From a childhood marked by poverty on the American frontier to the presidency of a nation on the verge of collapse, this three-part historical biography traces how Abraham Lincoln became one of the defining figures in American history. Blending dramatic reconstruction with commentary from historians and political figures, it explores the ambition, empathy, wit and moral conviction that shaped his rise, his belief in democracy and equality, and the immense personal and political pressures that would eventually place him at the center of the struggle over slavery, union and the future of the United States. In the first episode, Lincoln’s journey begins far from power. Growing up in hardship, enduring the death of his mother and receiving little formal education, he develops a fierce determination to rise beyond obscurity. Through hard physical labor, self-education, storytelling and an emerging talent for public speaking, he begins to build the character and political instincts that will define him. His early encounters with slavery, his move into law and politics, and the relationships that shape his ambitions reveal the making of a man who is still searching for his place in the world, but already driven by the conviction that his life must amount to something.
Orbiting Earth at around 27.000 km/h, the International Space Station is one of humanity’s greatest engineering achievements, but also one of the most unforgiving places ever built. Astronauts and mission controllers recount moments when routine work suddenly became a fight for survival: a spacesuit filling with water, toxic ammonia spraying across a spacewalker, dangerous temperature extremes, radiation, fire, contamination and the constant threat of collision. The series reveals how every mission depends on training, improvisation and split-second decisions in an environment where even a small failure can become fatal. Across the two episodes, presented here together in a single uninterrupted video, the danger escalates from the hazardous construction and maintenance of the station to the growing risks of life aboard it. Astronauts face micrometeoroids and space debris travelling at lethal speeds, docking emergencies and system failures, culminating in the extraordinary 2021 incident when the newly arrived Nauka module unexpectedly fired its thrusters and sent the entire ISS rotating out of control. With communications at risk and the structure under immense strain, crews in orbit and controllers on Earth must work together to regain control. The result is a gripping story of courage, science and survival inside a machine that has kept humans continuously living in space for more than two decades.
Professor Jerry Brotton reveals that maps are far more than neutral guides to places: they are expressions of the societies that create them and powerful instruments for shaping territory, belief and authority. Beginning with some of the earliest known maps, he traces how cartography evolved from marking land and ownership to serving kings, empires, scientists and governments. From Henry VIII’s coastal surveys and the Cassini family’s scientific breakthroughs to the drawing of modern national borders, the series shows how maps can define who controls land, who belongs where and even how entire peoples understand the world around them. Across the three episodes, presented here together in a single uninterrupted video, the journey moves from ancient and medieval worldviews to imperial expansion and the digital age. Brotton explores religious maps, Aztec symbolism, Victorian attempts to classify societies, the politics behind projections of the globe, and the rise of Google Earth and data-driven mapping. He then follows the mapmakers and explorers who turned distant lands into targets for conquest and profit, from Ptolemy and Columbus to Walter Raleigh and the trading empires that followed. The story ends in the Arctic, where new maps are once again being used to stake claims over oil, gas and minerals, proving that even in the twenty-first century, cartography remains inseparable from power, plunder and possession.
In the final three episodes of Season 2, the struggle for Germania reaches a breaking point as loyalty, vengeance and political ambition collide. Tiberius demands proof that Marbod truly stands with Rome, while Flavus makes a dangerous proposal to Germanicus. At the same time, the Germanic tribal leaders gather to proclaim Marbod king, hoping unity might finally give them the strength to resist Rome. But the fragile alliance is shattered by tragedy, and Marbod is forced to confront Tiberius directly as trust on both sides collapses. The conflict then accelerates toward open war. Thusnelda and Folkwin undertake a perilous mission, Gaius makes a shocking discovery in the forest, and Segestes offers Tiberius a treacherous bargain. With Roman reinforcements approaching by ship, Arminius and the tribes realize they may have only one chance left: strike the Roman camp before a new legion arrives. The season closes with betrayal, sacrifice and a desperate battle for freedom, as every decision threatens to determine whether the Germanic tribes remain divided or finally stand together against Rome.
In the final two episodes of the series, the reptile trade enters a new and even more lucrative era. After prison, Tommy Crutchfield returns to find an industry transformed by the rise of genetically altered “morphs”, rare colour and pattern variations that can sell for enormous sums. What appears to be a more legitimate breeding business quickly collides again with illegal trafficking, as Operation Chameleon begins to expose the international network linking collectors, dealers and even major zoological institutions. The investigation then closes in on Anson Wong, the Malaysian trafficker described as one of the most powerful figures in the global reptile trade. As U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents work undercover to penetrate his organization, the story expands from rare snakes and lizards to critically endangered species such as the ploughshare tortoise, whose extraordinary black-market value has helped drive it toward extinction in the wild. These final episodes reveal how obsession, vast profits, corruption and international demand can turn the pursuit of exotic animals into a criminal empire with devastating consequences for wildlife.
In the final three episodes, the investigation takes a decisive turn when the Frankfurt luggage records and bomb-damaged clothing recovered from the wreckage lead Scottish detectives to Malta. A small clothes shop and the memory of a mysterious customer begin to connect the bomb to a wider international network, while cooperation between Scottish police, the FBI and the CIA becomes increasingly strained. As investigators follow the trail toward Libya, a secret CIA source and similarities with another aircraft bombing appear to offer the breakthrough they have been searching for. More than a decade after Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed, the case finally reaches the courtroom. Following years of political negotiation, two Libyan suspects stand trial under Scottish law at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. But the prosecution still depends on fragile witness testimony and painstaking forensic evidence assembled across several countries. As key witnesses are challenged and doubts emerge, the series builds toward a tense question that has haunted the victims’ families since 1988: will the investigation finally deliver justice?
In the first episode, Lincoln’s journey begins far from power. Growing up in hardship, enduring the death of his mother and receiving little formal education, he develops a fierce determination to rise beyond obscurity. Through hard physical labor, self-education, storytelling and an emerging talent for public speaking, he begins to build the character and political instincts that will define him. His early encounters with slavery, his move into law and politics, and the relationships that shape his ambitions reveal the making of a man who is still searching for his place in the world, but already driven by the conviction that his life must amount to something.