The Time Compass

Myths die hard, and the history of the 20th century is no exception to this rule. Even today, we hold popular beliefs that we take for Evangelical truths. Thus, we believe that Hiroshima caused Japan to surrender, that the Marshall Plan saved Europe, that Adolf Hitler was a military genius, or that Mao Zedong was a necessary evil for China’s modernization. Of course, these judgements contain some truth; but, too broad-stroked to be accurate, they contradict the historical reality by denying its complexity. What if the truth was slightly different? Through an exploration of great national or international myths, this full archive documentary collection revisits the key moments of the 20th century with a new perspective in order to provide a new, smarter and more subtle interpretation, bringing elements to light that have been forgotten or sometimes overshadowed.

China Before China, an eight-episode documentary that tells stories of the origins and early development of Chinese civilization based on key archaeological findings.

Unknown histories take center stage as the hitmakers themselves - from ABBA to T-Pain - explore dimensions of pop music you never knew existed.

Dr Xand Van Tulleken and Raksha Dave investigate the Great Smog of 1952 - the deadliest environmental disaster ever recorded and one of the world's worst peacetime catastrophes. Lasting just over four days, the Great Smog plunged London into a terrifyingly murky gloom - the acrid pollution seeping into homes, leaving Londoners gasping for breath, shutting down transport and emergency services, and overwhelming hospitals and undertakers alike.

Apart from being a feast for the senses and meeting places for noisy human swarms in search of all kinds of merchandise, the markets contain stories and characters that give them unique characters. This documentary series proposes a journey through thirteen of the most representative of Mexico City to get to know them from within.

Tutored by Aristotle, helpless witness to his father's assassination, and a brilliant, pioneering tactician, Alexander the Great had conquered the known world--and sealed his legacy as one of history's most remarkable rulers--by the age of 25. In the year 334 B.C., 20-year-old King Alexander of Macedonia decided to bring the farthest reaches of the world under one domain. Over the next 12 years, he led a grand army across more than 20,000 miles and eventually brought all of Asia under his control, only to perish from battle wounds at the age of 32. Incorporating dramatic onsite reenactments with high-end computer graphics and the expertise of renowned scholars, THE TRUE STORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT is a special presentation from THE HISTORY CHANNEL®, examining the life and career of this military genius, impassioned lover, and fearless leader.

Our cities, transformed a mere century ago to accommodate cars, now want to rid their streets of them. Countries go to war over fuel shortages, and automobiles are at the core of a global ecological crisis. Today, the history of automobile has hit its climax. How did we get here? How did the invention of a single machine reorganize how we work, revolutionize our lifestyles, transform our landscapes, trigger global crises and wreak havoc with the equilibrium of our planet? This documentary series explores the creation and meteoric development of an unprecedented object - the automobile - and its role in mankind’s wild race toward progress.

National Geographic's landmark event series, The Greeks, brings together historians, archaeologists, actors, athletes, scientists and artists to launch a groundbreaking exploration into the ancient Greeks' journey - not just to better understand their past, but to discover how their legacy illuminates our present, and will shape our future. The story of the Greeks is the story of us.