Gold

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.

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.