Since their appearance in Europe some 300 years ago, the stories of The Thousand and One Nights have entranced Western readers with visions of an exotic, magical Middle East. In this program, actor and director Richard E. Grant revisits the book he loved as a child and seeks to understand its persistent hold on the collective imagination. Grant travels to Paris to discover how the Arabist Antoine Galland imported the tales of Sinbad, Ali Baba, and Aladdin in the early 18th century. In Cairo, Grant explores the medieval Islamic world that gave birth to the beloved narratives while he examines present-day controversies over their sexually explicit content. Ultimately, Grant poses a question—can The Arabian Nights still enrich and possibly change Western perceptions of the Arab world? Contains mature content. A BBC Production. (60 minutes)