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The programme that explains the present by exploring the past

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.

The Forum: 02/07/2011 GMT

Discussion & Talk

02/07/2011 GMT

BBC World Service - The Forum, 02/07/2011 GMT

Capturing Power: From the power of the universe's big bang, to the personal power of an intimate photograph of a global leader, to the penetrating power of bullet.

We hear from Nobel prize-winning physicist George Smoot III about that mind boggling moment 14 billion years ago when the awesome explosion that is the Big Bang created our universe. He is now trying to get to grips with the very nature of the dark matter that makes up our cosmos, something which we think is there although we can't see it, or even measure it.   

We'll also hear from celebrity photographer Platon. What it's like to have a few seconds to take a snapshot of the world's most powerful and notorious leaders from Robert Mugabe to Tony Blair?  How does he find the person behind the mask of power? He regales the stories of getting global leaders to collaborate with him. 

And what about the terrifying irreversible moment when a gun fires? Senior Advisor at the Global Fund for Women, Kavita Ramdas, tells us how women can fight back against the tide of small arms flooding their communities.

Illustration by Emily Kasriel: the power of a Big Bang to shoot the world's leaders.

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02/07/2011 GMT

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