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The birth of hip hop
The early years of rap and breakdancing in New York
The real story of Frankenstein
The origins, themes and continuing legacy of Mary Shelley’s gothic tale Frankenstein
Yellow fever: Man against mosquito
How we tamed one of the world's deadliest diseases, and why it's coming back
Beethoven: The genius rule breaker
Why Beethoven is so universally popular
Marie Curie: A pioneering life
The extraordinary life of the Polish scientist who changed the course of physics
The Magic of Bronze
Discover the amazing stories behind some of the world's greatest masterpieces in bronze
The KGB: Secrets and Spies
The story of the KGB
Haile Selassie: The last Emperor of Ethiopia
The life and legacy of the man who became ‘the Father of Africa’
Machiavelli - Master of Power
The life and reputation of Niccolò Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’
The Belle Epoque: A Golden Age?
Paris in the 19th Century when permissiveness mixed with political and creative optimism
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland
The story behind this weird and wonderful literary classic
How the metre changed the world
The universal unit of length that joined up the globe
Amelia Earhart: Trailblazer in the skies
The inspirational life of the celebrated American aviator
Taiwan: An Island History
An exploration of the island of Taiwan
The bittersweet tale of cocoa
The history of cacao in the Americas, from the Maya to the Aztecs
Telling the time: From sundials to satnav
A brief history of how we tell the time
Arthur Conan Doyle: The man behind Sherlock Holmes
The life of doctor and literary star Arthur Conan Doyle.
Childhood: From Toddlers to Teenagers
Through the ages and across the world, how have our ideas about childhood changed?
The Creation of Modern Canada
Exploring the Confederation of Canada in 1867
Indian Princely States
The lives of the Princes of India, their relationship with the British and legacy today
Silk Routes: Two Thousand Years of Trading
Luxuries and everyday goods that travelled East and West
Carl Linnaeus: Naming nature
The botanist who created a classification system to understand the natural world
Up close with tango
The dance that seduced the world
Joan of Arc: Making a martyr
How a teenager fought to save France
The One Thousand and One Nights
The power of storytelling
Total eclipse of the Sun
A plunge into darkness
Making Scents: The story of perfume
How fine fragrance became liquid luxury in a bottle
Picasso: Artist of reinvention
How Pablo Picasso changed our way of seeing
The first heart transplant
A race to make medical history
First Impressions: The Printing Press
How a fifteenth century innovation changed our printed world
Secrets of the Great Pyramid
Exploring The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt