BBC Four TV Guide — Friday, 5 June 2026

The history of the super-bomb, following the race by scientists to imitate the nuclear reactions of the sun and to build the first thermonuclear weapon. Also, exploring how the careers and reputations of some of the scientists involved were seared in the process. First broadcast June 9, 1966

Three mathematicians pit their wits against the Cambridge Quiz Society, to make connections between things that initially do not appear to be linked. Victoria Coren Mitchell presents the first semi-final of the quiz show

Andrew Graham-Dixon charts the history of American art on a coast-to-coast journey, beginning in the east, where he discusses how the country's rise to power was underpinned by the destruction of Native American cultural heritage. He examines portraits of Puritan settlers in Massachusetts, tells the story of a famous painting of Quaker settler William Penn, reads one of the world's most expensive books in Philadelphia and explore the wilderness landscapes that inspired artist Thomas Cole