All Seasons

Season 1

  • S01E01 Planes

    • July 23, 2019
    • BBC Four

    The amazing story of our greatest superpower - the ability to fly. A tale of passion, danger and death, it involves a bicycle, a toy, a disaster at sea and the ultimate sacrifice.

  • S01E02 The Car

    • July 30, 2019
    • BBC Four

    The amazing story of the car includes an alliance with a deadly predator, devastating floods, a 19th-century publicity stunt, a mountain of horse dung and a trip to the slaughterhouse.

  • S01E03 The Rocket

    • August 6, 2019
    • BBC Four

    The incredible story of that amazing invention, the rocket. It took a teenage genius, a Chinese monk, a Soviet plot and a butter machine to give us the ability to leave the Earth.

  • S01E04 The Smartphone

    • August 13, 2019
    • BBC Four

    Jim Al-Khalili uncovers the fascinating story of the smartphone. It would take a Hollywood star, a missed vacation and a Roman siege to give us the device that defines our age.

  • S01E05 The Telescope

    • August 20, 2019
    • BBC Four

    Jim Al-Khalili on the fascinating story of the telescope. How it took a seashore plant, a bottle of mercury and a property boom to give us the machine that discovered the universe.

  • S01E06 Robots

    • August 27, 2019
    • BBC Four

    Jim Al-Khalili explores the fascinating story of the robot, from ancient times to the modern day - asking if robots will one day take over the world.