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What not to miss on TV & Radio this week for history enthusiasts.
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Sophiatown
Friday 18 July, 9pm, BBC Four |
Marking Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday, BBC Four offers a trio of documentaries. Sophiatown is a Storyville film telling the remarkable story of a Johannesburg neighbourhood that remained a bulwark of multiculturalism during apartheid. Soweto Strings (8pm) looks at a township music school, while Arena: Voices From The Island (10.25pm) features recollections of Robben Island from ex-prisoners, including Mandela.
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Arena: Little Platform, Big Stage
Saturday 19 July, 9pm, BBC Four |
All aboard. It’s Bus Night on BBC Four, time to celebrate the iconic red Routemaster. At the centre of the evening’s programming lies an Arena documentary that focuses on five conductors and their stories of life on the buses. Also worth checking out is Perpetual Motion (8.25pm), which tells the history of the Routemaster.
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Hadrian
Saturday 19 July, 8pm, BBC Two |
Tying in with the British Museum’s Hadrian: Empire and Conflict exhibition, Dan Snow looks at the life and times of a man considered by many to be Rome’s greatest leader. Why? Hadrian didn’t just build walls y’know, he consolidated the empire’s frontiers, bringing peace and prosperity. But there’s a dark side too, in Hadrian’s ruthless suppression of the Jews.
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Samuel Johnson Prize
Sunday 20 July, 10pm, BBC Four |
Spoiler alert! The winner of the UK’s richest prize for non-fiction was actually announced on 15 July. The £30,000 cheque went to The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Kate Summerscale’s excellent account of a country house murder in Victorian England. But don’t let that spoil the party. Here’s coverage of the awards ceremony from the Southbank Centre. Kirsty Wark hosts.
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Charles Wheeler – A Tribute
Tuesday 22 July, 7pm, BBC Two |
As one of the most eminent British journalists of the 20th century, the late Charles Wheeler reported on key historical events. These ranged from the Dalai Lama’s flight from Tibet to India, through the assassination of Martin Luther King, and the plight of the Kurds following the first Gulf War. A look back at his life and work.
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Riddle Of The Romanovs – Revealed
Tuesday 22 July, 8pm, Five |
There have long been rumours that children from the Russian royal family escaped the Bolsheviks. Could they be true? American experts examine bone fragments found in a shallow grave in the Urals, trying to find if the remains belong to Crown Prince Alexei or one of his sisters, missing from the grave where the rest of the Romanovs were discovered in 1991.
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Rome: Power & Glory
Wednesday 23 July, 10pm, Discovery |
By the end of the fourth century, the Roman Empire was a shadow of its former self. Military men were more busy fighting among themselves than repelling invaders, and corruption was rife. The history of Rome concludes with a focus on its long and sad decline.
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The Thirties In Colour
Wednesday 23 July, 9pm, BBC Four |
The second episode in a fascinating series focuses on the work of the steel magnates, Harry and Bolling Wright. The brothers travelled extensively, capturing fascinating footage of trips to Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Mediterranean. In an era of mass tourism, much of what they saw is forever gone.
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Travellers’ Century
Thursday 24 July, 9pm, BBC Four |
As part of BBC Four’s Journeys of Discovery season, explorer Benedict Allen recalls the lives of three of the 20th century’s greatest travel writers. He begins with Eric Newby, following Newby’s trail as far as the mountains of Afghanistan. Newby’s travels in the country inspired his book A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush.
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The Eureka Years
Friday 25 July, 11am, Radio 4 |
Ever enthusiastic, Adam Hart-Davis continues his survey of notable years in the history of science. It’s 1893 and, in a coal-powered era, the internal combustion engine is heralded as a solution to London’s pollution problems.
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