Presented by Rod Liddle explores the life and times of the visionaries who fought a powerful and violent church establishment to publish the Bible in English. Their vocation, tenacity and sacrifice left a lasting impression on the language and literature in the centuries that followed. The inflections, cadences and familiar phrases of the first English Bible set the foundations for the way English has been spoken and written in the five centuries that followed its first publication. Perhaps its most important legacy, though, is the Protestant notion put by Jefferson God hath created the mind free. This underpinned the separation of church and state, the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression and the right to fight for freedom of choice, freedom of conscience and freedom of speech ...

Tony Robinson embarks on spectacular walks through some of Britain's most historic landscapes in search of the richest stories from it's past. Episode 3 Cornwall - Tony takes a four day trek along the coastline between Plymouth in Devon and Falmouth learning about the thriving smuggling trade in Cornwall during the late 18th century. The area's tiny secretive harbours, beaches and secluded coves were ideal for illicit imports such as tobacco and brandy, and the business was so huge it threatened the national economy. Along his route, visiting such beauty spots as Lantic Bay and Polperro, he encounters all sorts of reminders of the trade and meets descendants of those involved ...

John Rhys-Davies hosts this 1991 series that explores various archeological subjects and their link to stories of the past. The show explores the efforts of archaeologists and the methods they use to discover the answers to these mysteries. Episode Searching for the Neanderthal - They roamed Europe's bleak grasslands braving cave bears mammoths and the freezing winters of the ice age and then they vanished. Their disapearance has stirred debate and speculation for over a century still the mistery lingers. For untold generations the neanderthals had europe to themselves. Then a new modern type of human began developing and spreading from Africa. Why did neanderthals as a group die out and why did modern humans become the only form of humans that around? ...

In The Ascent of Money Niall Ferguson traces the evolution of money and demonstrates that financial history is the essential back story behind all history. By learning how societies have continually created and survived financial crises we can find solid solutions to today's worldwide economic emergency. As he traverses historic financial hot spots around the world, Ferguson illuminates fundamental economic concepts and speaks with leading experts in the financial world. Episode 6 Chimerica - Niall Ferguson investigates the globalisation of the Western economy and the uncertain balance between the important component countries of China and the US. In examining the last time globalisation took hold, before World War One, he finds a notable reversal, namely that today money is pouring into the English speaking economies from the developing world, rather than out ...

Britain AD - which accompanies and expands on Britain BC Francis Pryor traces the story of King Arthur back to its ancient origins. Putting forth the compelling idea that most of its key elements are deeply rooted in Bronze and Iron Ages he argues that the legends survival mirrors a flourishing indigenous culture that endured through the Roman occupation of Britain and the subsequent invasions of the so called Dark Ages ...

Channel 4 Written and presented by Dr David Starkey, this is the compelling story of two of England's most striking monarchs a brother and sister, tied by blood and affection, and torn apart by religion, power, and some of the bloodiest episodes in English history. Mary found herself cast into the shadows, ignored by her father and declared illegitimate by Act of Parliament after the birth of Edward. Nonetheless she became very attached to the motherless boy, and he to her, declaring her his dearest sister. When Edward was just nine, their father died and the young boy became King, surrounded by advisors and further distanced from his beloved elder sister. But by now they were divided not just by power and status, but also by faith Edward was dead at the tragically early age of 16 and Mary became Queen. She set about making England a Catholic country once ...

MonsterQuest uses the latest high tech equipment to take a scientific look at legendary creatures around the world creatures eyewitnesses claim to see to this day. Each episode will examine all the evidence available, from pictures and video to hair and bones, as well as the eyewitness accounts themselves. Believers, skeptics and scientists will weigh in, but what will the evidence reveal? Episode 9 Sierra Sasquatch - Ancient petroglyphs in the Sierra Nevada Mountains depict footprints left by frightening packs of hairy man like beasts. Now, MonsterQuest heads to the heart of California where witnesses are encountering aggressively territorial packs of Sasquatch. The team will investigate groups of large footprints found here and analyze compelling new video which could be that of the beast ...

The series features various subjects related to science and technology. Some of the views expressed might be considered fringe or pseudo-science. Episode 6 Bermuda Triangle - Ships and planes vanish without a trace. The Triangle goes by many names, The Vile Vortices or The Devil's Triangle. There are also debates as to its boundaries. But at the centre of the myths and legends are the 450,000 square miles of island strewn ocean between Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. Said to be a mysterious vortex claiming lives, ships, and planes at will. Some are never found, others turn up as gravestones on the ocean floor. Among such feared supernatural phenomena as UFOs and alien abduction, the Triangle is a serious contender. This programme sets out to unravel its secrets, finding out what lies behind the myth. Flying into the heart of the Bermuda Triangle ...

The series features various subjects related to science and technology. Some of the views expressed might be considered fringe or pseudo-science. Episode 7 Atlantis - The legend has entranced scientists and scholars for centuries. The city was destroyed in the space of a day and a night, sunk beneath the waves for eternity by a massive natural cataclysm. For thousands of years the tale remained an obscure yet tantalising fable until an American by the name of Ignatius Donnelly reignited the idea, bringing it to worldwide attention and sending archaeologists and trophy hunters alike across the globe in its wake ...

Dukedoms are created by the monarch for reasons ranging from a grateful nation rewarding a major war leader to a king acknowledging his illegitimate son. The last dukedom to be created was by Queen Victoria. As they gradually become extinct what will become of those that remain? Do they still have power and wealth? What is it to be a duke in the 21st century? Answers come from a surprising variety of extraordinary character ...

Simon Armitage presents the extraordinary story of the most disturbing witch trial in British history and the key role played in it by one nine year old girl. Jennet Device a beggar girl from Pendle in Lancashire, was the star witness in the trial in 1612 of her own mother, her brother, her sister and many of her neighbours and, thanks to her chilling testimony, they were all hanged. Armitage explores the lethal power and influence of one child's words a story of fear, magic and demonic pacts retold partly with vivid and innovative hand drawn animation ...

A great granddaughter of Queen Victoria Prince Philip's mother married into the Greek royal family, only to see the Greek monarchy overthrown by revolution. Fleeing into exile, she suffered a severe nervous breakdown. She was locked away in mental hospitals and subjected to experimental treatments by psychiatrists, including Sigmund Freud himself but eventually fought her way back from mental illness, and became an unlikely hero of World War Two ...

In The Ascent of Money Niall Ferguson traces the evolution of money and demonstrates that financial history is the essential back story behind all history. By learning how societies have continually created and survived financial criseswe can find solid solutions to today's worldwide economic emergency. As he traverses historic financial hot spots around the world, Ferguson illuminates fundamental economic concepts and speaks with leading experts in the financial world. Episode 1 Dreams of Avarice - From Shylock's pound of flesh to the loan sharks of Glasgow, from the promises to pay on Babylonian clay tablets to the Medici banking system. Professor Ferguson explains the origins of credit and debt and why credit networks are indispensable to any civilization ...

In The Ascent of Money Niall Ferguson traces the evolution of money and demonstrates that financial history is the essential back story behind all history. By learning how societies have continually created and survived financial criseswe can find solid solutions to today's worldwide economic emergency. As he traverses historic financial hot spots around the world, Ferguson illuminates fundamental economic concepts and speaks with leading experts in the financial world. Episode 2 Human Bondage - How did finance become the realm of the masters of the universe? Through the rise of the bond market in Renaissance Italy. With the advent of bonds, war finance was transformed and spread to north west Europe and across the Atlantic. It was the bond market that made the Rothschilds the richest and most powerful family of the 19th century ...

The series features various subjects related to science and technology. Some of the views expressed might be considered fringe or pseudo-science. Episode 4 Who Built Stonehenge? - This episode demonstrates how these stones could have been carried such a vast distance, and raised into place, using just the primitive technology possessed by Ancient Britons almost 5000 years ago. And, for the first time, the film employs modern forensic investigation techniques to examine human skeletons found near the site and recreates the face of one man who may have worked on the construction of this astonishing, ancient structure ...