Daniel Browning Smith explores the world of everyday folk who are not your average human being. He encounters a man with seemingly magnetic powers, an Ice Man, and a man who can shoot lightning from his finger tips.

This series presents the latest innovations and the most famous artists who set the pace for landscape and garden architecture around the world. What forms are gardens expected to take in the 21st century? Which functions must a present day garden fulfil? How can human culture be reconciled to the natural environment? Can modern mankind regain its lost Paradise?

Abbeys and monasteries are fascinating institutions, witnesses of a rich cultural, religious and sometimes mystical past. All over Europe we visit very different types of monasteries, from modern such as Le Corbusier to Romanesque and baroc. The monks and nuns tell their story and give us an insight into all aspects of their secluded yet sometimes surprisingly modern way of life.

In Colombia’s northern Magdalena Valley, "valley music" is the rage and the accordion is king. Every 10 years, Colombia’s top accordion virtuosi gather in the market town of Valledupar to compete in a fierce musical battle to decide who among them is the undisputed Accordion King and at the same time inspiring new forms of World Music.

Alcatraz was the country’s first maximum security penitentiary, holding infamous gangsters and cons like Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, “The Birdman” Robert Stroud and many other criminals who were no less dangerous. Over 29 years, these desperate inmates challenged the prison again and again. The Rock was tough, but the inmates were convinced they were tougher.

The worst of the worst, the toughest of the tough: kidnappers, bank robbers, murderers, all called ‘The Rock’ home.  Watch the story of the incredible transformation from a rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay to an overwhelming maximum-security prison with impenetrable walls.  A place with unbendable bars and surrounded by deadly, freezing currents.

Aliyah tells the story of the recent exodus from the former Soviet Union to Israel. It describes the hopes, dreams, aspirations and expectations of the desperate Jewish people, who decided to leave everything and everyone behind and start a new life in the Land of Milk and Honey.

Millions of girls and women collect dolls and spend considerable amounts of money on their dresses and accessories. In this series we'll explore the world of doll collecting, and profile some very special and much loved American dolls!

When America celebrates, it does so with some of the most strange, bizarre and wondrous festivals imaginable. Events include a redneck belly flop contest, launching homemade rockets, Alaska’s Hairy Chest, Legs and Beard contest, and Sturgis, the world’s largest (and craziest!) biker festival.