Author and activist James Baldwin meets with members of the local African-American community in San Francisco in the spring of 1963. He is escorted by Youth For Service’s Executive Director Orville Luster and is intent on discovering “the real situation of Negroes in the city, as opposed to the image San Francisco would like to present.” X
Part 1 of a 1965 documentary film, written and narrated by Richard Moore, about the life of documentary photographer and photojournalist Dorothea Lange (1895-1965), one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, who died on October 11, 1965 of esophageal cancer, during post-production of this film.
Part 2 of a 1965 documentary film, written and narrated by Richard Moore, about the life of documentary photographer and photojournalist Dorothea Lange (1895-1965), one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, who died on October 11, 1965 of esophageal cancer, during post-production of this film.
Members of a branch of the Holiness churches who base their religious beliefs and practices on Bible verses, especially Mark 16:18. The members handle serpents, hold fire to their bodies, speak in tongues, lay hands on the sick and cast out devils. Includes interviews with believers as they discuss their faith which has brought them in conflict with the law.
A candid portrait of the Tennesse ballad singer, story-teller, and part-time moonshiner Hamper McBee. Hamper learned much lf his music from his father and friends around Monteagle Mountain and had established a reputation at folk festivals in the 1970s as an accomplished and expressive ballad singer. The film follows Hamper as he works, socializes, and talks about his music. He sings "Black Jack Davy," "Nine Hundred Miles," Wayfaring Stranger," "Rye Whiskey," and a song he wrote himself "Bill Malone," about the local constable who routinely arrested Hamper when he had too much to drink. Hamper McBee is also a moonshiner, and Raw Mash shows him plying his trade at this nearly lost art.
Throughout most of the nineteenth century, it was believed that the tens of thousands of earthen mounds that dotted the central United States were engineering feats created by a mysterious, lost race - a race that had been destroyed by the less civilized Indians. By the late 1880s, it was becoming clear that the mounds were actually built by ancestors of the numerous native American groups that still inhabited the central states, such as the Natchez. This film reconstructs the history of ideas associated with the mounds and their builders, from the mid-nineteenth century explorations of curious citizens, to contemporary archaeological research in the Illinois River Valley.
This documentary explores the history of the Brooklyn Bridge, one of New York City's most iconographic landmarks. The film presents the dramatic details of the bridge's planning and construction, which involved civil engineer John Roebling, as well as his son, Washington, and his wife, Emily. In addition to covering the span's long development, the production looks at the structure's legacy and features input from various notable figures, including writers Kurt Vonnegut and Arthur Miller.
Documentary about the victims of the Mount St. Helens eruption and the lawsuit brought against the State of Washington. Interviews with victims families and former Gov. Dixy Lee Ray are also included.
Seasons of A Navajo carries through a year in the life of a family as grandparents pass on the ancient traditions of their people. Told in their own words, this sensitive portrait of a traditional Navajo family reveals a world where "living well" means kinship with the earth and unceasing hard work. Filmed in Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly and Window Rock, the program offers majestic panoramas of the breathtaking beauty of the Southwest.
Over the course of a nearly forty-year career, Louis Malle forged a reputation as one of the world’s most versatile cinematic storytellers, with such widely acclaimed, and wide-ranging, masterpieces as Elevator to the Gallows, My Dinner with Andre, and Au revoir les enfants. At the same time, however, with less fanfare, Malle was creating a parallel, even more personal body of work as a documentary filmmaker. With the discerning eye of a true artist and the investigatory skills of a great journalist, Malle takes us from a street corner in Paris to America’s heartland to the expanses of India in his astonishing epic Phantom India. These are some of the most engaging and fascinating nonfiction films ever made.
Author David Macaulay hosts CATHEDRAL, based on his award-winning book. Using a combination of spectacular location sequences and cinema-quality animation, the program surveys France's most famous churches. Travel back to 1214 to explore the design of Notre Dame de Beaulieu, a representative Gothic cathedral. The program tells period tales revealing fascinating stories of life and death, faith and despair, prosperity, and intrigue.
They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Though they were celibate, they are the most enduring religious experiment in American history. They believed in pacifism, natural health and hygiene, and for more than 200 years insisted that their followers should strive for simplicity and perfection in everything they did. The Shakers put their "hands to work and their hearts to God," creating an exquisite legacy of fine furniture, glorious architecture and beautiful music that will remain and inspire long after the last Shaker is gone. Through diaries, archival photographs, music and stunning cinematography, Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us an unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.
The history of America's most famous symbol from its conception by her creator, August Bartholdi, through her construction in 1886 and the restoration for her re-dedication in New York harbor on the Fourth of July in 1986. The film documents an intimate view about the Statue of Liberty, from the dazzling heights of the tallest freestanding scaffold ever erected, to the gold leaf on her torch. It is the story of the building and rebuilding of a monument embodying the American experience, as seen through the eyes of artisans and laborers whose tasks are separated by a hundred years, but whose vision transcends time
Talking Feet is the first documentary to feature flatfoot, buck, hoedown, and rural tap dancing, the styles of solo Southern dancing which are a companion to traditional old-time music and on which modern clog dancing is based. Featuring 24 traditional dancers videotaped on location in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina. This film project grew into the 1992 book Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance of the Appalachian, Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountain Regions, by Mike Seeger with notes by Ruth Pershing. "Talking Feet is a film about a forgotten side of American dance culture: solo mountain dancing. Mike Seeger and Ruth Pershing take us to the southeastern mountains of the U. S., the source of this genre, and to a range of individuals (old, young, black, white, female and male) who grew up with the idea of talking with their feet. The film captures the deep sense of tradition and the value of freedom of expression these dancers share. Talking Feet is an exploration of a dance form rich in American do-it-yourself pride."
The 1987 PBS documentary "Trader" is a look into the very 1980s life of Paul Tudor Jones, who's now the billionaire head of the Tudor Investment Corporation, and one of the richest people in the world.
Narrated by Rick Sebak, the documentarian who invented the "scrapbook"-style of chronicling memories through film, 'Kennywood Memories' is a thoughtful, sweet, and nostalgic look at the century-old amusement park Kennywood in western Pennsylvania. For many of us, Kennywood is the place where dreams are made of and a summertime staple that can never be missed. Even now living in California, I visit the wonderful Kennywood every single year and remember all the great days & nights spent there. Even though Kennywood has changed plenty, 'Kennywood Memories' shows us all the great rides from the past we remember . . . and some many of us never got to see. A century's worth of history is included in this documentary, which (like many) is an annual viewing tradition prior to actually going back to the amazing park itself.
Regarded as one of the best jazz documentaries, Straight, No Chaser presents a fascinating cinematic portrait of one of the most extraordinary and idiosyncratic individuals in the history of jazz — pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The film centers on Michael and Christian Blackwood's extensive and previously unseen 1968 footage, which includes great performances and the only footage of the very private Monk offstage. Director Charlotte Zwerin (Gimme Shelter) intersperses the archival sequences with interviews with some of those who knew the man best, including his son, saxophonist Charles Rouse, his manager, and friend and supporter Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter.
The story of a tragic collision of two civilisations, each with dramatically different views of both the world and of each other. In 1886, the US government mobilised 5,000 men to capture this legendary Apache who was believed to possess magical powers. Who was the legendary Geronimo? Who were the Apache? Or, more to the point, who were the Chiricahua Apache? And what was their story, in reality? To an Apache the past is traditionally a closed subject. To speak of the dead is taboo. So the Chiricahua have kept their experience largely to themselves - until now. This film is a privileged view. The Chiricahua have agreed to talk on camera as they never have before. For 20 years Geronimo and his people fought to keep their land and way of life. For 27 years they were held as prisoners of war, longer than anyone in our history.
From the Free Speech Movement to the anti-war protests to the last stand over People's Park, Berkeley, California became synonymous with a generation's quest for social, political, and cultural transformation. Six years in the making, Mark Kitchell's extraordinary chronicle of those years was named Best Documentary of 1990 by the National Society of Film Critics and was nominated for an Oscar in 1991. Berkeley in the Sixties recaptures the exhilaration and turmoil of the unprecedented student protests that shaped a generation and changed the course of America. Many consider it to be the best filmic treatment of the 1960s yet made. This Academy Award-nominated documentary interweaves the memories of 15 former student leaders, who grapple with the meaning of their actions. Their recollections are interwoven with footage culled from thousands of historical clips and hundreds of interviews. Ronald Reagan, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mario Savio, Huey Newton, Allen Ginsburg, and the music of Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez and the Grateful Dead all bring that tumultuous decade back to life. Its reflective and insightful analysis of the era - from the HUAC hearings and civil rights sit-ins at the beginning of the decade through the Free Speech Movement, the anti-war protests, the growth of the counter-culture, the founding of the Black Panther Party and the stirrings of the Women's Movement - confronts every viewer with the questions the 1960s raised, which remain largely unanswered.
Narrated by Bill Kurtis, the series goes on-location to nine countries." "STORIES FROM THE EARTH explores the fascinating ways cultures both primitive and modern have responded to the unpredictable workings of the earth."
Examines the difficult task of relinquishing U.S. power in Panama, a country born of U.S. expansionism and nurtured on U.S. dollars. Edwin Newman narrates.
A profile of the 26th President and a study of his conservation policies. Included: a look at Roosevelt's dedication to the preservation of America's wilderness and natural resources.
Appalachian Journey is one of five films made from footage that Alan Lomax shot between 1978 and 1985 for PBS. It offers songs, dances, stories, and religious rituals of the Southern Appalachians. Preachers, singers, fiddlers, banjo pickers, moonshiners, cloggers, and square dancers recount the good times and the hard times of rural life there. Performers include Tommy Jarrell, Janette Carter, Ray and Stanley Hicks, Frank Proffitt Jr., Sheila Kay Adams, Nimrod Workman and Phyllis Boyens, Raymond Fairchild, and others, with a bonus of a few African-Americans from the North Carolina Piedmont. Narrated by Alan Lomax. The Association for Cultural Equity’s Alan Lomax Archive channel on YouTube additionally streams outtakes from this film: other strong performances by Sheila Kay Adams, Dellie Norton, and Cas Wallin, Lawrence Eller, the Hickses, Algia Mae Hinton and John Dee Holeman, Tommy Jarrell, John “Doodle” Thrower, and Nimrod Workman.
In the first program of a three-part miniseries on the Soviet space program, NOVA profiles the mysterious genius behind the world's first satellite, the first man to orbit the Earth and other early Russian triumphs in space.
NOVA reveals the details of Moscow's secret plan to reach the Moon ahead of the Americans.
In an unprecedented insider's look, NOVA covers the training, flight and recovery of a cosmonaut crew that visits the Soviet space station Mir. Unexpected emergencies show that space travel is still far from routine.
This documentary is about the upset victory of Harry Truman over Thomas Dewey in the election of 1948. Dewey was considered such a shoo-in that many people who would have voted for him didn't bother going the polls, providing Truman with a narrow margin of victory. The program captures the event with newsreels and early television film, interspersed with interviews of campaign staffers and political reporters who covered the election.
For 50 years radio dominated the airwaves and the American consciousness as the first “mass medium.” In Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Ken Burns examines the lives of three extraordinary men who shared the primary responsibility for this invention and its early success, and whose genius, friendship, rivalry and enmity interacted in tragic ways. This is the story of Lee de Forest, a clergyman’s flamboyant son, who invented the audion tube; Edwin Howard Armstrong, a brilliant, withdrawn inventor who pioneered FM technology; and David Sarnoff, a hard-driving Russian immigrant who created the most powerful communications company on earth.
In this age when every fast food place seems the same, diners are still distinctive, fun places to stop, often full of local flavor with quirky characters on both sides of the counter. This WQED classic program from 1993 takes a look at some of the most interesting diners in Pennsylvania along with a few other roadside restaurants (like the Midway Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike) that have salty histories and spicy reputations for good, simple, all-American food.
Over California was shot over an entire year with high-definition cameras to capture the variety of landswapes in the Golden State like never before. Soar over redwood forests, the Sierra mountains, the Pacific Coast, desert, vineyards, LA and more!
Technology experts Gina Smith and John Levine provide a light, plain English introduction to the Internet, World Wide Web and related technologies for work and home use.
Rick Sebak explores the process of making ice cream, and many of the small ice cream shops across the country.
This special, presented in the form of a panel discussion, reunites comedian Sid Caesar with nine of his writers who created material for his classic series from television's golden age: "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." Host Billy Crystal opens the program by showing clips of Caesar in classic skits, including scenes with Imogene Coca, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, and Howie Morris. Moderator Bob Claster leads guests Mel Tolkin, Carl Reiner, Aaron Ruben, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Sheldon Keller, and Gary Belkin in a discussion of the following topics, among others: Impresario Max Liebman's organization of "The Admiral Broadway Revue" and his habit of throwing lit cigars at Brooks (a clip of an Admiral television commercial is shown here), the cost of producing each episode of "Your Show of Shows," why their collaborative efforts were a mixture of electricity and hate, why Ruben was elected to type up their ideas, Caesar's compulsive meticulousness, the
Gipsy Kings are a music group from Arles and Montpellier, France. Although group members were born in France, their parents were gitanos who fled Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War. They are known for bringing Rumba Catalana, a pop-oriented version of traditional flamenco music, to worldwide audiences. Their music has a particular Rumba Flamenca style, with pop influences; many songs of the Gipsy Kings fit social dances, such as Salsa and Rumba. Their music has been described as a place where "Spanish flamenco and Romani rhapsody meet salsa funk".[1] Musical background They explained the evolution of their sound in the 1996 PBS documentary of their lives and music "Tierra Gitana (Gipsy Land)". Young brothers Nicolas, Canut and Paul Reyes accompanied their father, famed flamenco singer Jose Reyes, who started out singing "cante jondo" (deep chant), traditional flamenco with long-running themes of passion, love, death, etc. But they began playing rumba flamenca because "we liked to watch pretty girls dance," said Nicolas. Latin American beats had been joined with flamenco by gitanos since at least the 1950s, mixing complex strumming with rhythmic, percussive tapping on their guitars' tops. The new Reyes generation — soon to meet and join up with three guitar-playing brothers from the Baliardo family — began creating more pop-oriented songs. They played at roma parties and at street corners until they got their chance to record under the group's new name, Gipsy Kings. Sharp-eyed individuals might have noted that all the left-handed members of the group play guitars strung upside-down; this is usually as a result of the individuals' not having their own guitars when growing-up. Borrowing and playing a right-hander's the wrong way up was the only way to learn. Band's story They became popular with their self-titled first album, Gipsy Kings, which included the songs "Djobi Djoba [1]", "Bamboleo [2]" and the romantic ballad "Un Amor". The song "Vo
People love going to the beach for lots of different reasons. The sun. The sand. The salt-water taffy. In this slightly wacky documentary, we consider all kinds of things that draw people to the coast: board walks, seafood, lifeguards, even metal-detectors and roller skates. From Nantucket to Venice Beach, people relax and bounce in the waves. From the Outer Banks to Oahu, beachgoers bring along their fishing gear and hope to catch some dinner.
Revered as the author of the Declaration of Independence, the most sacred document in American history, yet condemned as a lifelong owner of slaves, THOMAS JEFFERSON remains the enigma that is America. A young Thomas Jefferson from the Virginia wilderness is transformed by the fire of the Enlightened into his country's most articulate voice for human liberty. Torn between serene family life at Monticello and his passion for politics, Jefferson suffers heartrending personal loss, even as he gives voice to a new era of democratic government. He then journeys to Paris as U.S. Minister to France for George Washington and supports the rising French Revolution. Returning from France, Jefferson strives to preserve the new, fragile American government and helps create the first political party through his bitter struggles with the Federalists. As third President of the United States, he doubles the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase, but faces controversy and scandal, finally retiring to his beloved Monticello. His last years are spent founding the University of Virginia and re-establishing his friendship with John Adams. By the end of his remarkable life, he had advanced the cause of religious, political and intellectual freedom everywhere and had changed the course of human events.
Narrated by Tom Baker and set against the spectacular backdrop of Yellowstone National Park, Bob Landis's film follows a family of otters over the course of a year.
On 17th April 1961, an invasion force of over 1,200 Cuban exiles - trained, financed, equipped and directed by the US CIA - launched an amphibious invasion of the Cuban mainland. This documentary examines both the tactical and ethical questions surrounding the failed three-day battle, one that the world watched with great apprehension, and features interviews with key participants, archival footage and information obtained through declassified documents
America's desire for freedom and the open road resulted in the construction of thousands of highways during the Eisenhower administration. Through interviews, archival footage and photography, America's interstate highway system is revealed to have shaped every aspect of American life and affected the nation's history for better and for worse.
The most famous voyage in U.S history was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who were aided by soldiers, an African-American slave, a female guide, and Canadian boatmen.
Documentary on the four generations of the Nehru family involved in the emergence of independent India. On August 14, 1947, India won independence after 200 years of British rule, largely due to the efforts of three Hindu nationalists. Mahatma Gandhi was the spiritual leader and Jawaharlal Nehru, son of Motilal Nehru, was to be the elected political monarch. The next two generations of Nehrus, Indira and her two sons, continued the reign through 1991, when son Rajiv was assassinated by terrorists.
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America relates the absorbing, dramatic story of the creation of the post-Holocaust communities in the U.S. The film presents the tensions and confusions that Hasidim experienced when they arrived here after World War II, decimated and grieving. Our story focuses on the transformation of the broken remnant of Holocaust survivors into a vital if insular community. Ironically, the Hasidic rejection of America’s popular culture and education has resulted in goals deeply desired by many Americans: stable families, strong communities and lives infused with meaning. In return, Hasidim pay a price most Americans would find too high: they adhere to strict rules of behavior; they live in a traditional society with clearly defined and prescribed roles for each member; and, within the Hasidic world, individualism is suppressed for the sake of community. These tensions are at the heart of our film.
Based on the bestselling book Longitude by Dava Sobel, the program tells the story of how an unknown genius, John Harrison, discovered the key to navigating on the open seas and thus solved one of the thorniest problems of the 1700s.
An ill-fated attempt to build an airplane in 30 days. Cringely is full of enthusiasm, visiting air shows and meeting fellow plane-builders. Others are more realistic. His engineer says, "It's out of my sphere of comprehension." His girlfriend comments, "I home he has good insurance." Plane-builder and journalist Peter Garrison sums it up, "Except that you appear sane... I would just assume that you were a nut." And these people are on his side. Cringely quickly grasps the enormity of the task, "End of day three-I think we're now five days behind schedule."
An ill-fated attempt to build an airplane in 30 days. Things progress at a snail's pace. By day 15, Cringely has little to show for his efforts. After 30 days, he has completed about seven percent of his plane. Further, he's done a poor job and the hard part is yet to come. The strain of a heavy work schedule, a limited budget, a host of skeptics and an intrusive film crew becomes too much. Cringely has gone from being a joyful plane enthusiast to a man beset by his demons. He loses it, fights with everyone and winds up verbally, even physically, attacking his film crew.
An ill-fated attempt to build an airplane in 30 days. Cringely appears renewed. After taking a chainsaw to 46 days of agony and aggravation, he embarks on plane number two. Cringely vows to build his plane and goes home to his native Ohio. There, in Portsmouth, he enlists the help of a family firm of plane-builders and evangelists who don't think he's nuts. In the end, despite the advice and scorn of experts, engine trouble and even floods, Cringely finally completes his plane and flies it, too. His pride restored, he reflects on the lessons learned from such an epic: turn a hobby into work and it just may drive you crazy.
A fascinating documentary on the life and career of the astronaut and United States Senator who at 77 turned a new page in history by becoming the oldest person to venture into space. This remarkable man has led a remarkable life, from his role as a Navy and Marine Corps pilot to the man who made history as the first American to orbit the Earth. Using interviews and historical footage, this documentary traces Glenn's life from his boyhood in Ohio, his combat experience in World War II and Korea, his years of public service as a United States senator to his long time desire to return to space. Glenn made history 36 years ago when he became the first American to orbit the Earth. In making three orbits, he gave hope and pride to a nation desperate to catch up in the "race for space." In the process, he became the most revered American explorer since Lindbergh. Now, the 77-year-old Ohio Senator will once again make history, this time as the oldest person ever to travel in space. Through interviews and rare historical footage, the documentary traces Glenn's life from his boyhood in Ohio, his combat experience in World War II and Korea, his 1957 transcontinental speed record, years of public service in the United States Senate, and his longstanding desire to return to space. Glenn says his eye is set on the future. The documentary also looks ahead to America's space activities in the 21st century, including NASA's International Space Station. A Co-Production of KCET/Hollywood and Newsweek Productions, Inc
The Germans from Russia: Children of the Steppe, Children of the Prairie is the story of the Germans from Russia— agricultural pioneers on several continents whose quest for land and peace shaped them into a distinctive and enduring ethnic group.
Rick Sebak travels the country, seeking out the various styles of hot dogs that people enjoy. He also discusses the history of the hot dog, and visits the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
For two hours in July of 1969, the world stood still as man landed and walked on the moon. Tens of millions watched it happen, on blurry black and white television, beamed back a quarter million miles across the heavens. For the first time in human history, all mankind could observe a profound discovery as it happened. A generation later, in July of 1999, a two-hour NOVA special television event will mark the 30th anniversary of the greatest science and engineering adventure of all time—going behind the scenes to tell the stories the astronauts and the unsung heroes of lunar exploration—the scientists and engineers who made it happen. When President John F. Kennedy pledged to put a man on the moon by the end of the 60s, not a single person in the nascent US space agency had a clue as to how this would be accomplished. After all, it was April, 1961, just two weeks after an American flew into space for the first time. Everything was unknown and in debate—how would they get there? And how to return? The technologies—for propulsion, navigation, and life support—had yet to be invented and tested. At the time, no computers, batteries, communication, let alone rockets or spacecraft capable of the mission were on the drawing boards. The task seemed endless, even impossible. Then, before the plans were barely outlined, the President was dead, leaving the mission to continue. The task was daunting.
On a Hot Summer day, there may be no better place on earth than a traditional amusement park. A place where you can hop on a classic wooden coaster, reach for the ring as you whirl by on the merry-go-round, or cool down on the Caterpillar. In this documentary, you get to visit some of America’s most charming parks from Lake Compounce in Connecticut to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in California. You get to gallop on the Derby Racer at Playland, go with the flow on the Boat Chute at Lake Winnepesaukah, and rock on Deno’s Wonder Wheel at Coney Island. And of course there are coasters, including the Thunderbolt at Kennywood, the Cyclone at Astroland, the Raven at Holiday World, and San Diego’s Giant Dipper!
Millions of people around the world know of him. Yet this frontier prophet of the early 1800s found little honor and eventual martyrdom at the hands of an angry mob in his own country. Who was this Joseph Smith and what was it about his remarkable life story, which inspired such impassioned rancor or unflinching reverence? Please join Academy Award-winner Gregory Peck for a fascinating look at this oft-misunderstood American legend.
One hundred years ago, United States celebrated victory in the Spanish-American War. Popular songs and headlines popularized Commodore Dewey's victories at sea and Theodore Roosevelt's ride up Kettle Hill. Although the Spanish-American War sparked unprecedented levels of patriotism and confidence, the defeat of the Spanish also raised new questions about the nation's role as a world power.
Part 1: Land Divided: 1947-1956 Part 2: The 6 Day War: 1967 Part 3: Palestinian Exiles: 1967-1982
What is Islam? Who is Muhammad? This documentary about Islam is narrated by Ben Kingsley and attempts to answer these questions. Originally broadcast as a three part series, the documentary covers who Muhammad was, the golden age of Islam and the Ottoman Empire.
Zachary Richard co-produced and narrated this award-winning LPB documentary which tells the story of the Acadian people from their origins in France, their immigration to Nova Scotia, their expulsion by the British and their eventual relocation in South Louisiana. It also looks at the battles to keep the Cajun culture alive and efforts to preserve the French language in Louisiana.
Dr. Bob Ballard explores the histories and the final resting places of famous 20th-century passenger liners, including the Titanic, the Lusitania, and the Empress of Ireland.
TESLA, Master of Lightning, is a multi-media project that tells the comprehensive story of the life and work of Nikola Tesla for the very fist time. The program combines dramatizations with rare footage and photographs to weave a story filled with science, drama, and mystery. Included are many new and unknown details of of Tesla's life, including the influence he had on the Strategic Defense Initiative missile defense program. A great deal of the story is told in Tesla's own words, drawn from his autobiographical and scientific writings, and performed by Stacy Keach.
Their stage antics were sassy, aggressive, almost raunchy. Their vocal styles featured distinctly "unladylike" growls, hiccups and moans. Their lyrics spoke of parties and hot rods, teen love and teen angst. They played everywhere from country fairs to honky-tonks to rock shows. They boldly strutted their stuff and were billed as "Little Miss Dynamite," "The Nation's Number One Party Girl" and "The Female Elvis." In the eye-opening film WELCOME TO THE CLUB - The Women of Rockabilly, we meet four of the most influential rockabilly women - Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, Janis Martin, and Lorrie Collins.
A visual and auditory feast by the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps. If your favorite part of a football game is when the marching band takes the field, then you're going to love Blast. Think of the most rousing, in-sync band that you ever saw, turn them way up, add cool costumes and a black-and-white checkered stage with colored spotlights, throw in a good helping of the Stomp vibe, and you've got Blast.
A Flea Market Documentary is an all-American celebration of open-air shopping across the country. On any weekend, there may be no better place to find out what makes America great than at a flea market. A Flea Market Documentary is an unabashed celebration of the unusual people and the enticing things that can be found in parking lots, fairgrounds, drive-ins, sidewalks, and wherever else someone has posted a sign saying "Flea Market." It's capitalism mixed with craziness. It's amazing old stuff, great salespeople, the ancient tradition of the open-air market, and the possibility of finding a bargain, all uniting shoppers across the nation. Produced by WQED Pittsburgh, A Flea Market Documentary travels from the gigantic Rose Bowl Market in Pasadena, California, to the busy but modest- sized Eastern Market in Washington, DC, talking with organizers, vendors, food merchants and shoppers.
To celebrate the highway’s 75th birthday, Michael Wallis updates us on the people and places he’s come to know along America’s Main Street. Explore The world's most famous highway - Route 66 - with noted author and 'road warrior' Michael Wallis.
Why does Charles Darwin's ''dangerous idea'' matter more today than ever, and how does it explain the past and predict the future of life on Earth? The first show interweaves the drama of Darwin's life with current documentary sequences, introducing key concepts of evolution.
What underlies the incredible diversity of life on Earth? How have complex life forms evolved? The journey from water to land, the return of land mammals to the sea, and the emergence of humans all suggest that creatures past and present are members of a single tree of life.
Five mass extinctions have occurred since life began on Earth. Are humans causing the next mass extinction? And what does evolutionary theory predict for the world we will leave to our descendants?
Survival of the fittest: Raw competition? Intense cooperation? Both are essential. Interactions between and within species are among the most powerful evolutionary forces on Earth, and understanding them may be a key to our own survival.
In evolutionary terms, sex is more important than life itself. Sex fuels evolutionary change by adding variation to the gene pool. The powerful urge to pass our genes on to the next generation has likely changed the face of human culture in ways we're only beginning to understand.
Fifty thousand years ago, something happened -- the modern human mind emerged, triggering a creative, technological, and social explosion. What forces contributed to that breakthrough? Where might our power of mind ultimately lead us?
Of all species, we alone attempt to explain who we are and how we came to be. This final show explores the struggle between science and religion. Through the personal stories of students and teachers, it offers the view that they are compatible.
Egypt was occupied by foreigners except for a narrow strip of land around a town called Thebes. The capital and its royal family had fallen on hard times. But one local family was determined to revive it--the king of Thebes and his two young sons Ahmose and Kamose, who became freedom fighters, liberators of Egypt.
When Amenhotep III became pharaoh in 1390 BC, Egypt controlled a vast empire and was rich, respected and free. But it faced the challenge of powerful new rivals.
During the reign of Amenhotep III, Egypt was the center for culture and learning in the ancient world. Egypt had reached dizzying heights, but it stood on the brink of a devastating fall.
Come fly with us Over Alaska as we take off on a breathtaking tour of our 49th state. Soar over Mt. McKinley and through the craggy crevasses of electric blue glaciers. Follow the Iditarod and kayakers as they navigate past icebergs. Then touch down to Earth and get as close to bears, whales and wildlife as humanly possible. From the bustling city of Anchorage to the ghost town of Kennecott, from the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to the heritage and culture of Alaska's native population. Over Alaska portrays Alaska as it's never been seen before. Shot over three months with the world's most experienced high definition aerial production team and an acclaimed wildlife photographer, the stunning imagery is enhanced with evocative words and an original music score. Come see an Alaska you will never forget.
An exploration of a wide variety of sandwiches served by restaurants, diners, and roadside stands across the country.
Exploring the personal and heartfelt story of the Navajo Code Talkers, True Whispers tells the stories of the young Navajo men recruited from harsh government boarding schools into the Marines during World War II. From 1942-1945, the Code Talkers devised an unbreakable code in their native language and transmitted vital messages in the midst of combat against the Japanese.
Based on the book "We Called it War" by Denzil Batson, this feature documentary tells the heroing experiences of the front line infantry man in the Korean War, long known as the "Forgotten War." As a young man from southwest Missouri, Denzil Batson was sent with thousands of American soldiers to defend freedom and democracy in the hills and rice paddies of Korea during the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. The story revolves around Denzil's 2nd Platoon of 'F' Company of the 3rd Division. Known as "dog face" soldiers, Denzil's platoon buddies get together and tell their stories from 50 years ago with vivid reality. From the Pusan Perimeter to the Frozen Chosin reservoir to the Yalu river, these aging American heroes fought the Chinese and North Koreans in trenches with hand grenades and bayonets and died for America's freedom. "Korea: We Called it War" is a vivid account of events told by some of the men who lived it, fought it and are still trying to cope with it.
Escape to Havana for a 1950's time capsule of sleek lines, shiny chrome, tail fins and good times in Classic American Cars of Cuba. In Cuba today, one in eight cars is a pre-1960s American brand Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Chrysler, Packard and other classic models - and just as in 1950's America, these cars are at the center of everyday life - courtships, marriages, careers, family outings. Classic American Cars of Cuba celebrates the timeless traditions of hot cars and cool music; the joys of cruising; the camaraderie of fathers and sons tinkering under the hood; the promise of romance. Revved up by a soundtrack of classic car songs, this program makes a passion for cars contagious. Produced & Directed by Leo Eaton ; A Production of WLIW Public Television New York
Biological and chemical weapons such as sarin, anthrax, plague, smallpox, and VX gas can claim more lives over greater distances than a nuclear bomb—and are easier to make and use. This look at historical uses of these types of weapons by both governments and terrorists also examines who might have them and be willing to use them now.
The demise of the Soviet Union put an end to fears of a global nuclear war between the superpowers, but it also means that control of the Soviet stockpile of nuclear weapons and component parts is now scattered among many different governments, creating a security nightmare. With nations such as North Korea pursuing their own nuclear programs, the conflict between nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan heating up, and the possibility of terrorists gaining control of bomb-making materials, the potential for a nuclear conflict on some scale may actually be increasing.
Nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons have added a horrific new dimension to terrorism, enabling a small group of people to inflict enormous damage—especially if they're willing to die in the process. This look at the motivations and conditions behind terrorism includes interviews with a former comrade of Osama bin Laden, a British Islamic couple who condemn the September 11 attacks but still teach the concept of holy war, and a 17-year-old Arab boy hoping for a productive future but also attracted to the idea of a "martyr's" death.
Explores measures that can be taken to reduce the threat of terrorism, from San Francisco's round-the-clock efforts to protect the Golden Gate Bridge to measures that can be taken globally to rescue nations in the midst of crisis. Topics include efforts to rebuild Afghanistan and to combat the ravages of AIDS in Africa.
THE SPARTANS opens at Thermopylae and with the epitaph of the Three Hundred — and very stirring it is to hear this spoken in the original Greek — before introducing some of the topics that will be addressed in the program. (Hmm. The claim that “male homosexuality was compulsory” is extremely dubious; the first boldfaced assertion as fact of a subject hotly debated among ancient and modern experts.) After the introduction, we journey to the Dark Ages of Greece, the end of the Achaean Age and the coming of the Dorian Greeks to the Peloponnesus and Laconia. An effective look at the development of hoplite warfare is presented. Next comes the Messenian conquest, then the establishment of the Spartan constitution. The upbringing of Spartan youths, warts and all, is then addressed at length. A good point is made that the sublimation of the individual as practiced by the Spartans can be very liberating – “the possibility of transcending your limitations as an individual and becoming part of something bigger and better.” Spartan institutions are credited for initiating a system of political rights and responsibilities among its citizens centuries before other Greek states conceived of such things.
This segment begins by exploring at how Sparta and Athens fell out after the Persian Wars, with a look at Athenian politics and society and how these contrasted to Sparta’s. This is a refreshingly non-partisan treatment, not hesitating to be equally critical of Athens. Women’s life in Sparta is given much attention. Sparta comes off as considerably more enlightened, by modern Western standards, than Athens. (Interesting sidebar – in her remarks during a November 24, 2003, online chat with Channel 4 (UK) viewers, narrator Bettany Hughes, when asked where she’d have rather lived, Sparta or Athens, replied “Sparta. No doubt.”) Hughes wryly notes how Spartan women were “objects of fear and fascination” to non-Spartan men. The legacy of these “radical” Spartan customs on later societies is discussed. Amusingly, whether by design or not, Hughes wears a scarlet dress for much of this sequence – fit garb for a Spartanette – and conducts her narration while striding purposefully about the Laconian countryside or riding on horseback in full exhibition of energetic Spartan vitality.
The last section of the film opens at Delphi and takes a look at Greek religion and Spartan attitudes toward the gods and oracles before resuming the history of the Peloponnesian War. Alcibiades, the Syracuse expedition, and Lysander are all examined, taking up half of Part 3. Then the period of the Spartan Hegemony is briefly described, shaped by the “crippled kingship” of Agesilaus and marked by power struggles among Sparta’s ruling factions. Hughes notes the critical decline of Spartan citizen manpower and the rise of Thebes as a rival. She takes us to the battlefield of Leuctra, where Spartan military superiority was broken in 371 BC. The remaining sequences very quickly sketch how classical Sparta became a second-class power and finally a tourist attraction for wealthy Romans. The show concludes with a summation of Sparta’s influence on Western philosophy.
In 1903, Americans considered automobiles practical for short trips only. Horatio Nelson Jackson believed differently. He bet a man fifty dollars that he could drive an automobile across the country. Nelson paid a man to accompany him on a trip that attempted to go from California into Oregon and the Rocky Mountain states, then across the Midwestern U.S.A. and finally to New York City. Jackson's trip made him a media sensation. While Jackson, the other man, and a dog travelled by car, they encountered numerous setbacks involving mechanical difficulties. After the Jackson car started, two other teams of drivers set out from San Francisco, each trying to be the first team to reach New York.
Casts new light on the relationship between Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Maric and their collaboration on the theory of relativity.
Courage, guilt, betrayal and triumph; the story of T.E. Lawrence has it all. How one man inspired an Arab army but could not prevent their betrayal. Filmed in England and the Middle East, this two-hour epic charts the real-life story of a twentieth century hero.
The transcontinental railroad, begun in 1855 and completed in 1869, transformed the Golden State from sleepy outpost into one of the world's most powerful economies. THE RAILROAD EMPIRE explores this vital moment in California's history and charts its impact on the development of a nation. Archival photography footage depicts the painstaking process of constructing this "ribbon of iron" through the Sierra Mountains. Interviews with historians and railroad experts paint a vivid portrait of how railroads forever altered the social and political landscape of the United States. The program also examines the institutionalized violence and systematic discrimination against Chinese railroad laborers, the development of unions and Congress' role in the Big Four's monopoly of California transportation.
In 1752, an ancient library was discovered at Herculaneum, buried beneath the ashes of Mount Vesuvius. Astonishingly, nearly 2000 carbonized papyrus rolls were preserved, though some were so badly burned they looked like pieces of charcoal. While some texts from the philosophical library have been published, many of the papyri have yet to be unrolled or read.
When the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D., it not only froze an ancient civilization, it also preserved the only surviving library from antiquity. For 250 years, scholars have struggled to unroll and read this collection of 1,800 carbonized and crumbling papyrus rolls found in the wealthy Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. In the 21st century, promising new technologies--enlisted by the National Library in Naples and Brigham Young University--reveal text that has not been seen for nearly 2,000 years. As archaeologists examine the partially excavated Villa of the Papyri, a new question emerges: Is there another ancient library still buried at Herculaneum?
For more than 150 years, Fort Niagara protected the strategic point at the mouth of the Niagara River in Youngstown, New York. Four nations struggled to conquer it and thus control that critical water artery. Fort Niagara: The Struggle for a Continent explores the story of the longstanding national landmark. Through rare archival materials, expert commentaries, high-definition videography and re-enactments, viewers can experience the history of Fort Niagara from its beginning through modern times.
An account of the day-to-day explorations and activities of Richard Proenneke, who built a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness and stayed to become part of the country.
1421: The Year China Discovered America? examines the theories outlined by Gavin Menzies in his book "1421: The Year China Discovered the World," which has become a best-seller in the United Kingdom and was released in the United States earlier this week. Mr. Menzies, a British amateur historian and former submarine commander in the Royal Navy, poses an argument that could change the way we perceive global history forever -- that Chinese admirals discovered America and Chinese junks first circled the earth. Travelling across the continents, the film will combine history, science and technology with adventure and exploration, taking viewers on their own voyage of discovery. Note: The original production title was "1421: WHEN CHINA DISCOVERED THE WORLD"
Commemorating the return of the 2004 Summer Olympics to its place of origin in Athens, THE REAL OLYMPICS tells the true story of the original games, comparing the Ancient Greek Olympics to the modern games of today. The series examines the ideals, the events themselves, the stories of the athletes and the politics and financial considerations that were as much a part of the Olympics 2000 years ago as they are now. Appealing to sports fans as well as historians, the series juxtaposes contemporary footage with recreations of the early competitions in all their beauty and occasional savagery.
Examine the past, present and future of the fastest-growing form of entertainment in history, one that brings in billions more dollars each year than the movies. More than half of America plays games regularly, and the average gamer is now thirty years old. Yet Americans who don't play games hardly know they exist. This program features interviews with most of the important designers of games today, including the guys and gals who invented The Sims, Civilization, Dungeon Siege, Pong, Ratchet & Clank, Donkey Kong, Nancy Drew and many others.
Looking back over 40 years television and print journalists recall their stories and memories of reporting the murder of President Kennedy and how it changed the country and changed the way the public gets it's news.
The story of Jewish life in Eastern Europe brought to life by some of the last remaining eyewitnesses. Accompanied by archival films, vintage photographs and traditional cantorial music, the film takes a realistic and enlightening look at this unique and all but vanished way of life. Rural communities often had no running water or electricity. Anti-Semitism was a part of daily life. Crowded conditions and poverty seemed to prevail but through the eyes of the individuals interviewed, Jewish communities were close-knit and often joyous places to live.
A travelogue featuring oddly-shaped buildings (and the folks who live in, work in, own and admire them) located along USA highways. Consider the Big Duck on Long Island, a duck-shaped structure built in 1930 as a place to sell duck eggs. Look at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, a civic center decorated every year in massive mosaic murals made of corn. Stop for lunch at Mammy's Cupboard in Natchez, Mississippi, where you can eat inside the "skirt" of a building, erected in 1940 to attract tourist business to a gas station, in the shape of an African-American mammy. Fill your prescriptions at Bondurants' Pharmacy in Lexington, Kentucky, a drug store in the shape of a giant mortar and pestle. Some of the places are icons of American highway history, like the motel rooms in the shape of teepees (there are still three sets of them left in America), while others are new additions to the world of strange structures, like the building in the shape of an upside down building called WonderWorks along International Drive in Orlando, Florida.
Journalist Robert MacNeil travels across the USA to observe the current state of the spoken American English language.
California Dreamin': The Songs of the Mamas & the Papas is a one-hour documentary prepared for public television, to be shown during pledge drives to get those baby boomers to call in and contribute. As its title and the TV-G rating that pops up right at the beginning suggest, this look at the group is more interested in the music than in wallowing in the backstage scandals much loved by, for example, VH1 Behind the Music, which spent a very different hour chronicling the Mamas & the Papas' career a few years earlier.
Explore some of the very best sites, sounds and tastes Europe has to offer. This series takes you from one European hot spot to the next, introducing you to famous landmarks as well as great places to sleep, eat and soak up the culture.
Using dramatic recreations and CGI, the program brings the May 20, 1883, eruption to life. The eruption reduced the island of Krakatoa to a third of its former size and sent waves that reportedly topped 100 feet high crashing onto Asian shores, killing 36,000. Portions of the program tie the resulting tsunami destruction to the December 26, 2004, tsunami.
It was the "perfect mountain", a shapely peak dubbed the Fuji of the West. 9,677 feet of snow-capped grandeur in the heart of the Cascade Range. On May 18, 1980 Mt. St. Helens captured the attention of the world with a volcanic display unequaled in modern times. This is the story of the cataclysmic events of that day, and the miraculous resiliency of Nature as life returns out of the ash.
In this revealing documentary, veteran correspondent John Merrow takes you behind the ivy-covered walls of our colleges and universities to see if they are delivering on their promise.
Since the early 20th century, musicians have come together in the name of human rights to fight war, hunger, corruption, oppression, AIDS, apartheid, and Third World debt. From single songs passed by word of mouth to star-studded, multimillion-dollar benefits, activists from Joe Hill to Bob Geldof have spoken up by singing out, drawing together disparate groups of people with unforgettable verse and universal harmony. GET UP, STAND UP serves as a timely reminder of the potent role music has played in a century's worth of political protest.
A defining chapter in America's past, the '60s shaped a generation and sculpted a political landscape that can still be seen today. The story of the '60s is illuminated with images of freedom protests, atom bombs, flower power, and a nation divided by war. It was a time when a generation rebelled and lost its innocence. From the Vietnam War to the struggle for racial equality to the birth of a counter-culture explosion, the 1960s was a decade of change, experimentation and hope that transformed an entire nation. The two-hour documentary features revealing interviews with the prominent figures of the era including: Barbara Ehrenreich, Daniel Ellsberg, Jesse Jackson, Tom Hayden, Arlo Guthrie, Henry Kissinger, Norman Mailer, Robert McNamara, Ed Meese III and Bobby Seale.
Acclaimed presenter of historic documentaries, Bettany Hughes, embarks on a journey across the eastern Mediterranean to discover the truth about HELEN OF TROY, the woman blamed for causing the Trojan War, a conflict that resulted in countless deaths. Following weapons experts, the two-hour film shows how the conflict in Helens name would have been fought, unraveling the reality from the myths and putting flesh on the "face that launched a thousand ships", exploring the ways the Greeks made love and war circa 1300 B.C.
A Cemetery Special is a 2005 PBS television documentary film by Rick Sebak of WQED. The documentary profiles cemeteries and cemetery-related businesses and events across the United States. The following cemeteries are covered in the film: Allegheny Cemetery — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mount Auburn Cemetery — Greater Boston, Massachusetts Rock of Ages Corporation — Graniteville, Vermont Hope Cemetery — Barre, Vermont Cypress Lawn Memorial Park — Colma, California Key West Cemetery — Key West, Florida Memorial Day — Waterloo, New York Lake View Cemetery — Cleveland, Ohio Oakland Cemetery — Atlanta, Georgia Birch Hill Cemetery — Fairbanks, Alaska
This documentary profiles people who are living with the grave consequences of a changing climate, as well as the individuals, communities and scientists inventing new approaches to safeguard our children's future. Filmed across the U.S., Asia and South America, this program brings the reality of climate change to life and offers viewers a variety of ways to make a difference in their own communities.
Jared Diamond’s journey of discovery began on the island of Papua New Guinea. There, in 1974, a local named Yali asked Diamond a deceptively simple question: “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” Diamond realized that Yali’s question penetrated the heart of a great mystery of human history -- the roots of global inequality. Why were Europeans the ones with all the cargo? Why had they taken over so much of the world, instead of the native people of New Guinea? How did Europeans end up with what Diamond terms the agents of conquest: guns, germs and steel? It was these agents of conquest that allowed 168 Spanish conquistadors to defeat an Imperial Inca army of 80,000 in 1532, and set a pattern of European conquest which would continue right up to the present day. Diamond knew that the answer had little to do with ingenuity or individual skill. From his own experience in the jungles of New Guinea, he had observed that native hunter-gatherers were just as intelligent as people of European descent -- and far more resourceful. Their lives were tough, and it seemed a terrible paradox of history that these extraordinary people should be the conquered, and not the conquerors. To examine the reasons for European success, Jared realized he had to peel back the layers of history and begin his search at a time of equality – a time when all the peoples of the world lived in exactly the same way. Time of Equality At the end of the last Ice Age, around thirteen thousand years ago, people on all continents followed a so-called Stone Age way of life – they survived by hunting and gathering the available wild animals and plants. When resources were plentiful, this was a productive way of life. But in times of scarcity, hunting and gathering was a precarious mode of survival. Populations remained relatively small, and the simple task of finding food occupied every waking momen
On November 15th 1532, 168 Spanish conquistadors arrive in the holy city of Cajamarca, at the heart of the Inca Empire, in Peru. They are exhausted, outnumbered and terrified – ahead of them are camped 80,000 Inca troops and the entourage of the Emperor himself. Yet, within just 24 hours, more than 7,000 Inca warriors lie slaughtered; the Emperor languishes in chains; and the victorious Europeans begin a reign of colonial terror which will sweep through the entire American continent. Why was the balance of power so unequal between the Old World, and the New? Can Jared Diamond explain how America fell to guns, germs and steel? Two Empires Pizarro, leader of the Spanish conquistadors Spaniard Francisco Pizarro has gone down in history as the man who conquered the Inca. Leading a small company of mercenaries and adventurers, this former swineherd from a provincial town in Spain managed to demolish one of the most sophisticated Empires the world has ever seen. From Pizarro's home town of Trujillo, Jared Diamond pieces together the story of the Spaniards' victory over the Inca, tracing the invisible hand of geography. On the surface, the Spaniards had discovered a foreign empire remarkably similar to their own. The Inca had built an advanced, politically sophisticated, civilization on the foundations of successful agriculture. They had ruthlessly conquered their neighbors in South America, and by 1532 governed a vast territory, the length and breadth of the Andes. But as Jared discovers, the Inca lacked some critical agents of conquest. Horses vs Llamas Eurasia boasted 13 of the 14 domesticable mammals in the world as native species. Among these was the horse. As Diamond learns, the horse was fundamental to the farming success of Eurasian societies, providing not only food and fertilizer but also, crucially, load-bearing power and transport – transforming the productivity of the land. The only non-Eurasian domest
So far, Jared Diamond has demonstrated how geography favoured one group of people – Europeans – endowing them with agents of conquest ahead of their rivals around the world. Guns, germs and steel allowed Europeans to colonize vast tracts of the globe – but what happened when this all-conquering package arrived in Africa, the birthplace of humanity? Can Jared Diamond's theories explain how a continent so rich in natural resources, could have ended up the poorest continent on earth? Guns Germs and Steel triumph again...? Jared's journey begins on a steam train in Cape Town, designed to carry civilization to the heart of the so-called 'dark continent'. In the Cape, Jared discovers a landscape and way of life that feels very European – farms growing cattle, wheat, grapes and barley; settler communities dating back over three hundred years. He realizes that the first European settlers in southern Africa were dealt a very lucky hand by geography – they landed in one of the few temperate zones of the southern hemisphere – a climate to which their crops an animals were ideally suited. These foundations of their historical success worked for them even 6,000 miles from home and they were able to sweep aside the indigenous hunting communities with ease – assisted by the impact of European germs. But these settlers were not ones to stand still. A mass migration known as the Great Trek took thousands of Dutch settlers north and east – into unknown territory – and, as they found to their cost, into Zulu land. The Zulus had built a sophisticated African state based on military conquest – and now they resisted European invasion. But eventually, overcoming the limitations of their weapons and inheriting new, automatic weapons form industrialized Europe, the settlers triumphed over their rival African tribes - at the cost of thousands of lives. Jared observes that the story of Guns, Germs and Steel seems to be unfolding all over again. But
A portrait of 4 US aquariums: Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois; Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California; New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts; and Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Nararted by Phil Knoerzer
For millennia, the Cascade Mountains have stood watch over the Pacific Northwest. Millions of people, attracted by their grandeur, have settled in their shadows. But the slumber of these majestic sentinels is a fitful one and geologists are monitoring their ominous rumblings. Could what they are hearing be a muted warning? The Cascades are actually a chain of volcanoes part of the infamous Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Rim. When Mt. St. Helen's erupted, the Pacific Northwest experienced first hand the staggering power that loomed over them...could it happen again? Journey with us to the Philippines, Japan and Mexico to discover how other people have survived and suffered alongside their volatile neighbors. As our own mountains rumble and growl from deep within, now is the time to ask: what will we do when our Sleeping Giants Wake? The Cascades are actually a chain of volcanoes part of the infamous Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Rim. When Mt. St. Helen's erupted, the Pacific Northwest experienced first hand the staggering power that loomed over them...could it happen again?
In November of 1939, when Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union, no one expected that this tiny nation could resist the largest military force in the world. And no one anticipated that 1939 would be one of the coldest winters in recorded history – a winter many historians have described as a ‘frozen hell.’ Filmed on the old battlefields of Finland and Russia, “Fire and Ice” dramatically depicts the intensity of the warfront and the homefront. Outnumbered and outgunned, Finns knew this war was not about changing the borders between nations. The Winter War involved all of Finland’s people, including its women who organized themselves into a unique corps called Lotta Svärd. Finland's fierce resistance changed the course of World War II and saved a democracy. “Fire and Ice” is a timeless story of courage against all odds, of a people united to preserve their freedom.
The story of the war's most concentrated aerial attack on London in 1941 and how the city nearly perished under the German barrage. Featuring harrowing first-hand accounts from survivors of the attack and dramatic recreations of events based on newly declassified information, this film brings to life the story of one night that nearly changed the course of history. Had Hitler trusted the intelligence on the amount of damage to the city and continued his attack, London would have crumbled under the sustained barrage.
How did life begin? Is there life outside of Earth? Is there a future for humankind on other planets? Each new discovery inches us closer to answering these cosmic questions linking life on Earth with the rest of the Universe and renewing our dreams of what lies in the unknown realms of the stars.
The Armenian Genocide is the complete story of the first Genocide of the 20th century, when over a million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks during World War I – an event that is still denied by Turkey to this day. This film features interviews with the leading experts in the field, such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power and New York Times best-selling author Peter Balakian. The documentary includes never-before-seen historical footage of the events and key players including Rafael Lemkin telling the story of how he invented the word Genocide in the 1940s. The Armenian Genocide is narrated by Julianna Margulies and includes historical narrations by Ed Harris, Natalie Portman, Laura Linney, Jared Leto, Lou Zorich and Orlando Bloom.
There is an intriguing story to tell about the lives and times of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn, two remarkable scientists whose extraordinary collaboration culminated in the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938, turning Einstein's "theory" into atomic science. Not only did these two revolutionize the history of science and the role of women in physics and chemistry, their tale also parallels the social changes and turbulent history of their times. It involves the war against memory, Nazi intimidation, forced exile, betrayal, and a Nobel Prize awarded only in chemistry that to this day distorts science history. Produced by award-winning Rosemarie Reed (Widow of the Revolution: The Anna Larina Story), this documentary explores the intriguing development of atomic science in the first part of the twentieth century. It captures Meitner's efforts to make her way in the male-dominated world of physics, Hahn's early work and independent discoveries, their collaboration, the racial and political discrimination that forced Meitner to live in exile, and ongoing speculation about her exclusion from the Nobel Prize. These elements are explored through photos, letters, notes, stock footage, and maps; interviews with writers, scientists, and historians; and music of the day.
A new high-definition television documentary, Cézanne in Provence, explores the deep connection between post-impressionist master Paul Cézanne — credited by many as the father of modern art — and his native Provence, illuminating how the region and its history fostered the painter’s genius. Featuring footage of some of the same locales made timeless by Cézanne and his work, Cézanne in Provence was inspired by the major international exhibition of the same name.
NIAGARA FALLS is more than the celebration of a natural wonder: it's a study of human achievement and human folly on an epic scale. It is a tale of exploitation and preservation and the changing nature of love in America - of the way Man has related to Nature over centuries. With spectacular high definition videography, the camera takes us to the edge of the falls via helicopter and boat; we see newsreel footage, actual weddings and much more.
She has been portrayed on film by some of the most famous actresses of their times, from Norma Shearer to Kirsten Dunst, and her name is now synonymous with privilege and excess. But who was the real Marie Antoinette? This film goes beyond the infamous, yet apocryphal quote, ‘Let them eat cake’, that has been used for centuries to damn the seemingly frivolous queen of France. Instead viewers are introduced to a tender-hearted, complex woman, whose life began in splendour, yet ended under the guillotine’s blade. History has often blamed Marie Antoinette for the French Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror. Her story is, undoubtedly, tied up with one of extravagance, inequality and bloody revolution, but could the wife of Louis XVI in fact have been a scapegoat? This film, featuring input from luminaries such as Simon Schama, traces her journey from her childhood in Austria, to her troubled marriage and life in the extraordinary Palace of Versailles, and ultimately, to her final hours in a squalid prison cell. Could the time have come for a reassessment of one of history’s most famous women?
Go behind the scenes to see how scientists, engineers, and veterinarians are creating and managing the Georgia Aquarium, the world's newest and largest aquarium. Management and care of the vast array of fish and mammals requires new techniques and technologies, and many species can now be studied in-depth for the first time. Medicine, biology, zoology, environmental science and engineering all come to play in creating this new aquarium adventure.
An unabashedly spiritual take on the Selma voting rights marches of 1965 from some of its unsung foot soldiers - Catholic nuns. Following "Bloody Sunday," sisters from around the country answered Dr. King's call to join the protests in Selma. Never before in American history had avowed Catholic women made so public a political statement. In 2003, director Jayasri Hart reunited the nuns to let them view the protests on tape for the first time.
A 30,000-tonne aircraft carrier is designed to function in the heat of battle and built to be capable of withstanding a great deal of punishment. This documentary follows the efforts of a team of engineers and demolition experts to sink one. Commissioned in 1950, the USS Oriskany was one of the flagships of the Pacific fleet, deployed in action during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Even such a leviathan of the seas has only a finite life-span, however, and the carrier was decommissioned in 1976. The ship lay berthed for almost 30 years, before a decision was taken to sink the hulk for use as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida. The operation involved the most explosives ever used in a controlled marine demolition. The film follows the process and some of the principal characters involved, including project manager Don Herring, part of whose job was to ensure that all hazardous material was stripped off the carrier in time for the sinking. Millions of dollars were invested in the project and time was of the essence, for the sinking had to be carried out before the onset of the hurricane season. The ship was eventually sunk on May 17, 2006, after an operation that required not only a precise combination of science and engineering but also an element of luck, for its outcome was never going to be totally predictable.
At Close Range with National Geographic provides a rare glimpse of the havoc a tough, dangerous job can create for one’s personal life, especially for someone like Joel Sartore.
"Semper Fidelis, always faithful. You'll take the corpse off the battlefield even if it means your own life ... Alive or dead, they come back with you." - Nancy Sherman, professor and author of Stoic Warriors THE MARINES, airing Wednesday, February 21, 2007, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET on PBS, examines the unique "Warrior Culture" of the smallest but fiercest branch of the U.S. armed services. With significant access to Marine Corps training facilities in Parris Island, South Carolina; Quantico, Virginia; and Twentynine Palms, California, THE MARINES reveals what it takes and what it means to be a Marine - from the first moments of a recruit's arrival at boot camp. THE MARINES offers extensive coverage of the often grueling Marine Corps training, including the Martial Arts Program, confidence course and intense rifle range instruction. The program also demonstrates how the Marines evaluate and shape their future leaders with the rigorous Officer Candidate Leadership reaction course and infamous "Quigley" exercise. More than 30 current and former Marines of all ranks, authors and military correspondents were interviewed to tell the story of the rich history, traditions and continuing importance of the Marine Corps and the warrior ethos it instills. "How the Warrior Culture is engrained and how it sets the Marines apart from other armed services branches are critical aspects of Marine development and understanding," said producer/writer/director John Grant. "This program offers an in-depth and unvarnished look at the rigorous physical and psychological training employed to create this tenaciously loyal, highly skilled breed of combatant ready to defend country and comrade at any cost." Other segments of THE MARINES focus on the Wounded Warrior Barracks in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; the new Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia; and women in the Marines. The program also travels to the country's largest Marine base in California, where Marines are seen
Margy Kinmonth meets millionaire customers and world-famous designers as she explores the anachronistic but little-explained pocket of the fashion industry known as haute couture.
Seeing in the Dark aims to redefine the standards of quality in nonfiction science programming for television, and is meant to introduce viewers to the wonders of the night sky, making casual stargazing or serious amateur astronomy a part of their lives. This program follows in the footsteps of Timothy Ferris' two prior PBS specials The Creation of the Universe and Life Beyond Earth.
To avoid interference from the royal governor of the colony and his marines, the Second Virginia Convention met in Richmond, Virginia on March 20, 1775 to discuss recent proceedings at the First Continental Congress. The meeting turned into a debate over whether or not to arm the colony to resist British forces whose numbers were steadily increasing in North America. Many members preferred to adopt conciliatory measures, but Patrick Henry delivered an impassioned speech, arguing Virginia needed a "well-regulated militia." It was imperative, he declared, that the colony be prepared to oppose King George III. He ended his oration with the phrase: "Give me liberty or give me death!" This documentary, filmed at site of the original convention, provides the historical context for the debates and recreates the most important speeches delivered during the meeting, concluding with Henry's famous address
Over a thousand years ago, Europe experienced one of its greatest periods of cultural enlightenment. For more than three centuries in Medieval Spain, Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together and prospered in a thriving multicultural civilization. Here, remarkable individuals of different faiths made lasting contributions in such areas as poetry, art, architecture, music, dining etiquette, science, agriculture, medicine, engineering, navigation, textiles, and even hydraulic technology. Their rich, complex culture reached a high point in the Mediterranean Middle Ages. However, larger forces in conquest of land and power brought about puritanical judgments, absolutism and religious extremism. The conflict they triggered extinguished the shared learning that once flourished in this enlightened land
Against the glorious backdrop of ancient Greece, classical historian Bettany Hughes (The Spartans, Helen of Troy) explores the truth about the "Golden Age" of ancient Athens. Far from an environment of peace and tranquility, democratic Athens was a bloody, tumultuous place of both brilliant ideas and a repressive regime with a darker side.
The Church of Rome declares itself the one true religion. The Inquisition takes hostage the entire village of Montaillou, France.
Spaniards live in religious harmony until Roman Catholic zealots begin attacking Jews.
The decadence of a Medici Pope in Rome outrages a German priest. Leaders of the Church are arrested.
The secret kidnapping of an Italian Jewish boy in the 1800's by the Pope is documented by long secret records of the Church.
One Nation Under Law examines the creation of the Court and follows it through the brink of the Civil War, paying particular attention to the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court -- John Marshall -- and to his successor, Roger Taney. Marshall presided over one of the most famous cases before the Court; Taney, over one of the most infamous. In Marbury v. Madison (1803), Marshall used an obscure case involving an unsigned judicial appointment as an opportunity to assert the Court's most important power -- that of judicial review, which gives federal courts the right to strike down laws that clash with the Constitution. A half century later, in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), Taney exercised that same power against the national government, this time to protect slavery.
A New Kind of Justice explores the issues before the Court during the period after the Civil War -- a time of unprecedented economic growth, when industrialists like Carnegie and Rockefeller were earning millions. As corporations grew more powerful, they found an unlikely ally in the Supreme Court. Although the Fourteenth Amendment was passed to ensure that the states recognized the rights of the newly freed slaves, the Court would for almost 100 years interpret the amendment not as a protect not blacks but rather for big business, recognizing corporations as "persons" and awarding them sweeping legal protections.
A Nation of Liberties focuses on the Court's reaction to state and federal legislation on Bill of Rights freedoms, with special attention to the explosion of civil rights cases from the early 1940s to the present. This program highlights the Warren Court as it confronted the issues of race, gender and religion in the post-war period, when six newly-appointed justices were just beginning to find their way on the Court. Over the next quarter century, the belief in individual freedoms and rights would push the nation, and the Supreme Court, towards a new agenda.
The Rehnquist Revolution details the extraordinary opportunity availed by President Richard Nixon: to name four of the Court's nine judges, effectively replacing almost half of the Warren court. The last hour of the series also investigates how the Court, especially under the leadership of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, rose in importance to become the institution most responsible for resolving the central questions of American life. The program also addresses the right to privacy, a key component in 1973's Roe v. Wade, and the surprising actions of an activist court in Bush v. Gore.
In this program that celebrates American market houses, market places and farmers markets, Rick Sebak and his fellow TV-makers sink their teeth into the pies of Cleveland, the salad greens of Santa Fe, the crab cakes of Baltimore, and the heirloom tomatoes of Asheville, North Carolina. The whole crew got to drink coconuts in Hilo, Hawaii, and crunch on the special celery of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They bought berries in Santa Monica, California, and fruits and vegetables that they had never seen before in Decatur, Georgia.
Christopher Columbus changed the world, bringing together the unknown and the known. The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus recounts the history of Columbus' first Atlantic crossing, as a modern-day crew retraces Columbus' course, sailing replicas of his fleet. His voyage initiated a tremendous transoceanic migration of peoples, plants, and diseases that affected everyone on the globe.
Of the 1.6 million Jewish children who lived in Europe before WWII, only 100,000 survived the Holocaust. Most were hidden children, shuttered away in attics, cellars, convents or farms. This hour long documentary, is Maud Dahme's story of courage, hope and bravery in the face of evil and death. It chronicles the wartime experiences of Dahme, one of an estimated 5,000 Jewish children hidden from the Nazis by righteous gentiles in the Netherlands.
It was the city that Hitler's Third Reich could not defeat. Led by one of the 20th century's most indomitable statesmen, Winston Churchill, London during World War II confronted each threat with stoic heroism - from the ferocious Blitz of German bombers to the indiscriminate carnage wrought by V-1 and V-2 "robot" bombs. Throughout, such American radio and print correspondents as Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite - names that would become synonymous with journalism of the highest integrity - reported from the frontlines.
This documentary examines the visceral nature of war and the bravery of Native-American veterans who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War--and came to grips with the difficult post-war personal and societal conditions. The program honors the endurance and sacrifice of individuals such as Mitchell Red Cloud (Ho-Chunk), a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient; Ira Hayes (Pima), one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima; Phil Coon (Creek), a Bataan Death March survivor; and John Yahola (Creek), a member of the red Stick Warrior society. Their stories are examined through the prism of what it means to be "ogichidaa," one who protects and follows the way of the warrior. Dramatic historical footage, period photographs and sound effects juxtaposed with photos of veterans in more genial settings, away from combat with family and friends stateside, create portrait of not just the warrior, but the paradox of a warrior's motivations.
Prehistoric Native American settlements around the Licking River, the arrival of European explorers and settlers, 19th-century excitement over the megafossils at Big Bone Lick, the antebellum era and Northern Kentucky's importance to the Underground Railroad, and the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln.
The Civil War and Reconstruction, industrialization and new transportation options, Germans and other immigrants, Newport's growing reputation as a gambling center, the first World War, and the onset of the Great Depression.
The disastrous Ohio River flood of 1937, World War II, reform efforts to drive organized crime out of Newport, how interstate highways and the new Greater Cincinnati airport reshaped the region, the tragic 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, and late-20th-century riverfront redevelopment efforts.
Stevie Ray Vaughan's uniquely eclectic and fiery style sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre - a leading light in American blues. STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN LIVE: PLAY HARD & FLOOR IT! showcases the guitar master's career with some of his finest performances caught on tape. Friend and Double Trouble bandmate drummer Chris Layton gives context to the performances in on-camera interviews.
On November 17, 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan traveled to an isolated rain forest in Guyana to investigate the concerns of his San Francisco-area constituents. Their alarming stories focused on a jungle compound known as Jonestown, a group called the Peoples Temple, and its leader, Rev. Jim Jones. According to news filtering back to America, U.S. citizens were being held against their will in prison camp conditions. There were allegations of physical and sexual abuse and even rumors of a planned mass suicide. Congressman Ryan, an impassioned human rights advocate, decided to get the facts for himself. Within forty-eight hours, Ryan, Jones, and over 900 Jonestown settlers were dead -- casualties of the largest mass murder-suicide in history. In the next few days, horrifying details of cyanide-laced soft drinks and disturbing images of children poisoned by their parents emerged from the jungle. American Experience goes beyond the salacious headlines to provide a revealing portrait of Jones, his followers, and the times that produced the calamity in the Guyanese jungle. The film's compelling narrative is told by the people who know the story firsthand, including Jonestown survivors, Temple defectors, and the families of the dead.
This biography explores whether Americans should celebrate Jackson or apologize for him. The program reveals the world of America's 7th president, who founded the Democratic Party, yet was viewed by his enemies as an American Napoleon. The film contains reenactments, lithographs, letters and the insights of distinguished scholars.
Over the last three decades, science has been advancing our understanding of stress--how it impacts our bodies and how our social standing can make us more or less susceptible. In Stress: Portrait of a Killer, scientific discoveries in the field and in the lab proves that stress is not a state of mind, but something measurable and dangerous.
America's first journey into space It has been said that George Ellery Hale did for the entire universe what Christopher Columbus did only for the Earth. Most people have never heard of Hale, but his life and work had a profound effect on the development of 20th century science in America, most notably--astronomy. The Journey to Palomar traces the epic personal and professional quest of the Chicago-born astronomer to build the four largest telescopes of the 20th century, culminating with the 20-year effort to build the million-pound telescope on Palomar Mountain, a project considered the "moon shot" of the 1930s and 1940s. Again and again, Hale battled with powerful backers — men like Charles Yerkes, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to have them contribute millions of dollars to his vision of American astronomy. Hale's giant telescopes enabled the most profound astronomical discoveries since Galileo and Copernicus. They also laid the foundation for the preeminence of American science, today's marvels like the Hubble Space Telescope and tomorrow's super giant telescopes.
"Born to Be King: Charles at 60" is a new and timely look at the man who could be the next King of England. When Prince Charles turns 60 in November 2008, he will become the oldest heir to the British throne in history. Ever since his mother became Queen in 1952 he has been a king-in-waiting, constantly searching for a role that is both public and royal. It has been a long, sometimes painful journey for this dedicated prince and complex man who - rare among royals - has become wiser and happier with age.
Through the voices and stories of people living with depression, DEPRESSION: Out of the Shadows provides a portrait of the disease never before seen on American television. Along with consumers, it also follows acclaimed scientists as they describe the latest neurological research and groundbreaking new treatments for depression.
A dramatic story of how an unlikely group worked together for social change and ended up creating one of the most astonishing portraits of America ever compiled. The Farm Security Administration /Office of War Information photographic archive chronicled the heartbreak of the Dust Bowl era through the forced relocation of Japanese-Americans at the outset of WWII. This vast collection of photographs remains hauntingly relevant to our lives today.
Hailed as a child prodigy, Victor Borge made his piano debut in 1926 at the age of seventeen. Through the next eight decades, he never left the spotlight. "The Great Dane" of comedy, as the beloved international humorist and musician was known, was celebrated across the world for his unique blend of comedy and music.
The Adirondack Park sprawls across six million acres in upstate New York. Bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier and Grand Canyon National Park combined, it is by far the largest park in the lower 48 states. Yet it is the only one on the continent in which large human populations live and whose land is divided almost evenly between protected wilderness and privately owned tracts. This patchwork pattern of land ownership has created an utterly unique place.
A history and celebration of the Lincoln Highway, dedicated in 1913 as the first automobile route to span the United States coast-to-coast from New York City to San Francisco. Rick Sebak travels across America's first transcontinental highway, checking out the changing landscape along the route from Times Square to San Francisco. This road show incorporates American culture, history, food, family, traditions and the changing way of the automobile.
The famed Outer Banks of North Carolina are a slim and moving line of sand in the open Atlantic and a destination for vacationers seeking beaches, sun and surf. Many travelers think they know these islands, but south of Ocracoke Inlet rises a luminous bar of sand sixty miles in extent with no roads, no bridges and no hotels. These wild, remote beaches of Cape Lookout National Seashore are one of the few remaining natural barrier island systems in the world.
An act of extraordinary courage or extreme stupidity? This film looks at the people who have taken the plunge over the seething waters of the Niagara Falls.
Flying the Secret Sky tells a story of passionate risk-taking, of young men braving dangerous flights in primitive aircraft. These "cowboys of the air" are forgotten heroes of the war, who flew without guns and embodied an improvisational spirit that was key to Allied victory. Their story includes the American civilian chosen to fly Winston Churchill to secret wartime meetings during the darkest days of WW II. A story the world never knew, until now.
In 1960, a young boxer named Cassius Clay came to Miami, determined to become world heavyweight champion. In the end, he became something more—a legend. Combining original footage with interviews of those who were closest to him—including his trainer, Angelo Dundee, fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco, and Ali's Miami neighbors and friends—Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami is the story of that evolution, as well as a chronicle of Miami's historic black community and the famed Fifth Street Gym. See why, without Miami, there might never have been a Muhammad Ali.
The Atchafalaya is a mysterious land, as much underwater as above. Its lush environment is home to alligators, egrets, black bears – and for a time two people who yearned for a simple, natural life. Atchafalaya Houseboat shares the experiences of Gwen Roland and her companion Calvin Voisin, who left civilization in the turmoil of the early 1970s for the unspoiled beauty of the nation’s largest river swamp, Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. Along their journey, they befriended photographer C.C. Lockwood, who shared their love of the basin’s endangered beauty. Lockwood’s stunning photographs of the Atchafalaya, featuring Gwen and Calvin, were published in National Geographic magazine. Nearly 30 years later, one of Lockwood’s photographs was featured in a National Geographic collector’s edition, renewing interest in their unique experiences. Discover what drew Gwen and Calvin into the Atchafalaya Basin’s breathtaking beauty and see Lockwood’s stunning photographs of the couple in this natural wilderness. Atchafalaya Houseboat is produced by Christina Melton who has been recognized with several of the television documentary world’s top awards, including an Emmy Award, the Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and the International CINE Golden Eagle among others.
Filmed live at the Irish Arts Center in New York City's famous Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, Absolutely Irish brings together three generations of the brightest stars of traditional Irish folk music for a one-in-a-lifetime performance. With performances by Mick Moloney; whistle player Joanie Madden; fiddlers Liz Carroll, Eileen Ivers, and Athena Tergis; flute and banjo player Seamus Egan; guitarist John Doyle; singers Karan Casey, Robbie O'Connell, and Susan McKeown; piper Jerry O'Sullivan; concertina player Tim Collins; accordionist Billy McComiskey; dancers Niall O'Leary and Darrah Carr; and special appearances by legendary flute player Mike Rafferty and 85-year-old Irish dancer Jo McNamara, it's sure to blow folk music fans away.
It was one of the bloodiest and most mysterious battles of the Second World War in Italy. In Ortona, a small seaside town in the Abruzzo region, Germans and Canadians literally fought street by street, house by house, even room by room. Why did everyone want to conquer Ortona in December 1943? What was so important about it? Why was it forgotten so quickly afterwards? And what secret does Ortona hide until this day? Amazing library footage, never before heard eyewitness accounts, documents that have remained secret until now, recently found German photographs and moving re-enactments help us to relive not only the political and military climate of the time, but take us back to the narrow alleys of the time, standing side-by-side with the soldiers to discover the embarrassing truth that has remained hidden for over half a century.
Trained in Paris and Rome, Augustus Saint-Gaudens is considered America's premiere sculptor of the 19th and early 20th centuries. During a career that spanned three decades, Saint-Gaudens created nearly one hundred and fifty works of art, including a number of major public monuments to heroes of the Civil War. While many passerby stop to admire his sculpture, few know of the life and times that created these incredible works of art.
What makes a person face almost certain death to save the lives of others? Where does one find the strength to endure unspeakable acts of torture at the hands of an enemy and not lose the will to survive? Would we—if put into the same situation—be capable of such heroism? MEDAL OF HONOR reveals the almost inconceivable acts of those few heroes who answered "Yes!" This compelling film traces the history of the medal from the Iraq War to the Civil War, when the medal was created. We're at Baghdad airport, when Sgt. Paul Smith dies protecting his company. We meet a Holocaust survivor, who, in the Korean War single-handedly defends a hill from advancing enemy forces. A Navy SEAL takes us back to the day in Vietnam when he swam two hours in the ocean, carrying his wounded comrades to safety. A Marine at Iwo Jima recounts his solo attacks that silenced seven Japanese bunkers with a flamethrower, clearing a path for his decimated, demoralized company. Just one woman wins the Award during the Civil War and has it taken away from her.
A Journey of Science, Technology and Thought. This visually stunning program chronicles a sweeping journey, from 1609 when Galileo revealed mankind's place in the galaxy to 2009, the International Year of Astronomy. Narrated by NOVA's Neil deGrasse Tyson, the compelling program takes viewers on an adventure through the heavens and around the globe, visiting the world's leading astronomers, cosmologists and observatories. The Interstellar Studios production team traveled the globe to interview leading astronomers and cosmologists from the world's renowned universities and observatories. The producers sought the most acute minds at great astronomical centers including the European Southern Observatory, Institute for Astronomy, SETI Institute, Space Telescope Science Institute, Anglo-Australian Observatory, and Harvard University. They journeyed across five continents to visually write the story of the past and the future of telescopes, astronomy, and our ever-changing perception of the cosmos. Compelling interviews throughout the film leave no stone unturned. A carefully chosen array of today's leading astronomers explain concepts ranging from Galileo's act of revealing the telescopic cosmos to humanity and challenging religious teachings of the day, to the latest discoveries in space, including startling new ideas about life on other planets and dark energy – a mysterious vacuum energy that is accelerating the expansion of the universe. On the horizon, viewers learn of emergent telescopes the size of stadiums. With unprecedented resolution and light gathering, these enormous new instruments will look back to the initial moments of the Big Bang and – like Galileo's first telescopic observations – will reshape our model of the universe.
In the winter of 2006, a strange phenomenon fell upon honeybee hives across the country. Without a trace, millions of bees vanished from their hives. A precious pollinator of fruits and vegetables, the disappearing bees left billions of dollars of crops at risk and threatened our food supply. The epidemic set researchers scrambling to discover why honeybees were dying in record numbers — and to stop the epidemic in its tracks before it spread further. Silence of the Bees is the first in-depth look at the search to uncover what is killing the honeybee. The filmmakers of Bees take viewers around the world to the sites of fallen hives, to high-tech labs, where scientists race to uncover clues, and even deep inside honeybee colonies. Silence of the Bees is the story of a riveting, ongoing investigation to save honeybees from dying out. The film goes beyond the unsolved mystery to tell the story of the honeybee itself, its invaluable impact on our diets and takes a look at what’s at stake if honeybees disappear. Silence of the Bees explores the complex world of the honeybee in crisis and instills in viewers a sense of urgency to learn ways to help these extraordinary animals.
Forgotten Ellis Island is the first film (and companion book) to be produced about the immigrant hospital on Ellis Island. Opened in 1902, the hospital grew to twenty-two medical buildings which sprawled across two islands adjacent to Ellis Island, the largest port of entry in the United States. Massive and modern, the hospital was America's first line of defense against contagious, often virulent disease. In the era before antibiotics, tens of thousands of immigrant patients were separated from family, detained in the hospital, and healed from illness before becoming citizens. 350 babies were born in the hospital, and many were named after the doctors and nurses that helped deliver them. Ten times that many immigrants died on Ellis Island — 3,500 were buried in paupers graves around New York City.
For over 40 centuries, untold numbers of Jews, Christians and Muslims have come to Jerusalem to look for God, while billions more have worshiped from afar. Jerusalem: Center of the World, a two-hour epic event in Hi-Definition by Emmy Award-winning producer/director Andrew Goldberg and Oregon Public Television, is the first documentary of this scope to delve into the historical facts and religious beliefs that have led so many thousands to live and die for this city. Host Ray Suarez of The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, together with an outstanding roster of scholars, explores the founding of the city, and the birth and convergence of the world's three major monotheistic religions. He lends voice to the key events in the city's history as described in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the Talmud, the Hagaddah, the Koran, and the Hadith.
Vizcaya, a 60-minute stunning historical documentary film that tells the story of this grand estate, through an entertaining and educational combination of on-location visuals, rich narratives, and interviews with architectural and cultural historians, reservationists, and curators. Viewers will learn about the estate's rich history, dramatic landscape, and extraordinary architecture and collections through an informal learning experience that appeals to a broad audience. Viewers will also learn about the fragility of Vizcaya and other historic sites, and the challenges of preservation that threaten these bastions of our local and national heritage.
Gaze back across 50 years to measure the success of the Marshall Plan, history's most controversial rescue effort. With hunger, poverty and devastation stalking postwar Europe, retired general and war hero George C. Marshall called for a U.S. financed reconstruction of the battered continent. For the first time, hear European witnesses reflect on the legacy and consequences of Marshall's remarkable vision
Dead Reckoning ~ Champlain in America focuses on Champlain’s years of exploration in North America, and his successful adaptation to the ways of the Amerindian people, who taught him how to explore and survive in the wilds of North America. Champlain began his voyages as a cartographer in the service of the king of France. By the end of his life, he was responsible for the future of New France in North America.
Presenting "just the facts, ma'am," the documentary examines Purvis' life and sheds some light on his gruesome death. In the process, "G-MAN" explores the complicated relationship between Purvis and J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the FBI and the man who some have said was responsible not only for Purvis' meteoric rise, but also his rapid descent back into obscurity.
From winning two Olympic gold medals to his fall from grace in amateur athletics to his rebound in professional baseball and football, Jim Thorpe represents one of the greatest machines known to man. Beginning with Thorpe's boyhood days on the Sac and Fox Nation to his rise to athletic stardom, a new documentary, Jim Thorpe: The World's Greatest Athlete, reveals the athlete who rose to the top of the athletic world only to be stripped of his Olympic medals after being accused of professional sports play.
Two Hundred and fifty years ago an epic struggle for the fate of North America played out in New York, New England and Canada - we call it the French and Indian War. For five years, from 1755 to 1760, the battles raged at Lake George, Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, and Quebec as France. Britain and the native peoples of North America fought to decide who would control the crucial highway of rivers and lakes between New York and the city of Montreal. The program tells the story of conflict in a way it's never been told before; introducing viewers to fresh, diverse voices and the latest historical research.
Abraham Lincoln's experiences as a young lawyer on Illinois' Eighth Judicial Circuit.
The automobile's history begins in 1899 and finishes in the late 1950s.
In 1962, Richard Nixon's once meteoric political career lay in ruins. The former vice-president had suffered two bitter losses; one in the 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy, the other in a bid for the governorship of his home state of California. Yet, only six years later, Nixon would be elected President of the United States. How did it happen? Why did it happen? That is the historical riddle that Nixon's the One: The '68 Election (And How It Changed America) examines. Combining elements of biography with an exploration of the larger cultural, political, and historical landscape of the Sixties, the film argues that Nixon, far from being an improbable president, was the figure who most expertly exploited the tensions of the era, harnessing them for his own ends.
Some of Peter Cooper's inventions, including edible gelatin, the steam locomotive, and the wrought-iron I beam, helped the U.S. become an industrial power.
Kilauea continually molds Hawaii’s Big Island. Creating new land, shaping ancient forests and carving tunnels through the earth, the volcano fascinates a dedicated group of scientists and filmmakers who follow its every action. Using innovative new imaging technologies to map the magma chamber, following the lava’s heat along its journey underground, and listening to the constant noises of its movements, geologists map the shifting liquid earth as they work to understand its awesome force.
Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? The year 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of explorer Henry Hudson's voyage to New York State and the river that bears his name. As we celebrate the anniversary of the voyage, historian Barry Lewis takes us back in time to rediscover the first European settlers in New York — the Dutch. This documentary looks at the Dutch influence on New York and on the American colonies.
Many people are aware of the famous American military cemetery at Omaha Beach, Normandy, site of one of the D-Day landings in 1944. But few know there are twenty-one other American military cemeteries in eight different countries memorializing those who were not brought back to the United States after World War I and World War II. Each of these commemorative places is powerful and unique, and has is own stories to tell. These cemeteries, created and maintained by the U.S. government through the American Battle Monuments Commission, are permanent memorial sites, built to stand the test of time. Collectively they contain the remains of 125,000 Americans. There are 94,000 more names commemorated on Walls of the Missing. Dignified and serene, they were created to honor America's fallen, but they are also intended to inspire and teach the living. Hallowed Grounds is the first major documentary made about these remarkable shrines, and brings them all to life with stunning visuals and powerful storytelling. The program weaves elements of a historical documentary with contemporary scenes of the cemeteries. There are American World War I and World War II cemeteries in England, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, Tunisia and the Philippines. All are places of astonishing natural beauty, embellished with great architecture and powerful works of art. It is the contrast of these remarkable burial grounds with the horrors of war that gives them their profound impact. The documentary moves chronologically through both world wars of the 20th century. Most of the cemeteries are located on or near the major battlefields. The narrative provides a general history of the wars, and briefly recounts the battles and operations that took place in the areas where the cemeteries are located. Each cemetery contains tales of courage and unselfish service to comrades and country. Some of the fallen profiled in the program are well known: the poet Joyce Kilmer, the b
Based on British author Lindy Woodhead's bestselling book War Paint: Madame Helena Rubinstein and Miss Elizabeth Arden, their lives, their times and their rivalry, this film focuses on two women from meager means who immigrated to the US nearly a hundred years ago, reinvented themselves and ultimately created the cosmetics, health, and beauty industry we know today.
In Yellowstone: Land to Life, filmmaker John Grabowska (Ribbon of Sand, Remembered Earth) presents a lyrical interpretation of the sweeping geological story of Yellowstone, from glaciation to mountain-building to the gigantic caldera of a supervolcano. Featuring breathtaking cinematography of this complex and charismatic landscape, Land to Life was filmed over two years in all seasons and delves deeply into the significance behind the scenery.
New England is a region full of beauty and history, but it also hides a dark heritage which many speak about in tales 'round the campfire on a crisp autumn evening... Things That Go Bump in the Night takes you on a journey throughout New England collecting tales of the supernatural, the unexplained and the mysterious - spooky stories of ghosts, spirits, witches... and even a vampire!
This program details the successful launch and execution of the Marshall Plan -- America's expansive commitment to re-build Europe at the end of the war. Walter Cronkite traces the complex and changing relationship between the United States and England and explores the dramatic shifts of the Cold War from the end of the war up to the present.
Sigourney Weaver narrates this documentary telling the story of a diaspora that resulted in some of the biggest names in the German film industry seeking their fortunes in Hollywood. When Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, one of his earliest actions was to ban Jews from working in the country's film industry. The following years saw more than 800 film professionals fleeing their homeland and escaping to Hollywood. They included actors Hedy Lamarr and Peter Lorre; directors Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann; and composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Franz Waxman. Through film clips, rare footage, photographs and first-person accounts, the film traces the experiences of the exiles and examines their impact on the big screen on both sides of the Atlantic. Not all were successful, but some went on to play major roles in the history of American cinema, producing such classics as The Bride of Frankenstein, Ninotchka, To Be or Not To Be, Casablanca, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, High Noon, The Big Heat, and Some Like It Hot. The documentary features personal contributions from some of the actors and directors who exerted a profound influence on the culture of their adopted country.
Celtic Woman vocalists Lisa Kelly, Chloe Agnew, Lynn Hilary and Alex Sharpe, with violinist Mairead Nesbitt, perform at Ireland's historic Powerscourt House and Gardens in Enniskerry, County Wicklow in their PBS special CELTIC WOMAN: SONGS FROM THE HEART. The musical repertoire ranges from spirited Celtic fiddle and bodhran pieces to lush arrangements of Irish classics, contemporary covers and original compositions. In addition to the six-piece band, the Aontas Choir, a film orchestra, the Discovery Gospel Choir, the Extreme Rhythm Drummers and a bagpipe ensemble join Celtic Woman for this event.
The life of Elbert Hubbard is a story of love, art, passion and controversy set against the backdrop of the Arts and Crafts Movement at the turn of the 20th century. As the flamboyant founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, Hubbard was an influential national figure who died as dramatically as he lived.
Family, friends, historians and Betty Ford herself reflect on her life as a political spouse; an accidental and outspoken first lady; breast cancer survivor; and feminist pro-choice Republican.
Over 500 Scots fought in the Spanish Civil War which devastated Spain 70 years ago. Emotions and memories of this extraordinary conflict are still alive and poignant. This two-part documentary series, narrated by actor David Hayman, remembers the major conflict through unseen, unique archive interviews with Scots who joined the International Brigade, or Brigaders as they are known.
Amateur films from the Second Wold War which make a valuable source for historians. These have become more interested in them with the passing of time. The tapes shot by, in some cases, film club members, provide a rare insight of the lives of men, women and children during the most horrific war the world has known to date.
Documentary revisits the winter of 1779-80, when General Washington's troops built a a log hut city for their winter camp in New Jersey - and saved the American Revolution from the brink of disaster. Edward Herrmann narrates.
Take charge of health and fitness by shedding excess fat and boosting immunity; host Jillian Michaels.
Dr. Hyman presents the possibility that treating seven key biological imbalances, the body's natural healing takes over and heals the brain.
This special gives viewers an aerial overview of some of Europe's most interesting cities and locales - London, Amsterdam, the French Riviera and Monaco, Rome, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Dublin, Florence, Venice and Paris - for the ultimate European tour.
Dr. Daniel Amen says there are five brain patterns associated with losing weight.
El Camino Real; Santa Fe, N.M.; mustangs.
This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.
Chesapeake Bay by Air's meandering aerial journey transports us to many of the bay's countless stunning locations and brings the bay into razor-sharp perspective, from well above the din. It's your Chesapeake Bay, and we thought you'd like to see it. Enjoy! -- Mike English, Executive Producer
Jack Johnson — the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World, whose dominance over his white opponents spurred furious debates and race riots in the early 20th century — enters the ring once again in January 2005 when PBS airs Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, a provocative new PBS documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns. The two-part film airs on PBS Monday-Tuesday January 17-18, 2005, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings). Burns, whose past films on PBS (The Civil War, Baseball, JAZZ, etc.) are among the most-watched documentaries ever made, shows the gritty details of Johnson's life through archival footage, still photographs, and the commentary of boxing experts such as Stanley Crouch, Bert Sugar, the late George Plimpton, Jack Newfield, Randy Roberts, Gerald Early and James Earl Jones, who portrayed Johnson in the Broadway play and film based on Johnson's life, "The Great White Hope." "Johnson in many ways is an embodiment of the African-American struggle to be truly free in this country — economically, socially and politically," said Burns. "He absolutely refused to play by the rules set by the white establishment, or even those of the black community. In that sense, he fought for freedom not just as a black man, but as an individual." Johnson, who was born in 1878 in Galveston, Texas, began boxing as a young teenager in the Jim Crow-era South. Boxing was a relatively new sport in America, and was banned in many states. African-Americans were permitted to compete for most titles, but not for the title that whites considered their exclusive domain: Heavyweight Champion of the World. African-Americans were considered unworthy to compete for the title — not for lack of talent, but simply by virtue of not being white. Despite this, Johnson was persistent in challenging James J. Jeffries — the heavyweight champion at the time, who was considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight in history
In Unforgivable Blackness, Johnson biographer Randy Roberts observes, "The press reacted [to Johnson's victory] as if Armageddon was here. That this may be the moment when it all starts to fall apart for white society." His victory spurred a search among whites for a "great white hope" who could beat Johnson and win back the title. They finally found him in Johnson's old nemesis, Jim Jeffries, who decided to return from retirement and give Johnson the fight he had always wanted. This fight was especially important to Johnson, because many whites had dismissed his claim to the title as invalid; Burns, it was argued, was never the true champion because he didn't win the title by beating Jeffries. No one had beaten Jeffries, and most thought he was certain to reclaim the title for whites. The Johnson-Jeffries fight, dubbed the "Battle of the Century," took place on July 4, 1910, in Reno, Nevada. Johnson knocked out Jeffries in the 15th round. Johnson's victory sparked a wave of nationwide race riots across in which numerous African-Americans died. Newspaper editorials warned Johnson and the black community not to be too proud. Congress eventually passed an act banning the interstate transport of fight films for fear that the images of Johnson beating his white opponents would provoke further unrest. Perhaps even more troubling for white America than Johnson's dominance over his white opponents in the boxing ring were his romantic entanglements with white women. One of his frequent traveling companions was Hattie McClay, a white prostitute. They were later joined by Belle Schreiber, also a white prostitute whom Johnson met in Chicago. "He wouldn't let anybody define him," says James Earl Jones in Unforgivable Blackness. "He was a self-defined man. And this issue of his being black was not that relevant to him. But the issue of his being free was very relevant." Johnson eventually married a white woman, Etta Duryea. Their relationship was troubled; Johnson dr
From the Emmy Award® winning Oscar® nominated producers of the four-part PBS series GREAT PROJECTS: THE BUILDNG OF AMERICA, now comes BUILDING ALASKA, a century-long journey with the dedicated and visionary men and women who built Alaska s great engineering projects in the coldest, most remote and forbidding part of the United States. This feature-length documentary tells the stories of the great railroads and highways of the late 19th and early 20th century and how they opened the region up to gold and copper mining and made Alaska habitable; of the invasion of Alaska by the Japanese in World War II; and of the biggest earthquake ever in North America all of which helped shape America s 49th state.
Theodore Roosevelt: A Cowboy’s Ride to the White House is the exciting story of a physically challenged young man from Harvard who came to the western frontier in 1883. Theodore Roosevelt bought a ranch, learned how to ride, shoot, hunt and acquired the skills that would make him a war hero and American President. It was in the Badlands of Dakota where young Roosevelt became a cowboy and learned about democracy and the American West.
Discover the stunning views and rich history of Alaska. Take off on a breathtaking journey in Over Alaska as you soar above the vast landscapes of the 49th state. Go face-to-face with Mount McKinley and fly over the craggy crevasses of electric blue glaciers. Join kayakers as they navigate icy waters. Then, feel the wind sting your cheeks as you speed past icebergs and along the Iditarod, the worlds most famous sled race. Touch down and experience Alaska's abundant wildlife from bears to whales through the lens of an accomplished and often daring photographer. Don't forget to stop and sniff the wildflowers! Over Alaska, previously seen on public television, takes you from Anchorage, a modern city in the middle of six enormous mountain ranges, to the abandoned mining camp Kennecott, and gives you an insider's look at the state's history, heritage, and culture.
This hour-long documentary relates the remarkable history of Mammoth Cave National Park. These are tales of exploration and discovery beginning with pre-historic Native Americans thousands of years ago. Why were these people willing to brave the darkness with only cane reed torches and woven slippers? Why did African-American slave guides stay in the area and continue to lead tours even after they had been set free? These stories and many others are unearthed on this journey into Mammoth Cave National Park.
Documentary. (2010) Key figures in the art world, including Pablo Picasso and Igor Stravinsky, were influenced by Paris.
THE WALL looks inside the revolution that swept across Europe with the November 1989 opening of the Berlin Wall, to understand how this remarkable event helped end the Cold War without a fired shot. The film explores the ordinary people caught up in politics, as well as the political leaders, to reveal the tense moments surrounding the unexpected series of events that resulted in a new Europe in less than a year.
Francisco I. Madero and his followers struggle to end the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz; rise of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa; international influence on the revolution and Mexico's flourishing cultural revolution.
To a documentary photographer, like Souza, every presidency has defining stories, and those images are often how we remember a president. For Johnson, it was civil rights and Vietnam. President Reagan is forever tied to the end of the Cold War. President Clinton pursued peace in the Middle East. History has yet to define the Obama administration, but Souza is there to document it, every step of the way.
DEFORCE is a chronicle of one city’s long struggle with political oppression. Once the engine of America, Detroit remains a proud city - rich with local triumphs and individual achievements, but known best for its overwhelming quality of life challenges. This film reveals that these present challenges are indeed forged of the past. If nothing changes in our cities, they will shape this country’s future in ways that benefit no one.
Rick Sebak has no strict recipe for "Breakfast Special," putting together a program that’s part food show, part travelogue, part portrait of America, celebrating the meal that many folks consider the most important of the day. Sebak chats with committed cooks and sly servers, enthusiastic eaters and entrepreneurs, pancake aficionados, “gritty” Southerners and a few funny food bloggers who serve as guides in different parts of the country. Feasting on buckwheat pancakes in rural New York state, savoring salmon hash in Oregon, tasting the rice porridge called “congee” in San Francisco’s Chinatown, trying grits and gumbo on a Georgia sea island, eating unexpected specialties in unforgettable spots from St. Augustine to Portland — Breakfast Special loves the one-of-a-kind places where diners can find a memorable meal, especially in the morning.
No one in recorded history has suffered a fate quite like Lafayette. Once, the most famous man in the world; today, few people know who he was or what he accomplished. It is time to re-evaluate his crucial role in America's independence.
On the night of August 12, 1967, grizzly bears in Glacier National Park killed two young women and severely mauled one man. For everyone involved, it remains an unforgettable night of crisis, intense fear, bravery and, ultimately, grief. This dramatic and tragic story, and how it eventually influenced the fate of the grizzly bear in the continental United States, takes center stage in the historical documentary. Archival material, photographs, re-creations and gripping on-camera interviews with survivors, witnesses, family members journalists and biologists, provide a complete account of those events. Veteran film and television actor J.K. Simmons (Law and Order, Juno, Up in the Air, The Closer) narrates.
In 2009, archaeologists discovered an underwater graveyard of five Roman shipwrecks off the coast of Ventotene, a small Italian island with a notorious past. It was one of the biggest archaeological finds in recent history. The vessels’ well-preserved cargo indicates that these ships did not break up on the island’s rocks, but instead sank to the seabed intact and upright. They were laden with exotic goods including wine, olive oil, and the ancient delicacy garum; a condiment highly prized among ancient Romans. These sunken treasures are providing researchers with insight into the wreck, how the Romans lived, and Ventotene’s intriguing past. The island served as a vacation resort for Rome’s emperor but it became a kind of ancient Alcatraz when the Emperor Augustus imprisoned his own daughter, Julia, there for adultery, or as more recent research suggests, for political intrigue against her father. This past summer, a team of explorers returned to the site to recover some of the ancient artifacts in hopes of shedding new light on these mysteries.
Nearly 166,000 men and women from the state of Wisconsin served the country in the Vietnam War more than 35 years ago. Here and Now offers of glimpse of "Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories," a three-hour documentary created by Wisconsin Public Television to reflect on the courage and service of these soldiers, many of whom lost their lives.
Few individuals have had more impact on the American city than architect and planner Daniel Hudson Burnham. In the midst of late nineteenth century urban disorder, Burnham offered a powerful vision of what a civilized American city could look like that provided a compelling framework for Americans to make sense of the world around them. He built some of the first skyscrapers in the world, directed construction of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition that inspired the City Beautiful Movement, and created urban plans for San Francisco, Washington, DC, Chicago, Cleveland and Manila all before the profession of urban planning existed. In fact, some say that he invented it. His work sought to reconcile things often thought opposite: the practical and the ideal, business and art, and capitalism and democracy. At the center of it all was the idea of a vibrant urban community.
This harrowing documentary tells the story of one of the longest and most terrible sieges in the history of human warfare. When Hitler launched the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1941, the capture of the city of Leningrad was one of his primary strategic goals. Leningrad was not only an industrial powerhouse, home to many armaments factories, but also a main naval base for the Russian Baltic fleet, as well as the nation's former capital and the symbolic seat of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Supported by the Finns, intent on recovering territory they had lost in the Finnish-Soviet Winter war the previous year, Nazi forces rapidly advanced on the city. Instead of entering the city, however, Hitler ordered Leningrad to be bombed and shelled into oblivion and its citizens starved to death. The siege began on September 8, 1941, the day after an air raid destroyed nearly all the city's food supplies. With the daily ration for civilians reduced to two slices of bread, many citizens died from malnutrition. The siege would last 872 days before the blockade was finally lifted, after five unsuccessful attempts, in January 1944. By this time a third of Leningrad's three million population had perished and a quarter of the city's buildings had been destroyed.
"It's All Earth and Sky!" was the reaction of one German-Russian immigrant when she arrived on the plains of the Midwest. Like many others who came to the region seeking a land of promise and opportunity, she and her family endured...and prevailed..on this rich, expansive landscape. Immigration implies departure as well as arrival. Transport from one country to another may mean deportation; it inescapably includes exile whether voluntary or forced, and brings disruption to families in the old country and in the new. Immigrants require courage and fortitude, even when they are weak and poor. Like many others who have come here seeking a land of promise and opportunity, Germans from Russia have suffered, and they have prevailed. Since their background and history is as rich in texture as it is in diversity, they serve here as a model of assimilation of other ethnic groups into American society. In this documentary, five representative Germans from Russia, who have attained success and stability, share their insights on the process of becoming American.
In 1942, when computers were human and women were underestimated, a group of female mathematicians helped win a war and usher in the modern computer age. Sixty-five years later their story has finally been told. In early December 1941, Betty Jean Jennings was a freshman completing her first semester at a rural Missouri college. In Philadelphia, Doris and Shirley Blumberg were seniors at Girl’s High and Marlyn Wescoff was completing a minor in business machines at Temple University. In an era of limited career opportunities for women, these bright students anticipated low paying careers as schoolteachers or bookkeepers. But on Sunday, December 7, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and changed these young women’s lives forever. With Pearl Harbor suddenly drawing the US in to WWII, the Army launched a frantic national search for women mathematicians.
‘The Lancaster At War’ is a vivid account of the aircraft that became the mainstay of Britain’s Bomber Command in the struggle to defeat Nazi Germany. The programme tells the operational history of the Lancaster – daring daylight raids deep into the enemy’s homeland, the epic Dambuster’s mission, precision attacks on Hitler’s ‘V’ weapon sites, the paralyzing of German forces prior to D-Day and missions of mercy that will save thousands from starvation in Occupied Territories. And, in a campaign that remains controversial to this day, it plays its part in the destruction of the cities and industrial centres of the Third Reich. Surviving Lancaster aircrew give frank and candid personal accounts of their part in an aerial battle of attrition that will claim the lives of 55,000 aircrew. Archive film, some of it unseen in colour, along with material specially shot for this production, graphically illustrate the capabilities of this remarkable aircraft, its development and its war-time missions. ‘The Lancaster At War’ describes the aircraft that played a major role in the defeat of the Nazi regime and the courage and determination of Bomber Command aircrew that fought a grim battle in hostile skies, a struggle that can only be understood by confronting the reality of total war.
"William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible" gives viewers an intimate look into the mind and creative process of William Kentridge, the South African artist whose acclaimed charcoal drawings, animations, video installations, shadow plays, mechanical puppets, tapestries, sculptures, live performance pieces, and operas have made him one of the most dynamic and exciting contemporary artists working today. With its rich historical references and undertones of political and social commentary, Kentridge's work has earned him inclusion in "Time" magazine's 2009 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. This documentary features exclusive interviews with Kentridge as he works in his studio and discusses his artistic philosophy and techniques. In the film, Kentridge talks about how his personal history as a white South African of Jewish heritage has informed recurring themes in his work—including violent oppression, class struggle, and social and political hierarchies. Additionally, Kentridge discusses his experiments with "machines that tell you what it is to look" and how the very mechanism of vision is a metaphor for "the agency we have, whether we like it or not, to make sense of the world." We see Kentridge in his studio as he creates animations, music, video, and projection pieces for his various projects, including "Breathe" (2008); "I am not me, the horse is not mine" (2008); and the opera "The Nose" (2010), which premiered earlier this year at New York's Metropolitan Opera to rave reviews. With its playful bending of reality and observations on hierarchical systems, the world of "The Nose" provides an ideal vehicle for Kentridge. The absurdism, he explains in the documentary's closing, "...is in fact an accurate and a productive way of understanding the world. Why should we be interested in a clearly impossible story? Because, as Gogol says, in fact the impossible is what happens all the time."
We meet individuals from marginalized communities who describe what it was like to live through the 1918 flu pandemic. Their experiences raise questions about the pandemic: why did it kill so many people? Why were so many of the dead young adults? Where did this lethal flu come from? How can we keep a pandemic like that from occurring again? The film follows the search for answers from an expedition to Alaska in 1951 to collect tissue from bodies buried in the permafrost, to the scientists and epidemiologists working on the same questions today. It explains the relevance of research into the 1918 pandemic to the threat of current and future flu pandemics.
Thousands of people have been honored for saving Jews during the Holocaust—but not a single Arab. Did any Arabs save Jews during the Holocaust? That's the question author and head of a Washington Institute Robert Satloff had in mind when he set out to discover the lost, true stories of survival, courage and betrayal in Arab lands during World War II. Seeking a response to that query, Satloff set off post 9/11 to find an Arab hero whose story would change the way Arabs view Jews, themselves and their own history. He found not only the Arab heroes whom he sought, but a vast, lost history of what happened to the half-million Jews of the Arab lands of North Africa under Nazi, Vichy and Fascist rule. The history of the Holocaust in Europe is well-documented, but the history of what happened to the Jewish people of North Africa has been mostly forgotten, even in the very towns and cities where it occurred. The truth is remarkable: not only did Jews in Arab lands suffer many of same elements of persecution as Jews in Europe -- arrests, deportations, confiscations and forced labor -- but there were also hopeful stories of "righteous" Arabs reaching out to protect them. The story of the Holocaust's long reach into the Arab world is difficult to uncover, covered up by desert sands and desert politics. We follow Satloff over four years, through eleven countries, from the barren wasteland of the Sahara, where thousands of Jews were imprisoned in labor camps; through the archways of the Mosque in Paris, which may once have hidden 1700 Jews; to the living rooms of octogenarians in London, Paris and Tunis. In the story characters are rich and handsome, brave and cowardly; there are heroes and villains. The most surprising story of all is why, more than sixty years after the end of the war, so few people— Arab and Jew—want this story told.
The Brain Fitness Program is based on the brain's ability to change and adapt, even rewire itself. In the past two years, a team of scientists has developed computer-based stimulus sets that drive beneficial chemical, physical and functional changes in the brain. Dr. Michael Merzenich of the University of California and his colleagues share their scientifically based set of brain exercises in this life-altering program. Peter Coyote narrates.
David Thompson is revered as a national hero in Canada, but is less well known to Americans. "Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau" focuses on the years 1807-1812, the time that Thompson spent primarily in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and northwestern United States, and the significant contributions that he made to the history of the American Northwest.
A book and then a film that changed forever the way we think about wildlife. Elsa, an orphaned lion cub raised by George and Joy Adamson then released back into the wild, captivated audiences around the world, and became a symbol for all animals' right to live free. But behind the film and book lies the real story of the Adamson's life with Elsa. Their diaries, home movies, and detailed records reveal an intimate look into their pioneering work and unique relationship with lions. Recollections of the actress who portrayed Joy in the film, and memories of people who knew and worked with the Adamsons leave us with a new appreciation for the world of animals we never knew until Elsa and Born Free opened our eyes.
MontanaPBS's new documentary, Clearing the Smoke, reveals how cannabis acts on the brain and in the body to treat nausea, pain, epilepsy and potentially even cancer. Extensive interviews with patients, doctors, researchers and skeptics detail the promises and the limitations of medicinal cannabis.
Moira Brooker and Philip Bretherton (Judith and Alastair from As Time Goes By (1992)) host this behind-the-scenes look at the work of the writers behind many of our favorite "Britcoms" (British situation comedies), revealing how their ideas make it to the screen.
Two Norwegian brothers exchange letters after one of them emigrates to America. Their letters chronicle their lives from the 1880s to the 1920s.
Earth: The Operators' Manual presents an objective, accessible assessment of the Earth’s problems and possibilities that will leave viewers informed, energized and optimistic. Host Richard Alley, a geologist, contributor to the United Nations panel on climate change and former oil company employee, leads the audience on this engaging one-hour special about climate change and sustainable energy.
Alexander Hamilton, America's first treasury secretary, is on the ten dollar bill, and he was killed in a duel. Now see the rest of an amazing life in a remarkable film.
In the summer of 1931, a young lawyer called Hans Litten put rising political star, Adolf Hitler, in the witness box of a Berlin court. He wanted to expose Hitler's hypocrisy and secret commitment to violence and shatter the Nazi party's political respectability. In an audacious and hostile cross-examination, Hitler was forced to defend his beliefs, his ambitions, his methods and the essence of Nazism, in open court. Litten wanted to challenge the public as Germany and the rest of Europe seemed to be sleep-walking to fascism. If Litten's warnings had been taken seriously, Hitler's financial support might well have collapsed. There would have been no Nazi election victory. No Reichstag fire, no Third Reich, no Final Solution. Litten didn't win, but Hitler never forgot and once the Nazis were in power, Litten was arrested and imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp where he ultimately committed suicide. A brave and complex individual, Litten was left-wing, Jewish, and passionately committed to the idea of justice. This documentary explores Litten's personal story while also examining the broader historical and ethical debate. It discovers the consequences of Litten's heroism both for himself and for those closest to him, tracking his tragic journey from court room to suicide.
In Northern New Mexico, a range of mountains rises up from the high desert: a wild, rugged land of the Faraway Nearby. The volcanic Jemez are isolated from all other mountain ranges — an island in the sky, surrounded by a desert sea.
This program tells the extraordinary true story of the top-secret mission to build a spy tunnel into the Soviet sector of one of the most heavily guarded cities in history.
The War 1812 is a two-hour film history of a deeply significant event in North American and world history. The war shaped American, Canadian and British destiny in the most literal way possible: had one or two battles or decisions gone a different way, a map of the United States today would look entirely (and shockingly) different. The U.S. could well have included Canada - but was also on the verge of losing much of the Midwest, and perhaps the entire West to boot. The New England states, meanwhile, were poised on the brink of secession just months before a peace treaty was signed. The fires of this war forged the nation of Canada; at the same time, the result tolled the end of Native American dreams of a separate nation. By war's end, the process of Native nation removal had already begun in the southeast, paving the way for a Cotton Kingdom powered by slavery, and a United States that had been on the verge of collapse was ready to announce its arrival as a global power. The U.S. did not win the War of 1812, but the noble experiment of democracy had managed to survive intense pressure from without, and within.
From the very first shipboard landing by Eugene Ely in 1911 to the latest debates surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles, Angle of Attack: How Naval Aviation Changed the Face of War chronicles the triumphs and challenges that Naval Aviation has faced since its invention, and brings to life the largely untold story of one of the pillars in our national defense structure. Angle of Attack tells the story of a hundred years of Naval aviation, from wobbly gliders to supersonic jets. The two-part series charts how technological innovations shaped strategic choices and, conversely, how strategic imperatives propelled Naval aviation toward innovation and reinvention. While chronicling the technological and strategic advancements of Naval aviation, Angle of Attack also highlights the aviators, the people in the cockpits who give life to the machines and their mission.
Few men have changed our everyday world of work, leisure and human communication in the way that Steve Jobs, Apple's former CEO, has done. The scope of his impact was evident in the outpouring of tributes from around the world — voiced on Twitter as well as through makeshift memorials in front of Apple stores — following his death, from complications of pancreatic cancer, on October 5, 2011. Steve Jobs – One Last Thing not only examines how his talent, style and imagination have shaped all of our lives, but the influences that shaped and molded the man himself. The documentary takes an unflinching look at Jobs' difficult, controlling reputation and through interviews with the people who worked closely with him or chronicled his life, provides unique insight into what made him tick. Among those interviewed for the film are Ronald Wayne, co-founder of Apple Computer, Co. with Jobs and Steve Wozniak; Bill Fernandez, who is credited with introducing Jobs to Wozniak and was also Apple Computer's first employee; Robert Palladino, calligraphy professor at Reed College whose classes Jobs acknowledged with inspiring his typography design for the Apple Mac; Walt Mossberg, who covered Jobs as the principal technical journalist for The Wall Street Journal; Dean Hovey, who designed the mouse for Apple; Robert Cringley, who interviewed Jobs for his documentary Triumph of the Nerds; and Dr. Alvy Smith, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, which Jobs acquired in 1986.
A portrait of the Vietnam War told entirely from the perspective of veterans, who reflect on their memories of the conflict from five decades ago.
The effort to identify, prosecute and punish Nazi fugitives continues for 65 years.
Orange-and-black wings fill the sky as NOVA charts one of nature's most remarkable phenomena: the epic migration of monarch butterflies across North America. To capture a butterfly's point of view, NOVA’s filmmakers used a helicopter, ultralight, and hot-air balloon for aerial views along the transcontinental route. This wondrous annual migration, which scientists are just beginning to fathom, is an endangered phenomenon that could dwindle to insignificance if the giant firs that the butterflies cling to during the winter disappear.
Hockey: More Than A Game is an hour-long documentary that explores hockey history and culture and offers an insightful, intimate look at the game described as “Canada’s gift to the world.” While capturing the timeless excitement of competition, the film relays the spirit of hockey among Canadians, its traditions, dramatic human stories and family commitment. Viewers also learn how hockey has evolved over nearly 200 years — from open-pond outdoor games to professional play in packed National Hockey League arenas.
A soaring view of the world’s most famous city The legendary allure of New York has brought millions of dream seekers to the Empire City. From Wall Street to Washington Heights, down Fifth Avenue, through Central Park, over bridges, and across the grid, Visions of New York City celebrates the irresistible attraction of the magnificent metropolis in a breathtaking aerial tour. High-definition, helicopter-mounted cameras capture all the striking juxtapositions of nature and progress, geometry and geography. Soar over the harbour from Lady Liberty’s perspective, view sparkling skyscrapers at night, and roam through famous neighbourhoods from Little Italy to Chinatown, Harlem, and the Upper West Side. Informative narration, an evocative soundtrack, and stunning aerial and ground footage highlight the island’s iconic images, boundless energy, and enduring appeal.
It’s called “the Hero” and has been know to save the mountain for more than a century. It’s the railroad’s final line of defense against savage Sierra winters. The Rotary snow plow slept dormant in it’s comfortable lair in the railyards since 1998 until Mother Nature herself summoned the snow eating beast into action in March, 2011. Watch the Rotary’s massive power as it chews up the “Sierra Cement” just in time to save a rail crew caught in an avalanche!
A stunning aerial tour of the ancient land Make an aerial pilgrimage to Israel, the world’s only Jewish state and Holy Land to three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Stunning high-definition footage showcases Israel in all its diverse glory, flying over sites where Jewish rebels gave their lives; where Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans built outposts of their empires; and where Jesus Christ lived and died. Witness the magnificence of the country’s many holy sites, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, alongside exotic seaside resorts and the austere beauty of the Judean desert. With informative narration by Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman and ethnic music, Visions of Israel presents the natural and historical wonders of this sacred landscape.
He's been dead for more than 5,000 years and probed by scientists for the last 20. Yet today, Otzi the Iceman, the famous mummified corpse pulled from a glacier in the Italian Alps nearly two decades ago, continues to keep many secrets. Now, a new autopsy yields fresh clues to his way of life and the mysterious circumstances of his murder. If he was a warrior or a hunter, what was he doing so high up in the mountains, armed with an unfinished bow and useless arrows? If he was fleeing for his life, why did he eat a big meal less than an hour before he was killed? Besides clues to this original "cold case," Otzi's frozen remains reveal intriguing details of his life and times in the ancient Copper Age. Join NOVA as we defrost the ultimate time capsule, the 5,000-year-old man.
It might be the greatest haul of treasure ever accumulated in one place – but does it exist? This documentary examines the legend of Yamashita's Gold. Japanese imperial expansion across South East Asia during the 1930s and early 1940s saw an orgy of systematic looting across a dozen countries. Banks, government treasuries, temples and monasteries were all targeted and stripped bare. The spoils were intended to be shipped back to Japan, but this was effectively rendered impossible after 1942 as American naval superiority came to dominate the Pacific.
Dick Proenneke's simple, yet profound account of his 30-year adventure in the remote Alaska wilderness continues in this sequel to Alone in the Wilderness. He continues to document his journey through his 16mm wind-up Bolex camera, capturing his own amazing craftsmanship, the stunning Alaskan wildlife and scenery, and even a visit from his brother, Jake.
Exactly 100 years ago, the world of the British manor house was at its height. It was a life of luxury and indolence for a wealthy few supported by the labor of hundreds of servants toiling ceaselessly "below stairs" to make the lives of their lords and ladies run as smoothly as possible. It is a world that has provided a majestic backdrop to a range of movies and popular costume dramas to this day, including PBS' Downton Abbey. But what was really going on behind these stately walls? Secrets of the Manor House looks beyond the fiction to the truth of what life was like in these British houses of yesteryear. They were communities where two separate worlds existed side by side: the poor worked as domestic servants, while the nation’s wealthiest families enjoyed a lifestyle of luxury, and aristocrats ruled over their servants as they had done for a thousand years.
Underground Railroad: The William Still Story tells the dramatic story of William Still, one of the most important yet largely unheralded individuals of the Underground Railroad. Still was determined to get as many runaways as he could to "Freedom’s Land,” smuggling them across the US border to Canada. Bounty hunters could legally abduct former slaves living in the so-called free northern states, but under the protection of the British, Canada provided sanctuary for fugitive slaves.
Slavery by Another Name challenges one of our country’s most cherished assumptions: the belief that slavery ended with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. The documentary recounts how in the years following the Civil War, insidious new forms of forced labor emerged in the American South, keeping hundreds of thousands of African Americans in bondage, trapping them in a brutal system that would persist until the onset of World War II.
Cave People of the Himalaya is a documentary of and by scientists analyzing the anatomy and DNA of human remains, as well as researching evidence to better understand the mosaic of cultures connected through the region's trade routes.
Apollo 17, the final moon landing occurred in December 1972 only two years after Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon. Public and political interest in Apollo had dwindled, but this mission accomplished more than any previous mission in exploring the geology of the moon.
This intimate documentary gives viewers a singular glimpse into Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele virtuoso, but also Jake, the young boy who grew up in a modest apartment to a single mother and unsuspectingly rose to international stardom.
Missile to Moon, a new production from APT's award-winning documentary team, tells the story of Wernher von Braun and Alabama's significant contribution to the exploration of space. The program will track the evolution of Huntsville from the "Watercress Capital of the World" to "Rocket City, USA," Wernher von Braun's journey from German Rocket Engineer to American Hero, and the role this unlikely combination played in thrusting the United States into the forefront of the Space Age.
Filmed in the summer of 2011 at Kaxil Kiuic Biocultural Reserve in Yucatán, National Geographic Television’s Quest for the Lost Maya addresses new findings about the Maya civilization. The Maya's soaring pyramids, monumental cities, and mastery of astronomy and mathematics have spurred generations of explorers into the jungles of Central America on a quest to understand them. In the past decade, researchers working in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula have made a series of startling discoveries that reveal a gaping hole in our understanding of the Maya. What we thought we knew about the Maya could suddenly turn out to be just half the story.
Saving the Titanic tells the untold story of the self-sacrifice and bravery of the ship’s engineers, stokers and firemen in the face of impending death.
To mark the centenary of the tragedy, Titanic with Len Goodman explores the ship's enduring legacy and uncovers how for victims' families, and for the survivors, the sinking was just the beginning of the story. Generations later, these stories are still unfolding as we meet the modern day descendants of the shipbuilders, passengers and crew to learn how, 100 years after the sinking, Titanic's legacy lives on.
During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, two violinmakers from the same small town were making the most sought-after violins ever created. Everyone has heard of Antonio Stradivari, but few know the name Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù. Through interviews with historians, experts, luthiers, and virtuosos, this documentary tells the story of these two masters of violinmaking and their instruments.
Because of advanced new technology, a second oil boom has hit Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana. This Bakken formation has impacted more than just the oil industries. Towns around the Bakken oil formation are experience sudden growth in population. This program features those besieged by these new changes as well as those who are capitalizing on the oil boom. RV’s and man camps dot the sides of the roads that connect one town to another. New residents of these once small-towns battle for a place to call home. Some locals are able to capitalize off the one thing that brings all these different people together. Oil. Businesses are hiring and towns are bursting at the seams. This is the Boom, Behind the Bakken. Produced by Student Journalists of the University of Montana.
It is hard to imagine what was more memorable in Glacier Park a century ago: the breath taking scenery, or the adventure. Travel in time with us as we follow the adventures of our counterparts 100 years ago through rare, restored film, museum pictures, and historical memorabilia. See how eastern city slickers were lured to North central Montana by a glitzy promotional campaign promoted by the Great Northern Railroad.
"The Mystery of the Milky Way," chronicles the history of telescopes, from Galileo's refractor to Newton's reflector and beyond. It looks at key discoveries, such as those made by William Herschel and his sister Caroline, including the discovery of the planet Uranus. Hour 1 also looks at recent missions: the voyage of the Cassini spacecraft to Saturn, the Kepler telescope's search for planets beyond our solar system, and the Herschel Space Observatory's examination of the Milky Way, which is so large that it would take 100,000 years traveling at the speed of light to cross from one edge to the other.
In “The Ever-Expanding Universe,” Hour 2 of the two-part special “Hunting the Edge of Space,” NOVA investigates a battery of high-tech telescopes that is joining the Hubble Space Telescope on its quest to unlock the secrets of our universe, a cosmos almost incomprehensible in its size, age, and violence. Far beyond our solar system, we are now discovering exoplanets orbiting other suns, and beyond our galaxy, another hundred billion galaxies, such as Andromeda, Sombrero, and Whirlpool, each harboring hundreds of billions of stars. We've detected supermassive black holes, spinning violently at the very centers of galaxies, including our own. We've witnessed supernovas: exploding stars, millions of light-years away, spewing out superheated gas at 600,000 miles per hour. And deep inside clouds of gas and dust, billowing trillions of miles high, we can glimpse new stars being born. Now, the latest telescopes are revealing the invisible mysteries of space that we are only just beginning to understand: dark matter, the hidden scaffolding our entire cosmos is built on; and dark energy, a powerful and invisible force that is pushing our universe apart.
Travel to nine countries and across 1,400 years of cultural history to explore the astonishing artistic and architectural riches of Islam. With the insights and commentary of leading art scholars from around the world, the film delves into the art of religious life in Islamic culture and into the secret world inside the palaces of the elite. From the extraordinary array of metalwork, textiles, paintings and architecture that illuminate the culture, filmmaker Rob Gardner sheds light on the shared histories of western and Islamic societies, revealing more continuity than division. Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon narrates.
This beautifully shot documentary spotlights the restoration of Boynton House – the Frank Lloyd Wright house located on East Boulevard in Rochester, New York. Owners Fran Cosentino and Jane Parker share how they acquired Frank Lloyd Wright’s Boynton House, and how they worked to restore it to its original beauty using materials and processes that Wright himself intended.
Money & Medicine investigates the dangers the nation faces from runaway health care spending as well as the dangers patients face from over-diagnosis and over-treatment. In addition to illuminating the waste and overtreatment that pervade our medical system, Money & Medicine explores promising ways to reduce health care expenditures and improve the overall quality of medical care.
"Into Deep Space" traces the engineering, construction, and scientific discoveries of the most powerful observatory on Earth - the ALMA telescope in the Chilean Andes. The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA, Spanish for "soul") is an array of radio telescopes in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. ALMA is an international partnership between Europe, the United States, Canada, East Asia and the Republic of Chile. ALMA will be a single telescope of revolutionary design, composed initially of 66 high precision antennas located on the Chajnantor plateau at 5000 meters altitude in northern Chile. Breathtaking footage features dramatic aerials of the ALMA site and live coverage of the it's first large scale observation.
The Valles Caldera offers crucial insights into water and land management, plate tectonics and climate change shedding new light on important issues facing not just the region but also the world.
Explore the inside story of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis — the world on the brink of nuclear holocaust. Two years in the making, "Cuban Missile Crisis - Three Men Go To War" reveals how three human beings grappled with the most dangerous two weeks in human history, when countless events outside their control threatened to ignite a nuclear holocaust that could have ended human civilization.
Journey to the hills of Milton, West Virginia, into the heat of Blenko Glassworks and see first-hand how Blenko handmade glass is created, from start to finish. Each step in the Blenko glass-making process is accomplished by human hand, eyes, and he arts, not by impersonal machines. Each piece is unique and so are the artisans and members of the Blenko family who continue this proud, 100 year tradition. Blenko Glass Company has been a family owned and operated company since 1893. They have been located in Milton, West Virginia since 1921.
First Freedom: The Fight for Religious Liberty is the story of how the most basic of human freedoms - freedom of conscience - was codified for the first time in human history as an inalienable human right protected by law.
Filmed around the United States, The Iranian Americans chronicles the underreported history of a group of immigrants finding refuge, overcoming adversity and ultimately creating new lives in the United States. With Iran in the news virtually every day, many Americans have little knowledge of the story of the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who live here in the US.
Anthem tells the story behind Francis Scott Key's creation of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and explores the role of music and patriotism during The War of 1812. Featuring musical performances and interviews with historians and music experts from the United States and Great Britain, this one-hour documentary delves into the people, songs and events that influenced Key to write what would become the National Anthem of the United States of America.
Mmm, smell the bacon! Order the grits with red-eye gravy! Get the lobster hash! Try the veggie omelet! It’s time for Breakfast Special 2: Revenge of the Omelets, another celebration of getting up and going out for a memorable morning meal. There’s a diner in Connecticut, homemade biscuits in North Carolina, breakfast burritos and big pancakes in Pittsburgh. We find seaside specialties in New Hampshire, duck breast in Philadelphia, and salmon cakes in Detroit. On the Big Island of Hawaii, we sample loco moco, Portuguese donuts and scrumptious variations on all of the above! Cooks, servers, coffee drinkers and regulars at the counter all share their love and loyalty for our most important meal.
DEC's founder, Ken Olsen, led the revolution, and in the process developed innovations that became the basic principles of the Information Age. Olsen led DEC on a meteoric rise as one of the nation's largest and most successful corporations. Just as precipitously, DEC became a casualty of the industry and expectations that they had helped to create. Digital Man, Digital World presents the history of the Digital Equipment Corporation, and its lasting impact on American culture.
At Home in Russia, at Home on the Prairie tells the story of the Kutchurganers. The life they led in South Russia and their life after journeying to the prairies of North America. The stories are told by the descendants of these pioneers who settled on the prairies of North dakota and Saskatchewan: Monsignor Joseph Senger, Christina Gross Jundt, Helen Fiest Krumm, Dr. Adam Giesinger, Father Thomas Welk, Theresa Kuntz Bachmeier, Barbara Schneider Risling, Ron Volk, Colleen Zeiler, Debra Marquart, Mary Ebach and Clara Ebach.
Station wagons were America's "workhorses on wheels." Today, they conjure images of outdated family photos, over-sized hairdos and unfashionable wooden siding. The oil crisis in 1973 was a turning point for these once fashionable and prestigious vehicles and they quickly disappeared from the market. Some people, however, still cling to what they stand for in American culture. WAGONMASTERS offers glimpses into the lives of such wagon enthusiasts, and tells the story of the station wagon as it represents a changing America over the last century.
In a part of America that rarely makes headlines, there is a small town with a group of teenagers who will captivate your ears and warm your heart. Watch a year in the life of the champion mariachi ensemble at Zapata High School in South Texas. As they compete and perform with musical virtuosity, these teens and the music they make will inspire, surprise, and bring you to your feet. High school never sounded so good.
Each crewman of Apollo 11 had made a spaceflight before this mission but never set foot on the moon. Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed the first humans on the moon. This unique documentary, profiles this historic mission through the eyes of all three astronauts and several top Nasa officials who participated in it.
Easter Sunday 1913 dawned as a spring-like day of celebration. It ended as a day of mourning. With little warning, seven tornados roared through eastern Nebraska, turning this into the deadliest natural disaster in Nebraska’s history. The most devastating tornado cut a seven mile swath through Ralston and Omaha, killing 100 people. All told, the tornado outbreak would be responsible for 168 deaths and nearly $10 million in damage (more than $200 million in today’s dollars). “Devil Clouds: Tornados Strike Nebraska” is a reporting project that tells more than a storm story. Developed in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the event (which took place on March 23, 1913), it’s a story full of heroes and colorful characters; a story of tragedy, but also recovery and resolve; and the story of a city and state in transition, and the impact of a single devastating event on these places. It’s a story so well documented visually that it offers an intriguing glimpse into the disaster, and the lives of 1913 Nebraskans in places like Omaha, Ralston, Yutan and Otoe (called Berlin at the time). The documentary will be told through the use of high quality photographs, newspaper accounts, letters and books, and the perspective of historians and relatives of survivors.
Cubans joke that the revolution has had three great successes: education, health care, and social equality; and three failures: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Cuba’s Secret Side uncovers the truth behind the revolution by sharing in the day-to-day lives of ordinary Cubans—accompanying a small-town doctor on house calls and investigating food distribution and housing. The films traces the post-revolution economic history of Cuba through the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent Special Period, the thriving black market, recent legalization of private businesses, introduction of a second currency, and gradual opening to foreign tourism.
Cuba’s Secret Side also looks at the Cubans themselves for a better understanding of this complicated island. The documentary illustrates Cuban personality through in-depth stories of individuals and their communities, exploring the San Lazaro festival, where devotees drag rocks for six miles to church; Santeria, an imported African religion with a Cuban twist; the art of spear fishing with homemade guns from Styrofoam floats; and a dangerous fireworks competition in a unique village festival. A fast-paced and provocative journey, Cuba’s Secret Side shows that the real story behind this vibrant and often misunderstood country is not what one would expect.
Explore America’s enduring relationship with firearms: From the first European settlements in the New World to frontier justice; from 19th Century immigrant riots to gangland violence in the Roaring Twenties; from the Civil War to Civil Rights, guns have been at center of our national...
Ever since the wake-up call that was Columbine, schools and law enforcement have developed multiple strategies to prevent attacks. Indeed, the horror of Newtown must be seen in a context that’s not defined by defeat. More than 120 school assaults have been thwarted in the past ten years. And remarkably, while security hardware and physical barriers can play a deterrent role, it’s been psychologists — working hand in hand with law enforcement officers — who have come up with the most helpful tools to prevent violent attacks. The Path to Violence tells the story of a powerfully effective Secret Service program — the Safe School Initiative — that’s helped schools detect problem behavior in advance. But despite the progress made, recent attacks have revealed a gaping hole in our safety net. Adam Lanza, Jared Loughner and allegedly James Holmes all executed their attacks after they’d left their respective schools. Here parents may be the only line of defense — parents who are terrified of their own children. Can the hard-won gains made by psychologists and law enforcement be extended to the families of some of the nation’s most violent individuals? Is the country ready to have a national conversation about the balance between safety and civil liberties that such interventions would require?
A Norway Passage is the story of a voyage - a beautiful voyage along more than 1,100 miles of Norway's spectacular coastline on the Hurtigruten ship Nordnorge. Deep fjords, crashing waterfalls, mountains rising from the sea, lovely towns and fishing villages and a history of the coastal ferries vital to people living along this stunning coast. A Norway Passage is a six-day journey in the midnight sun to the Arctic Circle and the border of Russia. It is the most beautiful voyage. The one-hour program is drawn from a remarkable live, six-day, 24 hour per day documentary, titled Hurtigruten:Minutt for Minutt, produced in 2011 by NRK, Norway's national broadcaster.
Explore the origins of the brewing industry in Brooklyn from early 1800s and meet modern day craft brewers and home brewers who are helping to transform the borough. The film features interviews with historians, brewers and beer lovers alike and includes vintage footage and excerpts of classic beer commercials. The documentary is must see for anyone who loves beer, Brooklyn or history.
Girl Model strips away the façade of the modeling industry by following two people whose lives intersect because of it. Ashley is a deeply conflicted American model scout, and 13-year-old Nadya, plucked from a remote Siberian village and promised a lucrative career in Japan, is her latest discovery. As the young girl searches for glamour and an escape from poverty, she confronts the harsh realities of a culture that worships youth — and an industry that makes perpetual childhood a globally traded commodity. An Official Selection of the 2011 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Winner, 2011 POV | Alpha Cine Award. Produced in association with American Documentary | POV. On POV's companion website for Girl Model, you can ask a "girl model" about modeling realities, explore the international model supply chain, view a video interview with the filmmakers, download a discussion guide and other viewing resources, and more.
Construction of the colossal dam at Fort Peck, Montana manifested the promise of America, as the country faced a human crisis of unprecedented proportions. 75 years after its completion, the structure stands as one of the greatest achievements in the history of the west. Winding through America’s heartland, the Missouri river was wildly unpredictable, and characterized by extremes. Spring floods brought destruction to much of the great plains. Periods of severe drought caused enormous suffering and economic loss. Navigation on the waterway was nearly impossible. In the midst of the great depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt set the stage to tame the mighty Missouri, and build what was at the time the world’s largest dam.
In this hour-long documentary, director Joe York on behalf of the Southern Foodways Alliance focuses on the tradition-bearers of Southern food culture. The film presents intimate portraits of people and places while asking important questions about our common culture.
THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE film explores the story of the miscarriage of justice that engulfed Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, the black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly convicted of the horrific 1989 crime. The brutal beating and rape of a white woman in New York City's Central Park provoked public outrage and sensational headlines during the prosecution and conviction of the five defendants. Less known is the story of the eventual exoneration of the men, who served full prison sentences.
Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope is the untold story of Colonel Ilan Ramon, a fighter pilot and son of Holocaust survivors who became the first and only astronaut from Israel, embarking on a mission with the most diverse shuttle crew ever to explore space. Ramon realized the significance of “being the first” and his journey of self-discovery turned into a mission to tell the world a powerful story about the resilience of the human spirit. Although the seven astronauts of the Columbia perished on February 1, 2003, a remarkable story of hope, friendship across cultures, and an enduring faith emerged. The film premieres in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the disaster and NASA’s annual Day of Remembrance.
Spied upon by MI19 in a bugging operation of unprecedented scale and cunning, 4,000 German POW’s revealed their inner thoughts about the Third Reich and let slip military secrets that helped the Allies win WWII. Based on groundbreaking research conducted by a German historian, the film tells the story of how those conversations were recorded and how they can now reveal, in more shocking detail than ever before, the hearts and minds of the German fighter. In total, more than 100,000 hours of these secret recordings were made. Only now have they all been declassified, researched and cross referenced. They represent a startling new body of evidence with which to revisit events of the war and they show the political divisions between those top generals who supported the Nazi ideology and those that did not. They also demonstrate the complicity of the rank-and-file soldiers in taking part in Nazi war crimes. Now, 60 years later the chilling and totally uncensored thoughts of the Nazi elite will be heard. The documentary includes intense, full-dialogue dramatic reconstructions that use the verbatim transcripts of these bugged conversations to reveal the dark heart of the Nazi regime as never before. Hearing these shocking conversations will be like taking a time machine back into psyche of Hitler’s Germany.
10 Buildings that Changed America presents 10 trend-setting works of architecture that have shaped and inspired our American landscape. These aren’t just historic structures by famous architects. These buildings have dramatically influenced our built environment in many ways – and in one case, for over two centuries.
Join British journalist and physician Michael Mosley to uncover the secret life of the human digestive tract in this eye-opening and detailed exploration of a part of the body we seldom see. Enter the strange and mysterious world of the human stomach!
During World War II, a hand-picked group of American GI's undertook a bizarre mission: create a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe, with the Nazi German Army as their audience.
Featuring professional musicians and historians, this captivating film tells the story of the electric guitar, the instrument that transformed popular music in the twentieth century. In the 1920s, America was swinging to the sounds of the big bands of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. The limitations of the guitar effectively prevented it from making it heard. It was time to harness the power of electricity to increase the volume. Inventors looked at other devices which translated electronic signals into sound waves and applied the same principles to a plucked string. The 1950s saw the birth of rock'n'roll and the commercial rivalry between manufacturers Fender and Gibson as the mass-produced electric guitar became the young musician's instrument of choice. Pedal controls soon followed, enabling guitarists to create their own personal sound through the use of echo and distortion, exemplified by the arrival of Jimi Hendrix, who combined an impeccable technique with an understanding of electronic effects. Fashions come and go in any artistic genre, but the electric guitar remains the world's most popular instrument, as it has for the last 70 years.
Hampton Court is the ultimate royal pleasure palace, embodying an indulgent and grandiose lifestyle built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and furthered by King Henry VIII. Its many rooms chart Henry VIII's decline from fit young warrior to bloated womanizer, and they tell the vivid stories of the ladies who became his queens. Later, King William III and Queen Mary II commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild Hampton Court, demolishing half of the red brick Tudor palace and replacing it with an exquisite Baroque castle, making Hampton Court one of the most unique palaces in the world. Secrets of Henry VIII’s Palace digs beneath the brick and stone to unveil an abundance of art and lore that bring Hampton Court to life.
Fireworks enchant our senses – for a short but wonderful moment. Old family businesses have saved the tradition of fireworks to the present day. The film shows how this art form has developed over the centuries: Starting in China over a thousand years ago, we journey through the opulent Baroque era in Italy, Germany and France, experience Japanese hanabi artists in action and are also on hand to experience Guy Fawkes’ Night in the UK. We see how fireworks were democratised, becoming something that everyone could enjoy and have access to - before arriving in the present where the art of fireworks is again what it was in its heyday, a celebration of money, power and beauty. Each era is interwoven with contemporary stories and artists from Asia to the United States, because anyone in the 21st century who has dedicated himself to pyrotechnics is working in many similar ways to the artists of several hundred years ago. The film combines gorgeous firework displays of today with the past explaining how the makers are aiming to reconnect with the traditions of their art. Fireworks are and have always been a passion and a lifestyle.
A narrow frontier between warm and cold latitudes extends 500 miles from the Alaskan mainland, separating the tempestuous Bering Sea from the Pacific: the Alaska Peninsula, a cloud-cloaked land of active volcanoes, rolling tundra and the greatest concentration of the largest bears on earth.
Step inside the family home of Diana, Princess of Wales. Nestled on over 14,000 acres of English countryside is Althorp House, the childhood home and final resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales. 19 generations of Spencers, one of Britain's most eminent aristocratic dynasties, have lived there for over 500 years. The estate is now in the hands of Diana's brother Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, guardian to a vast wealth of artistic and historical treasures. Works by Rubens and Van Dyck line the walls, while the guest book boasts signatures from such illustrious figures as King William III, Sir Winston Churchill, and Queen Elizabeth II. Earl Spencer leads a personal tour around this noble manor that is to him, above all, still very much a family home, relaying how the history of the house is inextricably bound up with the character, strengths, and weaknesses of those who have lived there before him.
In its 500-year history, Chatsworth has been home to some notable inhabitants, among them the 5th Duke of Devonshire, his wife, Lady Georgiana Spencer, and Lady Elizabeth Foster, who lived together in a ménage à trois. King Edward VII enjoyed shooting parties on the estate and was often entertained by Duchess Louisa, one of Britain’s foremost political hostesses.
For centuries, Highclere Castle has been the real-life home of the aristocratic Carnarvon family, and has entertained Kings and Queens of England along with a host of nobilities and celebrities.
Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad and producer of The X-Files, is interviewed by Charlie Rose at the Museum of the Moving Image. Vince overviews his history in the television business, tells the story of how Breaking Bad was created, and the challenges of story telling between cable and network television.
Wallace Dow has been referred to as the "Builder on the Prairie" and was considered the premier architect of South Dakota in the late 19th century. "W.L. Dow, Architect" is a documentary about the man who came to Dakota Territory in 1880 and built a number of iconic structures.
The Campaign follows the people behind California’s historic “No on 8″ campaign to defend same-sex marriage, interwoven with the national history of same-sex relationship recognition since the 1950s. It focuses on five characters — Alison, Holli, Richard, Anne and Claudia — as they labor tirelessly to defeat Proposition 8, sacrificing time with the families they are fighting to protect. The film positions their efforts within the context of shifting legal and political landscapes, from Anita Bryant’s “Save our Children,” to the invention of the word “Domestic Partner” in San Francisco, to Pat Buchanan’s declaration of a “culture war,” and to the wave of marriage bans that swept 41 states across the nation. The shocking passage of Prop 8 in seemingly LGBT-friendly California changed the landscape forever, both for the LGBT equality movement, and for the individual activists who dropped what they were doing and threw themselves into the largest social issue campaign the country has ever seen. The Campaign emerges as an unprecedented installment of LGBT social history and a signature documentary on one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our times.
Called the definitive documentary on the 1963 March on Washington, this commemorative special from PBS marks the 50th anniversary of a landmark moment in the civil rights movement. This film tells the story of how the march for jobs and freedom began, and the stories of all the individuals who played a role in it. Drawing upon rare archive footage, 'The March' shows the background stories leading up to the march, including the political indifference of the John F. Kennedy administration, hostility from J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, and the widespread claims that it would incite racial violence, chaos and disturbance. The film follows the unfolding drama as the march reaches its ultimate triumphs, gaining acceptance from the state, successfully raising funds and in the end, organized and executed peacefully - and creating a landmark moment in the struggle for civil rights and racial equality in the United States. Including interviews with some of the key actors: members of the inner circles of the core organizational groups such as Jack O'Dell, Clarence B. Jones, Julian Bond and Andrew Young; Hollywood supporters and civil rights campaigners including Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll and Sidney Poitier; Performing artists at the March such as Joan Baez and Peter Yarrow; as well as JFK administration official, Harris Wofford; the CBS Broadcaster who reported from the March, Roger Mudd; Clayborne Carson, the founding director of Stanford's Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute and a participant in the March; as well as those who witnessed the march on TV and were influenced by it, such as Oprah Winfrey, and most of all, the remembrances of the ordinary citizens who joined some 250,000 Americans at the capital on that momentous.
American architect William L. Pereira designed structures and places around the world ranging from San Francisco's iconic Transamerica Pyramid to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: the University of California, San Diego Geisel Library to the master plan for California's Irvine Ranch and the Los Angeles International Airport. Modernist Maverick surveys Pereira's career.
Explorer and scientist Paul Sereno made an extraordinary discovery in the middle of the Sahara desert: While prospecting for dinosaur bones, he stumbled across an ancient human cemetery more than 5,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids. Who were these people and what were they doing in the middle of the desert? How did they live and die? What can this mystery tell us about our planet?
A medical mystery, THE ILLNESS & THE ODYSSEY tracks the pursuit of a possible clue to a cure for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological wasting diseases which may be related to a mysterious neurological disease found only among the native people on the remote island of Guam. Lytico-Bodig is a debilitating disease suffered by Guam's Chamorro population. It manifests as a brutal combination of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). Because it is found only in an isolated location -- giving medical researchers a narrow set of variables to study and understand -- it is believed that the information learned about Lytico-Bodig could lead to the discovery of a cure for other neurodegenerative diseases that attack the brain. Featuring commentary by noted author and neurologist Dr. Oliver Sachs, THE ILLNESS & THE ODYSSEY follows the work of three scientists, each of whom has dedicated the major portion of their careers to providing an explanation about this medical mystery "whodunit." As the decades-long drama unfolds, the debate among the scientists is intense and passionate, to the point of hostility. With their careers at stake, each tries to discredit the other and claim the legacy of finding the clue that unlocks a cure to these tragic diseases. Based on Dr. Sacks' book The Island of the Colorblind, the film traces the struggle to solve a medical mystery plaguing a native population in Guam.
Was Will Shakespeare, the grain dealer from Stratford, really the literary icon we celebrate today?
Held Hostage is the real and terrifying story of ordinary foreign workers who came face to face with Al Qaeda at the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria in January 2013. The attack left over 37 foreign hostages dead, including people from the U.S., U.K., France, Japan, and Norway. As the horrific events unfolded over four days in the full glare of the world's media, Algerian special forces and helicopter gunships attacked the site in an effort to end the crisis. Bringing together exclusive interviews with survivors and their families, expert analysis of the key events, and powerful dramatic reconstruction of the terrifying four-day siege, this documentary raises many unanswered questions: How did a convoy of terrorists manage to travel undetected across hundreds of miles of desert and gain control of one of Algeria's most important and valuable gas facilities? And who was ultimately responsible for the safety of the workers?
Unlock doors to secret rooms and learn surprising facts about the famous Tower of London. Standing guard over the city of London for nearly 1,000 years, the formidable Tower has been a royal castle, a prison, a place of execution and torture, an armory and the Royal Mint. This program unlocks the doors to secret rooms, talks to the people who do the jobs no one sees and reveals some surprising facts about one of England's most famous icons.
Two words are synonymous with Selfridges: luxury and London. However, Selfridges was the brain child of an American-Mr. Harry Gordon Selfridge-whose life is depicted in the current MASTERPIECE miniseries Mr. Selfridge. The real, flamboyant Mr. Selfridge brought about a complete revolution in the way that Londoners shopped, introducing a new American retail model which made shopping less of a practical pursuit and more of a luxurious adventure.
Based on Professor Larry J. Sabato’s new book, also titled The Kennedy Half Century, the documentary features interviews with major political and media figures, including Bob Schieffer, Ron Reagan Jr., Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Ari Fleischer, James Carville and Julian Bond, among others.
Split Rock, The Superior Light relates the saga of the most visited and most photographed lighthouse on the Great Lakes. From the challenges of construction to the isolated life of the early keepers, Split Rock's story fascinates and delights. With the construction of Highway 61 along the Minnesota North Shore of Lake Superior, the keepers' duties expanded from tending the light station to becoming tour guides for thousands of eager tourists. Today, forty-plus years after decommissioning by the Coast Guard, Split Rock has become one of the most-visited historic sites in Minnesota. 2010 marks the centennial celebration of this landmark on Lake Superior.
To help promote his all-natural approach, 40 year beekeeper Jerry Dunbar participated in the creation of this video series demonstrating his practices and the life cycle of a healthy colony of bees. Natural Beekeeping follows his narrative, augmented with HD footage of seasonal and hive behavior. Dunbar also introduces products that can be made from the healthy substances found in the hive - including mead, honey straws, propolis tincture and edible lip balm. Natural Beekeeping is perfect for the classroom, library, or daycare center (kids are mesmerized by the honey bees)... and will broaden the horizons of anyone interested in ecological, health, and nutritional matters. Included: - Beekeeping Intro - Hive Tour - Swarm Removal - Bee Package Installation - Adding a Honey Super - Triangular Bee Escape - Hive Jacker - Harvesting Supers - Honey Extraction - Packing Comb - Fall Feeding and Spring Inspection ...and more!
Get inside the most famous police headquarters in the world. No police institution in the world captures the public imagination in quite the same way as Scotland Yard. Today, the name is synonymous with London's Metropolitan Police, one of the oldest detective forces in the world. From Britain's most famous serial killer to the biggest jewelry heist in history, we reopen classified files to reveal how a century and more of crime detection has sown the seeds of modern-day policing. We follow crime historians as they retrace the steps of Scotland Yard's earliest detectives and enter a grisly world of treachery, violence and murder most foul.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proved himself a master of a new frontier with his “high-tech” command center — the War Department Telegraph Office, America’s first “Situation Room.” The telegraph, the internet of the 19th century, gave Lincoln the power to re-invent leadership and wield control across distant battlefields and have his finger on the pulse of the nation. This flow of communication led to some of the most dramatic moments of the Civil War, and shaped the words that Lincoln would use to reunite a shattered country at Gettysburg.
Comets have fascinated, even terrified us for thousands of years. For scientists though, comets are a great opportunity. This year, 2013, a particularly massive chunk of ice and rock is coming our way, an object that will fascinate billions and should create the space show of the century. Right now Comet ISON, somewhere between one and 10 kilometers in diameter, is just beyond the orbit of Jupiter. As it races past us toward the sun it should develop a tail that will light up the skies brighter than a full moon. Then the comet will slingshot around the back of the sun and could emerge brighter than ever, treating the entire northern hemisphere to an unforgettable sight. In this program, scientists all over the world follow a once-in-a-lifetime event and shoot breathtaking images, spewing its essence into the void. But there is jeopardy too; the comet could evaporate completely or the sun's massive gravity could tear it apart. If the latter happens it will produce a so-called "string of pearls," several much smaller comets arching right across the night sky.
The Minnesota Opera’s production of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night, a company commission which earned its composer the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music, recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history.
HOW SHERLOCK CHANGED THE WORLD will demonstrate how the legacy of Holmes, as the first crime profiler, was not solely a reservoir of brilliant stories and wonderfully drawn characters, but that it has saved lives and led to the capture of some of the worst criminals in modern history.
Conclusion. How the investigative techniques used by the fictional Sherlock Holmes influenced real-life criminal investigations. Included: remarks from forensic scientists, including Dr. Henry Lee, and author Anthony Horowitz ("The House of Silk").
Red Metal: The Copper Country Strike of 1913 explores an epic labor strike that devastated Michigan's Copper Country-and haunts the American labor movement to this day. Produced and directed by Emmy� Award-winning filmmaker Jonathan Silvers, the program traces the Copper Country strike from its hopeful start to that tragic conclusion. Between those endpoints, the film explores the intensifying battle between organized labor and corporate power, as well as the strike's cultural legacy, which influenced national discourse, music, and legislation during the Progressive Era and the New Deal. Among the notable elements of the strike was the death of seventy-three (60 of which were children) at a union Christmas Eve party, a tragedy immortalized by Woody Guthrie in his ballad "1913 Massacre" and performed by Steve Earle in the film. The event, known as the Italian Hall Disaster, remains the deadliest unsolved manslaughter in US history. As the centennial of the Italian Hall Disaster approaches, a new generation of Americans has begun paying tribute to the victims, while also deliberating the strike's causes, outcomes, and legacy.
From 1929 to 1939, Edgar Feuchtwanger lived across the street from Adolf Hitler in a bourgeois building in Munich, Germany. From his bedroom, the young Jewish boy had a view of the Führer across the avenue on the second floor. A schoolboy in Munich at the time, Edgar witnessed the rise of Nazism firsthand, sharing in the fear and dread felt by all German Jews witnessing the unstoppable ascent of a madman. Edgar finally left Poland in 1939 at the age of 16, just two months before the invasion of Poland and the declaration by Great Britain. Now at the age of 87, Edgar shares his remarkable story for the first time in this fascinating documentary. Returning to Munich to retrace the childhood he left behind, Edgar chronicles his pre-war experience in the provincial town that housed one of the most merciless and cruel men in history.
At Barefoot College, located in the Indian State of Rajasthan, education takes place off campus, in nearby impoverished villages, among all age groups, with a unique interdisciplinary curriculum intimately encompassing rural village life and the issues villagers must grapple with. This cross-cultural documentary offers powerful insights not only in terms of addressing world poverty, but changing possible education outcomes here at home.
Roy Eaton, Jerry Della Femina, Paula Green, George Lois, and other creative giants recount the history of the advertising industry through unforgettable stories and campaigns.
Stephen Hawking's life, including his scientific discoveries, rise to fame and diagnosis of motor neuron disease.
A growing number of scientists, conservationists and grass-roots environmentalists have come to regard beavers as overlooked tools when it comes to reversing the disastrous effects of global warming and world-wide water shortages. Once valued for their fur or hunted as pests, these industrious rodents are seen in a new light through the eyes of this novel assembly of beaver enthusiasts and “employers” who reveal the ways in which the presence of beavers can transform and revive landscapes. Using their skills as natural builders and brilliant hydro-engineers, beavers are being recruited to accomplish everything from finding water in a bone-dry desert to recharging water tables and coaxing life back into damaged lands.
Colditz Castle, a notorious prisoner of war camp in Nazi Germany, was supposed to be escape-proof. But in the dark days at the end of World War II, a group of British officers dreamt up the ultimate escape plan: in a secret attic workshop, they constructed a two-man glider out of bed sheets and floorboards. Their plan was to fly to freedom from the roof of the castle, but the war ended before they could put it to the test. Now a crack team of aero engineers and carpenters rebuild the glider in the same attic using the same materials, and they’ll do something the prisoners never got a chance to try: use a bathtub full of concrete to catapult the glider off the roof of the castle. As the hair-raising launch 90 feet up draws near, the program explores the Colditz legend and exposes the secrets of other ingenious and audacious escapes. Then, after a 70-year wait, the team finally finds out if the legendary glider plan would have succeeded.
The story of the eight musicians who continued to play while the Titanic sank, featuring archival footage and photos, and new recordings of the songs they may have performed.
October 14, 2013, was the 70th anniversary of an event that shook the Nazi party to its core. In east Poland, at Sobibor, the remote Nazi death camp, 300 Jewish prisoners staged a bloody break out. This film travels back to Sobibor with the last remaining survivors to reveal their extraordinary story of courage, desperation and determination. The film uses brutally honest drama-reconstruction and first-hand testimony to reveal the incredible escape story.
This film uses LiDAR technology to re-create the landscape of the most meticulously planned operation in military history – a logistical effort on a scale never seen before or since.
Travel to nine countries and across 1,400 years of cultural history to explore the astonishing artistic and architectural riches of Islam. With the insights and commentary of leading art scholars from around the world, the film delves into the art of religious life in Islamic culture and into the secret world inside the palaces of the elite. From the extraordinary array of metalwork, textiles, paintings and architecture that illuminate the culture, filmmaker Rob Gardner sheds light on the shared histories of western and Islamic societies, revealing more continuity than division. Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon narrates
American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted helped design many well-known urban parks, including New York's Central Park, and designed the public parks and parkway systems in Buffalo, N.Y.
On the surface, London is a buzzing metropolis. But underneath lies secret, hidden worlds, all but forgotten by the millions of people above. These places make up the countless layers of London, and each tells a unique story of the city’s past - successes and failures; victories and tragedies. When the Romans founded settlements along the River Thames during the 1st century AD, they laid down the very first layer of one of the world’s greatest cities. Long buried pieces of the original Roman town still survive to this day – statues, walls, even an entire amphitheatre, where fierce gladiators once fought…and died for glory. London has seen more than its fair share of death over the centuries. The terrible Plague of the 14th century killed more than half of the population in just two years; and the devastating Great Fire of London in 1666 left vast swathes of the city’s timber framed buildings in ashes. These tragic events are forever carved into London’s subterranean landscape – gruesome plague pits filled with thousands of corpses, and eerie mines excavated for the materials to rebuild the city. But the Victorians were the true masters of the underground; from the creation of the first tunnel under a river to the foundation of one of the world’s most iconic public transport systems. While 19th century engineers believed no goal was out of reach, it often meant that the highest price was paid for by workers - many men tragically lost their lives building the wonders of the industrial age. During the German bombing campaign of London during WWII the underground played a role of life or death. Many railway or ‘Tube’ stations were transformed into huge air raid shelters, and top secret bunkers enabled Churchill’s government to fight the war from within the city. The Prime Minister even had a private underground restroom…hidden inside? A direct hotline to the White House! The Underground has always been the perfect place to store p
Celebrate the rich musical heritage of the Emerald Isles with Celtic Woman as they offer enchanting re-imagined versions of fan favorites from their treasure chest of Celtic songs. This family-friendly, one-of-a-kind interactive concert showcases the group’s sparkling pure voices, bewitching choreography and fairytale charms along with a group of world-class musicians.
Two teams of scientists explore the fascinating geologic story of Italy: the continuously erupting volcanoes, the violent earthquakes, the clash of mighty tectonic plates, and the rising of the mountains that produced Michelangelo's famous marble. If they can determine if the northern Apennines are still alive and growing, they might better understand where future earthquakes might strike this highly unstable land.
Was Al Capone the quintessential self-made American man, a ruthless killer or both? His name sparks images of pin-stripe suits and bloody violence, but why do Americans continue to be fascinated by this man? We examines Capone’s lasting legacy to determine why. From his early days rising through the ranks of New York’s gangs, to his slow demise in the aftermath of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Al Capone: Icon chronicles the complicated life of one of America’s favorite mob bosses. The special exposes Capone not only as a bootlegger, killer and gangster, but as the popular public figure who opened one of the nation’s first soup kitchens, fought for expiration dates on milk and wrote love songs to his wife from prison. It’s been more than 80 years since the height of Capone’s power, yet his impact is still felt. In addition to Capone’s history, Al Capone: Icon unveils his unexpected connections to modern-day organized crime, law enforcement, popular culture and even everyday life in Chicago.
In 1959, Fidel Castro rose to power in Cuba. He has been one of the most controversial figures in the world ever since. This is the story of the Cuban dictator’s turbulent career, told in part through media reports, rare images and recordings.
Her Majesty’s Secret Service, or MI6 as it is known, is the world’s most legendary spy agency, thanks to the James Bond stories. The veil is lifted, on the shadowy world of spying, going back in time and behind the scenes to look at some the world’s most calculated and delicately executed operations.
The story of Noor Inayat Khan, who served as a British spy and wireless operator for four months in Nazi-occupied Paris during WWII. Born in 1914, she was raised as a pacifist in Paris by her father, an Indian spiritual leader, and his American wife. However, after Germany's 1940 invasion, she fled to England and joined its Women's Auxiliary Air Force before being recruited by the SOE, a British espionage unit. She was captured in October 1943; and executed at Dachau a year later.
From the outside, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are the classic London scene. Go inside the Gothic walls to explore the hidden world of the Houses of Commons and Lords, full of back-stabbing, intrigue, and traditions.
The original art star, Whistler was a caustic wit and man-about-town. For the first time, a film examines the biography of the man and the course of his career. Best known for his painting popularly called “Whistler’s Mother,” by his death, Whistler was one of the most recognized artists in Europe and is today placed in the first rank of modern painters.
The Egypt of the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Valley of the Kings was an empire of indomitable might. Then, around 800 BC, the impossible happened. Kush, a subject kingdom from the south, rose up and conquered Egypt, enthroned its own pharaohs and ruled for nearly 100 years. In RISE OF THE BLACK PHARAOHS, National Geographic explores the mysterious Black Pharaohs—the Nubian kings—whose reign has become legendary among Africans and written off as heresy by early archaeologists who refused to believe that dark-skinned Africans could have risen so high. RISE OF THE BLACK PHARAOHS features exciting new archaeological finds in Sudan that are revealing the truth about the great Kush dynasty. Archeologists Geoff Emberling and Tim Kendell are at the heart of the Kushite revival. Emberling, a National Geographic grantee, is digging his way into a royal pyramid/tomb at a site called El Kurru. He hopes to find the bones of a Kushite king and the treasure he took with him into the afterlife. Emberling is following in the footsteps of famous archeologist George Reisner, who excavated most of the other major Kushite sites, but could never get past his racial myopia and accept that these dark-skinned African people had built such an advanced and powerful society. Not far from El Kurru, archaeologist Tim Kendell has his sights set on a loftier prize. At a mountain called Jebel Barkal, he believes he’s found the key to the rise of the Kush—the underpinning for their belief that they were the true heirs to the spiritual traditions of the great pharaohs like Ramses II and Thutmose III. Both the Egyptians and the Kushites believed Jebel Barkal was home to Amun—Egypt’s supreme god-of-gods. So when the Kushites rose up, they believed they were doing so to put Egypt back on the right religious path—chosen as the true leaders born in the shadow of Amun’s mountain. Shot in HD in Sudan and Egypt, RISE OF THE BLACK PHARAOHS uses drones to capture the archaeo
Our lives are going digital. We shop, bank, and even date online. Computers hold our treasured photographs, private emails, and all of our personal information. This data is precious—and cybercriminals want it. Now, NOVA goes behind the scenes of the fast-paced world of cryptography to meet the scientists battling to keep our data safe. They are experts in extreme physics, math, and a new field called "ultra-paranoid computing," all working to forge unbreakable codes and build ultra-fast computers. From the sleuths who decoded the world's most advanced cyber weapon to scientists who believe they can store a password in your unconscious brain, NOVA investigates how a new global geek squad is harnessing cutting-edge science—all to stay one step ahead of the hackers.
For more than 500 years, Inveraray Castle has housed the chieftain of one of the world’s best-known family clans, the Clan Campbell. It is now the home to the 13th Duke of Argyll, His Grace Torquhil Ian Campbell, and his young family. Visited by thousands every year, the castle was the stand-in for “Duneagle” in the “Downton Abbey” Christmas episode.
Tour the interior of the fabulous Dumfries House, an architectural gem that boasts one of the largest collections of Chippendale furniture in the world. This once-neglected mansion was dramatically brought back to life and saved for the nation by HRH The Prince of Wales.
The 70-room Kincardine Castle is home to only two people, Andrew and Nicky Bradford. In a little over a century, the castle and its surrounding 3,000-acre estate have gone from being a trifling extravagance for its fabulously rich owners to presenting a passionate but ongoing struggle to keep it afloat for its present-day occupants.
Uncover myths and legends of mysterious Rosslyn Chapel, where part of The Di Vinci Code was filmed. Many believe it to be home to the Holy Grail, the skull of St. Matthew or John the Baptist or even of Jesus Christ. The program seeks answers and makes breathtaking discoveries.
NAVY SEALs--THEIR UNTOLD STORY details their fascinating transformation and the people who made this story happen. Discover how these clandestine commandoes morphed with evolving threats from Hitler to bin Laden. The Navy's first special warfare units date back to World War II, and, without them, much of U.S. and world history would have been written differently, from the beaches of Normandy to the Pacific theater, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Through firsthand accounts and never-before-seen footage, this unprecedented documentary recounts many of the ticking-clock missions of the "Commandoes of the Deep."
Hitmakers is an up-close look at the music industry's resilience in the digital age, from the perspective of groundbreaking artists, music label mavericks and game-changing managers. These crucial players have shaped the music business over the past 100 years, changing pop culture in the process. Today's artists challenge the paradigm further, taking control of their careers and sometimes shucking the system altogether to record and release music on their own. Record labels large and small also have found they must innovate to thrive. Entertaining and thoughtful, HITMAKERS boasts an unforgettable soundtrack. The special features interviews and performances from notable artists such as Melissa Etheridge, The Roots' Questlove, Sharon Jones, rising DJ/producer Steve Aoki and many more.
Emmy and Tony Award-winner Kristin Chenoweth brings it home — to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, that is — to perform music from her career. With a classically trained voice set off by a gift for acting and comedy, Chenoweth appears at a state-of-the-art theater that now bears her name, performing Broadway, television and film songs like “Popular” and “For Good” from Wicked, songs from her acclaimed performances on “Glee” and beloved music from Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and many more. Backed by a 13-piece orchestra led by musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Chenoweth welcomes song and dance friends from Broadway in a program sure to be unforgettable.
Richard Pryor: ICON explores how Pryor transformed from a straight-laced comedian to one of the most controversial and thought-provoking acts of his time. Sex, drugs, race--nothing was off-limits to Pryor. By changing his routine, Pryor changed comedy forever. He opened the door for other comedians to inject social commentary and other once-verboten topics into their humor. From his troubled upbringing in the slums of Peoria, Illinois to his brave battle against multiple sclerosis, examine the roller-coaster life and times of this comedic trailblazer. Though he was one of the most successful and influential entertainers of his generation, Pryor also wrestled with drug addiction and the lingering effects of being raised in a brothel by abusive parents. Featuring interviews with close personal friends and comedians he influenced, including Tracy Morgan and George Lopez, this film defines Richard Pryor's lasting impact on comedy and culture, often in his own words, showing us why he is an American icon.
Twenty years ago, a young American hiker named Chris McCandless, the accomplished son of successful middle class parents, was found dead in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness and became the subject of the best-selling book and movie “Into the Wild.” Now, PBS retraces Chris McCandless’ steps to try to piece together why he severed all ties with his past, burnt or gave away all his money, changed his name and headed into the Denali Wilderness. McCandless' own letters, released for the first time, as well as new and surprising interviews, probe the mystery that still lies at the heart of a story that has become part of the American literary canon and compels so many to this day.
In a story previously untold on film, HRH The Prince of Wales makes a journey through history to celebrate the artistic gene in his family and reveal an extraordinary treasure trove of work by royal hands past and present. Set against the spectacular landscapes of the Royal Estates and containing insights into works by members of the Royal Family down the centuries and The Prince of Wales's own watercolours, ROYAL PAINTBOX explores a colourful palette of intimate family memory and observation.
Combative, provocative and searingly blunt, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover was a flamboyant maverick, a unique American hero. When few thought it possible, then-Captain Rickover undertook to harness the power of the atom to drive the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, whose trip under the polar ice pack was one of the great adventure stories of the 1950s. Later, Rickover built the world's first commercial nuclear power plant at Shippingport, PA. Rickover's achievements made him into a national celebrity, and he appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Many questioned Rickover's goal of an all nuclear navy, and others questioned his creation of a technocratic elite, his own navy within the Navy. However, few contested that he had transformed the Navy and changed the course of America's technological development.
Hear the heartwarming true story of Colonel Gail “Hal” Halvorsen, the American pilot who brought joy to children living in the rubble of post-war Germany by dropping treats from his plane during the Berlin Airlift in 1948.
Billions of kilometers from Earth, a spacecraft the size of a car traveled towards an icy rock 2.5 miles across hurtling through space at tens of kilometers per second. It has been in space for ten years, but on Nov. 12, 2014 it did something no other spacecraft had ever attempted — orbit and land on a comet.
Host Lucy Worsley gets into bed with Britain’s past monarchs to uncover the secrets and history of the royal bedchamber. She explores the royal bedchamber's role in the public sphere.
Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns sits down with OETA's Dick Pryor to discuss his three decades of making documentaries along with his latest film, "The Dust Bowl,' upcoming projects, and the thrill of filming America's history.
The Heiress and Her Chateau: Carolands of California is the 100-year saga of a 100-room mansion, a three-dimensional window into life among America’s elite. Chateau Carolands was built by one of the richest women in the world to be her ultimate dream home, but nothing went as planned. Once the most fabulous house west of the Mississippi, now a foundation, the story of the rise and fall and rise of Chateau Carolands s is a dramatic tale of wealth and ruin, love and loss, art and architecture – with a murder, a porno film, and a couple of earthquakes along the way. It all ends happily, with a multi-million dollar restoration of the Chateau, more grand and glorious now than it ever had been. See how this unique historic architectural masterpiece has come to be preserved for decades to come.
Trace the geologic story of our home planet, beginning with its formation four-and-a-half billion years ago and continuing with its evolution to the present. Shot in top geologic hot spots on all seven continents, interspersed with footage of earthquakes and volcanoes from Nepal to Antarctica, this film features a diverse group of leading geologists who reveal the latest thinking about how the Earth works, from the core to the crust and up into the atmosphere. Earth: The Inside Story contrasts Earth's geology with that of other planets in our solar system, dramatically underscoring how unique our planet is, and delves into the unpredictable sequence of geologic and cosmic events that happened before we humans made our appearance on Earth just a few million years ago. Working up to modern times, the film lends scientific perspective to a question people are asking in light of recent news coverage of major earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and extreme weather: Are the Earth's natural systems undergoing a period of intense upheaval?
The Journey exhibit showcases 450 years of African-American history in St. Augustine.
The Work of Art: Artown takes us behind the scenes of Reno’s annual art festival, examining its history and impact. The film highlights diverse groups making a difference within our community: a church helping businesses revitalize a neighborhood, a program utilizing art to improve the quality of life for seniors suffering dementia, Burning Man adding cultural and artistic diversity, and more.
As long as there has been sex education, there have been sex education films. Since America's first class in 1893, over 100,000 have been produced. Sometimes instructive, often hilarious, and always excruciatingly awkward, they have led generations of abashed students to think of the act of love in terms of valves and plumbing. But as this documentary attests, beneath the fumbling exterior, their content brilliantly captures the changing moral and cultural attitudes that bore them.
Samuel Willenberg was the last survivor of the Treblinka death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, out of only 67 people who were known to have survived the camp, and where an estimated 900,000 Jews were murdered in a 13-month period during World War II. Still haunted by the horrors he witnessed there, Samuel retells his story with extraordinary intensity and has immortalised his harrowing experiences in a series of bronze sculptures. The film focuses on one man's personal odyssey to reflect on the enormity of the genocide inflicted upon Poland's 3.5 million Jews. Samuel Willenberg's story is one of survival against staggering odds and though heart-wrenching and horrifying, it is ultimately one of triumph.
Part 1: From Warrior to President From 1950 - 1953 Americans were unsettled by the specter of communism and the Korean War so in the Presidential election of 1952 they looked to America's most famous war hero, General Dwight Eisenhower to secure the U.S. against communism and the Soviet menace. The first hour chronicles Eisenhower's fulfillment of his election promise to end the Korean War, after more than 33,000 military deaths. It also follows the grassroots movement to draft Eisenhower as the Republican candidate for president; Eisenhower's decision to leave his powerful position at NATO; his fight for the Republican Party's nomination against "neo-isolationist" Sen. Robert Taft; his campaign against Democrat Adlai Stevenson; and finally, his election as the 34th president.
Part 2: Building Weapons, Talking Peace From 1953 - 1961, President Eisenhower led the U.S. in a cold war with the Soviet Union - an ideological struggle of democracy versus communism, which teetered on the brink of nuclear annihilation. The second hour recounts President Eisenhower's diplomatic confrontations against the Soviet Union during the early Cold War years, crises prompted by aggressive Kremlin-sponsored action around the world. It also documents his attempts to keep the peace while establishing a clear military superiority for the U.S. During this time, he also faced intense scrutiny domestically, with his political opponents criticizing him for not divulging information about the strength of the U.S. military or the weaknesses of the Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal.
While the facts of the case are still in dispute, for many the story of Ferguson, Missouri has become a symbol of the larger social divides in America, exposing a persistent disconnect along lines of race, class and identity. Through conversations and special reports, AMERICA AFTER FERGUSON explores these complex questions raised by the events in Ferguson.
Travel across Europe for a delightful sampling of some of the most dramatic and fascinating railway journeys in the world. From the frozen wastes of Norway to the sunny shores of the Italian Adriatic coast, host Julian Davison guides viewers through breathtaking scenery, providing cultural and historical insights along the way.
The Klondike Gold Rush tells the legendary story of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush. Over 100,000 people voyage to the far North intent on reaching the Canadian boom-town Dawson City and striking it rich. Historians and authors bring insight and perspective to the event that changed the lives of thousands. Present-day characters reveal that the frontier spirit is still alive in the Klondike.
With permission from Queen Elizabeth, this program covers a year in Buckingham Palace Garden, exploring the history and the natural history of this remarkable hidden royal treasure in the heart of London.
Temples of Justice visits 45 courthouses in South Dakota and tells the colorful stories of several. You'll find out how swindlers changed history, where there's a bullet hole in a judge's chamber, what cowboys did with their hats and which courthouses helped South Dakotans survive the Great Depression. The production is supported by a grant from the South Dakota Humanities Council.
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club chronicles the thrilling life and extraordinary times of aviation pioneer Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes, one of the most colorful and accomplished women pilots of the earliest 20th Century, and an ill-behaved woman who made history.
This is a story of a group of young, determined and courageous women during World War II who broke through barriers and shattered stereotypes...the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs).
A profile of James A. Baker III, who served in both the Reagan and Bush 41 administrations. He helped steward Reagan's agenda through a hostile Congress and, as Bush's secretary of state, helped bring an end to the Cold War. He also oversaw the strategy for George W. Bush in the disputed 2000 election. The documentary includes remarks from Baker and his wife, Susan; former presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter; and former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev.
A staggering 50 percent of American adults suffer from a chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and arthritis — and one in four has two or more chronic health conditions. In Rx: The Quiet Revolution, you’ll travel across America to discover a quiet revolution happening in medicine. From Maine to Mississippi, Alaska to California, see physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals placing the patient at the center of their practice — transforming the way medical care is delivered while lowering costs and improving outcomes.
Henry VIII is the most iconic king of English history. Part medieval tyrant, part renaissance prince, he ruled over his people as no king of England had ever done before. He took a country salvaged by his father from the wreck of civil war and set over it a single, sovereign ruler. By the end of his reign the power of the Tudor dynasty was absolute — but at a terrible cost. Personally responsible for the death of two of his own wives, along with many of his closest friends and advisors, he is said to have ordered the execution of up to 72,000 Britons. His reign will go down as one of the bloodiest in history.
Narrated by William Baldwin, this is the virtually unknown story of how a group of World War II aviators and others helped arm and defend the state of Israel by forming it's air force just as it was invaded during the 1948 Arab-Israel War.
The United States National Mall, set in the heart of Washington, DC, is a landscape unlike any other on Earth, and its history is equally fascinating. Lined by some of the world's finest museums and dotted with monuments to the country's most revered figures, the Mall presents an image so timeless and eternal it's easy for visitors to forget that the landscape is actually man-made. This special brings the surprising story of the Mall's birth and evolution to a national audience, using a mixture of contemporary and archival footage, state-of-the-art graphics and rare fly-over aerials.
On the 40th anniversary of the official end of the Vietnam War, this program examines the war and its impact on America through the prism of interviews conducted on “The Dick Cavett Show,” which featured thoughtful conversation and debate from all sides of the political spectrum. The program combines interviews from Cavett’s shows with archival footage, network news broadcasts and A/V material.
The history of the military draft in the United States.
Recalling the turbulence that followed President Nixon's April 30, 1970, announcement of America's incursion into Cambodia, which included mass protests by college students and the shooting deaths of four Kent State students by National Guardsmen. The documentary details the experiences of those at the heart of the conflict, including students and Guardsman at Kent State; U.S. soldiers in Cambodia; and survivors of another shooting incident that occurred at Jackson State in Mississippi.
Americans are living longer than ever before. Seventy-five million baby boomers are entering their retirement years at a rate of 10,000 a day. The United States is not prepared for this unprecedented demographic shift--and the question we're now all facing is: who will care for this aging population when they can no longer care for themselves? Caring for Mom & Dad offers an intimate look at the issues facing family caregivers who are out on the front lines, struggling to balance work, families, and caring for their parents. Families from around the country share their stories as the film examines the physical, emotional, and financial tradeoffs facing working caregivers and their employers. The film also highlights innovative ideas and community-based programs that are supporting family caregivers by asking, "How can America adapt to this changing reality?"
More than two million men and women serve in America's all-volunteer military force, and another three million are their husbands, wives, sons and daughters. The Homefront uses unprecedented access to soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen, to create a series of intimate portraits of America's military families. This documentary tells stories of pride and patriotism, sacrifice and resilience.
Ben Loeterman, explores the little-known history of Palestine during the latter part of the Ottoman Empire, a time of relative harmony between Arabs and Jews. Living side by side in the multi-lingual, cosmopolitan city of Jerusalem, Jews, Christians and Muslims intermingled with a cultural fluidity enjoyed by all. How did this land of milk and honey, so diverse and rich in culture, become the site of today’s bitter and seemingly intractable struggle? Was there a turning point, a moment in time when things could have been different? Weaving the raveled threads of Arab and Jewish narratives back together, 1913: SEEDS of CONFLICT provides new and fascinating insights into the dramatic events that took place in Palestine which set the stage for the coming century of unrest.
Humanity from Space is an epic journey of discovery. Using the very latest mind-boggling data and astonishing CGI, the film traces the story of humankind’s ascent from hunter-gatherer to dominant global species. From the global perspective of space, this 2-hour special reveals the breathtaking extent of our influence, revealing how we’ve transformed our planet and produced an interconnected world of extraordinary complexity. A journey through 12,000 years, Humanity from Space shows how seemingly small flashes of innovation have changed the course of civilization; innovations that touch all of us today in ways unimaginable to our ancestors. And we’ll gaze into the future at the new challenges we’ll face in order to survive as our global population soars because of our success. In every case we’ll look at our progression in a unique and surprising way, revealing unforgettable facts and "who knew?" connections. To visualize these stories cutting-edge technology is used to turn raw data into authentic moving images, building on expertise from a previous (and highly-praised) project; "Earth From Space." Using this technique, we can map humanity’s behavior in stunning, never seen before detail, revealing how our civilization grew, how it works today and what the future might hold.
The story of nuclear weapons, from the earliest A-bomb tests to their impact on global politics. Included: remarks from historians Richard Rhodes, Martin Sherwin, Robert Norris and Sergei Khrushchev; former secretary of state George Shultz; and former defense secretary William Perry. It began innocently enough. In 1938, two German chemists accidentally discovered how to split the nucleus of the uranium atom: nuclear fission. Einstein’s E=mc² equation predicted that the amount of energy released from just one atom would be enormous. Physicists all over the world immediately realized that fission might make a bomb of extraordinary power - and that Nazi Germany might be capable of creating one. The fear of Adolph Hitler getting a nuclear weapon led to a race to deter him by developing such a bomb first. Thus began a chain of events that would lead inexorably to Hiroshima, the nuclear arms race, the hydrogen bomb, the Cuban Missile Crisis and some of the greatest fear and tension ever in world history. The Bomb explores how what started as simple scientific curiosity ultimately resulted in a weapon capable of ending civilization. The invention, says historian Richard Rhodes, “Was a millennial change in human history: for the first time, we were now capable of our own destruction, as a species.” The program recounts the bomb’s history, as well as the successes, failures and moral dilemmas of the personalities who created it. We learn how it was developed and how it quickly changed everything, from international relations to politics, culture, even sex. No less than the discovery of fire, the bomb marks a dividing line in human history between all that came before it, and everything that follows. For the first time, humans acquired the ability to destroy themselves, and we are still struggling to learn how to live with this awesome power. Decades after it first appeared, the bomb has receded in the public consciousness — but it continues to shap
One of science’s great odd couples — British minister Joseph Priestley and French tax administrator Antoine Lavoisier — together discover a fantastic new gas called oxygen, overturning the reigning theory of chemistry and triggering a worldwide search for new elements. Soon caught up in the hunt is science’s first great showman, a precocious British chemist named Humphry Davy, who dazzles London audiences with his lectures, introduces them to laughing gas and turns the battery into a powerful tool in the search for new elements.
Over a single weekend in 1869, a young Russian chemistry professor named Dmitri Mendeleev invents the Periodic Table, bringing order to the growing gaggle of elements. But this sense of order is shattered when a Polish graduate student named Marie Sklodowska Curie discovers radioactivity, revealing that elements can change identities — and that atoms must have undiscovered parts inside them.
Caught up in the race to discover the atom’s internal parts — and learn how they fit together — a young British physicist, Harry Moseley, uses newly discovered X-rays to put the Periodic Table in a whole new light. And a young American chemist named Glenn Seaborg creates a new element — plutonium — that changes the world forever, unleashing a force of unimaginable destructive power: the atomic bomb.
There are delicious pies for sale at shops, restaurants, cafes and roadside stands across America. So, in this delicious documentary we celebrate A Few Good Pie Places where people still make flaky crusts and scrumptious fillings. A Few Good Pie Places is a celebration, a travelogue and an hour-long portrait of some wonderful people across America who make and eat pies.
Bakeries are popular places. They smell great. They are full of wonderful things to eat, from crusty breads to gooey and sweet treats. And they often become neighborhood meeting places, where bakers work hard and where people often leave with good feelings as well as fresh baked goods. In this documentary, we celebrate A Few Great Bakeries across America, never claiming that this is a list of "Best Bakeries" but rather just a few warm ones worth checking out. All of these places seem connected by early mornings, long hours of hard work, delicious products and customers who love them. We happily celebrate these few bakeries and hope that everyone will be inspired to look for more great ones all across America.
A documentary based on the exhibition of the visual history of Lake Tahoe and Donner region on display at the Nevada Museum of Art. The film follows the NMA’s journey to visually survey one of the most beloved landscapes like never before -- through the eyes of 175 painters, photographers, architects, basket weavers, and sculptors.
Moderated by PBS NewsHour's Gwen Ifill, America After Charleston is a one-hour town hall meeting that explores the many issues propelled into public discourse after a white gunman shot and killed nine African-America parishioners in Charleston's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015.
EO Wilson – Of Ants and Men is a two-hour film about the life and extraordinary scientific odyssey of one of America’s greatest living thinkers, E.O Wilson. It is an exciting journey of ideas, but also an endearing portrait of a remarkable man; often dubbed “a Darwin for the modern day.” Starting with his unusual childhood in Alabama, it chronicles the lifelong love for the natural world that led him to Harvard and the studies that would establish him as the world’s foremost authority on ants. But that was just the beginning. His discovery of ant pheromones in the 1960’s led him to start thinking about systems of communication in nature on a much grander scale. He was one of the first to start thinking about ecosystems, still a revolutionary concept at the time, and the ways different species fitted together inside them. His book, “Island Biogeography” and the word “biodiversity,” which he coined in the 1980’s, have since become the cornerstones of conservation biology, something he is very proud of.
THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT details some of New England's most bone-chilling stories, myths and legends. Interviews with local authors and experts, along with personal accounts, reveal tales of the supernatural, the unexplained and the mysterious. The special features visits to the infamous Lizzie Borden home in Fall River, MA, the long-abandoned village of Dudleytown in northern Connecticut, the Hoosac Tunnel in the Berkshire Mountains, the New London Ledge Lighthouse, Bellcourt Castle in Newport, Rhode Island and a Union cemetery in Easton, CT - the sites of terrible tragedies, supposed curses and ghostly hauntings.
Disabled veterans hold a unique place in the history of veterans in the United States, one that palpably illustrates the human cost of war, and speaks to the enormous sacrifices of military service. Debt of Honor examines the way in which the American government and society as a whole have regarded disabled veterans throughout history, beginning in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War through today’s continuing conflicts in the Middle East.
What exactly does food reflect about Asian Pacific Americans? Off the Menu: Asian America grapples with how family, tradition, faith, and geography shape our relationship to food. The program takes audiences on a journey from Texas to New York and from Wisconsin to Hawaii using our obsession with food as a launching point to delve into a wealth of stories, traditions, and unexpected characters that help nourish this nation of immigrants.
This one-hour documentary film tells the story of "Storm of the Century: The Blizzard of '49" - the worst series of storms in Wyoming's history. But for all the tragedy and loss, suffering and death, there was also hope and heroism, unselfish sacrifice and generosity. The blizzard brought out the best in people. Wyoming citizens from all walks of life cooperated together and demonstrated exceptional ingenuity in the face of dire circumstances. There were extraordinary acts of kindness, with people generously giving their time and resources. The public worked together to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and ultimately won in the end.
John W. Barfield is a rags to riches success story. This epic memoir tells how the work ethic and spiritual principles his family used to better themselves in the Alabama cotton fields, Pennsylvania coal mines and Michigan auto plants made him a consummate entreprenuer.
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." With that seven-word maxim, US-based journalist Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) distills a career’s worth of reporting into a prescription for reversing the damage being done to people’s health by today’s industrially driven Western diet. In Defense of Food debunks the daily media barrage of conflicting claims about nutrition. Traveling the globe and exploring the supermarket aisles to illustrate the principles of his bestselling “eater’s manifesto,” Pollan offers a clear answer to one of the most confounding and urgent questions of our time: What should I eat to be healthy?
On April 18th, 1942, a group of 80 flyers in 16 B-25 bombers took off from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific to launch a raid on Tokyo. After a series of military reverses following the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor the previous December, the purpose of the mission was to demonstrate that America was not to be defeated. The aviators, led by commander Lt Col James Harold Doolittle, took the fight directly to the enemy for the first time. The crews, all of whom volunteered for what they realised would be a perilous mission, knew that a return to the US was impossible, since the aircraft could not carry sufficient fuel – indeed, the plan was to continue westward and land in China. In the event, 15 of the planes reached their intended destination, but all crashed on landing. However, all but three of the crew survived. On November 9, 2013, the last surviving members of the group met to drink a final toast to their late comrades. Dick Cole, at 98 the oldest of the group, opened a bottle of 1896 brandy that had been kept for the occasion. The film includes the pilots' personal stories of that day and the immediate aftermath of their heroic flight.
Memory is the glue that binds our mental lives. Without it, we’d be prisoners of the present, unable to use the lessons of the past to change our future. From our first kiss to where we put our keys, memory represents who we are and how we learn and navigate the world. But how does it work? Neuroscientists using cutting-edge techniques are exploring the precise molecular mechanisms of memory. By studying a range of individuals ranging—from an 11-year-old whiz-kid who remembers every detail of his life to a woman who had memories implanted—scientists have uncovered a provocative idea. For much of human history, memory has been seen as a tape recorder that faithfully registers information and replays intact. But now, researchers are discovering that memory is far more malleable, always being written and rewritten, not just by us but by others. We are discovering the precise mechanisms that can explain and even control our memories. The question is—are we ready?
Tells the story of a daring rescue mission that occurred on the precipice of World War II. The previously untold account of Waitstill and Martha Sharp, an American minister and his wife from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who left their children behind in the care of their parish and boldly committed to a life-threatening mission in Europe. Over two dangerous years they helped save scores of imperiled Jews and refugees fleeing the Nazi occupation across Europe.
With the rapid emergence of digital devices, an unstoppable, invisible force is changing human lives in ways from the microscopic to the gargantuan: Big Data, a word that was barely used a few years ago but now governs the day for almost all of us. This award-winning film explores how the real time visualization of data streaming in from satellites, billions of sensors and GPS enabled cameras and smart phones is beginning to enable us, as individuals and collectively as a society, to sense, measure and understand aspects of our existence in ways never possible before. Together these devices are helping create a new kind of planetary nervous system. This massive gathering and analyzing of data in real time is also allowing us to address to some of humanity biggest challenges, including pollution, world hunger, and illness. But as Edward Snowden and the release of the NSA documents have shown, the accessibility of all this data comes at a steep price.
The Adams House in Deadwood and the Pettigrew Home and Museum in Sioux Falls were each built by prosperous pioneers. Both houses have been renovated and restored and now serve their respective communities as museums.
Follow astronaut Scott Kelly’s record-breaking 12-month mission on the International Space Station, from launch to landing, as NASA charts the effects of long-duration spaceflight by comparing him to his identical twin on Earth, astronaut Mark Kelly
America's love affair with coffee is chronicled. Included: the journey of the drink from Ethiopia to Europe to the Caribbean to modern-day coffee palaces.
Host Peter Greenberg received a Royal Tour from the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. For an entire week, Mr. Correa became the ultimate guide, showcasing the visual gems that his country has to offer.
Morality & Markets explores Smith’s life and role in the Scottish Enlightenment, his thoughts on empathy and how we distinguish right from wrong. French wine, Scottish whiskey, and freshly-baked scones all illustrate Smith’s economic principles. True wealth is defined. We discover Smith’s thoughts on the government’s role in markets, his distaste for monopolies/crony capitalism in the form of the East India Company, and his thoughts on the American colonies.
Ideas That Changed the World explores contemporary life and Smith’s influences on the very things we see going on today. Why is Smith widely studied now in China? Ethical businesses, like Whole Foods, showcase the morality Smith insisted was critical to thriving markets. Uber and eBay demonstrate that markets can thrive through the organization and “self-policing” of the participants themselves.
A one-hour documentary that tells the stories of individuals with bipolar disorder.
Historian Dr. Helen Castor explores the mysteries surrounding Shakespeare’s burial place. Will the first- ever scientific investigation discover why his tombstone's only inscription is a curse against any man who ‘moves my bones’?
In time to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the National Park Service, looking at the diverse parks in Texas, and how the stories of the parks tie into the history of the state and the experiences they offer to visitors.
Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyla, was ordained in 1946, and in 1978, became the first Polish pope and first non-Italian Pope in more than 400 years. He served as head of the Catholic Church until his passing in 2005. Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011, he was canonized by Pope Francis in 2014. That same year, BBC broadcaster Edward Stourton was ushered into a room in one of Europe’s most celebrated libraries. Watched over by its director, he was shown a pile of papers so sensitive that only a handful of staff knew of their existence. He was looking at a collection of hundreds of personal letters between one of the 20th century’s great public figures—Pope John Paull II—and a Polish American woman, Anna-Theresa Tymieniecka. The letters reveal a deeply intimate friendship that lasted for decades and show the private side of a man who was known and beloved around the world.
More than 100 WWII aircraft rest on the bottom of Lake Michigan just off the Chicago shoreline. This is the story of how they got there.
Fifty years ago, Florida’s Legislative Investigative Committee, led by Senator Charley Johns sought to remove homosexuals from Florida's state universities. As a result of the “Johns Committee’s” efforts, more than 200 gay and lesbian students and teachers were expelled or fired. Featuring two of the victims and one interrogator, the film exposes the committee’s subversive activities and how its effects are still felt today. The film traces the committee's origins in the era of McCarthyism and anti-gay propaganda while detailing the personal stories of those intimately involved with its activities.
The Great Polar Bear Feast is the astonishing story of an annual natural phenomenon that occurs in early September on the north slope of the Arctic. Every year, up to 80 polar bears gather on the frozen shores of Barter Island, near the village of Kaktovik, to feast on the hunter-harvested bowhead whale remains. This extraordinary gathering is highly unusual because polar bears are known as solitary predators, rarely if ever moving in a group. Kaktovik is a small Inupiat hunting community. Perched on the edge of the world, it’s inaccessible by road and locked in by frozen sea ice for 9 months of the year. But for the month of September, it becomes the center of polar bear studies as scientists and wildlife photographers flock to the tiny town to observe the bears’ unusual behaviour. And with more and more polar bears turning up year on year, scientists are determined to find out why this is happening. How do the bears know to come to this remote island and at exactly this time of year? And what is happening to the polar bears of the South Beaufort Sea that is seeing so many of them desert the ice for land? We also witness what happens to the inhabitants of Kaktovik when the whale bones are picked bare, and the huge group of polar bears heads for the town. The film has extraordinary access to the work of scientist Todd Atwood, the lead polar bear scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey. He has estimated that there has been a 40 percent decline in the polar bears around the South Beaufort Sea since 2006. It is an extraordinary decline, and he is determined to find out why.
The pursuit of happiness for the LGBT community continues 50 years after activists publicly protested discrimination against "homosexuals" with picket signs in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. LGBT elders - four surviving protestors and eleven activist peers - recall life in the 1960's, when "gays" were "hidden in plain sight," vulnerable to arrest, subjected to psychiatric treatment, fired from jobs and publicly shamed. Their poignant recollections introduce four pieces exploring the complexities of contemporary LGBT life. In Kids Today, four resilient, young LGBT adults share how they became homeless. Out at Work introduces viewers to LGBT cops and the changing face of the Philadelphia police department. In a Family Way presents two families that couldn't have existed 50 years ago: one that includes a mother who is transgender and another with two dads raising their biological children. And No Place Like Home features residents of the nation's first federally-funded housing project for low-income LGBT seniors. A thoughtful look back and an intimate look at the present, The Pursuit reminds us that while the past half-century has seen momentous changes, the fight for LGBT rights continues today.
The White House is one of America’s most iconic buildings; it is a symbol of shared national history and is home to the most powerful person on Earth. Here the president charts the course for the country, and the First Family lives in the spotlight. It's home, office and a museum. It's a bunker in times of war, a backdrop for command performances or state visits, and the heart of the American body politic. It takes a staff of more than 100 to maintain it, and its collection of antiques and paintings makes it a showplace for American art and design. In this two-hour special presentation The White House: Inside Story takes viewers behind the scenes to meet those who keep the house running smoothly, supporting the president and guarding the First Family’s privacy. We’ll see how the building has evolved over 200 years changing with the currents of history and the tastes of its occupants. At the epicenter of global politics, in the heart of the nation’s capital, the story of the White House is the story of America itself.
How the Nazis and International Olympic Committee turned the 1936 Olympics, which historically had been a relatively minor event, into a global spectacle.
On the 15th anniversary of the attack, survivors tell their stories.
For 75 years, abroad and on the homefront, the USO (United Service Organizations) has been by the sides of American service members at every point in their military journey. USO - For the Troops takes viewers behind the scenes and inside the organization, providing an eye-opening glimpse into how the USO has kept service personnel connected to country, home and family. The film takes the viewer behind the scenes on a 2016 around-the-world USO tour, and offers unprecedented access to the background operations that make it possible for celebrities to travel across the world purely to express their gratitude to the troops and bring echoes of home to those stationed overseas. In-depth interviews with Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, Colin Powell, Ann-Margret, former President George W. Bush, Raquel Welch, Al Franken and a host of other personalities highlight the importance of these tours to the men and women who serve in our armed forces.
Military Medicine: Beyond the Battlefield, hosted and reported by ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff, covers military medical advances and technology from the battlefield to the return home. The personal stories of physicians, scientists, active duty troops, veterans, and military families come together in this one hour documentary to show how these advances are both saving and changing the lives of America’s service members.
Today, the remains of the USS Arizona serve as a memorial to the American people, and are a stark reminder about the consequences of war. Each year, thousands upon thousands of tourists visit the USS Arizona to see a glimpse of our nation’s past. But to the survivors of the attack, the USS Arizona represents something much deeper. It’s a symbol for all those who paid the ultimate price for their country, an event which should never be forgotten. Survivor Donald Stratton was one of the few men stationed on the Arizona to survive the attack. For the past 75 years, he’s been waiting for the opportunity to see inside the ship he was once stationed on. Its current state remains a mystery to him, and to the world. There isn’t a day that goes by where Don doesn’t think about what happened on December 7, 1941. While the USS Arizona has changed drastically over the years, Don relives key moments of his life as he explores inside the sunken wreckage, a sight he never thought he would see again. Don gets one last chance to see items from his past. A desk stationed in the admiral’s quarters. A well-preserved suit hanging in a closet of a sailor’s room, and even glimpses of the ship’s teak deck, which Don walked on during the attack. The discoveries made during the expedition are moments that make Don’s journey complete. Along the way, the expedition team documents the condition of the ship, and wonders just how long the wreckage can sustain itself while submerged underwater. But the expedition isn’t just for survivors of the attack, it’s for the families who lost loved ones as well. A woman whose uncle died aboard the ship on December 7, 1941 gets a chance to see the final resting place of her beloved family member -- a moment of recognition that her family won’t soon forget.
The attack on the strategically important naval base at Pearl Harbor was designed to cripple the U.S. Navy allowing Japan unencumbered access to American-protected resources in the Pacific. In Japan top military strategists planned everything down to the last detail. They developed new ways to detonate torpedoes in shallow water and maximize damage to U.S. ships. Their best pilots trained for months over topography that resembled the Hawaiian island. They assembled the largest mobile air fleet to date, brought it to within a few hundred miles from U.S. shores and launched their attack, surprising the Americans on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning. While the presence of Japan’s overwhelming air power is an indelible part of history, the attack also included a secret underwater phase. Five midget submarines were tasked with attacking Pearl Harbor from below. Exactly what they did on Dec. 7 has been debated on both sides. New analysis reveals that the midget subs were not only a key component of the attack, but they may have delivered the killing blow to the USS Oklahoma. It’s a revelation that stands in stark contrast to the official history. Four hundred and twenty-nine men perished when the USS Oklahoma went down. Some died instantly while others languished for days trapped under the overturned hull waiting for a rescue that would come too late. To this day, many are still buried on the island of Oahu as "Unknowns." Their bodies were never returned to their families to be buried in the family plot. They did not have a grave marker detailing their name, service and sacrifice. Their families never had closure. Now, after years of trying to bring their loved ones home, the families and the decedents of the USS Oklahoma are finally getting closure. Two families share their final chapters, an emotional journey 75 years in the making.
Egypt is home to many of the most famous archaeological treasures on Earth, but the country’s history does more than just inspire awe. It has also given rise to an entire industry. Thousands of international archaeologists descend on Egypt every year to search for new discoveries; tens of thousands of Egyptians are enlisted to uncover, preserve and protect the land’s ancient artifacts and monuments; and millions of visitors journey from all over the world to look in wonder at the country’s iconic pyramids, tombs and temples. But over the last five years, Egypt has suffered a tumultuous revolution and tourist numbers have plummeted. This show follows a select cast of individuals determined to bring Egypt back from the brink, to discover more of Egypt’s history, to keep its heritage safe and to get tourists to visit the country again.
In 1936, 18 African American athletes dubbed the 'black auxiliary' by Hitler defied Nazi Aryan Supremacy and Jim Crow Racism to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. The world remembers Jesse Owens. But, Olympic Pride American Prejudice shows how all 18 are a seminal precursor to the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Tells the story of William Monroe Trotter, a fire-breathing editor of a Boston black newspaper who helped launch a nationwide movement in 1915 to ban a flagrantly racist film, The Birth of a Nation. This film tells the story of a black civil rights movement few are familiar with—one that occurred a full 40 years before the one we know. D.W. Griffith’s masterpiece The Birth of a Nation is credited with transforming Hollywood and pioneering many of the techniques that have made the feature film one of America’s most celebrated and widely exported cultural creations. The movie was also flagrantly racist and glorified the Ku Klux Klan as its central protagonist. But what is neither famous nor infamous is the way America reacted to this revolutionary film. While The Birth of a Nation was a box office smash that became the first motion picture ever to be screened at the White House, it proved divisive in a country still struggling in the aftermath of Civil War Reconstruction and galvanized leaders of the national African American community into adopting a more aggressive approach in their fight for equality. Birth of a Movement interweaves the civil rights story of newspaperman Trotter and the years leading up to the release of The Birth of a Nation with the story of D.W. Griffith and the rise of a new medium, the feature film.
Follow Hollywood and Broadway star, Alan Cumming, as he sets out to explore his native land's western isles. Travelling from Barra to Stornoway on Lewis, the acclaimed Scottish actor meets the people of the Outer Hebrides and learns about the realities of life in this frequently stunning yet often unforgiving environment. On his island-hopping journey of discovery, Alan investigates the ancient mystery of a standing stone circle that's older than Stonehenge, and cuts a dash in some traditional local tweed. Alan also hears the true tale behind the classic film, 'Whiskey Galore', takes part in a football game on the very special pitch, negotiates a lunar landscape made up of ancient rock, and ends up seeing a lifelong dream fulfilled.
THE TALK is a two-hour documentary about the increasingly necessary conversation taking place in homes and communities across the country between parents of color and their children, especially sons, about how to behave if they are ever stopped by the police.
IT'S "JUST" ANXIETY is a revealing documentary that introduces a dozen people from diverse backgrounds who describe their personal struggles with this mental health condition. Filmed over a period of five years, the documentary follows several individuals with anxiety symptoms ranging from excessive worry and fear to more extreme manifestations such as compulsive behavior and torturous panic attacks. June Moss, for instance, a retired staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, thrived in the real life or death scenarios of war, but upon returning home has been facing the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Similarly, Scott Stossel, editor of the monthly magazine "The Atlantic" and author of “My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind,” has been grappling with his generalized anxiety and various therapies for years. Throughout the documentary he shares his personal history as both researcher and patient. Another individual, Jamie Blyth, found that the more he avoided his anxiety, the worse his symptoms got. He began a career in sales and signed on for the first season of "The Bachelorette" in order to face his social anxiety, an experience he reveals in the film. We also meet Lori Daniels, who has been swallowed up in a battle with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and confines herself to a single armchair in her living room. When she comes in contact with any person or object, she must run to the bathroom and aggressively wash her hands. However, by the end of the film, Lori is in therapy and poignantly thriving – shaking hands, petting cats, accepting hugs, and working as a teacher. With more than 40 million Americans suffering from anxiety, the one-hour documentary aims to destigmatize and humanize this debilitating yet treatable mental health issue. The inspiring real-life stories presented in the program demonstrate how those who suffer from this mental health issue can begin the path to recovery.
Join Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, George Lucas, Wynton Marsalis, Yo-Yo Ma, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Sam Waterston, Doris Kearns Goodwin and more for a tribute to the acclaimed filmmaker.
For almost two thousand years, the story of Jesus’ final days has been celebrated by Christians the world over. From Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, through to his eventual crucifixion six days later, the key moments have been immortalized in countless films, pieces of music, and works of art. "Last Days of Jesus" explores how dramatic political events in Rome could have played a crucial role in shaping Jesus’ destiny, and examines an extraordinary political alliance that altered the course of history.
Michael and James explore the effect of "Food on the Brain." The brain is one of the greediest organs in the body in terms of the energy it needs to run. The way it influences our diet is, in the main, by generating the cravings we all experience.
Michael and James explore how the marriage between chemistry and biology is the root of all the sensations, tastes and flavors that we enjoy in our food.
Michael and James explore how the chemicals in our food feed and build our bodies. The world is full of different cuisines and thousands of different meals.
Follow a unique journey along one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world.
THE FARTHEST tells the captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements in exploration: NASA’s Voyager mission, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this August. The twin spacecraft—each with less computing power than a cell phone—used slingshot trajectories to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They sent back unprecedented images and data that revolutionized our understanding of the spectacular outer planets and their many peculiar moons.
Second Genesis follows planetary scientist Carolyn Porco as she explores what it takes to look for life beyond Earth, and what conditions are required for life to exist. Porco makes the case that Saturn’s moon Enceladus—with its plumes of water vapor spewing into space, confirmed organic materials, and evidence of hydrothermal vents at the bottom of its liquid ocean—is the most promising place to look. Could Enceladus be the key to proving once and for all that life is not unique to Earth? And what it would mean—both scientifically, and spiritually—if we found evidence of a true second genesis right here in our own galactic back yard?
Follow the dramatic story of Martin Luther's life: the massive lightning storm that nearly killed him, the bleak self-punishment of his time in the monastery, the corruption that unleashed his anger, his trial before the most powerful man in Europe, and the staged kidnapping that helped him escape the death penalty.
The Erie Canal released the promise of a new nation. The canal's impact on America and beyond is comparable to the global impact of the Internet. lt transformed the national patterns of immigration and commerce, created the financial capital of the world, left the Mississippi and the port of New Orleans in the dust of its immediate success, and transported new ideas and social movements.
"VA: The Human Cost of War" explores what it does and how it functions, its vast size and critical importance, and its history and provenance — how and why it came into existence, how and why it has changed over time, how it has come to be broken in critical ways in recent generations and how it may be reformed going forward. Told through a series of personal stories from veterans and intertwined with deep historical and political analysis from leading scholars and elected officials, the film illustrates the key ways in which the VA, and we as a society, fail our veterans, who, according to Department of Veterans Affairs research, continue to commit suicide at the harrowing rate of 20 veterans per day.
The remarkable, but little known, story of one of few African-American regiments to have fought in combat during World War I. They were America's unsung heroes - a group of men from Illinois, largely from Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. They fought on two fronts - the war against the Germans and the war against racism and inequality.
"Beyond a Year in Space" follows Scott Kelly's life after spending a record-breaking year in outer space as the Twin Study as NASA charts the effects of long-duration spaceflight for the next generation of astronauts.
In Earth’s polar regions, the aurora — a ghostly flicker and colorful glow — mysteriously brightens the night sky. One of the most incredible natural phenomena in the world, the array of colors of the aurora is a source of endless theory and wonder. What creates such beauty and spectacle? "Aurora - Fire in the Sky" links popular myths to the aurora’s physical effects on the natural world. For some tribes, it is the spirit of ancestors playing ball in the sky; for others, it’s a harbinger of war, plague and famine. The film visits Finland’s Saami, Alaska’s Inuit, Canada’s Native Americans and New Zealand’s Maori, each with legends of their own. The film travels the globe, incorporating scientific research and myth, to share with viewers the awe-inspiring mystery of the aurora.
Newly declassified MI5 files reveal the story of the female spy who stole Britain’s atomic secrets and gave them to the Soviets. In January 1941, Ursula Kuczynski, a Jewish German refugee, arrives in Oxford with her children on a British passport. She settles into the daily life of a housewife, but this woman has a secret – she is a Soviet spy.
Initially known as the 15th Regiment of the New York National Guard, what eventually became the 369th Infantry Regiment was exclusively made up of black soldiers. Nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters, this American infantry regiment rose to become the most decorated of the First World War. It was not only liberty and democracy that compelled them to travel to France to fight in the war, but also racial equality.
Celebrate the life of the restaurateur, author, entrepreneur and television personality, who passed away in October of 2015. Includes interviews with colleagues, including chef Paul Miller, executive chef of K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen; chef Frank Brigtsen, chef of K-Paul’s; Marty Cosgrove of Magic Seasoning Blends; and Ella Brennan and Ti Martin of the James Beard Award-winning Commander’s Palace.
Historic archives shed new light on the secret history of Klaus Barbie, head of the Gestapo in Lyon in 1943-44, with particular attention being given to the scandalous protections that the German and American secret services provided him with.
Understanding the Opioid Epidemic combines stories of people and communities impacted by this epidemic along with information from experts and those at the frontlines of dealing with the epidemic. The program traces the history of how the nation got into this situation and provides possible solutions and directions for dealing with the crisis.
A celebrity-filled, hour-long special that celebrates Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the pioneering PBS series that premiered nationally 50 years ago and became an iconic and enduring landmark in the world of children’s television and beyond. Cast members from the groundbreaking series share their personal perspectives and insights in this new production, which pays tribute to television’s longest-running children’s series, still broadcast on many PBS stations today.
With his seven secrets, Dr. Michael Merzenich reveals how to improve and maintain cognitive fitness and demonstrates real ways that anyone can gain protection from symptoms of a broad range of neurological diseases. Hosted by Maria Shriver.
"Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death," a documentary by Director Helen Whitney, explores the various ways we think about death -- not death in general, but our own in particular. It is the great unanswered question. How do we live with death in our eye? What are the stories we tell ourselves as we go into the night -- or into the light? "Into the Night" features nine fascinating men and women from all walks of life, all ages, believers and unbelievers, well-known and obscure. For them, death is no longer an abstraction. Whether through a dire prognosis, the imminence of their own death, the loss of a loved one, a sudden epiphany, or a temperament born to question, these are people who have truly awakened to their mortality.
Jewish Americans in World War II tells the story of the 550,000 Jewish American men and women who fought in World War II. In their own words, veterans both famous and unknown (from Hollywood director Mel Brooks to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger) bring their war experiences to life: how they fought for for their nation and their people, struggled with anti-Semitism within their ranks, and emerged transformed, more powerfully American and more deeply Jewish.
Discover how a small Florida town called Boca Raton and a tiny device turned the tide of World War II in WLRN’s original production. In the first year of World War Two, after the fall of France, Britain stood alone. Hitler's U-boats operating in so-called Wolf Packs ruled the Atlantic, sinking American ships carrying essential supplies to the beleaguered British while President Franklyn D. Roosevelt hesitated to enter the conflict directly, believing Churchill would surrender in the face of the Nazi siege, as had the French. As Britain prepared for a German invasion, Churchill made a bold gamble. He dispatched a delegation to the United States to share his country's top scientific secrets, including a key technological breakthrough that, if developed in time, would turn the tide of battle, both at sea and in the air. The biggest secret was a small device, no larger than a fist, which would transform radar from a defensive into an offensive weapon, dooming the Wolf Packs and giving Allied bombers the precision tool they needed to destroy the Nazi war machine. Churchill's gambit would not only convince Roosevelt that Churchill could be trusted to fight on, it would also thrust South Florida into a pivotal role in the conflict and make the small town of Boca Raton the base for a new battle front that would prove decisive. The atomic bomb may have ended the Second World War, but historians now agree it was radar that won it. Exactly how has been classified as top secret until now. This is an unknown chapter in the Sunshine State's rich and diverse history told by WLRN, your South Florida Storyteller station. Local legend has it that two German spies holed up in the vacant Sanborn house and spied on the Boca Raton Army Air Force Base. They vanished after a neighboring house reported seeing lights signaling out to sea. When authorities arrived to investigate, they found evidence of habitation and a hasty exit in the shuttered home.
What is it really like to go to war? Filled with terror, pain and grief, it also brings exhilaration, and a profound sense of purpose. In Going to War, renowned authors Karl Marlantes and Sebastian Junger help us make sense of this paradox and get to the heart of what it’s like to be a soldier at war. Veterans of various conflicts reveal some universal truths of combat with unflinching candor.
Follow the story of Linda Bishop, a well-educated New Hampshire mother who battled severe bipolar disorder and homelessness. Intimate accounts of her experiences raise questions about society’s treatment of the mentally ill and displaced.
When did World War II begin? This film answers that question in a way most audiences will find surprising. Americans might say December 7th 1941... The day the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For Europeans, it was September 1st 1939... When Nazi Germany invaded Poland. But in China, people will tell you a different date, August 13th 1937. That day, after a century of humiliation, and six years of repeated "Incidents" initiated by the Japanese military, China at last "stood up." This act of defiance took place in Shanghai, the most international city in Asia. It was headline news around the world. Today, the story is largely forgotten… except in China. The Battle of Shanghai has been described as the last battle of World War I, and the first battle of World War II. It was a warning to the world, a warning that was ignored. And it was the place where the destiny of modern China was set in motion.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, directed by Paul Tait Roberts, revisits the tragic events of Aug. 11 and 12, 2017 to grapple with the difficult question of how such hateful acts could have occurred in modern America. Now over a year since the violent white supremacists’ demonstrations, this gripping two-hour feature provides an in-depth examination of Charlottesville in the wake of shocking racial strife, religious bigotry, government blunders, and political equivocation. Through the use of first-hand accounts by victims and witnesses, the documentary explores harrowing accounts of each individual’s journey to overcoming the violence and terror that overtook Charlottesville last summer.
In July 1945, the USS Indianapolis has just delivered “Little Boy” – the atomic bomb destined for Hiroshima – when she is sunk by a Japanese sub. 300 sailors go down with her, and the 900 survivors drift for four and a half days, battling the sun, thirst, sharks, and their own fear. Ultimately, only 316 of them are pulled from the sea alive. The sinking of Indianapolis remains the U.S. Navy’s worst single loss of life at sea. Indianapolis’ final resting place remains a mystery for more than seven decades, until an expedition launched by philanthropist Paul G. Allen discovers the ship in August 2017, 18,000 feet below the surface of the sea. Now the definitive story of USS Indianapolis is told as we reconstruct the ship’s heroic legacy, her dramatic final moments, and the discovery of the wreck site. We also tell the story of Captain Charles Butler McVay III – the only captain in U.S. history convicted for losing his ship in wartime. His suicide in 1968 sparks a campaign by his loyal crew to clear his name – a campaign joined by the captain of nuclear submarine, who risks his own career to right the injustice.
The program celebrates the life and work of Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and literary scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. A leading figure in American cultural life and one of its most renowned, respected and popular cultural historians and personalities, Professor Gates has authored or co-authored 22 books and created 18 documentary films. His award-winning programs on PBS have helped history come alive to tens of millions of people, often telling surprising and unexpected stories of our collective heritage.
As media outlets become increasingly polarised, and as social media rules information feeds, where does propaganda come into play? This documentary demystifies the predominant methods of persuasion employed by those seeking power, analysing the present day and contextualising it by looking back at periods when propaganda defined nations and kept populations in check.
Follow the Water is an adventure story with an environmental message. Traveling by bike, on foot and in a canoe, photographer Mike Forsberg and filmmaker Peter Stegen follow a mythical drop of water 1,300 miles through three states. Using iPhones, Go-Pros and underwater cameras they share how it feels to get close to the flow of the water — to taste it, touch it, and struggle to understand it.
Learn about the untold story of African American entrepreneurship, where skill, industriousness, ingenuity and sheer courage in the face of overwhelming odds provide the backbone of this nation’s economic and social growth.
After an exhilarating national journey of artistic discovery, 100 under-recognized American artists were selected for one unforgettable exhibition. “State of the Art," a one-hour documentary, captures the personal stories of seven diverse artists from Crystal Bridges’ groundbreaking exhibit who are redefining the American aesthetic.
Shedding new light on a geopolitical hot spot, the film — written and produced by John Maggio and narrated by Korean-American actor John Cho — confronts the myth of the “Forgotten War,” documenting the post-1953 conflict and global consequences.
Can Homo sapiens evolve into Homo spatius? For over 50 years now, we have been testing our human nature in our effort to conquer outer space, and still 30 years away from a possible human exploration of Mars, a question remains: Can our body take such travels? Will it ever adapt? Accelerated aging, muscular atrophy, slowed-down brain functions, euphoric hallucinatory spells - as soon as we leave our usual environment towards extra-terrestrial horizons, we face conditions which our bodies are unfit for. However, the pull of exploration is stronger and space medicine is at work to prepare astronauts for travelling to new worlds - in a near or more distant future. Combining human adventure and the exploration of the human body, this film offers unique insights into the physical and psychological effects of space travel on the Astronauts and measures the impact on medical sciences.
Some wine enthusiasts believe good wine only comes from California or Europe, but Nebraska producers have joined a growing group of Midwest vintners who are turning that idea on its head. The new NET documentary Savor: Nebraska Craft Wine uncorks the story of an ancient industry that is flourishing in Nebraska. With nearly 40 wineries in the state now, the impact on our economy has soared as producers in all areas of Nebraska pioneer their brands. Savor: Nebraska Craft Wine explores history of Nebraska wine making, the people who make it their life’s work and how to pair your meals with the state’s best bottles.The documentary also offers a taste of the industry from Niobrara Valley Vineyards where wine pairs with cattle ranching, as well as Deer Springs Winery in Lincoln and James Arthur Vineyards in Raymond, one of the first vineyards in the state.
Take a theatrical journey with physicist Brian Greene to uncover how Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity. In this vivid play, science is illuminated on stage and screen through innovative projections and an original score.
Discover the evolutionary secrets of some of the world’s most majestic creatures. From voracious crocodiles and acrobatic birds to stupendous whales and majestic elephants, WHEN WHALES WALKED follows top scientists on a global adventure as they follow clues from the fossil record and change what we thought we knew about the evolution of iconic beasts.
As the world transitioned from horses and steam ships to motor cars and flying machines, one man was ready to steer America through the transformation: Augustus Post, a legendary transportation pioneer of the early 20th century. Born into affluence in Brooklyn in 1873, Post purchased the first motor car in New York City, was the 13th man to fly an airplane in the U.S., and once held the world distance record in a balloon. More than a visionary and adventurer, Post was a leader among a gang of early thrill-seekers who brought forth a vision of the world where anyone could be an explorer. Told through family members, historians who view Post as a key link in the modernization of transportation, animation, and an imagined radio announcer from the mythic 1950s, this hybrid documentary reveals Post's wide-ranging achievements and interests. But it also explores a complex individual whose widely scrutinized marriage and divorce was a source of great pain until his later years when a new relationship brought him comfort and solace. Uncovered for the first time, the story of Augustus Post is an unforgettable tale of imagination, spectacle, and discovery.
Uncover the true story of the seven-week period that changed China forever. On June 4, 1989, a violent and bloody pro-democracy demonstration ended, leaving thousands dead, and laying the foundation for China’s future.
Join Apollo 11 on its historic journey. The film seamlessly blends mission audio featuring conversations among Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins with new footage, NASA archive and stunning CGI to recreate the first moon landing.
Think the best tasting beer comes from nationally known distributors? Think again. Nebraska is home to a growing community of local craft brewers that are producing nationally award-winning beverages. And, with nearly 50 breweries in the state, the impact on the economy has soared as producers grow their brands. NET’s Savor: Nebraska Craft Beer taps into an old industry that is flourishing once again. Explore the history of beer in Nebraska, the people who make beer brewing their life’s work and how to pair your meals with the state’s best bottles. The new documentary also offers a sample of the industry from Infusion Brewing Company in Omaha’s Benson neighborhood and its Nebraska beer historian owner, as well as Kinkaider Brewing Company in Broken Bow and Empyrean Brewing Company in Lincoln, Nebraska’s oldest operating modern brewery.
On November 20, 1979, at 5:30am, hundreds of heavily armed men took over the Grand Mosque of Mecca. Within minutes, they transformed Islam's holiest shrine into a fortress - and a trap for almost 100,000 pilgrims inside. This was the beginning of the Siege of Mecca. The leader of the insurgents was 42-year-old Bedouin preacher and former National Guard corporal Juhayman Al Utaybi. He and his group demanded the immediate abdication of the Saudi Royal Family, the expulsion of all foreigners and the Kingdom’s return to the pure Islam of the first generations. The ensuing 15 days of battle claimed hundreds, if not thousands, of lives, shook Saudi Arabia to its foundations, destabilised the Middle East and pushed the global balance of power to the brink of collapse. Four decades later, the Siege of Mecca is still shrouded in mystery and protected by silence and fear. This film finally reveals what really happened during the siege, and its lasting impact.
For 50 years, Professor Michael Leckrone led the University of Wisconsin-Madison bands. From his arrival on Wisconsin’s Big Ten campus through the inception of the Fifth Quarter and onto his final curtain call at the Kohl Center, this documentary reveals the passion behind a talented composer, educator, mentor and entertainer.
"The Ornament of the World" tells a story from the past that’s especially timely today: the story of a remarkable time in history when Muslims, Christians and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences. Retrace a nearly 800-year period in medieval Spain, from the early 8th through late 15th centuries, during which the three groups managed for the most part to sustain relationships that enabled them to coexist, collaborate and flourish.
Lucy Worsley recreates how Christmas was celebrated during the age of Henry VIII - eating, drinking, singing, dancing and partying like people did 500 years ago. She's getting into Tudor clothes, and inside Tudor minds - discovering the roots of some of the Christmas customs we still enjoy today, and exploring why other festive traditions fell out of favor.
A celebration of what was arguably the most decorated, most travelled and most effective United States bomb group of the Second World War. Helping to cripple Nazi-occupied Europe from the air, they executed some of the most daring bombing raids of the conflict. Here, their sons, daughters and grandchildren travel to England and explore the 93rd's long-forgotten air base - Hardwick Aerodrome 104.
An outstanding lineup of entertainers gathered in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to salute Dave Chappelle, recipient of the 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on October 27, 2019. The Prize was given at a gala performance featuring some of the biggest names in comedy.
Sit back, relax, and experience the animals, landscapes, and awe of Yellowstone National Park in winter.
Learn the history of East Lake Meadows, a former public housing community in Atlanta. Stories from residents reveal hardship and resilience, and raise critical questions about race, poverty, and who is deserving of public assistance.
"Blood Sugar Rising" follows the diabetes epidemic in the U.S. Diabetes and pre-diabetes affect over 100 million people in the country, costing more than $325 billion each year. The documentary puts human faces to these statistics, exploring the history and science of the illness through portraits of Americans whose stories shape the film.
Filmed over the course of one year, Inside the Vatican gains unprecedented access to one of the most important places in the Christian world. Nestled in the city of Rome, the Vatican is the head-quarters of the Catholic Church and an independent city-state.
Learn how the longest reigning monarch in British history was shaped by World War II. Princess Elizabeth’s experiences during the war mirrored those of the public and helped shape her into the Queen she is today.
In an era of exclusion and U.S. empire, new immigrants arrive and adapt to life in America
An American-born generation straddles their country of birth and their parents’ homelands.
Asian Americans fight for equality and expand the definition of Asian American.
During a time of war, a young generation fights for equality and claim a new identity.
At the turn of the new millennium, the U.S becomes more diverse, yet more divided.
Harbor from the Holocaust is the story of nearly 20,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, to the Chinese port city of Shanghai. Explore the extraordinary relationship of these Jews and their adopted city of Shanghai, even through the bitter years of Japanese occupation 1937-1945 and the Chinese civil war that followed.
An unvarnished look at the unlikely author whose autobiographical fiction helped shape American ideas of the frontier and self-reliance. A Midwestern farm woman who published her first novel at age 65, Laura Ingalls Wilder transformed her frontier childhood into the best-selling "Little House" series.
Follow the story of the Memphis Belle, one of the first American heavy bombers to survive 25 combat missions over the deadly skies of Europe, and her two crews, the men who flew her in World War II and the team that spent 13 years bringing her back to her former glory. It’s a story of two teams of men, separated by 75 years, who shared a deep affection for a plane that became an American icon.
Susan Polis Schutz explores the lives of six former white supremacists and ultraconservatives. Each tells of their transformation from being filled with hate, anger, and rage to acceptance and appreciation of diversity. They talk honestly and openly about their former beliefs, the pain they have inflicted on others, and their fight for a better world devoid of hate.
With rare access to family members, scholars and her personal archive, INSIDE THE MIND OF AGATHA CHRISTIE explores what made the world's most successful crime writer tick. Millions of readers worldwide know Agatha Christie's indelible characters and plot twists, but what do we know about the author herself? Dr. John Curran has spent years poring over her personal archive, a treasure trove containing letters, manuscripts and 73 meticulously kept notebooks in which she documented everything she saw and heard. He and others explain how the author used her experiences to weave together formidable plots and how, despite being known as the queen of "cozy" crime, Agatha's mind was, in the words of screenwriter Sarah Phelps, "incredibly dark."
Explores how the settings of Christie's stories and novels were, in fact, drawn from real places. There is no more quintessentially English writer than Christie. Through her sensational murder mysteries, she created a literary universe that almost singlehandedly shaped the world's image of England. Retracing Christie's footsteps, this new special visits Beacon Cove, where a young Agatha swam with her nephew when he narrowly escaped drowning, the memory of which would be reprised in her 1939 novel And Then There Were None. In Ealing, Christie witnessed her great-aunt, affectionately known as Granny, devouring local gossip and news of gruesome murder trials, the blueprint for the author's fictional world of Miss Marple and The village of St Mary's Mead. And the influx of Belgian refugees into her hometown of Torquay during World War I inspired another of Christie's great characters, Hercule Poirot.
Although rarely mentioned in textbooks, there is no question that the Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of racial violence in American history. As the country continues to reflect on the shocking murders and arson that took place from May 31st to June 1st 1921, and considers more recent incidents of social injustice like the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, a new documentary Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten, directed by Jonathan Silvers, examines this deadly assault on humanity on the 100th anniversary of the crime.
Scientists investigate the remains of a woman and two men found in a 2,400-year-old tomb in Austria that might be the first real evidence of Celtic tribal customs
After being sworn to secrecy about their Cold War mission, some of the marines involved are now finally speaking out about a series of top-secret nuclear tests codenamed "Operation Castle", held in 1954, that the US military carried out in a trial known as “Castle Bravo”; including the detonation of a massive 15-megaton hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia - held in The Hague - was the biggest international trial of its kind to date. The opportunities and limitations of international justice lie at the heart of this documentary. What value does international justice have in modern society?
Unsettled History: America, China, and the Doolittle Tokyo Raid examines a key moment in American/Chinese history, exploring how the two sides remember this shared event in different ways, the reasons for this divergence and what lessons it may hold for today. Recounted by children of the Raiders and their Chinese rescuers, the program offers emotional insights that only family members can provide.
Discover the story of a group of Japanese Americans and their incarceration by the U.S. government during World War II. Through the compelling voices of survivors of Minidoka, a concentration camp in the Idaho desert, Betrayed tells a universal story about unjust internment and the loss of civil rights.
Examine and compare the financial and banking systems of the United States and Canada. The basis for both financial systems was laid by the revolutionary founding father Alexander Hamilton. The film traces the history of both systems and features interviews with an impressive list of experts that includes a former prime minister, bank CEOs, academics, and other business leaders.
Retrace the path of the 53 Africans who rebelled against their captors and seized the slave schooner Amistad in 1839. Their goal: to visit the 10 villages where the Amistad rebels once lived; interview the elders about their history and search for the long-lost ruins of Lomboko, the slave trading factory where the Amistad Africans were loaded onto a slave ship bound for the New World.
Hi-Neighbor! explores the history of one of Rhode Island’s most famous icons. Founded by German immigrants in 1890, the Narragansett Brewing Company grew from a humble craft brewer to New England’s largest and most advanced brewery, commanding 65% of Rhode Island’s market and 25% of the New England market share by 1965. Despite strong sales and legendary marketing, however, it fell victim to modernization and by 1983, closed its doors for good while its product was produced out-of-state. By the early 2000s, in an amazing turn of events, the brand was resurrected at the start of the craft beer renaissance and returned home to Rhode Island. Hi-Neighbor! is a story of industry, perseverance, failure, and triumph. It is a story of second chances borne of indomitable hope, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit. The original brewery complex was demolished in 1998; now at the site is the headquarters of the Cranston Police and Municipal Court, on the corner of Cranston and Garfield Streets. J
Worldwide, more than a million people die in traffic-related crashes each year. Half of those deaths are pedestrians and cyclists. The Street Project is an inspiring story about a movement to reclaim our largest public spaces, our streets.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, the U.S. government conducted a series of nuclear tests in the Nevada desert. The resulting fallout would kick off a decades-long debate over cancer rates, the costs of patriotism, and the responsibility of a nation to protect its citizens
Go beyond the legend and meet the inspiring woman who repeatedly risked her own life and freedom to liberate others from slavery. Born 200 years ago in Maryland, Harriet Tubman was a conductor of the Underground Railroad, a Civil War scout, nurse and spy, and one of the greatest freedom fighters in our nation’s history.
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the most influential voices for democracy in American history. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson explores the role Douglass played in securing the right to freedom for African Americans.
Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy in October 1922, after his March on Rome. He would hold it in his grasp until his death in 1945, establishing a dictatorship that lasted more than two decades. Long considered a buffoon and a second-rate dictator, Il Duce invented fascism that was imitated by Adolf Hitler, who viewed the Italian as his political master. Mussolini wanted to transform his country into a warrior nation and promised Italians a return to the grandeur of the Roman Empire. He governed by violence and trickery and was one of the first populist leaders of modern times, leading his country into the catastrophe of the Second World War. But who was Benito Mussolini, this former teacher who came from the extreme left to become a newspaper editor and creator of the Italian Fascist Party? Why did he ally himself with Adolf Hitler? Were the Italian people really behind him? With rare archives, some of which have been colorized, and interviews with the last-surviving witnesses o
The life of Fritz Kuhn, a German emigrant who stylised himself as Hitler's deputy in 1930s America, marching troops through US cities and filling Madison Square Garden with supporters. Neither Hitler nor the FBI could stop him, but in the end a love affair brought him down.
Ben explores the Caribbean island of Montserrat's capital Plymouth, which is now a volcanic ash-covered, ghost town after a series of volcanic eruptions in the 1990s. He meets people who remained and refused to be driven from their beloved island, rebuilding and creating new lives in the north, as well as a man who has returned to live in the shadow of the volcano and carve out an existence within the exclusion zone.
September 11th 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the military coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile. The dictator took power - and kept it - through the use of terror & sadistic torture. The West chose to look the other way.
With American political life growing increasingly contentious, diplomat Dr. Richard Haass outlines ten habits all citizens can practice to help cultivate a healthy democracy. Haass and Special Correspondent Hari Sreenivasan talk through real-life examples of Americans who are working towards strengthening American democracy and creating a more informed and engaged citizenry.
