The remarkable story of a great thinker who helped to form a nation and shape the world.

Stream Confucius on BBC Select

Over 2,500 years ago, one man devised a way of thinking that still shapes the most powerful and populous nation on earth.

He was Confucius, one of history’s most influential men. But who was he and why do billions of people still follow his teachings?

This stunning documentary explores the life and times of Confucius and demystifies his ideas. We all want to understand China and through Confucius we can.

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history

Stream Bacchus Uncovered on BBC Select

Bacchus Uncovered: Ancient God of Ecstasy

What does Bacchus, the ancient god of wine and excess, have in common with Jesus Christ?

Stream Genius of the Ancient World with Bettany Hughes on BBC Select

Genius of the Ancient World

The original free thinkers. The stories of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates.

Stream Mars Uncovered on BBC Select

Mars Uncovered: Ancient God of War

What can the ancient, immortal, Roman god Mars teach us about warfare in the modern age?

Stream Venus Uncovered on BBC Select

Venus Uncovered: Ancient Goddess of Love

Forget everything you thought you knew about the frequently nude, love goddess Venus.

Stream The Persians - A History of Iran on BBC Select

The Persians: A History of Iran

How was the world's first empire born and what led to its ultimate destruction?

Watch A History of Chritianity on BBC Select

A History of Christianity

Where did Christianity originate and how did the religion develop and take hold globally?

Stream Archaeology - A Secret History on BBC Select

Archaeology: A Secret History

Better living through archeology. How can our past make sense of our present?

Stream Greek Myths - True Stories

Greek Myths: True Stories

Godlike genius. Exploring the inspiration of our Greek myths.

Stream Fake News - A True History on BBC Select

Fake News: A True History

Fake news isn’t new: an entertaining look at 200 years of lies and the media

Stream Cousins at War on BBC Select

Royal Cousins at War

It makes The Crown look like Sesame Street. The bitter regal rivalries that led to war.

Stream American History's Biggest Fibs on BBC Select

American History's Biggest Fibs

American history is fake, fact? Historian Lucy Worlsey delves deeper into US mythology.

The Birth of Empire - The East India Company on BBC Select

The Birth of Empire: The East India Company

The world’s first megacorp. How Britain’s East India Company grew into an imperial power.

Stream The Romantic Revolution on BBC Select

The Romantic Revolution

Wild visionaries and imaginative truth seekers whose radical ideas still resonate today.

Stream Racism - A History on BBC Select

Racism: A History

Where did the notion of racism come from and how did such an abhorrent idea develop?

Stream Queen Victoria and her Nine Children on BBC Select

Queen Victoria and her Nine Children

Devastated by her husband’s death Queen Victoria starts to meddle in her children’s lives.

Watch The Flu That Killed 50 Million on BBC Select

The Flu That Killed 50 Million

Is Spanish flu the warning from history that should have crushed coronavirus?

Stream Vienna - Empire, Dynasty and Dream on BBC Select

Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream

The rise of one of the great cities and how it offers a window into power, faith and war.

Stream Filthy Cities on BBC Select

Filthy Cities

Dan Snow explores the murky histories of London, Paris and New York from the bottom up.

Stream Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners on BBC Select

Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

People as property: historian David Olusoga on the untold stories of British slavery.

Stream Suffragettes

Suffragettes

The violence, valor and sacrifices made by the women fighting for their right to vote.

Stream Secret Cities on BBC Select

Secret Cities

How much can the artistic history of a great city tell us about its character?

Stream Genius of the Modern World on BBC Select

Genius of the Modern World

Emigres, recluses, enemies of the state. How Marx, Nietzsche and Freud changed the world.

Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds - A Tale of Three Cities on BBC Select

Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds

Paris, Vienna and New York. The seismic influence of three cities on the artistic world.

Stream Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness on BBC Select

Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness

Can the thoughts and ideas of history’s greatest thinkers help in our day to day lives?

Watch Rome: Empire Without Limit with Mary Beard on BBC Select

Rome: Empire Without Limit with Mary Beard

World renowned historian, Mary Beard, is back to shatter myths about the Roman Empire.

Stream War Art with Eddie Redmayne on BBC Select

War Art with Eddie Redmayne

Academy Award winning actor Eddie Redmayne discovers the artists who saved lives during WW1

Stream The Six Queens of Henry VIII on BBC Select

The Six Queens of Henry VIII

Rediscover the Queens who shaped a King & his legacy in The Six Queens of Henry VIII, BBC's new look at the King's infamous wives.

Watch The World's First Computer on BBC Select

The World's First Computer

Think your computer’s had it? Meet one found in a shipwreck that’s 2,000 years old.

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big Thinking

Stream A Black and White Killing on BBC Select

A Black and White Killing

A murder that shook America to its core. What’s behind alleged racist killings in the U.S.?

Stream Conspiracy Files: Vaccine Wars on BBC Select

Conspiracy Files: Vaccine Wars

Anti vaxxers are blamed for dangerous surges in diseases. What do they really believe?

Stream The Black American Fight for Freedom on BBC Select

The Black American Fight for Freedom

America. The land of the free? Or a racist system built on inequality?

Stream Fake News - A True History on BBC Select

Fake News: A True History

Fake news isn’t new: an entertaining look at 200 years of lies and the media

Stream Grayson Perry - Big American Road Trip on BBC Select

Grayson Perry's Big American Roadtrip

Britain’s most unpredictable artist, Grayson Perry, sits America down for its portrait.

Protest of far-right extremists in Germany

Germany's New Nazis

The new Far Reich? Inside the rise of white supremacy in Germany.

Stream The Romantic Revolution on BBC Select

The Romantic Revolution

Wild visionaries and imaginative truth seekers whose radical ideas still resonate today.

Stream Racism - A History on BBC Select

Racism: A History

Where did the notion of racism come from and how did such an abhorrent idea develop?

Stream Shock of the Nude on BBC Select

Shock of The Nude

Peek behind the fig leaf to find the truth behind the nude in art.

Stream Greek Myths - True Stories

Greek Myths: True Stories

Godlike genius. Exploring the inspiration of our Greek myths.

Stream The Last Igloo on BBC Select

The Last Igloo

Can one man survive in the wilderness using traditional methods to hunt and find shelter?

Stream Eat to Live Forever with Giles Coren on BBC Select

Eat To Live Forever With Giles Coren

Starve yourself older? Go Stone Age for Old Age? Can these extreme diets extend your life?

Stream Transgender Kids - Who Knows Best? on BBC Select

Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?

What is the best approach for parents to take when their child is facing gender dysphoria?

Stream Me, My Selfie, and I on BBC Select

Me, My Selfie and I

Know thy selfie: We’re so obsessed with how we look, are we forgetting who we are?

Stream Genderquake on BBC Select

Genderquake

Gender fluid generation: Meet the people challenging the binary.

Stream Secrets of Silicon Valley on BBC Select

Secrets of Silicon Valley

What happened to Silicon Valley’s glittering promise to build a better world?

Stream Grayson Perry - Rites of Passage on BBC Select

Grayson Perry: Rites of Passage

Our traditions don’t help us. Artist Grayson Perry is on a quest to design ones that do.

Stream Grayson Perry - All Man on BBC Select

Grayson Perry: All Man

As a ‘lifelong cissy’ artist, Grayson Perry has spent his whole life messing with machismo.

Stream Mark Zuckerberg - Inside Facebook on BBC Select

Mark Zuckerberg: Inside Facebook

The early days of a social-network phenomenon – Mark Zuckerberg: Inside Facebook

Stream The Super Rich and Us on BBC Select

The Super-Rich and Us

How did the super-rich become super-rich, and what effect does their wealth have on us?

Stream Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness on BBC Select

Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness

Can the thoughts and ideas of history’s greatest thinkers help in our day to day lives?

Stream Bacchus Uncovered on BBC Select

Bacchus Uncovered: Ancient God of Ecstasy

What does Bacchus, the ancient god of wine and excess, have in common with Jesus Christ?

Stream Mars Uncovered on BBC Select

Mars Uncovered: Ancient God of War

What can the ancient, immortal, Roman god Mars teach us about warfare in the modern age?

Stream Venus Uncovered on BBC Select

Venus Uncovered: Ancient Goddess of Love

Forget everything you thought you knew about the frequently nude, love goddess Venus.

Stream Meat: A Threat to Our Planet? on BBC Select

Meat: A Threat To Our Planet?

Is our love of eating meat swiftly destroying the planet? What can we do to fix it?

Stream Are You Scared Yet, Human? on BBC Select

Are You Scared Yet, Human?

Should we worry about the effect that Artificial Intelligence could have on our lives?

Stream Hyper Evolution on BBC Select

Hyper Evolution: Rise Of The Robots

In the near future, will we be controlling robots or will the robots be controlling us?

Stream Australia on Fire: Climate Emergency on BBC Select

Australia on Fire: Climate Emergency

Are the recent apocalyptic bushfires in Australia a vision of a climate change future?

Stream Inside the EU - The Mad World of Brexit on BBC Select

Inside The EU: The Mad World of Brexit

Go behind the scenes of the European Parliament during the tumultuous time of Brexit.

Stream Grayson Perry - Art Club on BBC Select

Grayson Perry's Art Club

Artist Grayson Perry releases a torrent of quarantine-creativity in his lockdown art club.

Anti-vaxx protesters holding up signs

The Anti-Vax Conspiracy

Who is behind the international anti-Covid-vaccine movement and why are they doing it?

Stream CLimate Change - Ade on the Frontline

History of Mother Earth: Gaia Uncovered

In space, you can hear the Earth scream... History of Mother Earth: Gaia Uncovered