News Broadcasting
BBC to celebrate life and work of Charles Darwin
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC has announced a “season of content” to mark the life and work of Charles Darwin on BBC Winter 08/09.
The season will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin which completes on 12 February, 2009. It will also mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book On the Origin of Species, which laid out the theory of evolution by natural selection. The book completes its 150th year on 24 November 2009.
BBC Vision controller Knowledge Commissioning George Entwistle said, “The key Darwin anniversaries provide an excellent opportunity for the BBC to explore in real depth this revolutionary idea, and the man behind it. The season will stretch across the BBC landscape and we’re delighted to have content from across television, radio and online. We hope it will connect our audiences to Darwin the man, as well as Darwin the scientific revolutionary. I hope this season will inspire our audiences and deliver real insight into his ideas and what they mean for contemporary society.”
“2009 and 2010 are years of great significance for science and will see a major push from the BBC in the public understanding of science The BBC has commissioned some of the biggest science landmarks we have ever done, covering some of the most important fundamentals of scientific literacy,” added BBC Vision head of Science John Lynch.
A range of BBC content from BBC Science, Natural History Unit, Religion and Ethics and CBBC will be delivered across television, radio and online wherein stories and voices about this “mould-breaking” scientific theory will be showcased.
BBC One will kick off the season with a one-off special from David Attenborough and the Natural History Unit (NHU) in Bristol.
Tree of Life will explore the origin of Darwin’s idea.
Andrew Marr On Darwin’s Legacy is a series for BBC Two, which aims to explore the radical impact of Darwin’s theory not only in science, but also society, political movements (capitalist, Marxist and fascist) and religion.
BBC Four will present two specially commissioned one-off documentaries: What Darwin Didn’t Know and Darwin: In His Own Words.
Entomologist and farmer Jimmy Doherty will recreate many of Darwin’s ground-breaking plant experiments at Down House, the Darwin family home in Kent, in Darwin’s Garden.
BBC One has also commissioned Life from the NHU, a natural history special which captures animal survival behaviours.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
