In the early 1960s, 14,000 Cuban children paid the price of freedom the hard way: through Operation Peter Pan. This top-secret mission was part of a U.S. plan to destabilize the Communist country. Its main protagonists were the CIA, the media and the Catholic Church, which claimed that the new Ca...

From 1945 to 1989, after the capitulation of Nazi Germany, two rival ideologies, communism and capitalism, faced each other in a merciless battle.

On one side of the Iron Curtain and on the other, throughout the Cold War, the USSR and the United States sought to shape children’s imaginations thr...

At noon on 10 April 1912, crowds gathered at Southampton to watch the maiden voyage of the World's largest ship RMS Titanic. A sleek, modern luxurious liner that was offering a safe and fast crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Titanic was said to be invincible. She cruised down Southampton waters on ...

Buffalo Bill was America’s first celebrity… and the most famous man in the world at the turn of the 20th century.

He was a former scout, soldier, Buffalo hunter…but what he’s most known for of course, is his showmanship. He vied with PT Barnum for the title of greatest showman on earth.

At the ...

A special film exploring the life and legacy of Alan Turing - genius pioneer of modern computing. With Alan's nephew Sir Dermot Turing and exclusive access to unseen family records, we investigate lesser known aspects of his incredible work. This story is rooted in the City of Manchester, home t...

By the late 1950s the superpowers of USA and Soviet had moved beyond attempting to dominate land, sea and air and now set their sights firmly on space. After the USSR succeeded in launching an unmanned satellite and sending a man into orbit first, the USA announced a massive spending programme in...

The KGB has influenced world events on numerous occasions before. Assassinations, coup d’états, theft of nuclear secrets and sexpionage are just standard trademarks for an organisation that still sends shivers down the spines of politicians and military figures the world over. It may have changed...

The KGB has influenced world events on numerous occasions before. Assassinations, coup d’états, theft of nuclear secrets and sexpionage are just standard trademarks for an organisation that still sends shivers down the spines of politicians and military figures the world over. It may have changed...

The KGB has influenced world events on numerous occasions before. Assassinations, coup d’états, theft of nuclear secrets and sexpionage are just standard trademarks for an organisation that still sends shivers down the spines of politicians and military figures the world over. It may have changed...

Between 1919 and 1921, Ireland played host to a long and bloody guerrilla conflict between British state forces and Irish republican guerrillas, in the form of Irish Volunteers or the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The conflict would completely transform the political landscape in Ireland.

In this...

It was one of the last great lost shipwrecks of history - Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance. But now, incredibly, it has been rediscovered - over a century after it sank beneath the ice in freezing Antarctic waters.

Organised by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, the expedition to locate the...

Our first Endurance 22 'Journey to the Antarctic' episode covers the team making preparations for the voyage in Cape Town. Dan Snow takes us on a tour of the modern ice breaker vessel SA Agulhas II, showing us how state-of-the-art technology aboard will help us locate the shipwreck in any conditi...

The second video of our 'Journey to the Antarctic' series covers the journey to Antarctica across the notoriously dangerous Southern Ocean. The SA Agulhas II is battered by powerful waves despite the expedition's attempts to avoid large storms. Dan Snow reflects on how several members of the crew...

The third video of our Ednurance 22 'Journey to the Antarctic' series covers the arrival in Antarctica and the first launch of the AUV from the SA Agulhas II. With the search for the Endurance shipwreck underway, the expedition was thrown a challenge that Shackleton and his crew would've recognis...

This documentary takes a rare look at Emmeline Pankhurst’s personal story.
Emmeline Pankhurst led an army of women onto the streets of Britain – the likes of which has never been seen before or since. Fearsome, fearless and ready to fight to the death for her political beliefs she is remembered a...

In the wake of the Second World War, Britain moved to cement itself as one of the world's main nuclear powers. The erection of a series of nuclear bunkers followed across the UK, tasked with protecting a fortunate few against any devastating nuclear attack. Sarah Agha explores Britain's secret nu...

The Greatest Air Race is the story of how Sir Ross Smith and his three-man crew became the first aviators to cross the planet. It’s a feat that remains largely overlooked in the history of flight.
The Greatest Air Race is presented and narrated by astronaut Andy Thomas as he embarks on a trans-co...

19th century Birmingham was famous for its industrial might, but particular parts of it were also renowned for a more infamous reason: its gangs. Dan headed up to Birmingham to meet bestselling author and celebrity local historian Carl Chinn to learn the true history behind Birmingham's most noto...

This documentary explores the sinking of the Britannic during the First World War, examining how she ultimately came to suffer the same fate as her sister ship, the Titanic.

Titanic had a twin sister, Britannic, which despite being bigger and better built, sank to the bottom three times faster t...

Part 1 of 4. James Holland explores the T-34 tank, the pride and joy of the Soviet Union in WWII.