Summary: Why do girls demonstrate greater reading and writing ability than boys? Is the female brain hardwired for faster verbal development? Should men let women do the talking? This program studies language differences between the sexes and explores the possibility that many communication skills are gender-specific. Following two teams of well-educated adults as they undergo a crash course in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: When asked to describe birth from a baby's perspective, a group of women talk about fear, elation, and other feelings-while their male counterparts summon only physical sensations. What causes such a contrast? This program explores the divergent emotional tendencies of men and women, throwing gender differences into bold relief through spontaneous theatrical exercises and expert commentary....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The war of the sexes, like any war, needs leaders and followers. Using a military-style competition between male and female test subjects, this program examines the different ways in which men and women exercise power, set goals, construct hierarchies, and perform teamwork. A chain of command, incorporating clearly defined roles and responsibilities, quickly materializes among the male...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Packing the trunk, finding the right road, parking in a tight spot-are these masculine tasks, best accomplished with a man's mechanical aptitude and spatial reasoning? This program resists broadly brushed stereotypes, but does identify disparities in the ways men and women operate machines, manipulate tools, focus on tasks, and navigate. Accompanying two teams as they race to organize and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Looks, personality, intellect, bank account-the reasons for attraction can't be predicted. Or can they? This program investigates ways that men and women evaluate potential lovers and life partners, and shows how male and female criteria may be more similar than many think. Creating a relaxed, club-like setting in which a small group of singles meet, flirt, and discuss their goals, the program...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The pleasant order we see in our cosmic backyard was, ironically, carved from a chaotic cloud of gas. This program helps develop an understanding of that eons-long process and its ramifications. Studying Saturn’s rings, perhaps the brightest jewel to emerge from the ancient celestial maelstrom, the film points out echoes of early-solar-system physics in Oklahoma tornadoes and an Icelandic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Why are many of today's spiritual seekers looking beyond the world's mainstream religions for fulfillment? And is technology eclipsing the concept of God? This program goes to the heart of those questions through interviews with Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy, as well as leaders of New Age organizations such as the Naropa Institute, the Krishnamurti Foundation, and the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Apart from their outward differences in ritual and doctrine, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam share an inward-pointing imperative to know God. In this program, clergy, theologians, and others with religious vocations delve into the esoteric aspects of three of the world's great religions. The use of meditation and contemplation as vehicles for transcending the mundane and drawing closer to the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Filmed on location in India, Japan, and elsewhere, this program provides insights into Hinduism; Mahayana, Hinayana, Tantric, and Zen Buddhism; and Shintoism. Religious leaders including 112-year-old Sri Swami Shivananda, deputy director of the Divine Life Society; Master Thich Nhat Hanh, founder of the Plum Village Zen community; His Holiness the Dalai Lama; and The Venerable Mr. Hatakake,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Whether for pardon, healing, inspiration, or enlightenment, a pilgrimage can be a journey through the kingdom of spirit. In this program, Paul Coelho, author of The Pilgrimage; His Holiness the Dalai Lama; the director of the Tiberias Center for Kabbalah and Healing; and others reflect on the history and significance of major pilgrimage destinations, including Santiago de Compostela, Mecca,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The main event in Greek mythology was the Trojan War, in which thousands of mortals died, while the gods watched and laid wagers on the outcome. Among the war’s prime movers were Ares, god of war, whose stone heart thrived on quarrels and wars; his sister Eris, whose name means discord; and her dolorous offspring Ponos (pain), Mahes (battles), Foni (murder), Dysnomia (anarchy), Limos (famine),...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Greeks prayed to Poseidon before embarking on sea journeys. They offered him the first fish caught, called him "the savior," and attributed their naval victory over the Persians to him. In this program, we learn how Poseidon was saved by his mother Rhea, and how he acquired his trident and used it to help his brother Zeus in his struggle against the Titans and Giants. We see some of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Greeks also called Apollo, Phoebus—brilliant one, perpetually reborn, who shoots darts from afar, and who incorporates the radiant characteristics of the sun. In this program, we learn about Apollo’s mother Leto, his birth on the island of Delos, his twin sister Artemis, Python and Pythia, and the oracle of Delphi. Also discussed are Cassandra’s prediction of the fall of Troy; Apollo and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Greeks worshipped Dionysus and honored him widely and often. In fact, Greek drama was written as part of the great Dionysian celebrations. In this program, we learn about Semele, Dionysus’ mother, and the efforts of Hermes and Apollo to save the baby’s life; the purification of Dionysus; how mortals received the gift of the grape, and the dangers it can cause; and how Dionysus freed Hera...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: In the beginning was Chaos. And Eurynome divided the seas from the sky, set the wind in motion, and released the forces of nature. Out of the Universal Egg emerged the sun and moon, the planets, the stars, the earth, and all living things. This program tells that story, and that of the first family: Gaea, Uranus, and Cronus. It then moves on to Zeus: his birth on Crete, the trick by which he...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: The earth is the foundation of all Greek mythology, for it was the abundance of the earth that caused the birth of the sky and the formation of the universe. This program begins in Eleusis, one of the oldest sanctuaries dedicated to Demeter and site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. We learn about Triptolemus, who taught mortals the art of agriculture, and visit Thessaly—home to the myth of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Artemis, Apollo’s twin sister, was noted for both her beauty and her cruelty. She protected flora and fauna, especially wild animals, and was not reluctant to punish those who acted against nature. In this program, we visit the temple at Brauron, Arcadia, Mount Cithaeron, and other Artemisian haunts, and learn about Artemis’ birth and youth. Also told are the stories of Orion, Niobe, Callisto,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: In this program, we discover that Athene sprang full-grown and fully-armed from Zeus’s head, and that Aphrodite emerged from the sea where the physical evidence had landed of Cronus’ castration of Uranus. Also explored are love stories of Aphrodite, the myths of Neritis, Anchises, Pygmalion, and Galatea, the mythological roots of the Trojan War, and the lives of Ares and of Adonis. Athene gives...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: This video investigates three buildings whose appearances suggest that they are about to topple over at any moment: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Torres Puerta de Europa in Madrid, and the Torre de Collserola in Barcelona.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: This video celebrates 2,000 years of engineering achievement in Europe by looking at the two most fundamental building materials of the Modern Age, iron and steel. Two of Gustave Eiffel's greatest achievements, and one of the finest works in steel and glass in Paris, are featured.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Leisure activities are as fundamental to society as work or rest. This video looks at the challenges of building arenas for popular entertainment. Venues for pastimes from different ages are represented: a Roman amphitheater, a Victorian glasshouse, and a modern stadium.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program sheds light on the evolution and spread of Christianity across 13 centuries of architecture and art. Selected sites and masterpieces include the 8th-century monastic settlement on Inishmurray Island, off the coast of Ireland; frescoes in the catacombs of San Domitilla and Caravaggios at Santa Luigi di Franchesi, in Rome; the Hagia Sophia, once a Christian cathedral, in Istanbul;...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As a movement, socialism thrived in Europe-but America was its cradle. This program explores the origins of socialist principles and how they evolved into military revolution in Russia and political strife in the United States. Recounting Robert Owen's New Harmony experiment, the program details the intellectualization of socialism by Marx, Engels, and Bernstein, followed by the rise of Lenin...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program provides insights into the practice of Hinduism through the architecture and art of India. Circling from Varanasi to Mamallapuram and Khajuraho and back again, it spotlights carved-stone shrines such as the Krishna Mandapam, the Panch Rathas, and the Dharmaraja Ratha; the ancient Shore Temple, recovered from the Bay of Bengal; and the Kandariya Mahadev Temple, with its exotic-and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006