Explore - Season 1

First aired: 1/25/2009 8 episodes

Episodes

1. Patagonia to the Pampas

Aired: 1/25/2009

Simon Reeve leads a team of presenters on a journey through the spectacular landscapes of Argentina, from the vast ice fields of Patagonia to the wide-open plains of the pampas. In the south, a group of indigenous people are locked in a historic dispute with the area's biggest landowners, Italian clothing giants Benetton; in Buenos Aires, the children of the disappeared are seeking to find out the truth of what happened to their parents at the hands of Argentina's generals; and in the pampas we meet one of the last true gauchos, whose way of life is being destroyed by an argricultural revolution. On the way, we take in one of the greatest matches in world football, visit a penguin colony on the edge, and meet a bishop with a rather unorthodox interest in Evita.

2. Argentina's Dirty War

Aired: 1/29/2009

A look at how history still haunts modern Argentina. The horror of what happened during Argentina's brutal military dictatorship is once again dividing the country. The government is finally bringing prosecutions against the alleged perpetrators of the so-called disappearances of left wingers during the seventies and early eighties. And it has emerged that some of the victims had children who were sent away for adoption. Maria Belen Gentile has now been reunited with her grandmother, having learned that her birth parents were killed in their early twenties, and she is part of a campaign for justice. But what about the victims of the other side? Arturo Larrabure's father was a soldier kidnapped and allegedly tortured and murdered by left wing guerrillas - and he thinks justice should work both ways

3. The Rift Valley

Aired: 2/1/2009

Simon Reeve leads a team of journalists on a spectacular journey down east Africa's Rift Valley. From the tiny country of Djibouti, which is the centre of America's military presence in Africa, to the wide open plains of Kenya, the team encounter awe-inspiring landscapes, rich culture and amazing wildlife. In Ethiopia, even in the green and fertile Rift, people are still going hungry, and in northern Kenya global climate change is driving tribes to war over water and resources. In the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Masai warriors are running a project to protect the country's lions.

4. Kenya's Violent Rift

Aired: 2/5/2009

Emeka Onono investigates the aftermath of the horrifying violence that took place in Kenya's Rift Valley in 2008. When the country's minority tribes cried foul over the general election result, ethnic violence flared across Kenya. A peace deal was finally brokered and the government line is now that all is well. But thousands of people are still in unofficial refugee camps, too scared to return home. Emeka meets young men involved in the killings, who are preparing for the next round of bloodletting. Inquiries have also pointed the finger at senior politicians for organising the butchery, but there seems to be little chance of any of them being brought to justice.

5. Istanbul and Anatolia

Aired: 2/8/2009

Simon Reeve leads a team of journalists in a journey of discovery across Turkey. From the stunning mosques of Istanbul to the 'fairy chimneys' of Cappadocia and the forests of the Black Sea coast, Turkey is country of rich history and amazing landscapes. It is also a divided country where the pro-islamic government seems locked in conflict with the traditionally secular establishment, including the army, and where an armed conflict rumbles on with elements of the Kurdish minority in the South East.

6. Turkey on the Edge

Aired: 2/12/2009

British Muslim Adil Ray visits Turkey, where the role of Islam in everyday life and politics is the most pressing issue. From a pro-alcohol protest in Istanbul to an Islamic wild boar hunt in the forests, Adil encounters an unfamiliar strand of secular Islam that has a long tradition in Turkey. Yet a more conservative Islam, centred in the country's Asian heartland, is now coming to the fore through the current AKP government, and the country is in a state of flux. Public protests, allegations of coup plots and court cases around the right to wear headscarves lead to fears for Turkey's future.

7. Manila to Mindanao

Aired: 2/15/2009

In the last of the series, Simon Reeve leads a team of journalists on a journey of discovery in the Philippines, from the staggering scenery of the mountainous rice terraces in the north, to the war-torn Muslim regions of the south. In the capital, Manila, population pressure has led to some surprising consequences. The city's largest cemetery has become home to a thriving community, who look after the tombs of the rich but also have their own schools and shops. The country is still in some political turmoil and a long-running communist insurgence has led to allegations of illegal killings by the army. Simon meets a general known as 'The Butcher'. Simon also has a surreal encounter from the past - an interview with Imelda Marcos, who is marketing a new line in beauty products. It's a stunning country with bizarre wild life and a population of tropical 'Sea Gypsies' whose lifestyle is feeling pressure from the modern world.

8. Sex and Religion in Manila

Aired: 2/18/2009

Manila is one of the fastest growing cities on Earth and evidence of population pressure is everywhere. In a devoutly Catholic country, Seyi Rhodes reports on moves to introduce a reproductive health bill to provide free contraception. The Church fears a breakdown in Filipino family values and is resisting the move, blaming the widespread poverty on bad government and corruption rather than population growth. But there is evidence that many young Filipinos, while retaining their Catholicism, are now moving against the teachings of the Church on Contraception.