History's turning points II: the first flight
The Wright brothers reach for the clouds and world air travel becomes a reality. Orville and Wilbur Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio are determined to prove that man can fly. After years of research, the two brothers eventually const...
History's turning points II: the battle for Vietnam
This program examines how Walter Cronkite and the media questioned a victory and how the war in Vietnam was lost. During the Tet truce for Chinese New Year, January 31st 1968, the Vietcong carried out a surprise attack on America's Embassy in Vietn...
History's turning points II: the plot to kill Hitler
The bomb explodes, but against all odds Europe's most hated dictator survives. In July 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a trusted junior officer of the Nazi home army, entered Hitler's high security headquarters, the Wolf's Lair, intent to kill...
History's turning points II: the rise of the Mob
This program describes how the Volstead Act was passed and the Mafia took over America. In 1920, the American government cracked down on drinking and banned the sale and consumption of alcohol. But instead of making America a better place, prohibit...
Alkali metals
Much less dense than most other metals, alkali metals are also extremely chemically reactive. Segments in this program include Exploring Alkali Metals (properties of the alkali metals); Lithium: Aircraft Alloys (why lithium is an ideal partner for a...
All Quiet on the Western Front
Composed of scholarly commentary, film clips, readings, reenactments, and archival materials, this program thoroughly analyzes Erich Maria Remarque’s international best-seller All Quiet on the Western Front. Remarque biographers Julie Gilbert and ...
Micro-parasites: invisible death
Stronger and more mobile than ever, humankind's oldest enemies - lethal micro-parasites - may very well be threatening the survival of the human race. Some were believed to have been eradicated from the industrialized world, only to reappear in drug...
The interpretation of dreams
Few figures have had so decisive an influence on modern cultural history as Sigmund Freud, psychology's grand theorist - yet few figures have also inspired such sustained controversy and intense debate. In this program, Freud historian Peter Swales;...
History's turning points: the Black Death
When a plague-ridden ship landed in Venice in 1347, it was immediately put into quarantine...but no one could stop the rats from corning ashore. Within three years, a third of Western Europe's population was dead. It was the greatest calamity in his...
Hackers: outlaws and angels
This alarming program reveals the daily battle between the Internet’s outlaws and the hackers who oppose them by warding off system attacks, training IT professionals and police officers, and watching cyberspace for signs of imminent infowar. Thro...