Do you believe in Richard Dawkins? I'm not sure that I do. Admittedly he makes television programmes as if he is a real person and, if we believe in the survival of the fittest, then Dawkins certainly wants to show us that he is the fittest person to tell us the truth about life, the universe and everything. On the other hand, the laws of natural selection might make you wonder at the continued survival of a man so opinionated, so arrogant.

His latest series, The Genius of Charles Darwin (Channel 4), was full of statements about evolution so unflinchingly positive that one was tempted to echo the words of Cromwell: "I beseech you . . . think it possible you may be mistaken." Dawkins started by stating that Darwin's Origin of Species "was published 150 years ago" but it was actually published in 1859. He then spoke patronisingly to a school class, contemptuously sneering at one religious teenager: "You know what you believe when you start and any new book that says anything different, you don't read it or what?" But is Richard any more open-minded than that student?

Dawkins went on to assert that "there are millions and millions of pieces of evidence which no reasonable person could possibly dispute". Oh well, that settles that! Dawkins is so sure of himself and his ideas that healthy scepticism doesn't even seem to be an option. Maybe he should realise that a little humility might have more effect on viewers than the lordly self-assurance he habitually displays.

In his programme, Dawkins went to Nairobi to interview a prostitute who is apparently immune to HIV, in a country with a high prevalence of HIV and Aids. Such diseases are just one danger for prostitutes, who also face such problems as violent clients, exploitative bosses and insecure employment. A WI Lady's Guide to Brothels (Channel 4) looked at the problem through the eyes of members of the Hampshire branch of the Women's Institute, which passed a resolution that British brothels should be legalised and regulated. Two of their members, Jean and Shirley, went on a fact-finding trip to legal institutions in Amsterdam, Nevada and New Zealand. They seemed unprepared for many of the things they saw. (Jean said: "I'm just amazed at what goes on behind closed doors.") But they took the experience with good humour and learnt a lot.

The documentary was presented by journalist Nicky Taylor, who also did some investigating in Britain, although one felt that she was making fun of Jean and Shirley's naivety. Nicky devised a "brothel on wheels" (a camper van stocked with supplies of KY Jelly, condoms and a panic button). Such a van might be the only way a brothel could legally be run in this country but it naturally shocked the Hampshire WI members, who clearly thought it was a tasteless way of getting publicity. Nevertheless, the programme made some valid points. Why are brothels illegal in the UK but not lap-dancing clubs or massage parlours? One WI member said that the problem is "our secretive nature about sex".

Even before the Olympic Games started in Beijing, the BBC drenched viewers with floods of programmes about China, plus irritating trailers featuring disturbingly weird creatures. The Culture Show Goes to China (BBC2) gave a rosy, rather sanitised view of the country's culture: praising its pioneering architecture; unnecessarily showing the two presenters eating Chinese food; and providing a taste of the country's modern art, which - you'll be glad to hear - is as unattractive as anything by Damien Hirst (sculptures made of human hair, anyone?).

Panorama (BBC1) was more critical, as John Sweeney followed the Olympic torch across China and exposed the restrictions imposed on him and the Chinese people. This programme, and The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World (BBC2), gave us a picture of a country which is very materialistic but also hidebound by tradition and repressed by its totalitarian government.