logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
26m 29s

The Beaches

Bbc World Service
About this episode

A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. Harrison Lewis and wetland scientist Christian Dunn re-enact one of the most remarkable feats of the Second World War and discover the intricate details of the daring but forgotten science that underpinned D-Day.

Up next
Mar 23
Superbugs: Resistance Rising Part 1
The rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is already claiming lives - and a far greater global crisis is on the horizon.In this three part series for Discovery, reporter Roland Pease traces how we reached this point, uncovers the forces driving resistance ever faster, and ... Show More
29m 33s
Mar 16
The Life Scientific: Jehane Ragai
Ever heard of the unsuccessful Dutch painter who decided to humiliate his critics by forging Vermeers, which the artworld subsequently dubbed 'masterpieces'? Or the businessman who bought a Marc Chagall painting that he displayed with pride for years, before a television investig ... Show More
26m 29s
Mar 9
The Life Scientific: Tony Juniper
Tony Juniper is an environmentalist who has worn many hats, over the course of his career. After developing a passion for birds in childhood, his first job saw him working to save endangered parrots - including a successful effort to bring back the Spix's macaw from the edge of e ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2025
The Terrifying Science of Tiny Subs and D-Day, Part Two: The Rise of the Chamber Divers
As Axis powers swarm across Europe in the lead-up to D-Day, a small group of scientists refuse to leave their lab, throwing a fair amount of modern ethics out the window (or the sub, if you like) as they race to complete vital experiments in hyperbaric chambers -- the results of ... Show More
46m 53s
Sep 2025
The Chindits
During World War Two, an unconventional special force was formed. Known as the Chindits, they fought behind enemy lines in Burma, now Myanmar during 1943 and 1944 in the war against Japan.Their leader was the charismatic Orde Wingate, a British Army officer. This programme is mad ... Show More
10m 19s
Jun 2024
America at D-Day
<p>On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces combined their land, air and sea forces into the largest amphibious invasion in history - D-Day.</p><br><p>Under Supreme Commander General Dwight D Eisenhower, this attack turned the tide on the second world war, pushing enemy forces out of F ... Show More
54m 18s
Jun 2024
D-Day: The Last Voices: 1. The Big Secret
D-Day: The Last Voices brings together a rich collection of historical audio testimonies recorded with those who fought in the invasion of Normandy, alongside extraordinary new interviews with the last surviving veterans, to tell their story of D-Day as it unfolded. Presented by ... Show More
15m 24s
Nov 2024
245 - Spies in the Sky
<p>In this episode, historian Taylor Downing joins me to explore the remarkable work of reconnaissance pilots and photo interpreters during the Second World War. These daring aviators flew perilous missions over Occupied Europe, risking life and limb to capture the detailed aeria ... Show More
1h 5m
Jun 2024
Débarquement du 6 juin 1944 : comment s’est forgée la légende du D-Day
Il y a 80&nbsp;ans jour pour jour, près de 150&nbsp;000&nbsp;soldats alliés débarquaient sur les plages de Normandie pour percer les défenses nazies.<br/><br/>Le Débarquement du 6&nbsp;juin&nbsp;1944&nbsp;est avant tout un défi logistique et stratégique, préparé pendant des mois. ... Show More
31m 28s