Modern transport and communications resulted in a world that is wealthier, healthier, more mobile, and better informed than ever before. This documentary examines how trade and transportation networks gradually increased our connectivity throughout world history. Roman roads led to economic growth and the spread of Christianity. The Silk Road transported luxury goods from China to the West, but also brought the Black Death to Europe. Spanish conquistadors...

In the first years, why did James, referred to as the "brother of the Lord," appear to be the veritable successor to Jesus? Did Jesus have brothers? Why do some of the Gospels proclaim the virginity of Mary, Jesus' mother? Why did his family believe that Jesus was "crazy?" Were his mother and his brother opposed to the group of twelve disciples? Did Jesus have brothers? Why do some of the Gospels proclaim the virginity of Mary, Jesus' mother? Why...

This is a timeline of the life of the Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus. An admiral, and navigator, he set sail westwards from Spain in 1492 with the aim of arriving in the Far East, but instead, landed in the Americas, then unknown to Europeans. Seen as a hero and pioneer by some, by others he is seen as someone whose arrival brought suffering to people living in the Americas.

This documentary looks at political, industrial, medical, and transportation revolutions of the late 18th and 19th centuries. The American Revolution inspired other nations to revolt for freedom and liberty. The Industrial Revolution pioneered mass production, led to mass consumerism, and turned Britain into a world power. Steam powered engines and railway networks decreased travel time and facilitated urban migration. However, industrial megacities...

An orally transmitted musical heritage of a culture, in the 1930s, enjoyed a resurgence during the Great Depression following stock market crash, droughts and dust storms encouraged farmers out of the dust bowl to California and New York State. The American folk music revival began with performers like Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Paul Robeson. Breakthrough act The Weavers sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, labour songs,...

What happened after Jesus died on the cross? Why were his disciples not in turn persecuted by the Romans? Why did they stay in Jerusalem? Were they still waiting for the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel? Did they expect it to be imminent, i.e. would the end of time also coincide with the end of Roman rule? Did Jesus himself expect to rise from the dead? To what extent does the Christian concept of the resurrection spring from Jewish tradition?...

For many, the 1960s mark the true end of modern America. Whereas the modernists remained serious about the transcendent nature of art, the artists of the 1960s wanted an art that was relevant. They wanted an art that not only spoke about justice, but also helped create it. This program explores the innovations made in American poetry in the 1960s by Allen Ginsberg, Amiri Baraka, and Adrienne Rich.

The investigation into the Knights Templar and whether the order continued on in secret well beyond their official end in 1307 takes the team to the ancient city of Acre, where one of the largest tunnel complexes in the world was built centuries ago.

Part four, of the China in the Shadow of Mr. Kong five-part series, examines China's decent into chaos. While music, theater, architecture, and paintings illustrated an emotionally intelligent society in harmony with their natural surroundings, the Chinese failed to take advantage of their own technological advancements and isolated themselves from the humanistic ideologies of the European Renaissance. The tyranny of the Manchu dynasty and forced...

In hour three, the Great Depression devastates America’s economy and brings Black America to its knees. To survive, the Black community uses social networks to navigate the oppressive realities of Jim Crow. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how social networks formed the cultural, economic and political foundation of the Civil Rights Movement which would transform America’s race relations.