The woman whose cells changed medical history

The story of Henrietta Lacks who unwittingly left behind an extraordinary medical legacy

• 39 mins

First impressions: The printing press

How the machine pioneered by 15th Century entrepreneur Johannes Gutenberg changed history

• 44 mins

Unlocking the mysteries of cuneiform tablets

We explore the system of writing that developed 5,000 years ago in Ancient Mesopotamia

• 44 mins

Alexandre Dumas: The man behind the Musketeers

The adventurous life of the much-loved French novelist

• 44 mins

Umm Kulthum: Egypt’s singing superstar

Exploring the life of a woman whose voice still captivates people across the Middle East

• 39 mins

The Kingdom of Aksum: Africa's trading empire

An ancient state in the Horn of Africa that is famed for its monumental stelae structures

• 44 mins

Mugham: the sound of Azerbaijan

Transcendental music from the Caucasus

• 44 mins

Famous hats in history

The uses and meanings of headwear from prehistory to today

• 44 mins

Alexandre Yersin and the race to fight the plague

The life and work of a pioneering Swiss microbiologist

• 44 mins

Olympe de Gouges: France’s forgotten revolutionary heroine

The French social activist, feminist and playwright who was executed at the guillotine

• 40 mins

Toussaint L’Ouverture: Hero of the Haitian slave rebellion

The charismatic freed slave who was the true embodiment of French Revolutionary ideals

• 39 mins

Eleusinian Mysteries: Secret ceremonies promising happiness

The enigma at the centre of ancient Greek religion

• 39 mins

Mermaids: Tales from the deep

A history of sea creature folklore from around the world

• 38 mins

Sister Juana, a great mind of Mexico

An outspoken nun who was also a daring poet

• 39 mins

The Kalevala: the Finnish epic that inspired a nation

The collection of folk songs and poetry that articulated Finnish independence

• 39 mins

Abraham Maslow’s psychology of human needs

An influential 20th-century thinker who identified what motivates us

• 39 mins

Making waves: the history of swimming

Different strokes for different folks, embracing the story of swimming around the world

• 40 mins

BR Ambedkar: The Dalit hero of India

The life of perhaps the greatest social reformer in 20th-century India

• 39 mins

Adventures with dentures: The story of dentistry

The painful early roots of a profession we all rely on

• 39 mins

The One Thousand and One Nights

The ancient magical tales whose origins stretch from India to Persia to Arabia

• 40 mins

Pauline Viardot: 19th-Century diva

The Franco-Spanish singer and composer who charmed European society on and off stage

• 38 mins

Rabindranath Tagore: The Bard of Bengal

A portrait of the prolific writer who was an environmental thinker before his time

• 39 mins

One Hundred Years of Solitude: The story of Latin America

Gabriel García Márquez’s modern classic that fuses the magical with real life

• 39 mins

Unravelling the history of knitting

What are the origins of knitting and how did it spread to different parts of the world?

• 40 mins

The census: A snapshot of life

Charting the history of counting and classifying people the world over

• 39 mins

Tadeusz Kosciuszko, groundbreaking fort builder

The engineer who championed freedom on two continents

• 39 mins

Ukulele - a history of Hawaii's national instrument

The mini guitar that came to symbolise Hawaiian culture

• 39 mins

The birth of the modern car

Design milestones in the early history of motor vehicles

• 39 mins

Machiavelli, master of power

The life and reputation of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince

• 39 mins

X-rays: New ways of seeing

The discovery of X-rays in 1895 and how it transformed our world

• 39 mins