Japan’s 6,852 islands. This island chain is long enough to span climate zones, providing a huge range of habitat.
2020 • Nature
Exploring the realm of the creatures to better understand how they have evolved. Travelling from the rain forests of French Guiana to the Arctic Ocean, scientists use traditional and cutting edge techniques to examine both modern insects and the fossil record in their search for a single common insect ancestor.
2024 • Nature
David Attenborough reveals why forests are the ultimate test of survival for mammals, including a tiger whose stealth and hunting strategies are put to the test in the heat of an Indian summer. The programme also features footage of young chimpanzees learning how to get honey without angering bees and Siberian flying squirrel gliding elegantly and effortlessly from tree to tree.
S1E6 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
David Attenborough reveals how, by pushing themselves and their bodies to the limit, mammals have found remarkable ways to survive in the hottest places on earth. In South America, thirsty capuchins need all their natural curiosity as they search for water on the forest floor. Camels roam the vast outback of Australia, where they can go for weeks without water thanks to their distinctive hump as an energy store. White sifaka lemurs hug trees to avoid the heat in Madagascar's spiny forest and the echidna has an even stranger way of keeping cool - it blows snot bubbles.
S1E5 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
From ice-covered seas to snow-capped mountains, mammals have conquered the cold, living in the harshest places on earth thanks to their remarkable intelligence and adaptations. The programme features polar bears on the Arctic islands of Svalbard, arctic foxes in Canada's Hudson Bay, and snow leopards in the lofty mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China.
S1E4 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
How air-breathing mammals have found remarkable ways to overcome the many challenges of a life in water, from freshwater jungle ponds to the dark depths of the open ocean. Featuring footage of the birth of a huge sperm whale calf, never-before-filmed orca hunting behaviour, and coastal coyotes in Mexico that have learnt they can benefit from the daily offerings washed up on the shore with each new tide.
S1E3 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
A look at mammals which have adapted to the changes humans have made to their environment, from sea lions competing with stray dogs for food in the fish markets of Chile to pig-tailed macaques in palm oil plantations in south east Asia. Plus, a look at how elephants have learnt to use the cover of darkness to venture into towns in search of a midnight feast, often leaving destruction in their wake.
S1E2 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
Focuses on animals that thrive in the dark, from leopards that use night vision to hunt their prey to bats using echolocation to navigate the night skies.
S1E1 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
Delve into the digestive system with this lighthearted and informative documentary that demystifies the role gut health plays in our overall well-being.
2024 • Health
In the third year of this seven-year project examining the issues facing the planet’s most threatened ecosystems, Dr. M. Sanjayan visits the Maldives to take an in-depth look at coral reefs and the urgent efforts to help them survive climate change.
S3E1 • 2024 • Nature
The life and work of M.C. Escher is presented primarily through his own words in the form of his writings being read against a backdrop of images associated to him, including archival footage of himself and images of his drawings. Many further details are provided by surviving family members. Escher himself considered what he did being caught between the worlds of art and mathematics - he not very good at either - his drawings always having an element of geometry. He made a conscious decision to work in monochromatic black and white realizing that he would be missing being able to convey ideas that are inherent with color. The evolution to two of his later periods is discussed, namely his series of drawings of the human eye, and what would become his ultimate fascination, that of the concept of infinity, whether it be real, as in the circle or the study of a man viewing a picture of himself viewing a picture of himself and so on, or perceived through illusions, such as his never-ending staircase. The documentary is buttressed by commentary from fan, musician Graham Nash who believes his brilliance has not yet been fully appreciated. Further Information
2021 • People
We often assume that advanced technology will make it easy for aliens to colonize space. But what if space exploration is always difficult, no matter how advanced you are? Let’s travel back in human history, to the colonization of Oceania over 5000 years ago, to find parallels between ancient explorers and extraterrestrial civilizations.
In a Nutshell • 2024 • Astronomy
Recommended Documentaries
Horizon looks at the issues that will change the way we live our lives in the future. Rather than relying on the minds of science fiction writers, mathematician Hannah Fry delves into the data we have today to provide an evidence-based vision of tomorrow. With the help of the BBC's science experts - and a few surprise guests - Hannah investigates the questions the British public want answered about the future. Hannah tries to discover whether we could ever live forever or if there will ever be a cure for cancer. She finds out how research into the human brain may one day help with mental health, and if it is possible to ever ditch fossil fuels. Hannah and her guests also discover the future of transport - and when, if ever, we really will see flying cars. She discovers whether a robot will take your job or if, as some believe, we will all one day actually become cyborgs. The programme predicts what the weather will be like and discovers if we are on the verge of another mass extinction. Hannah's tenth prediction is something she - and Horizon - are confident will definitely happen, and that is to expect the unexpected!
Horizon • 2017 • Technology
Professor Alice Roberts meets our ancient ancestral family, from armadillos to sharks, and discovers our true place in the tree of life. With 4D scanning, giant origami and a ukulele, they will explore evolution like never before.
S1E1 • Who Am I (Royal Institution Christmas Lectures) • 2018 • Nature
Steve uncovers the historic secrets of seabirds in Yorkshire, Gillian finds out how we're stressing our sea creatures, and Chris meets a retired couple adding to shark science.
S1E2 • Blue Planet UK • 2019 • Nature
In the final programme in the series, Brian explores the enigma of time - a phenomenon we take for granted but which is one of the biggest mysteries in the universe. He recalls highlights from his TV series that touch upon this conundrum.
S1E4 • Brian Cox's Adventures in Space and Time • 2021 • Nature
A look inside the shadowy world of hackers, where good battles evil. "White-hat" hackers stage a risky raid on a bank; a "black-hat" ISIS recruiter organizes a terrorist attack.
S2E2 • Breakthrough National Geographic • 2017 • Technology
The Soviet Story offers an alternative history of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale.
2008 • History
Environment Documentaries
Scotland is a ground zero for some of the most significant geologic cataclysms in Earth's history. Understanding of these titanic shifts was prompted by a mysterious lake known as Loch Ness.
S1E4 • How the Earth Was Made • 2009 • Environment
Human Planet tells remarkable stories of people who make their homes in the Arctic.
S1E3 • Human Planet • Environment
Sonic Sea is a documentary about the devastating impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life. The film begins with a mystery: the unexplained stranding and mass mortality of several species of whales in the Bahamas in March 2000. As the mystery unfolds, the film explores the critical role of sound in the sea, and the sudden, dramatic changes human activity is inflicting on the ocean's delicate acoustic habitat -- changes that threaten the ability of whales and other marine animals to prosper, to function, and ultimately, to survive. Sonic Sea features several charismatic scientists, including Ken Balcomb, the former Navy pilot and acoustics expert who proved to the world that naval sonar is killing whales, as well as the musician and environmental activist, Sting, whose moving interview connects the sonic world of marine life with our sonic world on land. The film offers solutions (and, by extension, hope) for a quieter ocean, and underscores that the ocean's destiny is inextricably bound with our own.
2016 • Environment
The evidence, structure, history and potential threat of the Yellowstone super volcano are described.
S1E8 • How the Earth Was Made • 2009 • Environment
By investigating the tell-tale signs of earthquakes and tsunamis written into the landscape over the last thousand years, Japanese scientists are rewriting the rule books for disaster prevention in the Pacific.
9/10 • Catalyst: Season 1 • 2015 • Environment
The Great Lakes region provided geologists with much of the evidence for the frequent ice ages that visited North America. But the lakes may be a rather transient feature of the continent dependent upon the recurring ice ages to maintain their existence.
S1E7 • How the Earth Was Made • 2009 • Environment
Brain Documentaries
Take a deep, cleansing breath and slowly exhale while being enlightened on the impact meditation can have on your mind and body.
S1E4 • The Mind, Explained • 2019 • Brain
A plush country house is fixed with surveillance cameras while a group of unwitting test subjects - former pupils of a UK school - are first exposed to youthful memories to test if it can improve their health. This episode looks at how we behave in groups and puts our notions of hierarchy to the test.
S1E3 • Meet the Humans • 2017 • Brain
Through interviews with leading psychologists and scientists, Neurons to Nirvana explores the history of four powerful psychedelic substances (LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA and Ayahuasca) and their previously established medicinal potential. Strictly focusing on the science and medicinal properties of these drugs, Neurons to Nirvana looks into why our society has created such a social and political bias against even allowing research to continue the exploration of any possible positive effects they can present in treating some of today's most challenging afflictions.
2013 • Brain
A new generation of technology is revolutionizing neuroscience, allowing a closer study of the brain than had ever seemed possible. The techniques are hybrids of optics, genetics, and synthetic biology with the ability to manipulate brain activity, often in real time. Through direct stimulation of neural connections, some of these techniques hold the promise for the treatment of diseases like depression or schizophrenia.
World Science Festival • 2019 • Brain
"Follow Your Nose" seeks to unlock the secrets of olfaction. How do we perceive smells? What messages do they contain? How do they alter and influence our brain and behavior?
2018 • Brain
We like to believe we’re in control. But if what we’re discovering about parasites is anything to go by, who is really in control is a lot more complicated, and a lot more interesting, than we ever imagined. So let “The Nature of Things with David Suzuki” help you get over the ick factor, and explore the world of parasites. So let “The Nature of Things with David Suzuki” help you get over the ick factor, and explore the world of parasites. Scientists have collected hundreds of examples of parasites that brainwash their hosts. And now researchers are starting to untangle these parasites’ evolutionary tricks of the trade. In the coastal estuaries of California, Professor Kevin Lafferty of the United States Geological Survey introduces us to a flatworm that lives in three hosts - a snail, a fish and a bird. This parasite’s influence is so profound that it tips the balance of the local ecosystem
S53E05 • The Nature of Things • 2013 • Brain
Randoms! Documentaries
The latest discoveries suggest that we might be on the verge of discovering life beyond our planet, and scientists are investigating if earth's life began elsewhere in the universe, and whether we need to evolve to know for sure.
S7E8 • How the Universe Works • 2019 • Astronomy
By the year 2050, three quarters of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Looking at robotic systems being developed worldwide we can take a glimpse at the city life of the future. Private transportation with self-driving cars, our homes with automated systems - robots are in our future.
S1E3 • The Age of Robots • 2016 • Technology
The new discovery of seven alien Earth-like planets in a faraway solar system is a major milestone in our hunt for extraterrestrial life, and experts investigate the secrets of TRAPPIST-1's mysterious worlds to reveal if we're truly alone in the universe.
Space's Deepest Secrets • 2018 • Astronomy
Go beyond the cutting edge of today to see the technologies and inventions that will enable us to see through walls, travel through space and time, and colonize distant planets.
S1E4 • Next World • 2010 • Technology
The composer examines the history of the past 100 years in music, known as the popular age. During this period, classical music - as it is now termed - seemed to be in decline, but Howard argues that while some cutting-edge works proved too challenging to be appreciated by the mainstream audience, the DNA of the genre is alive and well in musical theatre, cinema and popular music.
S1E6 • Howard Goodall's Story of Music • 2013 • Music
The New Horizons spacecraft revolutionized our understanding of the solar system as it rocketed past Pluto. Now, four billion miles since its launch, the craft approaches its next target: Ultima Thule.
Breakthrough • 2019 • Astronomy