We are bad at making decisions. According to science, our decisions are based on oversimplification, laziness and prejudice. And that's assuming that we haven't already been hijacked by our surroundings or led astray by our subconscious!

Recent research has analysed the link between the harmful effects of drugs relative to their current classification by law with some startling conclusions. Perhaps most startling of all is that alcohol, solvents and tobacco (all unclassified drugs) are rated more dangerous than ecstasy, 4-MTA and LSD (all class A drugs). If the current ABC system is retained, alcohol would be rated a class A drug and tobacco class B.

With up to 300,000 young people leaving secondary schools in England each year with less than five GCSEs, Dispatches investigates whether the size, design and organisation of comprehensive schools is a key factor in how pupils fare.

Dispatches reveals what life is like for elderly men and women forced to live on today's state pension and deal with the complexities of the government's means-tested benefits to keep body and soul together.

This powerful film follows Helen Newlove, widow of Garry Newlove who was kicked to death outside his home in Cheshire, in her search for answers to problem of youth crime in the UK and abroad.

On the third anniversary of the 7/7 London Bombings, political commentator and journalist Peter Oborne investigates whether these attacks and the fear of terrorism has fuelled the rise of violence, intolerance and hatred against British Muslims

Panorama investigates the rise of armed teenage street gangs and discovers how shockingly ingrained the culture of guns and violence is in parts of Britain

On 5 July 1948 the National Health Service was brought into existence, making free public health care available to all, funded by the tax system. To mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS, the BBC will be presenting a series of programmes and features. This programme will look at the increasing involvement of the private sector in the Health Service asking what it means of the future

Critic and art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon travels from southern to northern Spain to tell the story of some of Europe's most exciting and vital art. He journeys to the country’s scorched centre to explore Spanish art of the 16th and 17th centuries. From the mystical world of El Greco to the tender genius of Velazquez, this was a moment so extraordinary it became known as the Golden Age. But beneath the glittering surface was a dark and savage heart.

Black people have lived in Britain for centuries - although their circumstances have varied greatly. Some have been enslaved and exploited, while others have enjoyed privilege and status. Trace their story to discover more about the attitudes and conditions they encountered.

Documentary following the making of the British Museum's biggest exhibition in a generation and telling the story of its subject, the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi.

Panorama talks to pilots who have almost passed out at the controls and passengers who say they've been made ill by toxic fumes. The air breathed on airliners is drawn past the engines and can become polluted by any leaks of engine oil. 'Fume events' are rare but there are no accurate figures of just how many occur each year. Panorama wanted to discover what was really in the air passengers, crew and pilots breathe on planes

Documentary telling the story of the spectacular discovery of an ancient Egyptian tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 2005. Tomb KV63 was the first ancient tomb to be discovered in the valley since Howard Carter unearthed Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. The burial site, next door to Tutankhamen's, revealed a golden casket which archaeologists believe could be that of the legendary pharaoh's child bride

Historian Dr Alixe Bovey recreates journeys through Britain as it was in the Middle Ages. She follows the trail north from York to the contested Scottish border

It's the start of a new solar cycle, and the spacecraft Ulysses faces retirement, but solar missions Stereo and SOHO are still revealing our nearest star in a new light

Narrated by David Morrissey, this programme shows all sides of the real experiences of migrants in 21st century Britain and the challenges they face in arriving and surviving here. Meet the Immigrants also reflects the ongoing national debate on Immigration and explores the common themes - industrious newcomers performing unskilled jobs that Britons won’t do or opportunists in search of an easy life, attracted by the UK’s flexible laws and systems

A global credit crunch has put Britain's banks in a crisis that threatens the future of jobs and businesses and may even trigger a wholesale recession.

Rageh Omaar investigates how immigration has affected Britain. Using Enoch Powell's explosive 'Rivers of Blood' speech as a starting point, Rageh explores whether the apocalyptic visions of 40 years ago have any basis in today's reality.

Documentary discovering how our medieval forebears built the wonders of their world.

This programme tells the story of the most extraordinary river in the world - the Ganges. Human life and nature bustle along her river banks, in a kaleidoscope of colour and energy in this dramatic BBC documentary.

A film revealing how political ambition fuelled the Windscale fire of 1957 and then dictated that the heroes of Windscale be made the scapegoats

Dan Cruickshank's visits Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world. Inextricably linked to the monarchy through the ages, the castle has also served as a lunatic asylum and a mausoleum

The Conquest of Cold charts the attempts of many great names in science such as Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, Michael Faraday and Antoinne Lavoisier to grapple with the perplexing mystery of cold.

Absolute Zero is the ultimate limit of cold – a Holy Grail as exciting for scientists as the North and South Poles were to the great polar explorers. The Conquest of Cold is an epic journey from dark beginnings to an ultra-cool frontier.

Dan Cruickshank takes a rewarding trip to Blenheim Palace. Sitting serenely in the picturesque landscape of rural Oxfordshire, the palace is actually a lavish monument to human pride and militarism.

Germaine Greer searches out the best and worst architecture in the East of England and explores options for the future of the region. This programme complements David Dimbleby's series "How We Built Britain"

Reviews the BBC's coverage of the Vietnam war

In 1932, the Nazi party obtained more votes than any other, with forty percent of all Germans choosing to vote for Hitler as their leader. Germany was crippled by losing the First World War and as Lawrence Rees' interviews reveal, economic chaos led many to seek a strong and extreme solution to their problems

Michael Palin travels to Japan, starting at the island of Sado where he meets the famous Kodd Drummers. From there he moves down to Tokyo and is shown around by Mayumi, an early Japanese Monty Python fan.

Michael Palin explores China, staying in the Governor's Castle in Qingdao where Mao slept, meeting the owner of a Chinese vineyard which produces Chardonay and having a street massage. He travels to Shanghai and then by train and boat to the Yangtse Gorge, where a huge engineering project to create a dam is in progress, which will flood the towns and areas in which he is now travelling. Third in the series