Manchester's International Festival is a collection of world class talent, theatrical premieres, ground breaking musical performances and global stars from the contemporary art scene. Amongst these gems will be Shelley's The Masque of Anarchy, performed by Maxine Peake, one of the most gifted actors of her generation.

A profile of one of England's truly unique and underrated bands, The Fall. One of the most enigmatic, idiosyncratic and chaotic garage bands of the last 30 years, The Fall are led by the belligerent and poetic Mark E Smith and grew out of the fringe of the Manchester punk scene

Black people have lived in Britain for centuries - although their circumstances have varied greatly. Some have been enslaved and exploited, while others have enjoyed privilege and status. Trace their story to discover more about the attitudes and conditions they encountered.

Nothing has shrunk the globe more than our extraordinary ability to talk to one another across the oceans and continents. Episode three of The Genius of Invention reveals the fascinating chain of events that made such every-day miracles possible.

Against the backdrop of wars in France, the English nobility quarrel. News of the English defeat at Orleans reaches the duke of Gloucester and other nobles. After the funeral of Henry V, his son, the infant Henry VI, is proclaimed king.

Over your lifetime you undergo an extraordinary change - no other animal on earth goes through such a dramatic metamorphosis. In this programme, Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the latest understanding of how we all grow.

Hide and Seek follows tigers, harpy eagles, chimpanzees, army ants and other predators as they rise to the challenge of hunting within the forest - a dense, confusing, three-dimensional world, one in which even finding prey is a maddening task. Hq Version

The big players from Washington, London and Baghdad tell the inside story of the war in Iraq, revealing how they wrestled with the big decisions - and with each other.

The big players from Washington, London and Baghdad tell the inside story of the war in Iraq, revealing how they wrestled with the big decisions - and with each other.

Documentary about how a much-derided music actually changed the world. Between 1969 and 1979 disco soundtracked gay liberation, foregrounded female desire in the age of feminism and led to the birth of modern club culture as we know it today.

Documentary telling the story of the easy listening genre from the 50s to the present day.

Do you remember buying your first single? Where you bought it? What it was? The thrill of playing it for the first time? What it sounded like? How it maybe changed your life? Lots of us do. Lots of us still have that single somewhere in a dusty box in the attic, along with other treasured memorabilia.

The murder of another former soldier, David Grüner, prompts inquiries into his and Raben's army squad and a particular event during the group's Afghanistan mission a few years before.

In the 1960s, a small indie label would conquer American music. With artists like the Doors, Love, Tim Buckley, the Incredible String Band and the Stooges, Elektra Records was consistently on the cutting edge.

Brian Duffy was one of the greatest photographers of his generation. Along with David Bailey and Terence Donovan he defined the image of the 1960s and was as famous as the stars he photographed.

April 5th 1968, the morning after one of the most catastrophic moments in American history - the assassination of Martin Luther King. America's inner cities had begun to implode and in Boston there is a fragile peace.

Including Elton John, David Bowie, Curtis Mayfield, Steppenwolf, the Jam and Blondie.

Jo Brand narrates a profile which celebrates the life and times of the BBC's first flagship live music programme, The Old Grey Whistle Test, which ran from 1971 to 1987.

The documentary series about the solar system examines how our understanding of the evolution of life on earth has changed, and explores the evidence for life on other planets. In 1976, two robotic probes suggested that the surface of Mars was dead. But the latest research reveals that this may not be the case and that it is possible that life on earth may have evolved from Mars.

Brian Cox continues his exploration of the solar system with a visit to a planet that dwarfs all the others: Jupiter. Its size gives it a great power that it has used to manipulate the other planets.

Documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first satellite, Sputnik, which launched the space age in 1957. The film explores how satellites have affected almost every aspect of our lives, from spy satellites and GPS transforming the military to the communications revolution kickstarted by Telstar. But recent events in China have revealed just how vulnerable we might be, for they suggest we might be on the verge of another new age, one of satellite terrorism.

Documentary-maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles.

Dean Potter is the only person in the world who does extreme slack-lining.This hair-raising variation of tightrope-walking finds Dean high in the sky, crossing a bouncy, one-inch-thick stretch of rope without using either a pole for balance, or any kind of safety harness.

A celebration of the songs of Nick Drake, the concert features the original orchestrations of Nick's friend, the late Robert Kirby. It includes a house band anchored by Danny Thompson, the legendary bassist who played on Drake's first two albums.

The brother and best friend of Michael Hanley describe the night he was shot dead outside a club in Dewsbury. Each has a dramatic and moving story of the murder, the subsequent trial and the lasting effect the killing has had on them both.

Of all the wonders of the human body, there's one more mysterious than any other. Blood: five precious litres that keep us alive. Yet how much do we really know about this sticky red substance and its mysterious, life-giving force?

2011 has been a year of epic-scale climate and geological events across the world. This film looks back on a year of natural disasters, all caught on camera in spectacular fashion.

Pasqualino Cutufa' is a Vigata inhabitant who for years has made a habit of showing up at other people's funerals mourning their deaths. Despite having no enemies in the town, one day Pasqualino is found brutally murdered in the street.

There is much excitement at Vigata's police station, as Salvo and Livia start to prepare for their wedding. Deputy Inspector Mimi' Auguello is especially eager to be picked as Salvo's wedding witness, but Salvo may well have other plans.

Andrew Marr looks at life in Britain at the time of the 2011 Census, revealing unexpected trends and facts about a country we only think we know.