A Brilliant Madness is the story of a mathematical genius whose career was cut short by a descent into madness.At the age of 30, John Forbes Nash, a stunningly original and famously eccentric MIT mathematician, suddenly began claiming that aliens were communicating with him and that he was a special messenger. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Nash spent the next three decades in and out of
Hitler's army thundered through Europe from 1939 to 1945 and brought needless death and destruction to the continent. What was it like to serve in this army? What was it like to conduct one of the bloodiest wars in history? What was it like to occupy half of Europe and yet to suffer total defeat?This five-part portrait provides long-awaited answers to questions such as these and sheds light on t
What Andy Capper, Vice UK Editor, is saying about the film: “We arrived in Liberia with a small crew of three and quickly rendezvoused with a local journalist who would be our fixer and guide. Our first shooting location was the West Point slum, home to 80,000 people living in conditions that redefine squalor. Miles of rotting garbage surround the slum, which has no sewage system.Pretty much e
Many people know the basic rules of chess, but few can play really well. This programme offers some essential tips on how to raise our game.British grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a special demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate, revealing the key moves that can lead to victory.They explain the opening, middle and end games, and how to outwit an opponent with techni
Warren Buffett is the greatest investor of all time. His decisions about buying shares and companies have beaten the stock market year after year and made him the richest person in the world – thought to be worth 37 billion dollars.Yet Buffett lives modestly in his native Omaha, in America’s mid-West, and runs his 150 billion dollar business with a staff of just twenty. Evan Davis meets him to f
One of Europe's last great predators, the wolf is an animal that remains cloaked in myth and mystery. But a new vision is emerging thanks to an ambitious research project in Italy's Pollino National Park. Paolo Ciucci leads a team of biologists from the University of Rome on a quest to learn more about this elusive species.Tracking two wolves, Rebecca and Francesco deep into the forest, the bi
David Attenborough presents a ten-part insight into the evolution and behaviours of birds. In this first programme, computer graphics recreate the period 150 million years ago when small, fast-running dinosaurs evolved feathers and took to the air. In New Zealand, David examines the environment required by birds which have survived without recourse to flight, and enjoys a midnight encounter with a
Episode 4: Battle Stations The Allies lay plans for the invasion of France; Bert Stiles and the 8th Air Force attempt to clear the skies over Normandy, while the Pacific remains a quagmire. D-Day arrives.
Extraordinary People looks at sisters Lucy and Hannah Betts, and Dana and Lara Bowen, who have the genetic disorder Harlequin Ichthyosis, which makes their skin grow at an abnormal rate. This report follows them in their daily life, including three baths a day to remove excess skin build up.