Public Affairs Television (Firm).
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English
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This program provides an in-depth look at the late Supreme Court Justice who wrote the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade, the case that granted women constitutional protection for abortion. Blackmun outlines a typical day in the Supreme Court, explains his own definition of what the court's role is in the life of Americans, and examines the issue of privacy, a word and concept not mentioned in the Constitution. In addition, Blackmun discusses the emotional...
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Professor of Philosophy Patricia Smith Churchland is probing a new frontier in the area of brain research, convinced that exploration into the physical function of our "wonder tissue" can help us better understand what our thoughts mean and how we can control them. In her book, Neurophilosophy, she describes how recent discoveries about the brain call into question such basic philosophical concepts as free will and rational thinking. In this program...
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This program features poets Li-Young Lee and Gerald Stern in a poetry reading and in extensive interviews. A main subject of Stern's poetry is memory. His Jewish heritage provides him with the inspiration and direction to resurrect and reconstruct past experiences. Li-Young Lee's poetry reflects his struggle with his Chinese heritage: how to recognize a culture to which he has been inextricably bound by ancestry, but in which he has never lived.
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Everyone has to find his own song, says Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, and he found his in the blues. From music and literature he has shaped a philosophy of life and some of the country's most compelling dramas, including Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Fences. In this program, Wilson talks about finding an African American cultural identity and what he sees as the false portrayal of black America on television. A Bill Moyers special....
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Americans never know nowadays when they'll wake up to yet one more disclosure of deception in government; from the U2 affair to the war in Vietnam, from Watergate to Iran-Contra, and in a steady stream of daily information and misinformation, the bond of trust between the government and the governed seems frayed to the breaking point. Can a republic die from too many lies? The question has become critical for the future of democracy. As a philosopher,...
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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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This program with Bill Moyers examines what many people consider to be the scandal of American democracy-the influence of money on our political system. The 1992 Presidential election sent a strong signal: by voting for Bill Clinton or Ross Perot, both of whom ran on reform platforms, voters registered their disgust with the way laws are made, influence is bought, and an elite class of politicians control the system. This 1994 program examines the...
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Renowned as a voice of conscience in apartheid South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu-Nobel laureate and Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)-has spent his life opposing his nation's discriminatory policies. In a powerful interview with prize-winning journalist Bill Moyers, this courageous Anglican prelate discusses his life and work and shares his thoughts on justice, truth, and forgiveness-so timely at the end of a century notorious...
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Back in the early '70s, when scientists first learned to manipulate the living gene, they put a moratorium on some kinds of molecular experiments to give themselves time to think about what they were doing and set some guidelines for the research. Now genetic research is in full swing, as scientists work on projects ranging from developing more fertile chickens to curing cancer. But even as the discoveries mount, the dissenting voices are also rising....
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What's worse: to do something wrong and be punished for it, or to be punished for something that you didn't do at all? This problem is at the heart of some of our deepest questions about God and humanity, sin and justice, damnation and grace. In this program with Bill Moyers, Elaine Pagels speaks about how the early Christians faced the realities of suffering and guilt, and how their answers still affect us today. A professor of religion at Princeton...
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In this program, Bill Moyers talks with scholar, writer, and economist Charles Issawi about the sources of Arab resentment toward the West and the possibility of better relations in the future. Issawi explains the Arab world's reluctance to modernize and its aversion to the secular nature of Western society - especially in the area of sexual freedom. The history of Islamic fundamentalism in the Arab world is traced, and its impact on Arab/West relations...
12) Ancestral voices
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English
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This program features poets who turn to the past and to their own cultural heritage to understand the present. They eloquently reflect their own personal journeys through poetry. Garrett Kaoru Hongo's work reflects his Japanese-American heritage. Hongo began to write poetry because he wanted "more than anything to belong to the history of Asians in America. Joy Harjo's poetry is influenced by her Native American heritage. Her poetry emphasizes the...
13) Here in the mind
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Gary Snyder and Daisy Zamora have each, in their own way, engaged in battle. In this program, the staunch defender of the natural world and the combatant in the Nicaraguan civil war wield their preferred weapon, language, which in their hands has the power to change the way people feel, think, and act. Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.
14) For the People
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English
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This program examines the impact of the Constitution on the lives of American citizens, as seen in three landmark Supreme Court cases-Engel volume Vitale (school prayer), Keyishian volume Board of Regents (academic freedom), and Bowers volume Hardwick (sodomy).
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The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass comes back to life in this acclaimed theatrical performance featuring Fred Morsell, as he dramatically re-creates Douglass's famous speech on slavery and human rights. With an eloquence and intelligence rarely matched, Frederick Douglass became a giant in the struggle against racial injustice. He called upon all Americans of every color to work to fulfill the vision of a just society that was proclaimed in...
16) Consuming images
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English
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This program looks at a society inundated with visual images. From billboards to bus stops, from rock videos to newsstands, mass-produced images have become the very air we breathe. What is this cultural atmosphere saying to us and about us? Why should we care? Ever since the pioneers of public relations and advertising spoke about the "engineering of consent," social critics have analyzed its effects. For some, it reveals pure manipulation-the appropriation...
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This program examines the tragic story of nine-year-old James Darby, who sent a letter to President Clinton asking him to stop the violence in his city as part of a classroom project. Nine days after he sent the letter, Darby was shot walking home from a local park. Successful community efforts such as Cleveland Works and Beat the Streets show how local businesses, religious organizations, and individuals can help at-risk youths divide their time...
18) Call and Promise
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This program examines the story in which God makes his covenant with Abraham. "If it's hard not to be chosen, it's harder to be chosen," observes Azizah al-Hibri, professor of law at the Univ. of Richmond. The program explores what it means to be "called" by God, what it feels like to be in exile looking for a homeland, and how the covenant led to the founding of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Featured in the program are scholar Robert Alter, author...
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Adrienne Rich, Victor Hernandez Cruz, and Michael S. Harper have changed the way poetry is heard, read, and absorbed. This program showcases these three poets who exult in language's ability to illuminate culture and history. Filmed at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.
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This program features Stephanie Mann and Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith. Stephanie Mann is a community activist who launched a "neighborhood watch" program in her hometown in California. As a result, crime was cut by more than 50%. She has since gone on to help others organize similar groups. Dr. Prothrow-Stith became interested in preventing violence while working as a resident at a hospital in Boston, where she began to see youth violence as a disease....