
Timeshift lifts the veil on the taboo that is corporal punishment. What it reveals is a fascinating history spanning religion, the justice system, sex and education. Today it is a subject that is almost impossible to discuss in public, but it's not that long since corporal punishment was a routine part of life. Surprising and enlightening, the programme invites us to leave our preconceptions at the door so that we may better understand how corporal punishment came to be so important for so long.
Source: BBC 4
Series 14 - Killer Storms And Cruel Winters - The History Of Extreme Weather
Lucie Green looks back through Britain's most dramatic weather history and sees how our reactions helped forge a weather science that today allows us to predict the worst extremes.
19-07-2026
BBC 4
Series 13 - Hurricanes And Heatwaves: The Highs And Lows Of British Weather
A national obsession is explored in this archive-rich look at the evolution of the weather forecast from print via radio to TV and beyond - and at the changing weather itself.
15-06-2026
BBC 4
Series 10 - The Golden Age Of Coach Travel
Documentary which journeys back to the 1950s when the coach was king. Those who had not travelled beyond their own villages and towns were given a taste of exploration and freedom.
07-06-2026
BBC 4
The History Of Pubs
The pub has been the mainstay of British society since medieval times, a cornerstone of any community playing a unique role in national life. But in the past 50 years the pub ha ...
17-01-2026
BBC 4
Series 16: 1. Bridging The Gap: How The Severn Bridge Was Built
2016 sees the fiftieth anniversary of the Severn Bridge, which completed the motorway link between England and Wales. Timeshift tells the inside story of the design and construc ...
12-10-2025
BBC 4
Series 10: 5. Italian Noir: The Story Of Italian Crime Fiction
Timeshift profiles a new wave of Italian crime fiction that has emerged to challenge the conventions of the detective novel. There are no happy endings in these noir tales, only ...
16-07-2022
BBC 4
Series 2: The Great British Seaside Holiday
Timeshift presents a bank holiday celebration of the British seaside holiday experience from its Victorian origins and heyday in the 1950s to its slow decline and attempts at re ...
03-09-2025
BBC 4
Series 12 - When Wrestling Was Golden: Grapples, Grunts And Grannies
Timeshift looks back to a time when British professional wrestling attracted huge TV audiences and made household names of the likes of Mick McManus, Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy.
22-06-2014
BBC 4