Art Of War

How Oil Prices Affect The Economy

A wonderfully simple explanation of oil prices and how they affect the economy for all those who don’t have a degree in economics

BBC, How To Grow A Planet

We might think humans are the most powerful living thing on Earth, but it’s plants that time and again have set the agenda for life. All animals rely on plants for their survival. This is not an accident - they are the most powerful evolutionary force on Earth. Plants enabled amphibians to leave the water, they had a hand in the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, and they ensured the ultimate triumph of insects, mammals, birds and even us - all for their own benefit. Because plants have only ever had one goal - the total domination of the planet. It is a story of ruthless ingenuity, seduction and deception; of unimaginable power and ambition. An epic tale, How to Grow a Planet offers a stunning new perspective on Earth history.

Life from Light: In this first episode Iain journeys from the spectacular caves of Vietnam to the remote deserts of Africa. He sees how plants first harnessed light from the sun and created our life-giving atmosphere. He uncovers the epic battle between the dinosaurs and the tallest trees on the planet. And, using remarkable imagery, he shows plants breathing - and for the first time talking to each other.

The Power of Flowers: In the second episode, Iain discovers how flowers have transformed our planet. He journeys to the remote islands of the South Pacific to track down the earliest flowers. In the deserts of Africa and rainforests of Vietnam, he sees how they brought brilliant colour to the most barren landscapes and sculpted the earth itself. And he learns how they drove the evolution of all animals - kick-starting our human story.

The Challenger: In the third episode, Iain discovers the remarkable impact of just one plant: grass. On the savannah of South Africa he sees how grass unleashed a firestorm to fight its greatest enemy, the forests. He shows how cutting your finger on a blade of grass shows us how it transformed life in the oceans. In Senegal, he meets the cleverest chimps in the world. And, in the ruins of the oldest temple on Earth, he tells the extraordinary story of how grass triggered human civilisation.

Louis Theroux - Law & Disorder In Johannesburg

Louis Theroux travels to Johannesburg, where the residents find themselves increasingly besieged by crime. Despairing of the capability of the police and the courts to protect them, many have turned to an industry of private security, offering protection for a price. Are the sometimes brutal methods of these private police really a solution or just another part of the problem?

The first stop for Louis is a meeting with William Mayangoni, the local co-ordinator for a security firm known as Mapogo. Based on the outskirts of Diepsloot, one of the squatter camps that ring Johannesburg, William investigates thefts for his mainly white clients. When he catches a suspect, he gives them ‘medicine’: the alleged offender is beaten with a leather whip known as a sjambok.

Although his clients seem to support what they see as ‘an African solution to an African problem’, William’s methods alienate the people of Diepsloot. Finally, their patience snaps dramatically, and William has to call out the real police in order to protect himself from the vicious threat of the mob.

In the centre of Johannesburg, a security company called Bad Boyz work in an area called Hillbrow, notorious for its high crime rate. Louis meets company director Hendrik De Klerk who explains that much of their activity involves reclaiming and securing buildings that have been taken over, or hijacked, by criminal gangs who illegally take rent from tenants. Louis watches dramatic evictions unfold, in which the police and security companies are not afraid to use force to kick out the protesting residents.

Louis Theroux - Law & Disorder In Philadelphia 

Louis Theroux joins the Philadelphia Police Department patrolling the most dangerous part of one of the most violent cities in America.

With gun carrying drug dealers on every corner, it is now normal for the centre of Philadelphia to stage 30 or 40 homicides a month. Embedded within the Philly rapid response teams, Louis feels a palpable sense of adrenalin mixed with frustration as police and the drug dealing ‘corner boys’ take each other on night after night. Here is a community desperate for protection but unwilling to talk to the law enforcers for fear of street retribution.

Louis senses a society trying to contain a lawlessness born out of poverty and disaffection. There’s mistrust on all sides, although over time Louis sees a complex picture evolve - there are cops and robbers, guns and violence, but also an understanding between both sides. They are all part of ‘The Game’ which plays itself out night after night between the community and the cops given the task of policing it