Documentary telling the unexpected story of how arguably the greatest work of English prose ever written, the King James Bible, came into being.

Author Adam Nicolson reveals why the making of this powerful book shares much in common with his experience of a very different national project - the Millennium Dome. The programme also delves into recently discovered 17th-century manuscripts, from the actual translation process itself, to show in rich detail what makes this Bible so good.

In a turbulent and often violent age, the king hoped this Bible would unite a country torn by religious factions. Today it is dismissed by some as old-fashioned and impenetrable, but the film shows why, in the 21st century, the King James Bible remains so great.

In 1963, at the height of the Cold War, a well-educated Englishman called Kim Philby boarded a Russian freighter in Beirut and defected to Moscow from under the nose of British Intelligence. For the best part of thirty years he had been spying for the Soviet Union, much of that time while holding senior jobs in MI6. Fifty years on, more questions than answers still surround his defection. Had he really confessed before he went? Was his escape from justice an embarrassing mistake or part of the plan? This documentary, shot in Beirut, London and Moscow, sets out to find the answers, revealing the blind spots in the British ruling class that made it so vulnerable to KGB penetration. A CTVC Production.

Episode 1 of 2:
With their Messiah executed, their dreams crushed, and their cause deemed subversive by the strongest empire the world had ever seen, Jesus's followers faced a bleak future. Their movement seemed destined for extinction. Incredibly, though, Jesus's survivors turned defeat to victory; devastation to jubilation. By one account, it happened on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where Simon Peter and others envisioned the risen Jesus. It was an explosive moment of hope. For the sighting convinced them that Jesus had not, in fact, been beaten; that in his death, Jesus was ushering in God's Kingdom on Earth. Re-infused with hope and determination, Peter became an indomitable figure who would unite his group into a tight community of ardent believers. Dark days were coming, however -- days of persecution, imprisonment and dispersal. And when they arrived, Peter found support from an unexpected source. His name was Paul. A fervent Jew and a former persecutor of the Jesus community in Jerusalem, Paul had a startling revelation that led him to embrace Peter's faith as his own. It was a turning point in history. For once inspired, Paul turned his formidable talents to the task of spreading his new cause around the Roman Empire. Paul was educated, passionate and determined. But he was also dogmatic. And soon, he would be at the center of the most divisive conflict yet to face the young Jesus movement.
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Documentary synopsis:
Two millennia ago, in the Roman province of Judea, Jesus was crucified by imperial troops. Thousands before him had suffered the same fate. But unlike his predecessors on the cross, Jesus did not drop from history. Instead, his memory was kept alive by a small band of Jews -- men and women who held fast to their conviction that Jesus was the Messiah… that Jesus had been anointed by God to announce His kingdom on earth. Against the odds, in the face of hostility, indifference, and dissent, these impoverished subjects of Rome managed to carry the news of Jesus out of Judea and around the Roman Empire. They managed to plant a movement that would one day conquer Rome itself. There were Barnabas and Priscilla; James, Stephen, Titus. And most famously of all, there were Peter and Paul. If one was "The Rock" upon which the church was founded, the other was a river, flooding its banks to reach all regions and peoples. Combining the actual words of Paul, Luke, and other ancient writers with period dramatizations and location footage from around the Mediterranean, Peter and Paul and the Christian Revolution is the story of a revolution that changed the world.

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Spread outside Judea by missionaries like Peter and Paul, the Jesus movement caught on quickly among Jews and non-Jews around the Roman Empire. With success, however, came challenges: challenges from hostile locals; challenges from imperial forces; and challenges from conflicting ideas within the movement itself. Should Gentile converts become Jews? Should they be circumcised? These were hot-button issues in the first century and they threatened to tear the young movement apart. Paul -- adamant that there was no time for conversions -- fell into open and angry confrontation with some of the oldest Jesus followers. Peter, it seems, tried to mediate the conflict. "The Rock" became a stepping stone between the camps and, for a crucial period, helped keep the movement together. But the center could not hold. Paul struck out on his own, planting churches in his image around the Mediterranean and writing letters that would become central to all later Christian theology. Finally, in 70 AD, disaster struck the headquarters of the Jesus followers. After decades of rising tension, Judea erupted in revolt against Rome. War had been raging for four years. And when Rome finally established control, it destroyed much of Jerusalem; it torched the sacred Temple and enslaved the population. The scorched ground of Judea could no longer nurture a Jewish Jesus movement. And in the end, it was Paul's communities that would grow and change into the churches we know today.

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Documentary synopsis:
Two millennia ago, in the Roman province of Judea, Jesus was crucified by imperial troops. Thousands before him had suffered the same fate. But unlike his predecessors on the cross, Jesus did not drop from history. Instead, his memory was kept alive by a small band of Jews -- men and women who held fast to their conviction that Jesus was the Messiah… that Jesus had been anointed by God to announce His kingdom on earth. Against the odds, in the face of hostility, indifference, and dissent, these impoverished subjects of Rome managed to carry the news of Jesus out of Judea and around the Roman Empire. They managed to plant a movement that would one day conquer Rome itself. There were Barnabas and Priscilla; James, Stephen, Titus. And most famously of all, there were Peter and Paul. If one was "The Rock" upon which the church was founded, the other was a river, flooding its banks to reach all regions and peoples. Combining the actual words of Paul, Luke, and other ancient writers with period dramatizations and location footage from around the Mediterranean, Peter and Paul and the Christian Revolution is the story of a revolution that changed the world.

Escape from Berlin aka Flucht Aus Berlin A documentary on the courage and ingenuity of East Germans who were willing to risk their lives escaping through, over, and even under, the murderous Wall that divided Berlin between 1961 and 1989. The programme includes astonishing actuality footage of escapes as they happened (such as tunnelling, swimming and even escaping in a microlight aircraft) along with recreations of some of the most daring escape attempts, and some of the deadly failures.

Episode One: The Way of the Samurai - In the early 16th century, Japan is a warlike society ruled by samurai and their daimyo warlords. When Portuguese merchants arrive in 1543, they are the first Europeans to set foot in Japan. Missionaries quickly set out to convert the nation to Christianity. In the same year, a samurai boy named Tokugawa Ieyasu is born to a low ranking daimyo family.

To prove his family's loyalty to their ruling warlord, Ieyasu is given as a hostage where he remains for most of his childhood. When he is finally freed, he reclaims his family's domain and allies himself with the most powerful rulers in Japan: Oda Nobunaga, and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi awards him a small fishing village named Edo, later to be known as Tokyo, and provides him with a vast area to rule. But Hideyoshi and Ieyasu are uneasy allies.

On his deathbed, Hideyoshi, places Ieyasu in command until Hideyoshi's true heir—his young son, Hideyori—will rule. When daimyo rebels challenge Ieyasu's control, Tokugawa Ieyasu's samurai armies defeat them at the Battle of Sekigahara. The victory brings to Ieyasu the title of shogun. Ieyasu's only remaining obstacle for total control of Japan is Hideyori. In 1614, Ieyasu renounces his allegiance to Hideyori and attacks Osaka Castle, slaughtering more than 100,000. It is the beginning of a dynasty that will endure for more than 250 years.
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Japan blossomed into its Renaissance at approximately the same time as Europe. Unlike the West, it flourished not through conquest and exploration, but by fierce and defiant isolation. And the man at the heart of this empire was Tokugawa Ieyasu, a warlord who ruled with absolute control. In this documentary, this period is explored through myriad voices-- the Shogun, the Samurai, the Geisha, the poet, the peasant and the Westerner who glimpsed into this secret world.

Episode Two: The Will of the Shogun - With Ieyasu in control, peace settles over Japan, and a new society based on the samurai ethics of obedience and loyalty is established. In 1600, William Adams becomes the first Englishman to set foot in Japan. Impressed by European trading vessels, Ieyasu asks Adams to help him build his own fleet. Aware that the English have no interest in converting the Japanese to Christianity, Ieyasu decides to expel the Portugese and Spanish who often combine missionary work with trade.
As Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu has united the daimyo warlords. When he dies at 72, his vision of a strictly controlled class system based on the rule of the samurai is a reality. But his grandson, Iemitsu, will rule more harshly. With no wars to fight, Iemitsu tightens control over the power of the daimyo and their restless samurai armies.
Foreign missionaries have been expelled from Japan, but still Iemitsu fears the influence of Christianity. Impoverished peasants and persecuted Christians explode in anger. The Shimabara Rebellion in 1637 results in the deaths of thousands. In order to prevent further dissention resulting from foreign influence, Iemitsu closes Japan to the western world. It will be more than 200 years before the nation will open its doors again.
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Japan blossomed into its Renaissance at approximately the same time as Europe. Unlike the West, it flourished not through conquest and exploration, but by fierce and defiant isolation. And the man at the heart of this empire was Tokugawa Ieyasu, a warlord who ruled with absolute control. In this documentary, this period is explored through myriad voices-- the Shogun, the Samurai, the Geisha, the poet, the peasant and the Westerner who glimpsed into this secret world.

Episode Three: The Return of the Barbarians - By 1690, Japan is a nation completely isolated from the western world, and a time of cultural flowering and intellectual pursuit ensues. Shogun Tsunayoshi introduces his Laws of Compassion protecting the poor and preventing the abuse of animals. By the 18th century, Edo has become the largest and one of the liveliest cities in the world, attracting samurai, geisha, courtesans, merchants, writers and actors. The classes begin to mix, and culture and commerce flourish.
However, conflicts simmer beneath the surface of Edo society. As ruling daimyo warlords and their samurai armies grow restless, interest in Western science increases, complicating the policy of isolation.
In 1853, Commodore Mathew C. Perry and his squadron of black ships sail into Edo Bay, and demand that Japan negotiate and trade with the United States. Japan is in a precarious position and the government faces the difficult choice of war or negotiation. Realizing they are powerless to repel American might, the Japanese negotiate treaties with the West. Ten years later, the samurai class is disbanded and the Tokugawa Shogunate ends. The modern era of Japan has begun.
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Japan blossomed into its Renaissance at approximately the same time as Europe. Unlike the West, it flourished not through conquest and exploration, but by fierce and defiant isolation. And the man at the heart of this empire was Tokugawa Ieyasu, a warlord who ruled with absolute control. In this documentary, this period is explored through myriad voices-- the Shogun, the Samurai, the Geisha, the poet, the peasant and the Westerner who glimpsed into this secret world.

Episode 1 of 3 focuses on the life of Prophet Muhammad and the early days of Islam. It explores the birth of Islam in the 7th century and the revelations received by Muhammad in Mecca and Medina. The documentary highlights the social, political, and religious context of the time, as well as the challenges faced by early Muslims. It also touches on the spread of Islam within the Arabian Peninsula.
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Islam: Empire of Faith is a documentary series, made in 2000, that details the history of Islam, from the birth of the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire. The first episode deals with the life of Muhammad, the second with the early Caliphates, Crusades, and Mongol invasion, and the third with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid dynasty.

Episode 2 of 3 delves into the expansion of the Islamic Empire after the death of Prophet Muhammad. It covers the caliphates of the Rashidun (the "Rightly Guided" Caliphs) and the Umayyad Caliphate. The documentary discusses the conquests, the establishment of the Arab-Muslim identity, and the early cultural achievements of the Islamic world. The episode also explores the interaction between different cultures and the preservation of knowledge through the translation movement.
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Islam: Empire of Faith is a documentary series, made in 2000, that details the history of Islam, from the birth of the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire. The first episode deals with the life of Muhammad, the second with the early Caliphates, Crusades, and Mongol invasion, and the third with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid dynasty.

Episode 3 of 3 of the series focuses on the rise of the Ottoman Empire, which became a dominant force in the Islamic world. It covers the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 and the expansion of the empire into Europe, Asia, and Africa. The documentary also discusses the cultural, artistic, and scientific contributions of the Ottomans. It concludes with the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the challenges it faced in the modern era.
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Islam: Empire of Faith is a documentary series, made in 2000, that details the history of Islam, from the birth of the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire. The first episode deals with the life of Muhammad, the second with the early Caliphates, Crusades, and Mongol invasion, and the third with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid dynasty.

It was perhaps the most spectacular flourishing of imagination and achievement in recorded history. In the fourth and fifth centuries, B.C., the Greeks built an empire that stretched across the Mediterranean from Asia to Spain. They laid the foundation of modern science, politics, warfare and philosophy, and produced some of the most breathtaking art and architecture the world has ever seen. The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization recounts the rise, glory, demise and legacy of the empire that marked the dawn of Western Civilization.

The story of this astonishing civilization will be told through the lives of the great heroes of Ancient Greece. The newest advances in computer and television technology will be used to rebuild the Acropolis, recreate the Battle of Marathon and restore the grandeur of the Academy, where Socrates, Plato and Aristotle forged the foundation of Western thought. The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization combines dramatic storytelling, stunning imagery, groundbreaking research and distinguished scholarship, rendering Classical Greece gloriously alive.

THE REVOLUTION
THE REVOLUTION tells the story of the troubled birth of the world’s first democracy, Ancient Athens, through the life of an Athenian nobleman, Cleisthenes. In the brutal world of the fifth century, B.C., the Athenians struggle against a series of tyrants and their greatest rival, Sparta, to create a new “society of equals.” The program closes on the eve of the new society’s first great test: invasion by the mighty empire of Persia.

THE GOLDEN AGE
THE GOLDEN AGE recounts the Greeks’ heroic victory against the mighty Persian empire through the life of Themistocles, one of Athen’s greatest generals. Greece, now master of the Mediterranean, undergoes one of the most startling intellectual and physical transformations in history. Pericles, the elected leader of Athens, oversees the building of the Parthenon and an extraordinary flourishing of the arts and sciences, laying the foundation for what we now call “Western Culture.”

THE EMPIRE OF THE MIND
THE EMPIRE OF THE MIND describes how Athens, at the height of her glory, engaged in a suicidal conflict with her greatest rival, Sparta. Through the eyes of Socrates, Athen’s first philosopher, we see the tragic descent of Athenian democracy into mob rule. As defeat piles on defeat, the Athenians, shattered and stripped of their Empire, take revenge on their most vocal critic and condemn Socrates to death before a people’s court.

As the clock counted down to the the 21st century, the world faced a potential technological disaster: a bug that could cause computers to misinterpret the year 2000 as 1900. Crafted entirely from archival footage and featuring first-hand accounts from computer experts, survivalists, scholars, militia groups, conservative Christians, and pop icons, Time Bomb Y2K is a prescient and often humorous tale about the power and vulnerabilities of technology.

HBO Documentary Films, in association with Spinning Nancy, presents Time Bomb Y2K. Directors, Brian Becker and Marley McDonald; producer, Brian Becker; executive producers, Penny Lane and Gabriel Sedgwick. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Tina Nguyen.

The Soviet Union was officially formed in 1922, a country, a political experiment, an ideal, a great scar across history. Officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR was a one-party state, governed, controlled, and tormented by a single party rule. That of the Communist Party.
No nation has inflicted such destruction on its own population in the name of progress. Power corroded the leadership, leaving the masses to suffer in the name of history. They very people who were supposed to be governing themselves.
There are many factors that effected the Soviet Union's turbulent history, but the sheer ungovernable vastness of the country was inescapable. It was a nation the size of a continent stretching from Moscow to Vladivostok and from Leningrad to Stalingrad. What we might consider European Russia was dwarfed by the reaches of Siberia. Enacting any kind of policy took force.
Complicated, contradictory figureheads would come and go, men who held this impossible country it seemed by sheer will. Stalin the despot-hero whose cruelty knew few bounds who united a nation to defeat Hitler. Khrushchev the crafty libertarian, who preached reform yet allowed an arms race to escalate. Brezhnev, that unreadable member to the old guard, sending history backwards. And of course Gorbachev, who brought vast change, modernisation, and détente, yet saw the Soviet Union collapse under his rule - the untenable nation.
Over many painful years, this vast country locked itself away from the rest of the world, paranoid, economically uncertain, repressive, while still casting a vast shadow across the world.

Chapter 1: Red October to Barbarossa
The Soviet Union was formed on 30th December 1922 after five years of civil war. Stalin's iron fist and his Great Purge gave him unopposed murderous rule over the country, while heroically defeating Hitler's onslaught on Kursk and Stalingrad between 1941-43 effectively won WWII for the allies, and helped mark out his geopolitical world and power until his death in 1953.
Chapter 2: 100th Anniversary 1922
With the pace of the 1950's Cold War increasing, alongside the the space race and the Berlin Wall, the decision to join forces with Cuba and build missile sites there brings the world to the brink of disaster. While the Cuban Missile Crisis is averted and a peace settlement reached, not long after JFK is assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald, a US Marine veteran who had defected to the Soviet Union in 1959.
Chapter 3: Revolution and Dissolution
With the escalation of nuclear missiles globally, Brezhnev invades Czechoslovakia in 1968, as the proxy East vs West war in Vietnam continues. Following the catastrophic invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, a new era begins with Mikhail Gorbachev, as his bold statements quickly lead to a withdrawal from Afghanistan, and by 1989, the collapse of communism. That same year the symbolic Berlin Wall falls, with the end of the Soviet Union formally declared in August 1991.

Documentary tracing the history of the Jewish people from the destruction of the temple in AD 70 to the modern-day nation of Israel. Through scriptural and historical evidence, DNA, mathematics, and testimony from rabbis and pastors, it attempts to answer the question, "Who are God's chosen people?".

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told.
Starting with our earliest beginnings in Africa, Marr traces the story of our nomadic ancestors as they spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers and townspeople. He uncovers extraordinary handprints left in European caves nearly 30,000 years ago and shows how human ingenuity led to inventions which are still with us today. He also discovers how the first civilisations were driven to extremes to try to overcome the forces of nature, adapting and surviving against the odds, and reveals how everyday life in ancient Egypt had more in common with today's soap operas than might be imagined.
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

In this episode, Andrew Marr tells the story of the first empires which laid the foundations for the modern world.
From the Assyrians to Alexander the Great, conquerors rampaged across the Middle East and vicious wars were fought all the way from China to the Mediterranean. But this time of chaos and destruction also brought enormous progress and inspired human development. In the Middle East, the Phoenicians invented the alphabet, and one of the most powerful ideas in world history emerged: the belief in just one God. In India, the Buddha offered a radical alternative to empire building - a way of living that had no place for violence or hierarchy and was open to everyone.
Great thinkers from Socrates to Confucius proposed new ideas about how to rule more wisely and live in a better society. And in Greece, democracy was born - the greatest political experiment of all. But within just a few years, its future would be under threat from invasion by an empire in the east...
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

In the third episode of this landmark series charting the story of human civilisation, Andrew Marr plunges into the spiritual revolutions that shook the world between 300 BC and 700 AD.
This was an age that saw the bloody prince Ashoka turn to Buddhism in India, the ill-fated union of Julius Caesar and Egypt's Cleopatra, the unstoppable rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire and the dramatic spread of Islam from Spain to Central Asia.
Each dramatic story pits the might of kings and rulers against the power of faith. But Andrew Marr discovers that the most potent human force on the planet came from the combination of faith and military power. Both Christianity and Islam created new empires of 'the word and the sword'.
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

In the fourth episode of this landmark series charting the story of human civilisation, Andrew Marr reaches the Middle Ages.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europe was little more than a muddy backwater. Vikings explored and pillaged from Northern Europe to North America. But they also laid the foundations of powerful new trading states, including Russia.
This was also the Golden Age of Islam, and the knowledge of ancient civilisations from India, Persia and Greece was built upon by Islamic scholars in Baghdad's House of Wisdom.
By exploring the conquests of Genghis Khan, the adventures of Marco Polo and the extraordinary story of an African king - the wealthiest who ever lived - Marr finds out how Europe emerged from the so-called 'Dark Ages' and used influences from around the world to rise again with the Renaissance.
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

In the fifth episode of this landmark series charting the story of human civilisation, Andrew Marr tells the story of Europe's rise from piracy to private enterprise.
The explosion of global capitalism began with Christopher Columbus stumbling across America while searching for China. While Europe tore itself apart in religious wars after the Reformation, the Spanish colonised the New World and brought back 10 trillion dollars' worth of gold and silver.
But it was Dutch and English buccaneer businessmen who invented the real money-maker: limited companies and the stock exchange. They battled hand-to-hand to control the world's sea trade in spices, furs and luxuries like tulips. In the 145 years from 1492 to 1637, European capitalism was born and spread across the globe.
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

In the sixth episode of this landmark series charting the story of human civilisation, Andrew Marr explores the Age of Revolution.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, people across the world rose up in the name of freedom and equality against the power of the church and monarchy. In America, people fought a war to be free from British rule. In France, bloody revolution saw the king and aristocracy deposed. And in Haiti, the slaves revolted against their masters.
The world was also gripped by a scientific revolution, sweeping away old dogmas and superstition. Galileo revolutionized the way we saw humanity's place in the universe, while Edward Jenner used science to help save the lives of millions.
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

In the seventh episode of this landmark series charting the story of human civilisation, Andrew Marr tells how Britain's Industrial Revolution created the modern world.
The old agricultural order of aristocratic landowners, serfs and peasant farmers was replaced by a new world of machines, cities and industrialists. Across the world, many resisted this sweeping change. From China to America, Russia to Japan, bitter battles were fought between the modernisers and those who rejected the new way of life.
In Europe, new industrial powers competed with each other to create vast empires which dominated the world. But this intense competition would lead to the industrial-scale slaughter and destruction of the First World War.
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

In the final episode of this landmark series charting the history of human civilisation, Andrew Marr brings the story right up to date with the twentieth century.
Marr suggests that humanity found itself propelled forward by our technological brilliance but limited by the consequences of our political idiocy. Democracy confronted communism and fascism, and two world wars would underscore our political failures more than ever before.
But our achievements were also astonishing, especially in the fields of science and technology. We invented machines of awesome speed and power, and reached beyond the limits of our planet. Now, more of us live longer, healthier and wealthier lives than our ancestors could ever have imagined.
But Marr argues that with seven billion of us on the planet, and rising fast, either we manage the earth's natural resources better or we risk global catastrophe. The decisions we make in the next 50 years, he argues, may well decide our fate. For Marr, the most interesting part of human history lies just ahead.
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Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from before the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century, in June of 1998.

The Great Famine, a documentary, unravels the 1921 American endeavor to aid famine-stricken Soviet Russia, a disaster rivaling Europe's worst since the Middle Ages. With 5 million Russian casualties, Herbert Hoover led the two-year relief campaign via the American Relief Administration (ARA). Responding to Maxim Gorky's plea, Hoover swiftly promised support amidst Russia's post-revolution turmoil. Facing logistical hurdles and distrust from Lenin's government, the ARA encountered delays and opposition, causing an estimated 50,000 deaths. Initially targeting one million children, the famine's enormity expanded the relief scope. Despite widespread cannibalism, Hoover doubled funding, aiming to showcase American strength and kindness. 'Hoover's boys' eventually delivered aid to nearly 11 million Russians daily by 1922's end, yet 5 million perished. Though Hoover's efforts saved lives, Lenin's regime never acknowledged American goodwill, viewing relief workers as spies. The ARA's employment of educated but distrusted Russians intensified tensions, shaping US-Soviet relations for decades. 'The Great Famine' chronicles this engagement, celebrated for its efficacy and benevolence, within the broader context of the Russian Revolution and the ensuing US-Soviet rivalry.

The story of the Jewish experience begins 3,000 years ago with the emergence of a tribal people in a contested land and their extraordinary book, the Hebrew Bible, a chronicle of their stormy relationship with a faceless, formless, jealous God. It was loyalty to this 'God of Words' that defined the distinct identity of the ancient Jews and preserved it despite all that history could throw their way - war, invasion, deportation, enslavement, exile and assimilation.
The story unfolds with a dazzling cast of historical characters: Sigmund Freud dying in exile in London; Victorian evangelicals and explorers following 'in the footsteps' of Moses; Jewish mercenaries living, prospering and intermarrying in the pagan land of Egypt; Messianic Jews dreaming of the Apocalypse; and a Jewish historian, Josephus, who witnessed first-hand the moment when the apocalypse finally came and the Romans destroyed the Jewish High Temple in Jerusalem.
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The Story of the Jews is a documentary series, in five parts, presented by British historian Simon Schama. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two in September 2013 and in the United States on PBS in March and April 2014.