BBC Earth

Steve and the team head to the remote island of Isla del Plata which has the largest congregation of giant manta rays in the world. Working with one of the world's top manta scientists, Steve heads off to try and dive with these majestic giants.

Steve gets strangled by a python on a night-time river expedition, climbs a 40-metre tree and finds out why our thirst for palm oil is threatening bears and orangutans.

Water plants create some of the most beautiful, bizarre and important habitats on earth. To hold on in torrents, plants use a kind of superglue. Some are armed with vicious weapons to fight titanic battles for space. Others form perfect spheres and escape from animal enemies by rolling. Where nutrients are washed away, plants turn into hunters of animals, laying traps and even counting to ensure their success.

Incredible facts and myths about the animal kingdom are put to the test. This time, is it true that piranhas can strip you to the bone in seconds?

Ricko DeWilde races against the freeze to fortify the family cabin, the Hailstones scout the land for seasonal resources, and Sue Aikens must repair vital safety equipment before tundra storms arrive.

Simon Schama goes both east and west, to Papal Rome but also to Ottoman Istanbul and Mughal Lahore and Agra, exploring their connections and rivalries, and examining how the role of artists from the different traditions of West and East developed in the years following the Renaissances. Their rivalry unfolded most spectacularly in the creation of domes: in Ottoman Istanbul Mimar Sinan builds the light-flooded Süleymaniye mosque, while in Rome Michelangelo designs the dome of St Peter's Basilica.

Gregg Wallace visits the biggest tortilla factory in Europe. The Coventry site covers more than 21,000 square meters, the size of three football pitches, and makes 60,000 tonnes of snacks every year.

Water plants create some of the most beautiful, bizarre and important habitats on earth. To hold on in torrents, plants use a kind of superglue. Some are armed with vicious weapons to fight titanic battles for space. Others form perfect spheres and escape from animal enemies by rolling. Where nutrients are washed away, plants turn into hunters of animals, laying traps and even counting to ensure their success.

Incredible facts and myths about the animal kingdom are put to the test. This time, is it true that piranhas can strip you to the bone in seconds?

Ricko DeWilde races against the freeze to fortify the family cabin, the Hailstones scout the land for seasonal resources, and Sue Aikens must repair vital safety equipment before tundra storms arrive.

Simon Schama goes both east and west, to Papal Rome but also to Ottoman Istanbul and Mughal Lahore and Agra, exploring their connections and rivalries, and examining how the role of artists from the different traditions of West and East developed in the years following the Renaissances. Their rivalry unfolded most spectacularly in the creation of domes: in Ottoman Istanbul Mimar Sinan builds the light-flooded Süleymaniye mosque, while in Rome Michelangelo designs the dome of St Peter's Basilica.

Gregg Wallace visits the biggest tortilla factory in Europe. The Coventry site covers more than 21,000 square meters, the size of three football pitches, and makes 60,000 tonnes of snacks every year.

Between the tropics and the frozen poles lies a region dominated by relentless change in the form of the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each one presents plants with huge challenges, from ice and snow to raging fires, from intense competition to surprising enemies. This is a world of astonishing variety and vibrant colour. To survive here plants must use strategy, deception and remarkable feats of engineering. Most importantly, they must get their timing right.

Incredible facts and myths about the animal kingdom are put to the test. This time, is it true that an electric eel can kill you?

Andy Bassich and Denise Becker attempt a harvest that isn't usually available this time of year. Iriqtaiq Hailstone sets out to help her sisters and to teach her son a native skill.

In the 15th and 16th centuries distant and disparate cultures met, often for the first time. These encounters provoked wonder, awe, bafflement and fear. As historian of empire David Olusoga shows, art was always on the frontline. Each cultural contact at this time left a mark on both sides: the magnificent Benin bronzes record the meeting of an ancient West African kingdom and Portuguese voyagers in a spirit of mutual respect and exchange.

Beautiful, audacious and extraordinary, this episode shows engineering on a scale and complexity never seen before. And this engineering is guaranteed to take your breath away.

Ben heads to the cliffs of Cornwall where he meets a couple who left the city to become farmers. Ben learns about the five years the couple have spent turning their seven-acre empty plot into an off-grid farm, and he gets stuck in with their animals.

In Texas, Simon joins the US Border Patrol, who pick up migrants who have illegally crossed the Rio Grande river in search of a new life.

Sue travels from the sacred summit of Shivling, source of the Ganges, to the beautiful mountain town of Rishikesh. Along the way, she meets some Hindu holy men known as sadhus, wealthy tycoons, as well as local families to find out what the future holds for this great river.

This is a journey across Hawaii's varied islands, discovering how they were made, and the incredible wildlife that thrives there. Hawaii is the most remote island chain on earth, and its tropical shores are hard to reach. But for the hardy creatures that can make it here, like the waterfall climbing fish, carnivorous caterpillar and Laysan albatross, a land of opportunity awaits.

Robson travels around the Welsh Pembrokeshire coast, where he goes in search of Seabass. In Saundersfoot harbour, Robson meets sustainable fisherman Berwyn, who is lucky enough to own one of the rare sea bass fishing licences.

Ben heads to the cliffs of Cornwall where he meets a couple who left the city to become farmers. Ben learns about the five years the couple have spent turning their seven-acre empty plot into an off-grid farm, and he gets stuck in with their animals.

In Texas, Simon joins the US Border Patrol, who pick up migrants who have illegally crossed the Rio Grande river in search of a new life.

Sue travels from the sacred summit of Shivling, source of the Ganges, to the beautiful mountain town of Rishikesh. Along the way, she meets some Hindu holy men known as sadhus, wealthy tycoons, as well as local families to find out what the future holds for this great river.

This is a journey across Hawaii's varied islands, discovering how they were made, and the incredible wildlife that thrives there. Hawaii is the most remote island chain on earth, and its tropical shores are hard to reach. But for the hardy creatures that can make it here, like the waterfall climbing fish, carnivorous caterpillar and Laysan albatross, a land of opportunity awaits.

Robson travels around the Welsh Pembrokeshire coast, where he goes in search of Seabass. In Saundersfoot harbour, Robson meets sustainable fisherman Berwyn, who is lucky enough to own one of the rare sea bass fishing licences.