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Categories: Documentaries

  1. The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms

    The hidden world of algorithms, which run everything from search engines to satnavs.

    BBC Four

  2.

    Dotun and Dean

    Dotun Adebayo explores his teenage obsession with actor James Dean

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  3. Burying Chernobyl

    The daughter of a former Chernobyl engineer returns to her father's workplace

    BBC Radio 4

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  4. Sugar, Saris and Green Bananas

    Lainy Malkani uncovers her family's roots on the sugar plantations of British Guiana

    BBC Radio 4

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  5. The Pop Star and the Prophet

    An aspiring pop star meets Jacques Attali, who predicted today's music crisis in 1976.

    BBC Radio 4

  6.

    Secrets and Spies: The Untold Story of Edith Cavell

    Stella Rimington uncovers startling new evidence about the executed British heroine.

    BBC Radio 4

  7.

    Birth of an Orchestra

    Alan Bennett and musicians young and old consider the orchestral heritage of Yorkshire.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  8. Computing Britain

    Hannah Fry reveals the UK's lead role in developing computer technologies we rely on today

    BBC Radio 4

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  9. Ginny in the Hut

    A reflection in sound on the life of Virginia Fiennes, first wife of explorer Sir Ranulph.

    BBC Radio 4

  10.

    Making Waves

    Surfer Helen Scales goes in search of the perfect man-made wave.

    BBC Radio 4

  11.

    Music in the Shadow of Ground Zero

    The story of two New York churches that survived 9/11 and are now healing the community.

    BBC Radio 4

  12.

    Bletchley Park: Codebreaking's Forgotten Genius

    A look at the life of Gordon Welchman, a codebreaker crucial to the defeat of the Nazis.

    BBC Two

  13. Oil: A Crude History of Britain

    Documentary series charting the legacy of Britain's oil boom, presented by James Naughtie

    BBC Radio 4

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  14. The Spoken Image

    Photographer Eamonn McCabe curates his own photo exhibition on the radio.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  15.

    Donald Duck Gets Drafted

    Gerald Scarfe explores the Walt Disney Studio's activity during the Second World War.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  16.

    Big Game Theory

    If trophy hunting is banned in Africa, would lions be more or less at risk?

    BBC Radio 4

  17.

    From Enlightenment to Entanglement

    Science writer Stuart Clark explores the relationship between scientists and computers.

    BBC Radio 4

  18.

    Space: The Vinyl Frontier

    A spoken word concept album linking space and music.

    BBC Radio 4

  19.

    Orangemen on the Equator

    Journalist Chris Page travels to Africa and meets members of the Ghanaian Orange Order.

    BBC Radio 4

  20.

    Pound on Pounds

    Ira Lightman asks if Ezra Pound and other poets may shed light on the financial crisis.

    BBC Radio 4

  21. Mending Young Minds

    Young patients and therapists talk about mental health conditions affecting young people.

    BBC Radio 4

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  22. The Debt Business

    Adair Turner argues household debt could lead the UK towards another financial meltdown.

    BBC Radio 4

  23.

    The School is Full of Noises

    Ian McMillan hunts for the truth behind some bizarre schools music making from the 1960s

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  24. Charisma: Pinning Down the Butterfly

    Francine Stock's history of the alluring yet elusive quality that is charisma

    BBC Radio 4

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  25. Overage Drinkers

    The growing problem of alcohol abuse among older people, told through personal stories.

    BBC Radio 4

  26.

    The Bin Laden Tapes

    Exploring the audio archive found in Osama Bin Laden's compound in Afghanistan.

    BBC Radio 4

  27. Serendipity

    A piece of art, an email from a stranger and a friendship born out of a bloody past.

    BBC Radio 4

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  28. How to Have a Better Brain

    Sian Williams presents a practical and optimistic guide to boosting brain power

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

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  29. Down on the Farm

    A series looking at what happens on farms, from livestock to harvesting.

    CBeebies

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  30. Slimboy Fat: The Problem with BMI

    As Dr Mark Porter's waistline increases, he puts his body mass index, or BMI, to the test.

    BBC Radio 4

  31.

    The Other Side of Adoption

    Tim Whewell investigates the challenges of life post-adoption.

    BBC Radio 4

  32.

    Necessary to My Happiness

    The story of Allegra, Byron's illegitimate daughter, who haunted her father's imagination.

    BBC Radio 4

  33. Stepping Stones

    Piers Plowright revisits sounds from his life that resonate with him still

    BBC Radio 4

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  34. The Northern Male - and His Mate

    Stuart Maconie gets to grips with the nature of male friendships in the north of England.

    BBC Radio 4

  35.

    Seth Lakeman and the Newport Folk Festival

    Seth Lakeman attends the Newport Folk Festival to explore its history and influence.

    BBC Radio 4

  36. Decoding the Masterworks

    Dr Janina Ramirez presents a series that examines three masterworks in minute detail

    BBC Radio 4

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  37. Genius of the Ancient World

    Bettany Hughes seeks out the stories behind three giants of ancient philosophy.

    BBC Four

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  38. Rewinding the Menopause

    Dr Aarathi Prasad on how new research into fertility may help stave off the menopause.

    BBC Radio 4

  39.

    Rock, Paper, Scissors

    There is far more to this simple children's game than meets the eye, says Jolyon Jenkins.

    BBC Radio 4

  40.

    Experiments in Living

    Juliet Gardiner compares experiments in communal living today with those after WWII.

    BBC Radio 4

  41.

    Women of Terror

    Fearless, fanatical and female. Bridget Kendall investigates women who turn to terror.

    BBC Radio 4

  42. The Misogyny Book Club

    Jo Fidgen and readers take a fresh look at books that contain misogynistic sentiments

    BBC Radio 4

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  43. Under the Mushroom Cloud

    A dramatic eyewitness account of the events in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

    BBC Radio 4

  44. The New Workplace

    Michael Robinson explores the dramatic changes happening in the workplace.

    BBC Radio 4

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  45. America's Fan Club

    The Daughters of the American Revolution at 125 and still flying the flag for the USA.

    BBC Radio 4

  46. Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth

    Powerful currents, fierce hurricanes and undersea volcanoes make the Atlantic rich in life

    BBC Two

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  47. A Cold War Dance

    The Martha Graham Dance Company's US State Department tour of Southeast Asia, 1974.

    BBC Radio 4

  48.

    Is Ignorance Bliss?

    Sathnam Sanghera asks, when we can know everything, are we better off not knowing things?

    BBC Radio 4

  49.

    Heads Up! The First Head Transplant

    A doctor wants to perform the first human head transplant. Will US surgeons license him?

    BBC Radio 4

  50.

    HSBC, Muslims and Me

    Peter Oborne investigates why HSBC closed the accounts of several prominent Muslims.

    BBC Radio 4

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