Current Topics

Tim Whewell is in St Petersburg to meet the self-styled Russian nationalists and patriots who are volunteering to join the fighting in eastern Ukraine. He joins a group of volunteers as they undertake military training, and travels to Ukraine to see how the volunteer force is fighting on the ground.

Professor Brian Cox grapples with science's darker side, asking why, when science has done so much for us, it often gets such a bad press. Starting with the original Frankenstein - the grisly 19th century tale of George Foster's hanging and subsequent 'electrocution', Brian confronts the idea that science can go 'too far'. From the nuclear bomb to genetic modification, British science has always been at the cutting edge of discovery, but are British scientists feckless meddlers, or misunderstood visionaries whose gifts to humanity are corrupted by the unscrupulous?

In the fourth episode, several women recall their harrowing experiences with one man's heinous attempts at virtual blackmail, aimed at obtaining sensitive sexual material.
A woman tells us: 'I received a message from a man who said: Send me a naked picture or I will kill you'. This young woman was able to add her case to those of other women who were encouraged to denounce and expose the harasser. No one is completely invisible on the Internet.

Written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in which he seeks to expose "those areas of belief that exist without scientific proof, yet manage to hold the nation under their spell", including mediumship, acupuncture and psychokinesis.

Following the stories of Bruce Lisker and Reggie Cole who spent year after year in prison for murders they didn't commit - audiences get a harrowing look at how barbaric the US justice system is. The film ultimately asks how we can survive the prison model at all, and looks at better solutions for conflict resolution, harm reduction, crime and more. Hosted by filmmaker Matthew Cooke and guest hosting representatives from the massive range of Americans joining forces to change this broken system.

'It's really about terror and intimidation and people basically fighting for survival and often committing extraordinary violence in order to protect themselves or to stay safe. It's kind of like the weak dog in the pack. If others spot weakness, they're gonna pounce on you for a couple of reasons. You pounce on that guy, that gives you a little more status. So, I had to ask myself, are you gonna be a victim? No, I ain't gonna be a victim. Well, that really only left me one choice in my mind. That means I gotta be the victimizer. At some point, for some reason, might be legitimate, might not be, someone's gonna test you.. Even if you lose, you're gonna have to stand up for yourself. '
'A guy comes over, and it's your day to get your package, and he tries to take your package from you that your people sent you, if you let him do it, there's gonna be 10 other dudes, oh, yeah, he let that guy take his package, I'm gonna go get his TV, right down the line until somebody's after your ass. But if you stand up that first time and they see you'll stand up for yourself, even if you lose, people will respect that. Oh, don't mess with him. There's easier prey. Why do you have to go and get that guy and get a couple lumps for it when he can go get that guy's stuff over there, don't cost you nothing. It usually only has to happen once or twice but just as importantly that you didn't go to the man for help... you're gonna be all right.'