26 Oct
27 Oct
28 Oct
29 Oct
30 Oct
31 Oct
1 Nov
2 Nov
3 Nov
4 Nov
5 Nov
6 Nov
7 Nov
Shopping with TJC
Looking at the ever-present challenges presented by competing for food, mating rights or territory. The competitive spirit is shown in the hunt, the competition between predator and prey. Part 7 of 12.
Exploring the capital, Algiers: its architecture, both French and Neo-Mauresque, as epitomised by the glorious Grande Poste post office building; its outstanding mosques and occasional churches. Local Algerois Djihad Mahamdi tours the Tuareg-inspired Cathedral of Sacre Coeur while fellow guide Nehad Benz explores the Ottoman-refined Casbah which is awash with pretty fountains and sumptuous palaces. A day trip to Tipasa shows glimpses of a wealthy Roman life in North Africa while back in the Casbah, historian Boualem Benamirouche retraces the steps of the infamous Battle of Algiers, which turned the tide of war of independence. Tales of the great Algerian writer Albert Camus are regaled at the Tantonville café and we listen to the sounds of Chaabi music from renowned singer Noureddine Alane. The programme ends with a celebratory supper at a traditional Algerian restaurant. Part 1 of 3.
This second episode explores the coastal and hinterland cities built by a prosperous Mediterranean trade dating back to Phoenician sailors. In Oran, resident Zaki Souffi goes shopping in the Jedida market. He visits the home of the city’s most eminent émigré, Yves Saint Laurent and has a local snack of karantika. He tours the old Bey palace before climbing the Mountain of Lions for a nose around Fort Santa Cruz, an impregnable Spanish fortress during its war with the Ottoman Empire. Tlemcen boasts the wonders of the Mechouar Palace while historian Amina Miri Hana tours the fortress city of El Mansourah. Climbing over the Aures mountains, we behold the sprawling Roman settlement of Timgad in Batna before arriving at Constantine, an ancient Numidian city perched on a rocky outcrop that overlooks the Rhumel Gorge. Part 2 of 3.
The third chapter of this Algerian odyssey is a travelogue that covers over 1200 miles, from the ‘Door of the Sahara’ in the ancient Berber settlement of Ghouffi to Assekrem, which literally means ‘the end of the world’, situated in the southernmost point of Algeria’s Sahara. The great desert is an arid but varied landscape where cultures, religious and nomadic, have adapted to the unforgiving climate over thousands of years. We tour the Berber castles of Timimoun and the circular Mozabite cities of the Mzab valley. We learn about Islam’s ancient sect, the Ibadi, who have sought eternal refuge in the desert. We visit the Touaregs of Tamanrasset and hear the sweet music of the Imzad instrument, rounding off with the incredible story of Charles de Foucauld, a foreign legion officer who found God in the volcanic mountains of the Ahoggar. Part 3 of 3.
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the most influential voices for democracy in U.S. history. A gifted writer and charismatic orator, it is estimated that more Americans heard Douglass speak than any other 19th-century figure - black or white. Directed by Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson and Nicole London, the film features the voice of actor Wendell Pierce as Douglass.
This is the story of the longest serving infantry division in the US Army, who fought in every major campaign in Western Europe in which American forces were engaged. Their unit badge is simply a ‘1’ - and from it they have become known as 'The Big Red One'. Follow the US 1st Infantry Division, from its first blooding in North Africa against Rommel’s Afrika Korps, through the campaigns in Sicily and Italy, the D-Day Landings on Omaha Beach, the battle for Normandy, and on to the German border to capture Aachen, the first major city on German soil. Part 1 of 6.
Formed after Churchill noted the impressive feats of Germany’s elite Fallschirmjager paratroopers, Britain’s Airborne were destined to be an elite fighting force - taking part in commando raids, large scale airborne landings - and when necessary holding a place in the line to fight as infantry. Their distinctive red berets caused the German forces they fought against to call them ‘The Red Devils’ - a nickname they gleefully adopted. Part 2 of 6.
The story of the armoured units who landed in Normandy to spearhead the Allied advance into Nazi-occupied Europe and break open the Third Reich’s defences – in the face of minefields, camouflaged anti-tank guns and crack SS Panzer corps equipped with some of the most fearsome armour of the war. But the tankers of the famous Desert Rats were veterans of the campaign against Rommel and his Afrika Korps in North Africa, and then of the conquest of Italy. Part 3 of 6.
This is the story of the US 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles, who parachuted into their first battle on D-Day, 6th June 1944, and swiftly proved their worth as one of the toughest and most accomplished combat formations ever fielded by the US army. Their exploits have been celebrated in film and TV - most famously in 'Band of Brothers'. Part 4 of 6.
America’s first true Special Forces units, the Rangers were specially selected and trained with the help of British commandos. A select few joined their British counterparts in the ill-fated Dieppe Raid of 1942, and became the first US ground troops to see action in Europe. After a disastrous time in the Italian campaign, three of the five Ranger battalions were practically wiped out at the Battle of Cisterna. The remaining two battalions would go on to play a major role in the D-Day landings, seizing the coastal defence position at Point du Hoc in a daring raid that would prove key to the eventual success of the Normandy invasion. Part 5 of 6.
The 8th United States Army Air Force flew some of WW2’s most daring raids and sorties over Germany and mainland Europe. From their bases across Eastern England, their B-17s and B-24s took out key strategic targets in all of the major campaigns of the war, from D-Day to Big Week and from Saint-Lô to Berlin. Their P-51 Mustangs were the scourge of the Luftwaffe, combining with the fighters of the RAF to all but extinguish the Germans as a force in the air. But the price the Mighty Eight paid for their success was high: they suffered the largest losses of any American unit in the war. Part 6 of 6.
Leaving behind his Boston childhood, Benjamin Franklin reinvents himself in Philadelphia where he builds a printing empire and a new life with his wife Deborah. Turning to science, Franklin gains worldwide fame from his lightning rod and experiments in electricity. After entering politics, he spends years in London trying to keep Britain and America together as his own family starts to come apart. Part 1 of 2. Ⓢ
