What happens if you give magic mushrooms (psilocibine) to experienced Zen practitioners who have never used drugs? What does that teach us about the mystical experience of oneness with nature? Based on these questions, psychiatrist Franz Vollenweider and Zen master Vanja Palmers set up a legal science experiment in a monastery at the top of Mount Rigi in Switzerland. Exactly 50 years after the magic mushrooms were officially banned, a new story begins in what is now called the “psychedelic renaissance”. While in 2021 most studies with psychedelics mainly focus on their promising medical applications, Frans and Vanja are already going a step further. Can the combination of meditation and psilocibin help humanity get out of the mess we have created on ourselves and the planet with our neo-liberal society?

Ricky Gervais dishes out controversial takes on political correctness and oversensitivity in a taboo-busting comedy special about the end of humanity. Recorded at The London Palladium.

Behind locked doors in St. Petersburg, Russia is the Leningrad Codex, the world’s oldest complete text of the Hebrew Bible. Because of its ancient origins, it is a purer version of the Bible–containing words and characters lost in later translations. Timothy Smith, an antiquities expert, believes he’s found an intricate code hidden within its text, one that may not show up in later translations. This two-hour special takes viewers on a journey across the globe to find out if the hidden code is real. If it is, could this be the actual word of God? A code written into his own divine work. A master plan for history? The code is said to point to a diverse variety of historical events from the rise of Hitler to the threat of North Korea and it may even point to the location of one of the greatest treasures of all, the lost Arc of the Covenant.

Liz Bonnin is setting out on a global mission to reveal the full scale of the world’s plastic problem – and explore ways in which this looming environmental disaster might be averted. As she chases plastic around the world, Liz is going to show us that this is a crisis far greater than we’d ever imagined…

How Atari helped create the games industry years before it should have happened, and the lucky deals and unfortunate mistakes that almost destroyed the entire industry just as quickly as it was born. The personalities of the pioneers, the creations of the engineers, and the challenges, technology and business deals. See the games and hear the stories from the creators themselves.

There’s something in the woods.

His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams’ own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.

A look at the creation of The Pogues’ song “Fairytale of New York”.

The behind-the-scenes account – part love story, part thriller – of how Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was thrown into a Tehran jail, and how her family battled to get her home

The history of New York’s Meatpacking District, told from the perspective of transgender sex workers who lived and worked there. Filmmaker Kristen Lovell, who walked “The Stroll” for a decade, reunites her community to recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.

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Dougray Scott explores Scotland’s pivotal role in creating modern football, charting the decades of footballing rivalry with England that have followed since their first official encounter in 1872.