Documentaries

What Is Quantum?
Marnie Chesterton travels to the birthplace of quantum theory armed with just one question
01 Jan 2026,28 mins
Serendipity
Derry Boys
The story of two Derry boys and a 50-year-old friendship which defied the odds.
03 Apr 2023,28 mins
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Faith on the Move
A journey with the chaplains who support travellers on Britain’s rail network.
20 Mar 2020,28 mins
A Walk on the Supply Side
Duncan Weldon explores the past, present and uncertain future of supply-side economics.
01 Nov 2022,28 mins
Assisted Loving
Navigating the world of sex and relationships for people with learning disabilities.
09 Dec 2019,28 mins
James Wong's Alternative Country Garden
Garden designer James Wong asks if British gardening is stuck in the past.
16 Sep 2016,30 mins
Gegs (9,4)* - A Cryptic History
James Peak embarks on an odyssey to discover the history of the cryptic crossword.
07 Apr 2024,28 mins
Angels In the North
Gabrielle Drake looks at regional theatre through the story of Manchester's Royal Exchange
01 Nov 2011,30 mins
Guns and Coders
Al Letson explores how new high-tech safer guns are being opposed across America.
17 Jul 2017,28 mins
Four Nations Four Schools
Laura McInerney looks at education in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
29 Nov 2022,37 mins
Vessels of Memory: Glass Ships of Sunderland
Now an endangered craft, discover the lost legacy of Sunderland’s glass ships in bottles.
23 Jun 2024,28 mins
Can My Eleven Year Old Fix My Life?
Can 11-year-old Arthur bring some positive thinking into his dad’s life?
07 May 2019,28 mins
Xanadu
Daljit Nagra explores the world of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous poem, Kubla Khan.
16 Oct 2022,28 mins
The Hunt for the Gay Whale
Can animals be gay? Hermione Cockburn investigates the biologists who say they can.
26 Jun 2012,28 mins
Tracking the Planet
Navigating the Anthropocene
Emily Knight tells stories of our changing planet, though the animals which call it home.
28 Mar 2024,28 mins
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American Socialist
Jill Lepore explores the life of Eugene V. Debs and the legacy of his socialist politics.
18 Aug 2024,28 mins
The Truth Police
Meet the outsiders detecting fraud, malpractice and incompetence in science.
08 May 2023,28 mins
The Hidden Loss
An emotional programme exploring the difficult and rarely discussed subject of baby loss.
27 Feb 2020,30 mins
How Wars End
James Naughtie examines the possible outcomes of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
12 Feb 2023,28 mins
The New Silk Road with Roger Law
Roger Law visits Yi Wu in China, fast becoming the biggest marketplace in the world.
29 Jul 2011,28 mins
The Trouble with Kane
Episode 2
Therapist Amanda Singh continues her work with a twelve year cannabis user and his family.
21 May 2012,28 mins
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Butterfly Mind
Can a Shaman cure writer's block? Playwright, David Greig, tries to find out.
03 Nov 2016,30 mins
Captured By Pirates
Schoolgirls captured by pirates in 1935, then interned in the war, tell their stories.
22 Mar 2010,30 mins
The Invisible Man of Britain's Far Right
An investigation into Jim Dowson, the front man for Knights Templar International.
01 May 2018,38 mins
A Korean Thaw?
From bombs to Olympic banners. Can winter sports diplomacy stop a war between the Koreas?
12 Feb 2018,30 mins
Is Trump Remaking America?
James Naughtie examines the ways President Trump is changing American society and politics
21 Jan 2018,30 mins
Ukraine: War and Words
An exploration of how the war in Ukraine is affecting the production of writing and books.
10 Nov 2022,28 mins
Deciding Fast and Slow
Elinor Goodman investigates how government ministers take decisions in the 21st century.
18 Jan 2016,28 mins
Art and Resistance in Taiwan
A journey into the Taipei underground art scene.
28 Mar 2023,28 mins
Sweet Reason
Series 1
Experts
Experts - are they to be trusted?
23 Aug 2018,28 mins
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