KUED Programs

A tomb of 49,000 year-old Neanderthal bones discovered in El Sidron, a remote, mountainous region of northern Spain, leads to a compelling investigation to solve a double mystery: How did this group of Neanderthals die? And could the fate of this group help explain Neanderthal extinction? Scientists examine the bones and discover signs that tell a shocking story of how this group may have met their deaths. Some bones bear distinct signs of cannibalism. Was it a result of ritual or hunger? Neanderthal experts are adamant that they were not bloodthirsty brutes. What happened here 49,000 years ago will take viewers on a much bigger journey - from El Sidron to the other end of the Iberian Peninsula, where scientists are excavating beneath the seas off Gibraltar in search of Neanderthal sites.

DEATH ON THE RAILROAD is a classic story involving foul play, cover ups, a murder mystery and a voyage of discovery to understand what happened to a group of Irish men who came to America for a better life but found only misery. In 1832, railroad contractor, Philip Duffy, hired 57 Irish immigrants to lay railroad tracks in West Chester, Pennsylvania. But, less than two months after their arrival, all 57 were dead. Did they all die - as was widely believed - due to a cholera pandemic? Or, were some of them murdered? In 2003, twin brothers discovered a secret file among their grandfather's papers that led them to investigate the deaths of these men and find the location of their final resting place in a valley now known as Duffy's Cut. Using the latest forensic and scientific investigative techniques, DNA, forensic analysis, facial reconstruction and historical detective work in Ireland and the USA, modern detectives and experts will unravel this extraordinary story.

Spied upon by MI19 in a bugging operation of unprecedented scale and cunning, 4,000 German POW's revealed their inner thoughts about the Third Reich and let slip military secrets that helped the Allies win WWII. Based on groundbreaking research conducted by a team of leading German historians and scientists, the film will tell the story of how those confessions were stolen, how they changed the outcome of the war and how they can now reveal, in more shocking detail than ever before, the hearts and minds of the German fighter. The evidence that supports this extraordinary new chapter in the history of WWII will be told through powerful dramatic reconstructions. Acted by German actors, speaking both German and English, they will quote directly from the highlights of over 100,000 hours of secretly recorded and therefore unguarded conversations between German POWs held in Britain. These long lost voices of the past are being brought back to life, bringing with them unique and exclusive insights into What the Nazis Really Thought.

More than five centuries ago, Michelangelo Buonarroti was the darling of the Catholic Church. Throughout his masterful career, the Papacy commissioned him to create many of its most important pieces, including the frescos of the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica of St. Peter. He spent his life glorifying the Church through his art. But five centuries later, new finds are revealing a darker side to the master artisan. While restoring Michelangelo's famous statue of Moses, art historian Antonio Forcellino noticed some puzzling imperfections, including an asymmetrical beard, knees of different sizes and a head that sat strangely on the shoulders. The finds started Forcellino on an investigation that eventually exposed evidence of Michelangelo's involvement with a clandestine fellowship trying to reform the Catholic Church from within. The group's radical ideas were so threatening to the Church orthodoxy, they were considered heretical and punishable by death. Michelangelo's involvement put him at dangerous odds with powerful officials who held his livelihood -- and life -- in their hands. This program paints a new picture of brave religious expression, personal vendettas, careful cover-ups and a most gifted artist desperately trying to reconcile his loyalty to the Church with his own personal belief about the road to salvation.