Adventurer and journalist Simon Reeve heads to Cuba to find a communist country in the middle of a capitalist revolution. Two years ago Cuba announced the most sweeping and radical economic reforms the country has seen in decades. From ending state rationing to cutting one million public-sector jobs, one of the last communist bastions in the world has begun rolling back the state on an unprecedent
Iran and the West is the name of a three part British documentary series shown in February 2009 on BBC Two to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The documentary looks at the relationship between Iran and the countries of the west and features interviews with politicians who have played significant roles in events involving Iran, Europe and the United States since 1979. The s
Welcome to India (BBC Two) may have a travelogue title, but the programme showed a very different side. Shameful for those of us who have returned from the historic cities of Rajasthan, gushing about the richness of Indian culture, this was the reality – a modern-day Dickensian insight, immediate and disturbing.The first episode focused mainly on two young men, doing their best to su
The West says Iran is making a nuclear bomb. Tehran says they're treating cancer. This compelling investigation gets right to the heart of the maelstrom, interrogating facts, falsehoods and shocking allegations.Global diplomatic tensions are rapidly mounting around Iran's nuclear ambitions. This compelling investigation gets right to the heart of the maelstrom, interrogating facts, falsehoods an
Robin Barnwell, who directed and produced 'A History of Syria with Dan Snow', explains the challenges of filiming amid the conflict, and describes the spirit of the Syrian people he met.The Syrian Airlines jet performed an alarming dive on its nighttime approach into Damascus airport in an attempt to avoid any hostile fire. The exterior lights on the aircraft were switched off to make it less vi
From a small town in Oaxaca, Mexico, and from a kitchen table in East Los Angeles, from a flophouse in a coastal farming town, to a strip-mall in Phoenix, Arizona, these are snapshots of illegal immigration in America. It’s estimated that as many as 12 million people are living in United States illegally, but this story is about just two.An American lit major named Ilse, and a strawberry picker
North Korea lies somewhere between a 1930′s Soviet Union frozen in time and a dark, futuristic vision of society… as imagined back in the 70′s.Land of Whispers invites you to visit arguably the most unique and isolated travel destination in the world – not to criticize, but to observe and listen.Aside from usual highlights such as Pyongyang or Arirang, this unique one-man documentary bring
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner returns for the first time to Riyadh, the city in Saudi Arabia where he was shot by Al Qaeda in 2004 and left dependent upon a wheelchair. Travelling in this important and mysterious country, he explores how it has so far avoided an Arab Spring revolution. Frank Gardner's Return to Saudi Arabia BBC full documentary 2013 Inside the saudi kingdom
This is the story of James Joseph Dresnok, once a United States Army private, who successfully crossed the minefield-strewn demilitarized zone and defected to North Korea during the war.Dresnok has spent more than half his life living, working, and raising a family in North Korea, and was nicknamed Comrade Joe by Western media when he walked into infamy at the height of the Cold War, still rem