David Olusoga talks to Viv Jones about the making of Civilisations. They discuss his two episodes, First Contact and The Cult of Progress. David says that the great arts and history documentaries he watched growing up inspired him to become a historian and filmmaker, and he talks about the power of television to change lives.

Simon Schama talks to Viv Jones about the making of Civilisations. They discuss the highs and lows of filming such an ambitious global series, from being granted rare access to breathtaking cave paintings, to coming face-to-face with a bolting horse in the ancient city of Petra.

In the 8th programme in the Civilisations TV series, David Olusoga looks at how artists reacted to the colonialism of the 19th century. He travels to America to see art by both white and Native American artists who were documenting the displacement and suffering of Native peoples. A common view at the time was that indigenous Americans would disappear completely. For the podcast, Viv Jones speaks to three people who are working to remind the world that Native Americans are not a people of...

Unusual stories of the bizarre and gruesome things that have been used as paint pigments from Kassia St Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Colour. Plus, why did Van Gogh create portraits of the man who sold him his paints? Nienke Bakker, Curator of Paintings at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, brings us the story of Père Tanguy whose arts supply shop was at the heart of the Paris art scene. Produced and presented by Viv Jones.

Contrary to myth and misconception, the Aztecs were not a bloodthirsty, inhumane, deeply patriarchal and authoritarian society. Viv Jones is disabused of everything she thought she knew about this sophisticated civilisation by Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock. Dr Guy Middleton calls himself a 'collapsologist'. He attempts to solve the mystery of why and how past civilisations collapsed. Guy says that often popular explanations say more about the fears we have in our own time than about the...

Viv Jones delves into the BBC archives to find out how Caravaggio’s tempestuous life - of brawls, duels, and prison escapes - is reflected in his provocative paintings. Featuring archive interviews with his biographers Helen Langdon and Andrew Graham-Dixon, curator Letizia Treves, historian Jerry Brotton and the director Martin Scorsese.

Mary Beard reveals the thinking behind The Eye of Faith, the fourth programme in the Civilisations series. Depicting the divine in art has been a fascination for Mary since she studied for her PhD on Roman religion. Plus, she reveals the ancient civilisation she’d most like to invite round for dinner. The Civilisations series is packed with stunning shots of picturesque ruined places. Writer and art critic, Brian Dillon traces the long history of our fascination with ruins. He introduces...

Stories of two American photographers. A few years ago, Alyse Emdur found a Polaroid of her family posed in front of a painted beach scene in the visiting room of the prison where her brother was an inmate. 'I was startled by something about it. This painting behind us represented freedom, the exact opposite of what my brother was living.' Alyse is the author of Prison Landscapes, a book about landscape art in America's prison waiting rooms. Plus, the environmental writer Kenneth Brower...

Mary Beard talks to Viv Jones about the making of Civilisations. Plus, David Attenborough's speech from the Civilisations launch event, and art historian Dr Janina Ramirez tells you why the original Civilisation series is still well worth watching 50 years on.

Viv Jones hears how archaeologist Monica Hanna rescued mummies under sniper fire in Egypt, and visits the British Museum to speak with Jill Cook about the earliest human art.

Welcome to this new BBC podcast.