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"Unravel[s] the national psyche that brought our politics to this moment." — Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
A landmark book, from "one of the world's most prominent psychiatrists" (The Atlantic): Allen Frances analyzes the nation, viewing the rise of Donald J. Trump as darkly symptomatic of a deeper societal distress that must be understood if we are to move forward. Equally challenging and profound, Twilight of American
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It has been calculated that the available knowledge in the world doubles every 5 years; we are increasing our store of knowledge much faster than we are learning how to retrieve and use it. What is the danger of intellectual gridlock when the mind is jammed thinking about such questions? In this program with Bill Moyers, Brown University President Vartan Gregorian shares his views on the information age. Education must show a direct connection between...
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In the rising tide of the global economy, some boats are riding high, and some are being left high and dry. Moral leaders warn that global laissez-faire is producing consequences similar to those of the 19th century, when gaps between rich and poor kept thousands in abject poverty for generations. In this new era of social Darwinism, moral leaders are asking who in the world community will care for the needs of the poor, and how it will be accomplished....
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This program features conversations with a variety of people who have explored the heart of hatred. A Los Angeles gang member uses hate as a survival weapon. White supremacist leader Tom Metzger defends his policies of hate both in a court of law and in interviews. A former Israeli soldier tells how he disguised himself as a Palestinian in order to better understand the source of his own hatred. High school students in Bensonhurst, New York, discuss...
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The 18th-century movement known as the Age of Enlightenment saw the rise of intellectuals who endorsed freedom of thought apart from the dictates of state and religion, thus laying the foundation for advances in science, social philosophy, and culture. This program discusses the contributions of Immanuel Kant, Isaac Newton, Denis Diderot, the Marquês de Pombal, and Erasmus Darwin.
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By the end of the 18th century, many Enlightenment ideals about society had been put into practice by three remarkable men: Nicolas de Condorcet, who advocated for civil rights, the abolishment of slavery, and gender equality; Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence; and Frederick the Great, whose "enlightened absolutism" meant religious tolerance in Prussia. This program profiles their achievements.
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Some mistakes are fixable. Wrongful conviction and subsequent execution is not. In this program, ABC News correspondent John Donvan traces the history of the death penalty in the U.S. since 1935 while capturing the views of George W. Bush and Illinois governor George Ryan. Then, Gerald Kogan, former chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, and Dudley Sharp, director of Justice for All, join anchor Chris Wallace to discuss the use of DNA evidence...
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Jacob Needleman, author and professor of philosophy and comparative religion, says he writes for people like himself who want to return to the basic questions: Who am I? Why am I on Earth? How do I engage in making a living and still keep my soul? In this program with Bill Moyers, Needleman discusses the role of money in our society and its power to shape our culture and our souls.
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Who should lead the world's only superpower? When is it acceptable to topple another country's leader? Are personal freedom and national security mutually incompatible? The answers to urgent political questions such as these are informed by 23 centuries of discourse that started with The Republic. This program focuses successively on the pivotal ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx, Mill, John Rawls, and Robert Nozick to elucidate the...
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This program enters a world rarely seen: the world of an inmate waiting to die and of a prison preparing to execute him. The program, reported by ABC News correspondent Cynthia McFadden, takes viewers from the cellblock, to the execution chamber, to preparation of the lethal injection, and into the mind of inmate Antonio James as he prepares to pay the ultimate price for his crimes. The program offers a real-life portrait, putting a human face on...
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The Supreme Court's landmark decision that it is unconstitutional to execute people who are mentally retarded reverses decades of jurisprudence. In this program, ABC News correspondent John Donvan visits the ongoing legal battle that prompted the initial 1980 ruling, the case of Texas convict John Paul Penry. Argument rages not over Penry's guilt but what determines mental retardation. Commenting on the case are Joe Price, prosecutor in all of Penry's...
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In a society that is so economically, racially, and culturally diverse, how hard should people pursue individual and group rights? Does humanity's modern obsession with rights create a self-obsessed world preoccupied by victimhood? Archbishop Rowan Williams thinks so, and worries that rights groups become static whenever civil liberties are obtained. Filmed at Lambeth Palace, this multifaceted program examines the conflicting ideals between group...
13) The Rise to Fame
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This film shows Gandhi as more morally complex than the saintly Hollywood version, and delves deeply into his satyagraha philosophy. For Gandhi, India's liberation was connected to its moral purification. Gandhi's subordination politics to religion dismayed his pragmatic, secular supporters and caused his movement to collapse for years. It also fueled Muslim fears that an independent India would be a Hindu state, sewing the seeds for partition with...
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In this program, world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Ronald Dworkin, Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford, examine how the explosive issues of the 1960s compelled the reassessment of fundamental political ideas, and discuss the effect of this movement on political philosophy at the universities.
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This program brings viewers face-to-face with the mindless ugliness and irrevocable consequences of racism. Examining five case studies in which racism led to violence, we see how each act destroyed not only its victim, but others as well, including the perpetrator. Each case leaves in its wake a string of broken lives-strained marriages, financial ruin, psychologically traumatized adults and children. The inevitable conclusion is: hate destroys....
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More than 300 million men, women, and children are being forced to work in conditions of virtual enslavement. They have lost all control over their lives, and their survival rests in the hands of exploitative individuals and corporations. When they are no longer productive, they are simply discarded-broken, empty, and humiliated. This program goes around the world to document the stories of disposable people: sugarcane cutters in the Dominican Republic,...
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Confucius sought to return a chaotic and politically corrupt China to its ancient ways, and developed teachings governing family relationships and obligations of ruler and ruled. This collection of short programs explores Confucius' life, the development of his philosophy and its impact on ancient China.
18) Legacies of war
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From munitions stockpiles to psychological trauma, the effects of war linger long after conflict formally ends. This award-winning documentary examines several postwar situations around the world, highlighting ongoing efforts to repair physical, social, and personal damage. Powerful footage captures the dangers of unexploded bombs in Germany and land mines in Mozambique; the reconstruction of Guatemalan society after 36 years of civil war; the plight...
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"Remember when it all seemed to be getting better? Before Trump happened? What went wrong, and what can we do about it? Naomi Klein - scourge of brand bullies, disaster capitalists and climate liars - shows us how we got to this surreal and dangerous place, how to stop it getting worse and how, if we keep our heads, we can seize the opportunity to make it better. She reveals how Trump is not a freakish aberration, but an extension of the most powerful...
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World-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and London School of Economics professor Ernest Gellner discuss contemporary philosophy, its historical and social backgrounds, and its role in modern society. Gellner examines the radical expansion of scientific knowledge and its dehumanizing effect on society as expressed by sociologist Max Weber. Marxism's messianic expectation is blamed for its failure to reconstruct society. Gellner dismisses today's...