The Lost City of Petra
In a silent desert valley, among mountains of rose-red stone, lies a fabulous lost city once thought to be only a legend. For centuries, it was forgotten, its name erased from maps, its splendour whispered only in Bedouin tales. Accessible only through a dramatic mile-long chasm or siq, where towering cliffs block out the sun, it is one of the most magnificent Wonders of the World. The story of Petra is amazing: a city carved into the rocks, first home to the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, a grandson of Abraham, built by the ancient Nabatean traders, and then lost to time, seemingly forever, until 1812, when a young Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, disguised himself as a Muslim scholar and risked his life in a daring and dangerous scheme to uncover its secrets once again. Join Gary Kent on a journey to the rose-red city that time forgot. Petra isn’t just a destination; it’s a kind of pilgrimage to a place where legends are carved in stone.
Karl Marx & the Rise of Communism
No other single ideology has claimed so much of the world’s population so quickly. One thing is for sure: history took a dramatic turn on the day that Marx and Engels met in Paris and decided to put their ideas down on paper.
Eighth Wonder of the World – Banaue
Join Gary Kent in the Philippines, as we travel 300 km north of Manila to the spectacular hanging rice terraces of Banaue. These ancient terraces uniquely combine the beauty of the natural world with the ingenuity and amazing feats of engineering that typify man-made wonders. As we marvel at this awe-inspiring place, we will discover a connection that transports us half a world away to the feet of the Master Storyteller who shared wisdom.
The Empire’s Lost Children
From the 17th century through the Victorian era, Britain shipped orphaned children to its colonies, many without parental consent. Decades later, a social worker in Nottingham uncovered the scheme’s hidden wounds. Join us to investigate this forgotten history.
The Last Soldier – Shoichi Yokoi
Shoichi Yokoi was a Japanese soldier who refused to surrender at the end of World War II. Instead, he vanished into the jungles of Guam and lived in an underground cave for nearly 28 years after the war was over.
He survived on fruit, nuts, snails, shrimp, eels, and rats. Today, he is remembered for the ingenuity that kept him alive and unseen for almost three decades. But it is hard to admire that feat without feeling the sting of its irony. Yokoi did eventually return to Japan. What he could never recover was half a lifetime spent on a struggle that no longer needed to be fought.
How could a soldier stay hidden that long, and why was he so afraid to come out? In this program, Gary Kent tells the heroic and tragic story of Shoichi Yokoi, the fear that kept him underground, and what that story has to say about your life.
Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain
Join Gary in England as we investigate major events, exploits, and figures associated with the British and Allied armed forces in their defence of their country, independence, and freedom. This was not just a physical conflict; it was also a battle for people’s hearts and minds.
The Man Who Fell From the Sky – The Chris Rantall Story
In this program, we meet a man who knows those risks all too well. Chris Rantall fell 10,000 feet (3 kilometres) to the earth and lived to tell the story. But his survival came at a devastating cost.
The Downfall of the President – Richard Nixon
One of the most fascinating events in modern political history is Watergate, the scandal in Washington, D.C., that led to the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon. What started as a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters quickly grew into a nationwide crisis involving wiretapping, illegal funds, secret tapes, and a cover-up that reached the White House itself.
Opals: Fire in the Desert
This program tells the story of Opal mining in the outback town of Coober Pedy and one man, “Iron Man” Jim Shaw who in 1920 pushed a loaded wheelbarrow across the desert in the height of summer from Tarcoola to the opal fields and became a legend of the outback.
Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown – A Story of Tragedy, Hope and Healing
Fukushima is a place forever marked by a triple disaster. Within minutes, a massive earthquake, devastating tsunami, and nuclear meltdown unleashed an unprecedented wave of death, displacement, and destruction across the Tohoku region of Japan.