Secrets of the Dead

From PBS – Spied upon by MI19 in a bugging operation of unprecedented scale and cunning, 4,000 German POWs revealed their inner thoughts about the Third Reich and let slip military secrets that helped the Allies win WWII. The film tells the story of how those conversations were recorded and how they can now reveal, in shocking detail, the hearts and minds of the German fighter. Only now have more than 100,000 hours of these secret recordings been declassified, researched and cross referenced. The documentary includes intense, full-dialogue dramatic reconstructions that use the verbatim transcripts of these bugged conversations to reveal the dark heart of the Nazi regime as never before.

From PBS – A classic story involving foul play, cover ups, a murder mystery and a voyage of discovery explains what happened to a group of Irish men who immigrated to America. In 1832, railroad contractor Philip Duffy hired 57 Irish immigrants to lay railroad tracks in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Less than two months after their arrival, all 57 were dead. Did they all die — as was widely believed — from cholera? Or were some murdered? In 2003, twin brothers who discovered a secret file among their grandfather’s papers investigated the deaths of these men and found the location of their final resting place. Using the latest forensic and scientific investigative techniques, DNA, forensic analysis, facial reconstruction and historical detective work in Ireland and the U.S., modern detectives and experts unravel this extraordinary story.

Human skeletal remains found in the basement of Ben Franklin's British residence may have been used for science.

In many ways, President Lyndon B. Johnson was the most unlikely champion of Civil Rights. But his actions in the White House told a different story when he dared to champion two laws that changed America and the world—the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

On June 11, 1962, bank robbers, Frank Morris and Clarence and John Anglin, launched a patchwork, raincoat raft into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay surrounding Alcatraz Prison. The men disappeared, leaving behind a cold case that has mystified law enforcement for over half a century. Now, three Dutch scientists have used 3D modelling technology to show that it may have been possible for the men to have survived. Putting their theory to the test, the Dutchmen are recreating the daring escape as closely to the original as possible, right down to launching their own raincoat raft into the bay. Will they make it through the treacherous waters to safety or be swept out to sea? And can they prove once and for all what happened to the escapees?

Archaeologists have long believed that while the Egyptians were building pyramids 3,000 years ago, the people living in Western Europe were far less advanced. But a new discovery suggests something far more exciting. Five years ago, the remains of an incredible, ancient site began to emerge from a quarry in eastern England. Due to its delicate nature, experts have largely been working in secret – until now. What they've found is simply unheard of: a 3000-year-old settlement that would have risen above the marshy fens, made up of well-built houses on stilts. A thriving economic hub the size of a modern country town surrounded this settlement – complete with busy harbors and rivers packed with metalwork traders, selling their goods across Europe. Shockingly, evidence suggests the town may have been attacked and set afire before being abandoned. The ancient artifacts – unprecedented in number and quality – are telling a dramatically new story about Bronze Age life in Britain.