Emperor Nero: Bad boy of Ancient Rome

Historical accounts of the notorious Roman emperor skew our interpretation of his legacy

• 39 mins

Fertiliser and poison gas: The legacy of chemist Fritz Haber

The scientist who helped feed billions, and unleashed a new kind of death

• 40 mins

Vikings and their quest for silver

How Viking trade and raids transformed medieval economy and society

• 39 mins

Eunuchs and empires

The painful route to power for some young boys and men

• 39 mins

Insulin: The discovery that transformed diabetic care

Tracing the discovery of a hormone that has helped millions manage diabetes

• 39 mins

The Koryo Kingdom: Medieval dynasty that united Korea

Progressive, pluralistic and united – the remarkable era of the Koryo Kingdom

• 39 mins

The Popol Vuh: Central American epic that survived Spanish conquest

One of the most mind-bending mythological sagas ever written

• 39 mins

Ice cream: A cool history

How snow and ice were transformed into one of the world’s most popular desserts

• 43 mins

Samurai: Japan’s elite warrior class

The changing image of Japan’s fabled fighters over the centuries

• 39 mins

Radio waves and plants: The life of JC Bose

How physics and biology entwined in JC Bose's search for the unity of all life on Earth

• 39 mins

The unstoppable orange

The golden fruit that became a symbol of love and wealth

• 39 mins

Taras Shevchenko: The slave who became a symbol of Ukrainian independence

The life and work of Ukraine's national bard

• 39 mins

La Malinche: Mexico's great 'traitor'

The indigenous slave girl who helped the Spanish conquer the Aztecs

• 43 mins

Eleonora Duse: The first great modern actress

The early feminist icon who challenged theatrical convention

• 39 mins

Making scents: The story of perfume

How fine fragrance became what it is today

• 39 mins

Gandhi: Architect of Indian independence

How a shy, mediocre schoolboy went on to shake the British Empire and inspire the world

• 46 mins

The Art of War: Ancient Chinese guide to victory

A manual for achieving success on the battlefield, and in life

• 39 mins

Bluegrass: Virtuoso music of Appalachia

The rich history of music from America's rural south

• 42 mins

Brazil's Palmares: A beacon of freedom

An inspirational settlement of people seeking freedom from slavery

• 39 mins

Yves Saint Laurent: Fashion revolutionary

Bridget Kendall and guests on the glamorous world of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent

• 39 mins

Dreams: Prophecy, propaganda and psychoanalysis

How our sleeping visions have wielded great influence throughout history.

• 39 mins

A forgotten founder of climate science: Eunice Newton Foote

The first person to link CO2 with global warming, and why she vanished from history

• 39 mins

The Sun: Myths and magnetism

Understanding the star that makes all life on Earth possible

• 39 mins

William Cobbett: Champion of rural workers

William Cobbett: Industrialization and its impact on England’s rural population

• 39 mins

How the paparazzi transformed photojournalism

Why 1950s Rome was the birthplace of the paparazzi

• 39 mins

Süleyman the Magnificent: longest-reigning Ottoman sultan

The 16th century Ottoman sultan who shaped a vast empire across three continents

• 39 mins

From straw poll to opinion poll

Exploring the past, present and future of opinion polling

• 39 mins

The end of civilisation: Bronze Age collapse

One of the earliest examples of globalisation, and why it came crashing down

• 41 mins

Moths: The story of the butterfly of the night

The much maligned moth – pest or saviour?

• 39 mins

Uruguay 1930: The first football World Cup

How FIFA's global sporting spectacle began

• 43 mins