The Cable that Changed the World explores the story of the first transatlantic communications cable to traverse the ocean floor, from Co. Kerry, Ireland to Newfoundland, Canada, 165 years ago.
The quest is driven by visionaries and pioneers. Among them are Cyrus Field, a wealthy businessman; Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph and Morse code; Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the British engineer who pushes boundaries and budgets; and Belfast physicist Lord Kelvin, who calculates how to achieve what had hitherto been deemed impossible.
This documentary showcases innovative graphics, historical reconstructions and rarely seen archive footage, providing an insight into the 8-year journey of those who successfully connected North America and Europe, for the first time.
Together, their ingenuity and relentless pursuit helps realise one of the great scientific accomplishments of their age.
Today, City of Fengyang, east-central China. Archaeologists are hard at work. This ancient imperial city, rediscovered by chance over 50 years ago, has never been excavated. Initial excavations reveal a gigantic city, even more imposing than Beijing’s famous Imperial City. What did it look like? When and how was it built, and why was it destroyed in obscure circumstances?
We discover the treasures and peculiarities of a forgotten city with a unique destiny, which has suffered from oblivion and the ravages of time. At the same time, scientists are carrying out numerous geophysical, geological and chemical analyses to help them understand how this city, which served as a model for Beijing’s prestigious Forbidden City, was built, then destroyed and abandoned…
By following this unique archaeological excavation, the restoration of several of the city’s buildings and its virtual reconstruction, the story of the forgotten imperial palace of Fengyang and its builder, Emperor ZhuYuanzhang, is revealed anew.
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As the second world war engulfed the globe, buildings – historic, magnificent, monumental, were brought crashing to the ground. Whole cities were flattened, knocked down and burned down. But from the devastation, through vast re-planning, restructuring and re-building – emerged new cities for a new world. This is the story of those cities that were attacked, damaged and destroyed during WWII that rose again – from the ashes.
Egypt created the world’s first empire, yet much of what we know about ancient Egyptian culture is pieced together from very little archaeological evidence, and so many intriguing mysteries remain. New scientific techniques are now enabling historians to uncover many of these hidden secrets. Behind them lie tales of power and intrigue, love and madness, passion and murder.
In 1943, a troop transport ship operated by the Italian Royal Navy called the Francesco Crispi, was attacked by an enemy submarine off the cost of Corsica. The Crispi sank within 16 minutes, taking 945 of the 1300 men with it. More than 70 years after the tragic event, researchers surveyed the wreck at a depth of over 100 metres in Corsican waters. Using a wire-guided underwater robot that can descend to a depth of 1000 metres, investigations have brought new information to light and provide answers to the families of the men who were lost.
During the Cold War, the US Atomic Energy Commission carried out top-secret activities in the Pacific Ocean. The US Marines aboard the USS Curtiss were ordered to detonate a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, but due to critical errors in the scientific calculations, the incident was the worst radiological disaster in US history. To this day, it is the biggest detonation ever set off by the US Government, creating a mushroom cloud 40,000 metres high and 7 kilometres wide, and generated a worldwide backlash against atmospheric nuclear testing.
Burning Sky reveals the secrets of this mission, we hear from participants involved in the experiment, experience the devastating aftermath of the mission, and hear from scientists about why the operation went so wrong. The film also reveals the impact of extensive radiological contamination and how the fallout affected nearby islands, and how the US Government is assisting the native islanders, their region, and others who have been affected.
A documentary series about the evolution of humanity’s greatest breakthroughs, the individuals and their connections, and the often entirely unexpected circumstances behind the shaping of our modern world.
From the first discoveries to today’s modern marvels, there exists an unbroken chain of remarkable individuals who had the courage and the will to shape their time, drawing inspiration from those who came before them.
Six Degrees of Inspiration showcases the indomitable spirit of human innovation, emphasizing that behind every ground-breaking invention, there’s a story of perseverance, vision, and unwavering determination.
This documentary film delves deep into the mysterious and catastrophic collapse of ancient civilizations during the late Bronze Age, as empires from Greece to ancient Egypt were wiped off the map. It explores the various theories and hypotheses that have emerged to explain their sudden downfall, revealing the tumultuous events that brought an end to a once-thriving era of human history.
Through invasions, mega-droughts, natural disasters, and rebellions, we discover the complex web of factors that were involved. With stunning visual imagery, expert interviews and immersive storytelling, this film offers a fascinating glimpse into one of the most pivotal and enigmatic periods of human history. And it warns that we could be facing a similar combination of threats today.
The ancient Maya built an incredible society in a tropical rainforest that thrived for over two thousand years – and then vanished.
For a millennia the jungle lay undisturbed, hiding their secrets. New discoveries and new science can now tell the story. Hidden deep in sacred caves lies evidence of when the rains stopped coming – and for how long. Advanced bone analysis from hundreds of graves tells us what the Maya ate, where they came from, and what changed in their lives. Lidar strips away the jungle and CGI shows their world in a way never seen before, revealing the incredible geo-engineering and complexity that allowed cities to grow to immense size – perhaps too big.
The most amazing new find – the KomKom vase – is the only written account of its kind, detailing events at the cusp of collapse. It speaks of a story of war, family power struggles between divine god-kings, failing power in the face of climate change, and murder. Experts lead us deep into the sacred caves to the site of escalating offerings, human sacrifice and in final desperation, child sacrifice. In the thick jungle, key sites reveal enigmatic piles of goods and bodies buried in palace rubble, as chaos and desperation grew, until – the end of their world.