Producer Katie Burningham 'Spanning the World' is a new BBC World Service series, which examines some of the stories that give bridges around the world political, metaphoric, structural or aesthetic significance.

Programme one considers the iconic status of the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the most visibly recognisable symbols of the modern world, found in Hollywood films, literature and art in innumerable different guises. It is one of the most familiar bridges in the world, and also one of the most malleable.

In a journey across the bridge, the programme explores its history, both literal and symbolic, and captures what it has meant to people in the past and what it continues to mean to people today. From a carpenter responsible for the maintenance of the boardwalk whose childhood memories are wrapped up in the bridge's cables, to a homeless war veteran contemplating his future as he sits on the bridge.

The bridge is a "blank canvas upon which people project their ideas". This programme creates a portrait of this iconic structure through the experiences, thoughts and imaginations of its visitors.

Press

"A vivid picture, painted in words"
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Susan Jeffreys, Daily Mail 20th February 2010