Please note the schedule change for the BBC Special series: The War That Changed The World
Both programs were featured on last month BBC What’s On and on BBC Monthly, please inform stations on the revised schedule date:

The War That Changed the World: Jordan – Redrawing the Map of the Middle East
20 June APM Sat 14:06 rpt Sun 07:06 EDT
(previously scheduled for 27 June)

Lyse Doucet presents a public debate from Amman in Jordan, with a panel of experts to ask: how did the First World War change the face of the Middle East? And how did this seismic and controversial period shape the century to follow?

The impact of the First World War and its aftermath still overshadows the political landscape of the Middle East. The Arab Revolt, launched by the Hashemite dynasty during the First World War, unified resistance to the Ottomans and triggered the end of their rule of the Arab world. Strong hopes of a unified Arab state were dashed. Instead a patchwork of mandates, protectorates and colonial rule followed with a promise from the British Prime Minister that Jewish people would be given a “national home in Palestine.”

We are joined by historian Khaled Fahmy, Professor of History at The American University in Cairo, and theatre director Lina Al Tal presents a specially commissioned essay on ‘redrawing the map.’

The War That Changed the World: USA – Isolationism
27 June APM Sat 14:06 rpt Sun 07:06 EDT
(previously scheduled for 20 June)

The BBC’s Jonathan Dimbleby presents a public debate from the US Library of Congress in Washington, to discuss the relevance and legacy of the First World War for the United States.

On 1 May 1915, a century ago, the RMS Lusitania set sail from New York to Liverpool. She never arrived. In an event which was to have massive consequences, a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania on 7 May off the southern coast of Ireland. She sank in less than 20 minutes, with the loss of 1198 lives. 128 were American and their deaths caused a storm of protest which was a crucial turning point in American public and political opinion about the First World War. This event scorched itself on the American consciousness and was constantly reiterated by those, like Teddy Roosevelt, who were determined that America should enter the war against Germany.

In 1917 America mobilised two million men to fight in Europe, shifting the balance of power and leading to the defeat of Germany and the central powers. This was the first time America had entered into a European war, overthrowing the so-called ‘Monroe Doctrine’ that America should never become entangled in European Affairs.

How did the First World War change America’s place in the world? And what did this demonstration of American power do to the debate about the United States of America’s restraint in World Affairs? We are joined by historians Jennifer Keene and Ross Kennedy in front of a public audience, and David Frum, political writer and former special advisor to President George W. Bush, presents an essay on the USA and isolationism.