BBC Four HD

Barack Obama's first presidential trip abroad was to Cairo. A year and a half later the Arab Spring broke out, and Obama faced a dilemma as Muammar Gaddafi declared his intention to go to Benghazi and crush the protests.

In 1308 a 12-year-old girl, Isabella of France, became queen of England when she married the English king. A century later another young French girl, Margaret of Anjou, followed in her footsteps. Both these women were thrust into a violent and dysfunctional England and both felt...

Sam Willis tells the story of the English ruler who left the most indelible mark on the castle - the great Plantagenet king, Edward I who turned it into an instrument of colonisation.

Michael's rail journey through postwar Scotland takes him over the River Tay to Dundee on the trail of Joseph McKenzie, the father of modern Scottish photography. Plus, Michael meets a singer-songwriter and veteran of the early Scottish folk scene.

Monica Galetti takes in the dramatic landscapes of the North York Moors as she crosses the heather from Rosedale to Farndale, meeting locals along the way.

BBC FOUR is the BBC channel for people who want more. More depth, more range, more to stimulate the mind.

BBC FOUR is the BBC channel for people who want more. More depth, more range, more to stimulate the mind.

BBC FOUR is the BBC channel for people who want more. More depth, more range, more to stimulate the mind.

BBC FOUR is the BBC channel for people who want more. More depth, more range, more to stimulate the mind.

Michael Portillo twists and shouts through postwar Liverpool, arriving in the city where the Sixties burst into life to find the strikingly contemporary concrete and glass Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Comic Jim Moir explores a fascinating corner of the Kent coast as he walks down to Dungeness. Along the way he meets locals, explores military ruins and rides a steam train.

Alastair Sooke traces how the Romans during the Republic went from being art thieves and copycats to pioneering a new artistic style, warts 'n' all realism. Roman portraits reveal what the great names from history actually looked like.

Professor Mary Beard embarks on an investigative journey to explore the life and times of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus - better known as Caligula. He has become known as Rome's most capricious tyrant, and the stories told about him are some of the most extraordinary...

Sir Derek Jacobi remembers the landmark 1976 TV series 'I, Claudius'.

Claudius, while writing his biography, recalls the history of his family. In Rome 24 AD, Augustus celebrates the anniversary of the defeat of Agrippa and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, and seems to be preparing to make his nephew his heir.