Lesotho's Maseru Central Correctional Institute in Southern Africa holds the country's most dangerous and disturbed criminals. Shockingly almost half the inmates are doing time for rape. The culture of sexual violence in Lesotho has deep roots in society. Women are taken as secondary citizens in their culture. And sexual aggression continues inside the prison. In this episode, Raphael Rowe will spend a week locked up in this African prison surrounded by sex offenders.
2020 has been an unprecedented year in science. From a global pandemic and race to find a cure, to exploring our planetary neighbours and our own world, stay in the know with the latest stories that defined this tumultuous year. 365 days marked by stark warnings about the planet's future and technological triumphs. During this journey around the sun, science continued to reveal stories of our past and also provide promise that we can overcome the obstacles in way some far ahead and others more immediate.
In the fifth episode of the series, lavish imperial games at the Colosseum are highlighted by the emperor's bloody victories, but his paranoid abuses of power lead to a final betrayal.
'Every show is different. When the lights go down that's 30,000 people's lives colliding... for that one moment. Everyone that's there working or watching is there for that moment. It's when you're all kind of in agreement about what you're all doing at that time... so it's a wonderful feeling of togetherness and possibility Then I start getting real adrenaline... and start doing 'Rocky' shadow boxing and all that kind of stuff. So I get as excited as anyone else. And I still get that excitement when I go and see anyone else's concert. I love that moment. And then it's about trying to hold that energy for an hour and a half... because it can go if you're not careful Whilst it might not be perceived as cool to be really enthused by the fact that people show up to hear your music... we don't really give a f***, we really love that and it's exciting, you know?'
After more than a century of civil war, Toyotomi Hideyoshi has united Japan. His rivals have either sworn their allegiance, or they have been destroyed. Despite this fledgling peace, Hideyoshi now dreams of a bold and outlandish plan to make himself the most powerful man in Asia. He plans to expand his reign to China. Logistical challenges and fierce operation in Korea prove to be costly.
Richard Dawkins examines the growing suspicion the public has for science-based medicine, despite its track record of successes like the germ theory of disease, vaccines, antibiotics and increased lifespan. He notes a fifth of British children are currently not immunised against measles, mumps and rubella, attributing it to fears arising from a highly controversial report linking the vaccine with autism. Dawkins criticizes the growing field of alternative medicine which does not pass the same objective and statistical rigour as scientifically derived treatments using controlled double-blind studies. Without verifiable evidence, alternative therapies must rely on biased anecdotes and word of mouth to perpetuate. Dawkins observes these treatments have fanciful rationales and rituals behind them, with many alternative treatments employing pseudoscientific jargon such as "energy", "vibration" or "quantum theory" to give themselves greater credence to patients.
In this episode, Raphael Rowe will spend a week locked up in this African prison surrounded by sex offenders.