The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
HMS Pickle is the unsung hero of the British navy. In 1805 Britain had just won the most significant sea battle in history, Trafalgar. But how to get the message home to an expectant nation? Enter the Pickle, the smallest ship in the fleet, a little boat with a revolutionary new design that beat her bigger rivals back to Britain to deliver the news. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe sets out in the Pickle and tells the story of a boat that, against all the odds, delivered the most important news in Britain's maritime history.
Novelist Joseph Conrad described the sea as another planet. Majestic, dramatic and sometimes terrifying, the sea has held a real fascination for British writers. From Shakespeare to Coleridge, Robert Louis Stevenson to Patrick O'Brian, it has inspired some of our most gifted authors.
Poet and novelist Owen Sheers sets off to discover whether there is anything that unites the great British sea stories. In the company of both seafarers and sea writers, he explores the transformative effect that the sea has had on the human mind.
Documentary which brings the story of the coach up to date, as it explores the most recent phase of Britain's love affair with group travel on four wheels - from school trips and football away-days to touring with bands and 'magic bus' overland treks to India.
The establishment of the National Coach Company may have standardised the livery and the experience of mainstream coach travel in the 1970s, but a multitude of alternative offerings meant the coach retained its hold on the public imagination, with even striking miners and New Age travellers getting in on a very British act.
Documentary series which celebrates the birth of motorways and hails the achievements of those behind the 'road revolution'. The first episode takes us from the excitement of the building of the first motorway in Britain, the M6 Preston By-pass, to the celebration of the most complex, Spaghetti Junction.
With amazing archive and often hilarious public information films, we take a trip back to a time when not only were motorways exciting and new, but there was also no speed limit. Interviews with the engineers who designed them, the navvies who built them and the people who drove on them bring to life and celebrate an achievement that we now take so much for granted.
The second episode in this evocative series about Britain's motorways explores how they have transformed where we live, work and play in Britain over the last 50 years. From unbelievably glamorous early service stations to contemporary shopping centres with the infrastructure of a small town, this enthralling film is a journey through the wonderful, and the weird, places motorways have taken us. Contributors include seminal planner Sir Peter Hall, author Will Self, caravanners, hitchhikers and commuters, all on our eagerness to accelerate down the slip road, and the social changes that have followed.
When the first motorways opened they did so to national celebration. But after the first 1,000 miles had been built, their impact on both town and country was becoming apparent and people started to protest.
Middle England rose up and disrupted public inquiries to voice their frustration at motorway building, but it continued and over time the frustration gave way to concerns about saving the planet. In the early 1990s that meant young people willing to risk everything to stop the motorways being built. The programme shows how people began to question the promises made by the motorway, and along the way found their voice of protest.
THURSDAY 13 JANUARY 2011
THU 19:00 World News Today (b00xf7jl)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Storyville (b00rh93j)
Barbados at the Races
The Jockey's Prayer
Four-part series looking at Barbados today through the lives, at work and at play, of the island's horse racing community. The series is centred on the Barbados Turf Club and follows the stories of a colourful cast of characters, from the big white owners at the top of the tree right down to the poor black exercise riders and grooms. The Club and its racecourse have been based at the former British army garrison on the edge of the island's capital, Bridgetown, for over a hundred years. The quirky and, at times, spiritually-minded series looks at how the culture of Barbados today, its institutions and the mindset of its people, have been shaped by the colonial past and the legacy of slavery.
This part is about the lives of three very different riders and centres on the life of the Bajan jockey - the trials and deprivations of keeping on top of your game, the glory and glamour of success and the temptations and pitfalls that can come hand in hand with financial rewards. All these forces create a tight-knit community united by their mutual competitiveness and their love of the adrenaline-fuelled buzz of the track.
THU 20:00 The Joy of Stats (b00wgq0l)
Documentary which takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride through the wonderful world of statistics to explore the remarkable power they have to change our understanding of the world, presented by superstar boffin Professor Hans Rosling, whose eye-opening, mind-expanding and funny online lectures have made him an international internet legend.
Rosling is a man who revels in the glorious nerdiness of statistics, and here he entertainingly explores their history, how they work mathematically and how they can be used in today's computer age to see the world as it really is, not just as we imagine it to be.
Rosling's lectures use huge quantities of public data to reveal the story of the world's past, present and future development. Now he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes.
The film also explores cutting-edge examples of statistics in action today. In San Francisco, a new app mashes up police department data with the city's street map to show what crime is being reported street by street, house by house, in near real-time. Every citizen can use it and the hidden patterns of their city are starkly revealed. Meanwhile, at Google HQ the machine translation project tries to translate between 57 languages, using lots of statistics and no linguists.
Despite its light and witty touch, the film nonetheless has a serious message - without statistics we are cast adrift on an ocean of confusion, but armed with stats we can take control of our lives, hold our rulers to account and see the world as it really is. What's more, Hans concludes, we can now collect and analyse such huge quantities of data and at such speeds that scientific method itself seems to be changing.
THU 21:00 The Brain: A Secret History (b00x7cb5)
Emotions
Dr Michael Mosley continues his exploration of the brutal history of experimental psychology. Experiments on the human mind have led to profound insights into how our brain works - but have also involved great cruelty and posed some terrible ethical dilemmas.
In this film, Michael investigates how scientists have struggled to understand that most irrational and deeply complex part of our minds - our emotions.
Michael meets survivors - both participants and scientists - of some of the key historical experiments. Many of these extraordinary research projects were captured on film - an eight-month-old boy is taught to fear random objects, baby monkeys are given mothers made from wire and cloth, and an adult is deliberately violent before a group of toddlers.
Michael takes part in modern-day experiments to play his own small part in the quest to understand emotions.
THU 22:00 Five Daughters (b00s8j55)
Episode 2
With the discovery of two bodies in quick succession, fear and panic begin to take hold on the streets of Ipswich.
Based on the testimony of many of those most closely involved with those tragic events, this episode follows the young women and their families as more disappearances are reported and the police investigation quickens.
THU 23:00 Priceless (b00xf5fn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
THU 00:40 The Brain: A Secret History (b00x7cb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THU 01:40 Mental: A History of the Madhouse (b00sfpvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Tuesday]
THU 02:40 Storyville (b00rh93j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 03:10 The Brain: A Secret History (b00x7cb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 14 JANUARY 2011
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00xf7jx)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Mozart Uncovered (b0074q3f)
Symphony No 39 in E Flat
Conductor Charles Hazlewood rehearses and performs some of the key works featured in the BBC series The Genius of Mozart and analyses them in more detail. Mozart's Symphony No 39 in E flat major, K543 is examined by Hazlewood and his specially-formed period orchestra. This was the first of Mozart's three last great symphonies, written in an extraordinary burst of creativity in just six weeks.
FRI 20:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b007zmn2)
Series 3
Episode 2
Folk musicians come together in what have been called the greatest backporch shows ever. Jerry Douglas demonstrates his Grammy award-winning dobro skills and other highlights include Eddi Reader with Tim O'Brien, Julie Fowlis with Donal Lunny and Darrell Scott backed by Karen Matheson.
FRI 21:00 The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (b00xf8k7)
During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, Sister Rosetta Tharpe played a highly significant role in the creation of rock & roll, inspiring musicians like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. She may not be a household name, but this flamboyant African-American gospel singing superstar, with her spectacular virtuosity on the newly-electrified guitar, was one of the most influential popular musicians of the 20th century.
Tharpe was born in 1915, close to the Mississippi in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. At the age of six she was taken by her evangelist mother Katie Bell to Chicago to join Roberts Temple, Church of God in Christ, where she developed her distinctive style of singing and guitar playing. At the age of 23 she left the church and went to New York to join the world of show business, signing with Decca Records. For the following 30 years she performed extensively to packed houses in the USA and subsequently Europe, before her death in 1973.
In 2008 the state governor of Pennsylvania declared that henceforth January 11th will be Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day in recognition of her remarkable musical legacy.
FRI 22:00 Hugh Masekela: Welcome to South Africa (b00s6bln)
South African musician Hugh Masekela celebrates his 70th birthday and reflects on his career in performance and interview, from first picking up a trumpet in the 50s through the apartheid years, exile and stardom in America, his return to South Africa on Nelson Mandela's release, and concluding with his vision of the future for his country.
The programme also features performances from his 70th birthday concert at the Barbican in London in December 2009, where he was joined by the London Symphony Orchestra, their Community Choir and guest South African singers.
FRI 23:00 Legends (b00vv0zz)
Roll over Beethoven - The Chess Records Saga
Chicago's Chess Records was one of the greatest labels of the post-war era, ranking alongside other mighty independents like Atlantic, Stax and Sun. From 1950 till its demise at the end of the 60s, Chess released a myriad of electric blues, rock 'n' roll and soul classics that helped change the landscape of black and white popular music.
Chess was the label that gave the world such sonic adventurers as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf and Etta James. In this documentary to mark the label's 60th anniversary, the likes of Jimmy Page, Mick Hucknall, Public Enemy's Chuck D, Paul Jones and Little Steven, as well as those attached to the label such as founder's son Marshall Chess, pay tribute to its extraordinary music and influence.
The film reveals how two Polish immigrants, Leonard and Phil Chess, forged friendships with black musicians in late 1940s Chicago, shrewdly building a speciality blues label into a huge independent worth millions by the end of the 1960s. Full of vivid period detail, it places the Chess story within a wider social and historical context - as well as being about some of the greatest music ever recorded, it is, inevitably, about race in America during these tumultuous times.
FRI 00:00 The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (b00xf8k7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:00 Arena (b00wbp64)
Dave Brubeck - In His Own Sweet Way
Three young men who emerged in the 1950s - Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Dave Brubeck - not only captured the public's imagination, but in their own unique way determined the evolution of jazz as we know it today.
This Clint Eastwood co-produced documentary tells Dave Brubeck's personal story, tracing his career from his first musical experiences to the overwhelming success of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the iconic status he and his varied forms of musical expression have achieved.
It is told with contemporary interviews, vintage performances, previously unseen archive and additional performances filmed especially for the documentary. The story is also told by Dave and Iola Brubeck, both in their own words and by musical example. Contributors include Bill Cosby, Jamie Cullum, Yo-Yo Ma, George Lucas and Eastwood himself.
In 2009 Brubeck was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, with Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen, Grace Bumbry and Mel Brooks. He played with his sons for President Obama at the White House, and 55 years ago became the first jazz musician to appear on the cover of Time magazine. His classic Take Five is as familiar today as in 1959 when it was a Top 10 hit all over the world.
Brubeck has an unlikely origin for a jazz giant, growing up on a ranch in Monterey, California. Monterey resident Clint Eastwood introduced Brubeck and his Cannery Row Suite at the 2006 Monterey Jazz Festival and each were so inspired by the success of the event they agreed to move forward with this full-length documentary together.
FRI 02:30 Hugh Masekela: Welcome to South Africa (b00s6bln)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 03:30 The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (b00xf8k7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
Arena
01:00 FRI (b00wbp64)
Art of the Sea
20:00 WED (b00s96xz)
Art of the Sea
02:00 WED (b00s96xz)
Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's
20:00 TUE (b00j8bwk)
Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's
02:00 TUE (b00j8bwk)
Classic Albums
23:40 SUN (b00x7chg)
Dan Snow's Norman Walks
20:00 SUN (b00t6yc2)
Dan Snow's Norman Walks
02:20 SUN (b00t6yc2)
Five Daughters
22:00 THU (b00s8j55)
Girl with a Pearl Earring
23:50 SAT (b008m44c)
Gracie!
22:30 SAT (b00p1p41)
Horizon
00:00 TUE (b00x7cb3)
Hugh Masekela: Welcome to South Africa
22:00 FRI (b00s6bln)
Hugh Masekela: Welcome to South Africa
02:30 FRI (b00s6bln)
John Sergeant on Tracks of Empire
19:30 MON (b00t3tj6)
Johnny Kingdom's Year with the Birds
20:30 SUN (b00vnf8g)
Legends
23:00 FRI (b00vv0zz)
Macbeth
00:00 MON (b00wnstq)
Mental: A History of the Madhouse
22:00 TUE (b00sfpvf)
Mental: A History of the Madhouse
01:40 THU (b00sfpvf)
Mozart Uncovered
19:30 FRI (b0074q3f)
Only Connect
20:30 MON (b00xygp6)
Penelope Keith and the Fast Lady
19:00 SAT (b00hq4fd)
Penelope Keith and the Fast Lady
01:00 WED (b00hq4fd)
Priceless
22:00 SUN (b00xf5fn)
Priceless
23:00 THU (b00xf5fn)
Rich Hall's 'The Dirty South'
21:00 MON (b00t26zf)
Rich Hall's 'The Dirty South'
02:30 MON (b00t26zf)
Rock Goes to College
00:35 SUN (b00phv9m)
Secret Lives of the Artists
21:00 TUE (b0074qm1)
Secret Lives of the Artists
01:00 TUE (b0074qm1)
Still Folk Dancing... After All These Years
21:00 SUN (b00wgrtr)
Still Folk Dancing... After All These Years
01:20 SUN (b00wgrtr)
Storyville
22:30 MON (b00xf6jl)
Storyville
03:00 TUE (b00xf6jl)
Storyville
19:30 THU (b00rh93j)
Storyville
02:40 THU (b00rh93j)
The Beauty of Maps
19:30 TUE (b00s3v0t)
The Boats That Built Britain
19:30 WED (b00sbp0t)
The Brain: A Secret History
23:00 TUE (b00xhgkd)
The Brain: A Secret History
21:00 THU (b00x7cb5)
The Brain: A Secret History
00:40 THU (b00x7cb5)
The Brain: A Secret History
03:10 THU (b00x7cb5)
The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
21:00 FRI (b00xf8k7)
The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
00:00 FRI (b00xf8k7)
The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
03:30 FRI (b00xf8k7)
The Joy of Stats
20:00 THU (b00wgq0l)
The Normans
19:00 SUN (b00tcgkl)
The Normans
02:50 SUN (b00tcgkl)
The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse
21:00 SAT (b00x9b7w)
The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse
02:20 SAT (b00x9b7w)
The Secret Life of the Motorway
22:00 WED (b007x58q)
The Secret Life of the Motorway
23:00 WED (b007xmbm)
The Secret Life of the Motorway
00:00 WED (b007xmdn)
Timeshift
20:00 SAT (b00x7c3z)
Timeshift
01:20 SAT (b00x7c3z)
Timeshift
21:00 WED (b00xf6xk)
Timeshift
03:00 WED (b00xf6xk)
Transatlantic Sessions
20:30 FRI (b007zmn2)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b00xf6jj)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b00xf6p1)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b00xf6xh)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b00xf7jl)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b00xf7jx)