At a time when most ships were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s colossal ship, the Great Eastern, was almost 700 feet long and built of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel.

In 1869, John Roebling won the contract to build the largest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was to stretch 1,600 feet, in one giant leap, across the wide and turbulent East River that separates New York from Brooklyn.

In 1800 Robert Stevenson set about building a lighthouse on the deadly Bell Rock reef off the east of Scotland.

By the middle of the 19th century, the benefits brought by the countless advances of the Industrial Age were gradually beginning to reach America,

In the summer of 1858, while the Great Eastern was being fitted out for her maiden voyage, London was in the grip of a crisis known as the 'Great Stink'. The population had grown rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, yet there had been no provision for sanitation.

Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal. Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the Isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific, making the long journey round South America unnecessary.

As pioneers explored and found their way across the vast continent of America, they were frequently stopped by poor or hostile environments such as the desert regions of Arizona and Nevada.

Documentary looking at the life and times of Bill Shankly, Liverpool FC's legendary Scottish manager. Gaining promotion from the old English second division, Shankly forged two great sides at Liverpool, winning numerous trophies along the way. A product of his working-class roots in Ayrshire, his career in management spanned a period when football was very much the people's game.

A career-spanning documentary on the Rolling Stones, with concert footage from their "A Bigger Bang" tour. Directed by Martin Scorsese

Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of our quest to master the power of electricity.

How pioneers unlocked electricity's mysteries and built strange instruments to create it.

How harnessing the link between magnetism and electricity transformed the world.

How we finally came to understand the science of electricity.

Simon Schama argues that it is impossible to understand how Shakespeare came to belong 'to all time' without understanding just how much he was of his time.

Compilation which unlocks the BBC vaults to explore the burgeoning singer-songwriter genre that exploded at the dawn of the 1970s and became one of the definining styles of that decade.

Featuring Peter Sarstedt, Carole King, Jim Croce, Bridget St John, Cat Stevens, Judy Collins, Randy Newman, John Sebastian, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Al Stewart, Kevin Coyne, Billy Joel, Tim Hardin and Paul Simon.

Featuring classic songs from Bobbie Gentry, Kris Kristofferson, Buffy Saint-Marie, Janis Ian, Gordon Lightfoot, John Martyn, Randy Newman, Linda Lewis, Joni Mitchell, Don McLean, Ralph McTell, Loudon Wainwright III, Don Williams and Paul Brady.

Styles of that decade. Featuring songs from Donovan, Gerry Rafferty, James Taylor, Elton John, Mickey Newbury, Neil Young, Tom Paxton, John Prine, Melanie, Jesse Winchester, Steve Forbert, Chris Rea, Carole King and others"

Compilations of performances by singer-songwriters from the BBC vaults, using archive from programmes such as The Old Grey Whistle Test, In Concert and Top of the Pops

Rousing, heartfelt documentary charting the life and career of legendary football manager Alex Ferguson, directed by his son Jason, featuring Fergie himself, Eric Cantona and Ryan Giggs

Dick Fontaine's film is built around the explosive energy of Sonny's 80th Birthday Concert, where legendary figures Roy Haynes, Jim Hall and Ornette Coleman join him to celebrate his journey so far, his music and its future for a new generation

Three-part series chronicling the journey of soul music from its origins in gospel and R&B.

How Motown Records showed the world a successful, sophisticated image of black people at a time when black Americans were still subject to discrimination.

How inequality, poverty and racism drove black American musicians to a harder soul sound in the late 60s and early 70s.

How, in the 70s and 80s, a second coming of soul men offered a black female audience slow jams and sexual healing.

Songs are the soundtrack of our lives and it takes a kind of genius to create a true pop masterpiece. But, as Neil Brand argues, there is more to consider in the story of what makes a great song. Neil looks at every moment in the life cycle of a song - how they are written, performed, recorded and the changing ways we have listened to them.

Musician Neil Brand explores the magical elements that come together to create great songs by recreating some of the most memorable and innovative recording sessions in music history - from Elvis's slapback echo in Memphis and the Beatles' tape loops at Abbey Road to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound and the Beach Boys' pop symphonies.

Composer and musician Neil Brand's series exploring the alchemy that creates great songs reaches the modern era, when a revolution in how they were made took place. From the synthesisers of symphonic rock to the mixes of disco and the samplings of hip hop, music was transformed by the arrival of digital technology and the computer, which gave some songwriters more power but others much less

Composer and musician Neil Brand presents a series which explores the magical elements that come together to create our favourite songs.

This innovative series tells the story of eight battles to design and build the fastest cars, ships, planes, boats and trains