Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London return to report on the events that are shaping the world.
Untrained mariner Timothy Spall has spent a fortune on technology for his new challenge - the unpredictable Irish Sea - as he and his wife continue their mini-odyssey around Britain.
Entering Liverpool means navigating their first big city since leaving London, but reaching dry land can be daunting in a small boat when dodging tankers and ferries. It's even more difficult when the coastguard sends him round in circles because he's on the wrong side of the marker buoys.
On his way to Glasson Dock in Lancashire, Tim is tricked again by another buoy. Misunderstanding his sea chart results in an unplanned dropped anchor in the middle of the Irish Sea, where they have to wait all night before he can enter the port.
Their next destination finds them in the company of royalty - Piel Island near Barrow-in-Furness has the unusual honour of having its own king and queen, a tradition which goes back centuries.
Canadian wildlife film-maker Jeff Turner returns to his roots and embarks on a beautiful and lyrical exploration of the wildlife around his home in the Cascade Mountains of southwestern British Columbia. Tracking the wildlife through the four seasons of one year, he encounters many animals from his childhood including black bears, a family of osprey, coyotes and mule deer. But the animal he most wants to find and film is one of the few remaining grizzly bears that still survive in these mountains.
The sequel to Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike sees award-winning film-maker Terry Abraham return to the Lake District to showcase 'the people's mountain' - Blencathra.
This spectacular documentary looks at the lives of local residents, schoolchildren and visitors to the mountain with contributions from comedian Ed Byrne, broadcaster Stuart Maconie, mountaineer Alan Hinkes OBE and record-breaking fell runner Steve Birkinshaw.
Abraham's breathtaking photography and stunning time-lapse sequences of this unique landscape will inspire newcomers and regular visitors alike.
Dr Helen Czerski examines the extraordinary messages sound waves carry and how they help us understand the world around us.
Visiting a hidden location buried beneath the hills of Scotland, Helen experiences some of the most extreme acoustics in the world. Here she learns just how much information can be carried by sound. She discovers how sound has driven the evolution of truly incredible biological systems and complex relationships between creatures that exploit sound for hunting - and escaping from predators. Helen demonstrates how sound waves diffract (bend around objects) and in doing so help us sense danger and locate it.
Through the story of a cochlea implant patient Helen explores the complicated way our ears can translate sound waves - a physical vibration in the air - into an electrical signal our brain can understand.
Helen explains how we are not limited to passively detecting sound waves, we can also use them to actively probe the world. From detecting submarines to uncovering the secrets of our planet, sound waves are instrumental in revealing things hidden from the world of light. On the cold North Sea, Helen investigates how marine archaeologists are using sound waves to uncover the remarkable human stories buried beneath the sea. Yet we are not limited to using sound waves here on Earth, as Helen explains how sound has been used to better understand distant, alien worlds in the outer solar system.
Eamonn McCabe explores how British photographers responded to the most important events of the first half of the 20th century and traces the emergence of a new genre of photography - photojournalism. His journey begins at the Daily Mirror's press plant in Watford, which broke new ground with its dynamic coverage of the siege of Sidney Street in 1911, before tracing the footsteps of pioneering female photojournalist Christina Broom and discovering how cheaper cameras enabled British soldiers to become citizen journalists during the First World War.
Eamonn is joined by Mahtab Hussain to discuss the work of Bill Brandt, who in 1937 travelled to the north of England to record landscapes and portraits of working class communities during the Great Depression. Brandt would go on to work for Picture Post, Britain's most popular news magazine, which was launched in 1938. Armed with a period roll film Leica, Eamonn goes on assignment to the fairground to recreate a famous shoot by the magazine that documented almost every aspect of mid-century life in Britain.
He also sees how photographers captured the Second World War, from the Blitz to shocking images of concentration camps; celebrates photographers who pursued the medium as an art form in its own right; learns about the printing techniques of celebrity portrait photographer Alvin Langdon Coburn; and reflects on Cecil Beaton's glamorous work for Vogue magazine.
Fiona Toye married into a family that has been making regalia for generations, including OBEs for the royal family. The film follows Fiona as she steers this traditional company through the 21st century.
For centuries the west has been enthralled by flamboyant blue-and-white ceramics from China but unaware that all the time the Chinese were making porcelains for themselves that were completely different - subtle monochromes for the Imperial court, beautiful objects for the scholar's table and delicate domestic wares.
Ceramics expert Lars Tharp, Antiques Roadshow resident and presenter of Treasures of Chinese Porcelain, has picked his six favourite pieces representing Chinese taste. He goes on a journey through a thousand years of Chinese history, travelling from the ancient capital of Huangzhou in the south to Beijing's Forbidden City in the north, to uncover what these six pieces tell us about Chinese emperors, scholars, workers, merchants and artists.
To him, they are China in ceramic form. But can they help us to understand China today?
Thomas Chippendale is the most famous furniture designer the world has ever produced, but what about the man behind the chairs? This episode shows how Chippendale worked his way up from humble roots to working for the nobility, but also how he was ruined by the very aristocrats he created such wonders for.
THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2017
THU 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b095bdnr)
Series 1
21/09/2017
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b095fm57)
Peter Powell and Richard Skinner present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 19 July 1984. Featuring The Mighty Wah!, Prince, Billy Idol, Blancmange, Divine, Thompson Twins and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
THU 20:00 British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley (b08bqdzl)
Series 1
The Wars of the Roses
Lucy debunks the foundation myth of one of our favourite royal dynasties, the Tudors.
According to the history books, after 30 years of bloody battles between the white-rosed Yorkists and the red-rosed Lancastrians, Henry Tudor rid us of civil war and the evil king Richard III. But Lucy reveals how the Tudors invented the story of the 'Wars of the Roses' after they came to power to justify their rule.
She shows how Henry and his historians fabricated the scale of the conflict, forged Richard's monstrous persona and even conjured up the image of competing roses. When our greatest storyteller William Shakespeare got in on the act and added his own spin, Tudor fiction was cemented as historical fact.
Taking the story right up to date, with the discovery of Richard III's bones in a Leicester car park, Lucy discovers how 15th-century fibs remain as compelling as they were over 500 years ago. As one colleague tells Lucy: 'Never believe an historian!
THU 21:00 The Horizon Guide to Space Shuttles (b0109cc7)
In 2011, after more than 30 years of service, America's space shuttle took to the skies for the last time. Its story has been characterised by incredible triumphs, but blighted by devastating tragedies - and the BBC and Horizon have chronicled every step of its career. This unique and poignant Horizon Guide brings together coverage from three decades of programmes to present a biography of the shuttle and to ask what its legacy will be. Will it be remembered as an impressive chapter in human space exploration, or as a fatally flawed white elephant?
THU 22:00 Horizon (b095vp3p)
2017
Goodbye Cassini - Hello Saturn
A billion miles from home, running low on fuel, and almost out of time. After 13 years traversing the Saturn system, the spacecraft Cassini is plunging to a fiery death, becoming part of the very planet it has been exploring. As it embarks on its final assignment - a one-way trip into the heart of Saturn - Horizon celebrates the incredible achievements and discoveries of a mission that has changed the way we see the solar system.
Strange new worlds with gigantic ice geysers, hidden underground oceans that could harbour life and a brand new moon coalescing in Saturn's magnificent rings. As the world says goodbye to the great explorer Cassini, Horizon will be there for with a ringside seat for its final moments.
THU 23:00 Horizon (b01mgllj)
2012-2013
How Big Is the Universe?
It is one of the most baffling questions that scientists can ask: how big is the universe that we live in?
Horizon follows the cosmologists who are creating the most ambitious map in history, a map of everything in existence. And it is stranger than anyone had imagined, a universe without end that stretches far beyond what the eye can ever see.
And, if the latest research proves true, our universe may just be the start of something even bigger. Much bigger.
THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b095fm57)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 00:30 Music Moguls: Masters of Pop (p039x53y)
Melody Makers
Part two of this enlightening series exploring the music business from behind the scenes looks at the music producers. These are the men and women who have created the signature sounds that have defined key periods in rock and pop history. Highlights include Trevor Horn on inventing the 'Sound of the Eighties', Lamont Dozier on Motown, and a TV first with legendary producer Tony Visconti taking us through David Bowie's seminal song Heroes.
Narrated by master producer Nile Rodgers.
THU 01:35 The Horizon Guide to Space Shuttles (b0109cc7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THU 02:35 British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley (b08bqdzl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRIDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2017
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b095bdnx)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (b095fnbp)
Simon Bates and Gary Davies present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 2 August 1984. Featuring Black Lace, Kane Gang, A Flock of Seagulls, Trevor Walters, George Michael and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
FRI 20:00 The Live Lounge Show (b095fnbr)
Series 1
P!nk and More
Clara Amfo takes us behind the scenes of Radio 1's Live Lounge - the biggest live studio showcase in the world. Live Lounge sessions happen twice a week across the year, attracting an array of some of the biggest and best artists on the planet. In September, however, it gets turbo-charged with a performance every weekday across the whole month. We bring you the very best of the second week of performances and Live Lounge exclusive interviews.
Clara hosts P!nk in session at the legendary Maida Vale studios and they catch up in between tracks to talk about her incredible career
so far.
Also, there is live music from The Killers, London Grammar, Harry Styles and Stormzy.
This is live performance with a twist as each artist performs their own track and a cover version. Any Live Lounge listeners will know that the cover version is usually a recently released single... but not this year! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Radio 1, the cover can be any track from the last 50 years. With P!nk covering Sam Smith and Harry Styles tackling a classic Fleetwood Mac song, you are in for a real treat.
FRI 21:00 Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou (b081sx50)
Documentary which explores how Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris's careers took off in the 1970s with very distinct takes on country before they ended up uniting as close harmony singers and eventually collaborated on 1987's four-million-selling debut album, Trio.
In the 60s country music was viewed by most of America as blue collar, and Dolly was country through and through. Linda Ronstadt's take on classic country helped make her the biggest female star in mid-70s America. Folkie Emmylou learned about country from mentor Gram Parsons and, after his death in 1973, she became a bandleader in her own right. It was Emmylou and Linda - the two west coast folk rockers - who voiced their mutual appreciation of Dolly, the mountain girl singer from Tennessee, when they became early students of her work.
The artists talk about uniting as harmony singers and eventually collaborating on their debut album, Trio. The album helped launch the mountain music revival that would peak with the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou. In 2012 Linda Ronstadt was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which left her unable to sing, but 2016 saw unreleased songs from their sessions compiled to create a third Trio album. This is the story of how their alliance made them pioneers in bringing different music worlds together and raising the game for women in the country tradition.
Contributors: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Rodney Crowell, George Lucas, Peter Asher, Chris Hillman, Laura Cantrell, Robert K Oermann, John Boylan, Phil Kaufman, David Lindley, Albert Lee, Herb Pedersen, George Massenberg and Applewood Road.
FRI 21:55 Country Queens at the BBC (p028vwnv)
Classic female country stars in action on a variety of BBC studio shows and featuring Bobbie Gentry, Anne Murray, Emmylou Harris, Tammy Wynette, Billie Jo Spears, Crystal Gayle, Taylor Swift, Lucinda Williams with Mary Chapin Carpenter and more. A chronological celebration of country queens at the BBC whether on Top of the Pops, OGWT, Later with Jools Holland, Parkinson or their own entertainment specials.
FRI 23:00 Kenny Rogers: Cards on the Table (b04pl3kw)
Examining the life and career of the artist who 'knows when to hold 'em and knows when to fold 'em', this documentary chronicles Kenny Rogers's remarkable rise to the top of his game and the golden era of country music he ushered in.
With an exclusive, candid interview from Rogers himself and performance footage gathered on his recent Through the Years tour, this honest and eye-opening film provides a backstage pass to a remarkable 50-year career of performing and recording.
Associates and luminaries provide personal insight into how the poor, music-obsessed boy from Houston, Texas went on to become a superstar with over 120 million albums sold worldwide. Singer, songwriter and producer Kim Carnes recalls how the New Christy Minstrels folk group - of which she and Kenny were members in the late 1960s - was like a 'school on the road' that provided them both with a springboard from which to explore other musical ambitions. Actor and musician Mickey Jones recounts his time with Kenny in the band The First Edition, whose hit single Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) made Kenny an unlikely poster boy for the psychedelic generation. Longtime friend Lionel Richie reveals how a trip to the bathroom played a crucial role in the recording session for Lady, one of Kenny's biggest hits.
Away from music, the programme reveals how Kenny's drive and ambition - what he describes as his 'impulsive-obsessive' nature - led to success in other fields: according to the renowned photographer John Sexton, the country music legend was determined to master the art of photography (Kenny was recently awarded an honorary Master of Photography degree by the Professional Photographers Association).
For over half a century, Kenny has kept us entertained with some of the best-known and best-loved music ever recorded. With a career spanning everything from jazz to folk, 60s psychedelia to R&B, perhaps his real legacy lies in the fact that he introduced a trailblazing pop sensibility to country music.
FRI 00:00 Top of the Pops (b095fnbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 00:30 Country Kings at the BBC (p028vxj4)
Classic male country singers from the BBC vaults, journeying from The Everly Brothers and Jerry Lee Lewis to Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, and featuring classic songs and performances by Glen Campbell, Charley Pride, George Hamilton IV, Kenny Rogers, Clint Black, Johnny Cash, Eric Church and more. This 50 years-plus compilation is a chronological look at country kings as featured on BBC studio shows as varied as In Concert, Wogan, The Late Show and Later with Jools Holland, plus early variety shows presented by the likes of Lulu, Harry Secombe and Shirley Abicair.
FRI 01:30 Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou (b081sx50)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 02:30 Country Queens at the BBC (p028vwnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:55 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley
23:30 MON (p01fv0kh)
Apples, Pears and Paint: How to Make a Still Life Painting
00:55 SUN (b03ny8wk)
BBC Proms
19:00 SUN (b095st17)
Beyond 100 Days
19:00 MON (b095bdmx)
Beyond 100 Days
19:00 TUE (b095bdn4)
Beyond 100 Days
19:00 WED (b095bdng)
Beyond 100 Days
19:00 THU (b095bdnr)
Black Lake
21:00 SAT (b081clh5)
Black Lake
21:40 SAT (b0821s1b)
Black Lake
00:00 TUE (b081clh5)
Black Lake
00:40 TUE (b0821s1b)
Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds: A Tale of Three Cities
01:30 SAT (b04fmg8j)
Britain in Focus: A Photographic History
23:00 WED (b08hznbb)
British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
20:00 THU (b08bqdzl)
British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
02:35 THU (b08bqdzl)
Brushing up on...
19:30 MON (b01sbwcz)
Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork
02:00 WED (b01psbwz)
China in Six Easy Pieces
01:00 WED (b036r5cx)
Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum Photos
22:00 SUN (b095vnk0)
Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum Photos
02:25 SUN (b095vnk0)
Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess
22:55 SUN (b01pjn8h)
Country Kings at the BBC
00:30 FRI (p028vxj4)
Country Queens at the BBC
21:55 FRI (p028vwnv)
Country Queens at the BBC
02:30 FRI (p028vwnv)
Dangerous Earth
20:00 MON (b083dgt5)
Dangerous Earth
20:30 MON (b08445rk)
Dangerous Earth
03:30 MON (b083dgt5)
Easter Island: Mysteries of a Lost World
22:25 SAT (b03srmm6)
Henry VII: The Winter King
21:00 TUE (b021ng66)
Henry VII: The Winter King
01:25 TUE (b021ng66)
Hidden Histories: Britain's Oldest Family Businesses
00:00 WED (b03qlp97)
Horizon
22:00 THU (b095vp3p)
Horizon
23:00 THU (b01mgllj)
Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
22:00 TUE (b017znj7)
Kenny Rogers: Cards on the Table
23:00 FRI (b04pl3kw)
Letters from Baghdad
21:00 MON (b095vnm7)
Life of a Mountain
21:00 WED (b08f1cc0)
Life of a Mountain
03:00 WED (b08f1cc0)
Music Moguls: Masters of Pop
00:30 THU (p039x53y)
Natural World
20:00 WED (b00z7x5h)
Precision: The Measure of All Things
23:55 SUN (b02xgf5d)
Secret Voices of Hollywood
20:30 SUN (b03bxrxj)
She-Wolves: England's Early Queens
00:30 MON (b01dc66v)
Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou
21:00 FRI (b081sx50)
Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou
01:30 FRI (b081sx50)
Sound Waves: The Symphony of Physics
22:00 WED (b08h9ctd)
Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions
20:00 SAT (b00gq43y)
Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions
02:30 SAT (b00gq43y)
The Art of Gothic: Britain's Midnight Hour
01:30 MON (b04mgxxx)
The Brain with David Eagleman
19:00 SAT (b071gx2k)
The Horizon Guide to Space Shuttles
21:00 THU (b0109cc7)
The Horizon Guide to Space Shuttles
01:35 THU (b0109cc7)
The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia
22:30 MON (b00pyrw1)
The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia
23:00 TUE (b00qgtjk)
The Live Lounge Show
20:00 FRI (b095fnbr)
Timeshift
00:30 SAT (b06jnzjx)
Timeshift
02:30 MON (b06b36q3)
Timothy Spall: Back at Sea
19:30 TUE (b0135m57)
Timothy Spall: Back at Sea
19:30 WED (b013fj45)
Top of the Pops
23:55 SAT (b0955wql)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b095fm57)
Top of the Pops
00:00 THU (b095fm57)
Top of the Pops
19:30 FRI (b095fnbp)
Top of the Pops
00:00 FRI (b095fnbp)
Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream
20:00 TUE (p046dxfw)
Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream
02:25 TUE (p046dxfw)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b095bdnx)