News & Current Affairs
The Good Drug
Can psychedelic substances herald a new era for medicine and health? This fascinating documentary investigates our historical, societal, and scientific relationship with psychedelics. Could these mind-altering materials initiate a modern renaissance for clinical research and can their therapeutic properties be used to eradicate a host of mental health problems?
Inside Taiwan: Standing Up To China
This eye-opening BBC documentary explores whether China’s plans for Taiwan could be put into action, and the dangers they could pose for the world. President Xi Jinping considers Taiwan part of China and seeks reunification, while the island nation maintains its independence.
With tensions rising, journalist Jane Corbin visits the region and speaks to experts from around the world about a situation that has the potential to spark a deadly global conflict. She also explores how Taiwan has been standing up to what they say are Chinese disinformation and cyber attacks in recent times.
Worlds Collide: The Manchester Bombing
In 2017, a British-born terrorist detonated a suicide bomb at pop superstar Ariana Grande’s Manchester concert. It killed 22 people and injured more than 800 others, many of them young girls. It was an attack that shocked the nation to its core. Five years on, the truth of what happened on that night, and the mistakes that were made, are finally starting to emerge.
EP 1: Tragedy Approaches
The reasons behind a suicide bombing at an Ariane Grande concert are still emerging.
The reasons why a pair of young British-born brothers decided to target innocent concert goers with a suicide bomb are still coming to light. This intense documentary looks at the lives of the Abedi brothers and the circumstances that led to their 2017 attack at Ariane Grande’s Manchester concert. The lives and final moments of some of their victims are also emotionally explored.
EP 2: The Aftermath
Were there failings with the emergency services’ response to the 2017 terrorist attack?
The minutes before and after the 2017 bombing at Ariane Grande’s Manchester concert are investigated. What was the response of the emergency services in the aftermath of the attack? Despite planning for such an atrocity, on the night of the explosion the police’s actions were flawed and the emergency services response was disastrously delayed. Could the attack have been prevented far earlier?
Boxing Day Tsunami
First came an earthquake deep below the Indian Ocean. Minutes later, in the early hours of Boxing Day 2004, a 100-foot wall of water ripped through Indonesia. Then the tsunami reached Thailand, leaving unimaginable devastation in its wake. Using eye-witness accounts, BBC Select presents this gripping documentary investigating this horrific natural disaster. Could the catastrophe have been averted?
The Shamima Begum Story: The Girl Who Joined ISIS
Shamima Begum left London aged just 15 and disappeared inside the Islamic State group. She emerged four years later in 2019, a vilified figure who had her British citizenship revoked. Now Shamima gives the definitive account of everything that happened to her. In this exclusive interview she explains how she was radicalized, what life in ISIS was like and her hopes for the future.