BBC Four

Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession

Map expert Professor Jerry Brotton uncovers how maps aren't simply about getting from A to B, but are revealing snapshots of defining moments in history and tools of political power and persuasion.

The Music of the Primes

For more than 2,000 years, a mathematical riddle has baffled the world’s greatest minds. It’s a problem of such difficulty that it has tormented those brave enough to tackle it. Some have given up in despair. Others have been driven mad. Primes are fundamental to mathematics yet they seem to surface entirely randomly along the number line. But are the primes truly random or is there some hidden pattern? It’s the greatest unsolved problem of mathematics. In The Music of the Primes, Marcus du Sautoy investigates the fascinating story of great mathematicians who have all grappled with the problem of the primes

Beautiful Minds

Beautiful Minds is a BBC documentary series shown on BBC Four, which features significant British scientists who describe their big moment or discovery. The first series aired in April 2010, and the second series in April 2012. Each series consists of three episodes

Indian Hill Railways

From the Himalayas in the north to the Nilgiris in the south - for a hundred years these little trains have climbed through the clouds and into the wonderful world of Indian hill railways.

Les secrets de la matière

Chemistry: A Volatile History

Jim Al-Khalili traces the story of how the elements, the building blocks that make up our entire world, were discovered and mapped.

Shooting the War

Series looking at how WW2 was documented by German and British amateur home movie makers.

The Pharaoh Who Conquered the Sea

Legend has it that Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt's first female pharaoh, sent ships to the land of Punt. Cheryl Ward sets out to recreate the voyage, in search of this mythical land.

Lost Kingdoms of Africa

Lost Kingdoms of Africa is a British television documentary series. It is produced by the BBC. It describes the pre-colonial history of Africa. The series is narrated by Dr. Gus Casely-Hayford. The series was originally commissoned as part of the Wonderful Africa Season on BBC Four in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup. The first season of Lost Kingdoms of Africa was originally screened in the UK on BBC Four each Tuesday night over four weeks, starting on 5 January 2010. The second season of Lost Kingdoms of Africa was broadcast over four weeks, starting on 30 January 2012.

The Art of Russia

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon travels through time to unlock the world of Russian art.

Games Britannia

Historian Benjamin Woolley unravels the cultural and social significance of popular games in Britain from the Iron Age to the Information Age.

A History Of Christianity

Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch - one of the world's leading historians - reveals the origins of Christianity and explores what it means to be a Christian.

Culture Fix

Art Deco Icons

Glamour's Golden Age

Series looking at the 1920s and 30s, which creates a portrait of an age so daring, influential and exciting that it still shapes who we are today.

It's Only a Theory

It's Only a Theory is a British television panel game show, first aired on BBC Four in 2009. It was conceived by and starred Andy Hamilton and featured Reginald D. Hunter as a regular panelist. Announced by the BBC in April 2009, the eight episode series was produced by Hat Trick Productions. The panelists discuss theories "about life, the universe and everything" submitted by professionals and experts. The panel debates each theory and decides whether it is worth keeping.

Electric Dreams

A family of six and their home are stripped of all their modern technology to live a life of decades past. In each episode, the family lives through a given decade at a rate of a year per day. They have their own Technical Support Team to source and supply them with the vintage technology that would have been available to British households during the decade.

Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe

Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe was a special one-off British, video game culture show by Charlie Brooker, aired in September 2009 during the BBC's Technology season. Following on from Brooker's Screenwipe and Newswipe, Gameswipe featured reviews of various video games and consoles as well as an insight into the video game industry.

Getting On

Darkly comic series about life on a hospital ward and a nursing team who have to get on with the job despite challenges thrown up by the modern NHS.

Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer?

During the reign of Henry VIII much was created buildings, music, artworks. Did this compensate for the destruction of the monastries and their treasures?