BBC Knowledge (BBC4)

Poignant series of shorts telling the story of the First World War through the recollections of the last survivors of the Western Front. As the British Expeditionary Force was rapidly dispatched to Belgium to meet the advancing enemy, the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, mounted a campaign across Britain to recruit a million volunteers

Series profiling major figures in politics and the arts. John Kampfner investigates how Jean-Marie Messier, who transformed a water utility into international media conglomerate Vivendi, fell from grace when the technology bubble burst. His sacking of the head of film and TV company Canal Plus then turned him into a hate figure in the French media

Film following Tan Dun, the Oscar-winning composer of the score for ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’, as he travels across three continents, revisiting the village in which he planted rice during China’s Cultural Revolution, and at his base in New York. Featuring extracts from many of his works, as well as contributions from significant collaborators such as Yo Yo Ma and Charles Dutoit

Series in which leading scientists give a personal account of the people and ideas that have shaped our world. Psychiatrist Raj Persaud looks at the lasting influence of Sigmund Freud, to whom the notion of the unconscious mind was key. The birth of psychoanalysis was largely the result of Freud’s work into hysteria – a condition in which repressed trauma manifests itself as physical symptoms, such as paralysis.

Aubrey Manning presents a breathtaking geological history, unfolding the recent story of how scientists have come to understand the mechanics of our dynamic planet. In this programme, he explores the quest to establish the age of the Earth, a journey that takes him from Lyme Regis to South Africa and deep underground, searching for the oldest place on Earth whose rocks may yield up their extraordinary secrets

Presented by award-winning journalist George Alagiah

Renowned American novelist Joyce Carol Oates and Booker-shortlisted author Ali Smith join Kate Mosse at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to discuss their work

Radio 1 DJ Mark Radcliffe and Mercury-nominated folk musician Eliza Carthy present highlights of Cambridge’s folk music festival, which took place in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall earlier this month. Featuring interviews with the stars, backstage footage and performances from artists including Iris De Ment, John Prine, Joe Strummer, Cara Dillon, The Be Good Tanyas, The Waterboys, and The Kate Rusby Band

In 11th-century feudal Japan, a noble family is split apart when captured by pirates - with the mother sold to a brothel and her son and daughter to a tyrannical bailiff. Over the years, the longing for reunion only adds to their suffering