BBC Panorama - The Brothers Who Bombed Boston (2013)

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On the 15th of April, in the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11, two homemade bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 200 participants and spectators. With interviews with those who knew them, Panorama reporter Hilary Andersson explores how the two suspected bombers - brothers raised and educated in the US - became radicalised, and asks if America's war on terror has come home.

With the surviving brother due to stand trial later this year, she goes on patrol with New York Police Department's anti-terrorist squad which uses the latest technology to protect New Yorkers from future terrorist attacks. But she finds a backlash amongst many Muslims in America against law enforcement programmes they believe are designed specifically to profile, map and spy on Muslims. Panorama asks: are the authorities spying on the right people?

Further Information

• BBC Site

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NHK - African Dream (2010)

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In 1960, numerous African countries gained their independence from the European colonial rule. The year is known as "the year of Africa." Now a half-century later -- while many African countries are still gripped by frequent conflicts, widespread corruption, and severe poverty -- economic growth, backed by abundant natural resources and a huge market of 900 million people, is changing Africa. What was once known as the Dark Continent is being transformed into the Continent of Hope. African Dream presents a three-part series revealing the new face of Africa

Part 1: Rwanda Pursues a Miracle
Rwanda was rocked by the ethnic massacres and environmental devastation in the 1990s. But during the past several years, the country achieved a phenomenal recovery called the "Rwanda miracle" with an average annual economic growth rate of nearly 10%. This growth was driven by "diaspora," the four million Rwandans who were scattered around the world to escape the chaos in the country. They are now returning to Rwanda, bringing with them wealth, knowledge, and technology. The "diaspora" is not only contributing to generate the country' s economic growth but also trying to achieve ethnic reconciliation. Will these attempts to heal the nation prove successful?


Part 2: Power to the People Africas Mineral Corridor
Africa is abundant in natural resources. However, until recently, Africa had just been their provider. Enormous Western capital had taken a major part in extracting, processing these resources, controlling their sales, and successfully reaping most of the huge profits. Now African countries are prepared to take on a larger role. Tanzania is investing its own funds instead of western capital to mine gold. They are using the profits to build a well and other facilities. Meanwhile, Botswana established its first diamond trade center. By being an integral part of the entire process from excavation to marketing, Botswana seeks to develop business which equals that of western capital.


Part 3: The Power of Immigrants
South Africa is Africa' s biggest economic power. Holding a key to this economic growth are its emigrants. The South African government introduced an unprecedented program that allows in effect, the free influx of people from neighboring Zimbabwe without a passport. Many of the people who come from Zimbabwe, where the unemployment rate reaches 80%, have received some form of higher education. South Africa welcomes them as a cheap but good-quality workforce. Thus many immigrants from Zimbabwe come to South Africa to seek their "African dream." On the other hand, South Africans whose jobs have been taken away are showing violent reactions against these immigrant workers.


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• Africa On The Move
• Africa Megaflyover
• An African Journey

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BBC - Das Auto: The Germans, Their Cars and Us (2013)

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Documentary examining Germany's economic power and the automobile industry at the heart of it. Across the world, the badges of Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes inspire immediate awe. Even in Britain, where memories of Second World War run deep, we can't resist the appeal of a German car. By contrast, our own industry is a shadow of its former self. Historian Dominic Sandbrook asks what it is we got wrong, and what the Germans got so right.

Further Information

• BBC Site

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BBC - Kumbh Mela: The Greatest Show on Earth (2013)

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Kumbh Mela: The Greatest Show on Earth
February 2013, Allahabad, India. Over the next 55 days, nearly a hundred million people will come here, to the Great Kumbh Mela. This incredible and awe-inspiring celebration of the world's oldest religion happens every 12 years at the place where Hindus believe two sacred rivers meet. For many Hindus this is their most important pilgrimage, and it happens at one of the most holy sites in India. Hindus come to cleanse themselves in the sacred waters of the river Ganges, to pray and emerge purified and renewed. This follows British pilgrims as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. A journey that will take them into the heart of Hinduism - its philosophy, its beliefs and its traditions. A journey that will culminate in the largest ever gathering of humans in one place.

Further Information

• Kumbh Mela

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Discovery Channel - When Dinosaurs Ruled (2000)

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When Dinosaurs Ruled
This is a collection of 8 DVDs examining the discovery and our understanding of dinosaurs - palaeontology - through interviews with current dinosaur hunters - palaeontologists - and reconstructions or original film of them at work, with occasional archive footage of early explorers. You get to see the palaeontologists in their natural habitats, searching for and digging up bones, as well as many scenes set in museums, workshops and laboratories, with some major discoveries being shown or reconstructed - and reconstruction is what palaeontology is all about! Mixed in with this is CGI footage of the dinosaurs in their habitats, going about their business, which is mainly stamping about or hunting each other. The CGI is not of the standard of the BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs , but this is not that sort of programme - this one focuses on the modern-day discovery of the evidence for the dinosaurs, with illustrations / scenes of how those dinosaurs might have looked or behaved,

Part 1: The Land Time Forgot
This programme takes us beyond the lush forests, roaring lions and the blazing sun of Africa to reveal the World's most remote and hard to reach dinosaur fossils known to exist. We follow paleontologist Paul Sereno and his team from the southern tip of Africa to the northern reaches of Morocco as we meet some of the most diverse dinosaurs to have roamed our World.


Part 2: Ground Zero
This DVD focuses on dinosaurs found in South America and the hunt for the first dinosaur. The DVD's special features include direct scene access where you can jump between thematic sections such as Nomadic Dinosaurs, Small Dinosaurs, and Disaster in Tunisia, a trivia quiz to see how well you remember the information presented, and spotlighted dinosaurs where you can jump to the specific dinosaurs presented--Majungotholus, Rahonavis, Kirky, Carchardontosaurus, Deltadromeus, Spinosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Massospondylus.


Part 3: At the Ends of the Earth
In the searing heat of Australia and frozen wastes of Antarctica, the dinosaurs that ruled these lands were the toughest creatures that ever lived. Follow a path of over 3000 footprints left in soft clay, proof that dinosaurs lived in the deadly Outback.


Part 4: Birth of the Giants
Far beneath the ruins of Europe's glorious civilisations lies an even more ancient World when dinosaurs were kings. From the Isle of Wight to Los Hoyas in Spain, leading paleontologists trace the rise and fall of the European dinosaurs.


Part 5: Asia the Land of the Dragon
This programme looks at the major dinosaur discoveries made in China and Mongolia, including "cutting edge science, extraordinary locations and intrepid scientists. In addition to its unique dino-birds, China boasts the greatest number of dinosaur eggs and embryos in the world"; not to mention the secret origin of the T-Rex...


Part 6: Beyond T Rex
Everyone knows that the T-Rex was the King of the Dinosaurs, the fiercest and meanest flesh eater of them all. However, Beyond T-Rex scours the area from Morocco to Patagonia to unearth two new killer dinosaurs, Giganotosaurus and Carcharadontosaurus, who could have been even more ruthless.


Part 7: Tyrannosaurus Rex
Was T-Rex the most fearsome predator of all time or a simple scavenger? Did he ponderously stalk his prey or was he as fleet-footed as a bird? Was he actually a doting parent and not the fierce killer he's been portrayed to be? From its origins to its downfall, this programme looks for clues that can fill in the crucial details and unlock the mysteries of the T-Rex.


Further Information

• en.wikipedia.org

Related Documentaries

• When Dinosaurs Ruled - The Real Jurassic Park

Channel 4 - Grand Designs: Collection 8 (2009)

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Grand Designs: Collection 8
In the eighth Collection of Grand Designs, Kevin McCloud is once again amazed by the ingenuity and determination of the families who set out to build their dream homes, this series features more extraordinary builds where people risk everything.

Part 1: The Apprentice Store
Ian and Sophie Cooper met at university and have since spent their time together enjoying life in London. Ian works as a marketing consultant in telecoms and Sophie is a sales manager for a fashion firm. Both are passionate about design. They've done the usual thing of renovating flats and moving on... but three years ago they realised they wanted a different kind of life in a different kind of building.


Part 2: Newport Folly
Sarah and Dean Berry grew up on a council estate in Newport. Having moved away to London and made good, they have now returned home 17 years later and bought an 18th century folly – a castle perched on a hilltop. They not only plan to restore the folly to its former glory, but wrap a large modern extension around the original structure, with lots of glass to capitalise on the amazing views.


Part 3: The Eco Arch
Young architect Richard Hawkes and his wife Sophie have decided to move out of London to live the good life in the Kent countryside. They buy a plot of land on which they plan to grow their own food, and lead as sustainable a life as possible. For Richard it's an opportunity to experiment and build the house of his dreams; one that embraces cutting-edge green technologies and is capable of providing almost all its own energy.


Part 4: Brittany Groundhouse
Daren Howarth and partner Adi Nortje live in Brighton, and are champions of sustainable living. They want to build an earth-sheltered home from recycled materials, based on ideas pioneered in the 1970s in New Mexico. But land prices and planning laws have forced them out of England, across the Channel to Brittany, in France.


Part 5: The Marlborough Farm House
Kevin McCloud meets dairy farmer Andrew Ainslie and his artist wife Meryl, who runs a gallery on their farm in Wiltshire. But their farmhouse has been separated from their land by the expanding village, and Andrew and Meryl want to build a new house at the heart of their farm, so they can keep an eye on their herd of 200 cattle.


Part 6: The Headcorn Minimalist House
Mimi D'Costa and her husband Andre have moved to the Kent countryside to bring up their two boys. They have bought a large plot of land and want to build a home on it that is functional enough to serve their young family, but that will also blend beautifully into the landscape.


Part 7: The Brighton Modern Mansion
Barry Surtees, a self-made property developer, his wife Julie and their teenage children live in a large comfortable house in Brighton's most moneyed suburb. Barry decides to build a four storey modern mansion, complete with pool, gym, artist's studio, fantasy bedroom and Japanese roof garden.


Further Information

• www.channel4.com