Posted by
Riklaa on December 6, 2009 at 4:34pm
BBC World Service - Documentaries - Gold
12 august 2009 - 08:47 GMT
As the paper-money financial world is revealed to be fictional, people have been rushing to invest, once again, in "real" gold.
Nick Rankin unlocks the history and enduring fascination of the rare yellow metal that has been integral to economic exchange systems for millennia.
From King Midas to gold-rushes, from bling to Wall Street, this three-part feature series takes in the global realities and rich symbolism of the coveted mineral that shines on us all.
South African gold mine
The efforts to extract gold have resulted in huge changes to the landscape of countries like South Africa
Programme one:
This story of gold begins in the South African city of Johannesburg - a place that owes its entire existence to gold.
Years ago, people looking for gold flocked here in the hope of uncovering riches. A vast mountain of waste soil stands at one edge of the city, a testament to the enduring human obsession with wealth.
Part One of the story of gold looks at the effect gold has on us as human beings - from the mythical story of King Midas through Wagner's Ring Cycle and the films such as Goldfinger and The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre.
12 august, 2009 - 11:29 GMT
Gold - part two
As the paper-money financial world is revealed to be fictional, people have been rushing to invest, once again, in "real" gold.
Nick Rankin unlocks the history and enduring fascination of the rare yellow metal that has been integral to economic exchange systems for millennia.
From King Midas to gold-rushes, from bling to Wall Street, this three-part series takes in the global realities and rich symbolism of the coveted mineral that shines on us all.
Themba Hadebe/AP. Miners in South Africa
Programme two:
In part two, Nick descends into the deepest goldmine in the world – TauTona in South Africa.
5,000 miners extract gold up to four kilometres under the surface but for every tonne of ore they take out, there is only eight grammes of gold to be found.
Nick talks to miners about their lives underground and learns about the real price of gold.
26 august 2009 - 09:26 GMT
Gold - part three
As the paper-money financial world is revealed to be fictional, people have been rushing to invest, once again, in "real" gold.
Nick Rankin unlocks the history and enduring fascination of the rare yellow metal that has been integral to economic exchange systems for millennia.
From King Midas to gold-rushes, from bling to Wall Street, this three-part series takes in the global realities and rich symbolism of the coveted mineral that shines on us all.
Gold medal
Programme three:
In part three, Nick Rankin explores how we assess the value of gold.
From Olympic winners' medals to "bling", gold is everywhere. There is a dollar's worth of gold in every mobile phone.
With the price of the metal going up in recent years, the documentary examines why more and more people have got gold on their minds.
Also under consideration is the cost of gold - to the people who battle to get it, and to the planet.
Duration : 1hr 8 Mins - Program 1+2+3
Audio - 22050hz Mono 48kbps mp3BBC World Service - Documentaries - Gold.mp3
Replies