After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Mao Tsetung established a system of labor camps for systematic repression, known as Laogai, an abbreviation for "Reform Through Labor". In such camps, forced labor and physical and mental torture were used to bring about a so-called mental reform, re-education in the spirit of the Chinese Communist Party. Millions of Chinese were affected. Many were executed. In hundreds of camps, the Party took advantage of the prisoners' free labor to build the economy. Self-criticism and denunciation were often the only way to escape martyrdom. Successive waves of purges culminated in the Cultural Revolution, which saw massive human rights abuses, political assassinations, massacres, and exiles in remote parts of the country. Using unreleased archive footage, the documentary tells the story of the invention, development and improvement of China's totalitarian system of surveillance and repression up to the present day, never told before.
In a big city with the soul of a small town in the depths of California, after a terrible shooting in a hotel makes the Ramirez family question everything they know about their city: Bakersfield.
Relax, reset and recharge. Robson takes the roads less travelled across his beloved North East England. With friends and family, he finds wellbeing and adventure in wonderful places.
An ongoing series of films devoted to the most remarkable achievements in modern architecture, from the works that heralded the birth of the modern style at the end of the 19th century to the latest designs from today's top architects. By examining each building in detail, the series brings to light the role each has played in the history and evolution of architecture.
All the incredible diversity of animal life sprang from a single organism. Every animal, no matter how weird, is related to every other. And behind each species is an incredible story of the millions of generations that gave rise to it - every animal we know and love today sprang from creatures that looked nothing like it.
Each programme is dedicated to one of the Top Ten Great Britons voted for by the public throughout the last year. Well-known modern-day Briton try to persuade you that their choice is the one to vote for.
Seconds from Disaster is a US/UK-produced documentary television programme that investigates historically relevant man-made and natural disasters of the 20th century. Each episode aims to explain a single incidental by analyzing the causes and circumstances that ultimately effected the disaster. The program uses re-enactments, interviews, testimonies, and CGI to analyze the sequence of events second-by-second for the audience.
Narrators for the show are Ashton Smith, Richard Vaughan and Peter Guinness.
Mark Bowe and his crew of West Virginia master craftsmen salvage antique barns and cabins, reusing the wood to create stunning, modern homes. The Barnwood Builders are devoted to salvaging and will stop at nothing to give 200-year-old structures new life, providing entertainment, inspiration and awe along the way.
An unflinching portrait of Dean Potter, the world's most influential and controversial climber, base jumper and highline walker, who achieves jaw-dropping feats while battling his inner demons.
A documentary series following the journey of seven artists. Though they come from different backgrounds, they share the same dream of performing on a global stage.
Torchwood Declassified is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Each episode is broadcast on the same evening as the broadcast of the weekly television episode. A second series of Declassified aired alongside the second series of Torchwood.
Continuing the tradition of its parent, Doctor Who Confidential, Torchwood Declassified covers themes presented in the just-broadcast episode, as well as providing behind-the-scenes access and footage. Each episode is ten minutes long, compared to Confidential's 30-45 minute length. Following transmission, the episodes were all available for viewing on the BBC's Torchwood website, but were later removed from the site after the end of the first series. Both series of the Declassified installments have been included on the series box sets.