The rise of alternative rock in the USA. From its early underground days where bands like Black Flag drew inspiration from the DIY ethos of punk. We explore why the bands that emerged from the underground offered an alternative both to the established music industry and the prevailing politics. Bands like R.E.M., The Pixies and Husker Du, REM breaking into the mainstream charts with 'Losing My Religion', Seattle 'grunge' scene, culminating in the success of Nirvana's 'Nevermind'

British Indie music was once seen as the bastion of the over earnest 'High Fidelity' snob who would sneer at chart success. the indie label was the redoubt against the forces of mediocrity and was a precious source of integrity and honesty. A generation would find meaning in the music of The Smiths, the archetypal indie group of the 1980's. From the Stone Roses, the heir manque of the indie music crown, via Suede’s dark sexuality and the media saturation of Brit-pop's Blur v Oasis, indie was now a marketing device, ultimately losing any of it's once cherished intimacy and integrity

Through ancient manuscripts and oral tales Michael Wood charts the first human migrations out of Africa. He travels from the tropical backwaters of South India through lost ancient cities in Pakistan to the vibrant landscapes of the Ganges plain. In Turkmenistan dramatic archaeological discoveries cast new light on India’s past.

This episode examines the British Raj and India’s struggle for freedom. Wood reveals how in South India a global corporation came to control much of the subcontinent, and explores the magical culture of Lucknow, discovering the enigmatic Briton who helped found the freedom movement. He traces the Amritsar massacre, the rise of Gandhi and Nehru, and the events that led to the Partition of India in 1947.

Scorched by their proximity to the sun, Mercury and Venus are hostile worlds; one gouged with craters from cosmic collisions and the other a vortex of sulphur, carbon dioxide and acid rain. Prime examples of planets gone awry, do they serve as a warning for ominous scenarios that might someday threaten Earth?

Ignited by the power of the atom, burning with light, heat and wrath, stars are anything but peaceful. They collide, devour each other, and explode in enormous supernovas--the biggest explosions in the Universe.