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They Shall Not Grow Old

   2018    History
Peter Jackson's poignant WWI documentary 'They Shall Not Grow Old' to commemorate the centennial of the end of the first World War. The acclaimed documentary is an extraordinary look at the soldiers and events of the Great War, using film footage captured at the time, now presented as the world has never seen. By utilizing state-of-the-art restoration, colorization and 3D technologies, and pulling from 600 hours of BBC archival interviews, Jackson puts forth an intensely gripping, immersive and authentic experience through the eyes and voices of the British soldiers who lived it. Jackson recorded a special introduction to the film offering his perspective on why the film is important for audiences, who have never experienced WWI footage as anything but grainy black & white, and silent. Jackson opens a window to the past in a way that has never been seen or heard before, noting, 'Restoration is a humanizing process.'

Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump

   2020    Culture
After years of empirical observation, for the first time ever, prominent mental health professionals present their observations on camera as part of their ethical 'Duty to Warn' the public of imminent danger. Medical doctors and mental health professionals go on camera, on the record, for the record - it's an eye-opening discussion, analysis, and science-based examination of the behavior, psyche, condition, and stability of Donald Trump. Unfit also examines Trump's effect on our citizenry, culture, and institutions.

Extinction: The Facts

   2020    Nature
With a million species at risk of extinction, Sir David Attenborough explores how this crisis of biodiversity has consequences for us all, threatening food and water security, undermining our ability to control our climate and even putting us at greater risk of pandemic diseases.
Everything in the natural world is connected in networks that support the whole of life on earth, and we are losing many of the benefits that nature provides to us. The loss of insects is threatening the pollination of crops, while the loss of biodiversity in the soil also threatens plants growth.
Last year, a UN report identified the key drivers of biodiversity loss, including overfishing, climate change and pollution. But the single biggest driver of biodiversity loss is the destruction of natural habitats. Seventy-five per cent of Earth's land surface (where not covered by ice) has been changed by humans, much of it for agriculture, and as consumers we may unwittingly be contributing towards the loss of species through what we buy in the supermarket. Human activities like the trade in animals and the destruction of habitats drive the emergence of diseases. Disease ecologists believe that if we continue on this pathway, this year’s pandemic will not be a one-off event.

Plagues and Pestilence

   2020    Medicine
COVID-19 is far from the first pandemic to wreak havoc in the world. A long line of infectious diseases have devastated and in some cases destroyed entire societies. Almost all of them started in animals and made the jump to humans. The Black Death spread across Europe and Asia in the 14th century leaving millions dead in its wake. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, European colonists brought smallpox to the Americas, the Pacific region and to Australia. In Europe, the 17th century saw a series of major epidemics. And at the end of the First World War, more people died of the Spanish flu than on the battlefield.
This documentary examines the causes of these epidemics - whether it be lack of hygiene, interaction with animals, overcrowding, or the growth of cities - and how people travelling helped to spread disease and promote pandemics. It also sheds a light on the impact these infectious diseases have had on politics and societal change. Over the centuries, scientists managed to develop treatments and medicines to help control or even eradicate infectious diseases. Virologists are facing that task again with the coronavirus, as the world frantically searches for ways to overcome a pandemic which threatens our modern way of life.

Peru

   2020    Culture
Ewan and Charley make their way to Peru from Bolivia, and the scenery is just beautiful. Ewan wanted to visit Machu Picchu since he was a kid and decides to show the world the Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains. Next up, they make their way to the Cutivireni, a community of Ashaninka people in the Amazon rainforest, with its carbon program to limit the magnitude or rate of global warming and its related effects.
Series: Long Way Up

Blue Marble

   2020    Nature
The Blue Marble is an image of Earth taken on 1972, from a distance of about 18,000 miles from the planet's surface. It was taken by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft on its way to the Moon. Before it was photographed from space, our perspective of Earth was fragmented and disconnected. Recent discoveries have revealed a dynamic and rapidly changing planet, above the crust and below.
Series: The Great Acceleration