Summary: This program explores the biological reasons why humans have the most amazing sense of taste on the planet. Persuading a family raised on Chinese food to try ripe Stilton cheese and a group of gourmet cheese lovers to try a Chinese delicacy of fermented raw duck eggs, host Nigel Marven assesses how we end up with such extraordinary tastes that vary across different cultures. Yale University...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Why are humans so responsive to touch? This program calculates the different sensitivities of the body's most receptive parts. The density of touch sensors in the skin explains why some parts of the body seem to have a much lower pain threshold-a microscopic splinter in a finger can be extremely painful, while a cut on your leg may not hurt as much. University College London professor Tony...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program deconstructs the emotional effects evoked by music and other sounds. Experiments by Dr. Mark Blagrove at the Sleep Laboratory in Swansea show that our sense of hearing is constantly alert, even while asleep, and Dr. Sarah Collins, from Nottingham University, explains why deep voices are so attractive to the opposite sex. Scientists assert that we have certain automatic responses to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program argues that the human visual system is skillful at some things, but that we miss an amazing amount of what is going on right in front of our eyes. Whether spotting attractive people in a crowd, gauging depth and distance, or even predicting where things end up, the eyes are at their most perceptive. But clever experiments conducted at a nightclub by scientists from Sussex...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although facial and body hair are the most visible signs of male puberty, the process of becoming a man actually involves major organs like the heart and lungs. No one demonstrates that better than 14-year-old Jesse, whose physique is developing rapidly-while Mark, at almost the same age, poignantly awaits even the first hint of change. Meanwhile, 12-year-old choir member Dominic struggles to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Everything is wrong, complains Claudia-who, until her changing body lost its sense of balance, envisioned no obstacles to becoming a professional dancer. Identical twins Jessica and Rebecca prepare for high school and the social stress it will bring, with bra shopping at the top of their worry list. And Alex, now 13, sheds light on the trauma of starting puberty at age seven. Incorporating...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: The origins of the Book of Kells are uncertain; it was written and illustrated around the year 800, but the monastery where it originated has not been identified. It contains the Latin text of the four Gospels, with some pages in elaborate color; almost every page has brightly-colored birds and animals, and there are portraits of the four evangelists. This program not only shows but identifies...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program focuses on the components of our sense of balance. Stunt coordinator Marc Cass demonstrates how the balance organs inform us of how we are moving. At the Circus School, in San Francisco, a troupe of acrobats illustrates how eyes control balance by calculating what our bodies are doing in relation to the outside world. Dr. Ros Davies, from the National Hospital for Neurology and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program investigates how psychological principles determine a smell's level of repellence. After testing natural smells found to be offensive to most people, scientists at Monell Chemical Services Center and the University of California propose that our reactions are heavily shaped by personal experience. Demonstrations of how olfactory lobes work are featured. Host Nigel Marven observes...
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 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: 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: By applying her deep knowledge of the Quran and the U.S. Constitution to issues involving democracy and women's rights, Azizah al-Hibri has been instrumental in nurturing an urgently needed interfaith dialogue both at home and abroad. In this program, Bill Moyers and Dr. al-Hibri explore her role as a bridge builder between Muslims and non-Muslims as she advocates conflict resolution through...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: The opening line of this upbeat program is “Teaching is both an art and a science.” Filmed in three disparate but remarkable classrooms, the video illustrates how effective learning takes place when teachers combine their knowledge of child development, subject matter, and cognitive psychology. The three teachers combine music and graphic arts with reading, writing, and mathematics lessons in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1991
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program guides viewers through an E.A.S.Y. communication process. Students learn constructive communications by identifying the Effect they hope to achieve; understanding the knowledge and attitude of their Audience; explaining the Subject with specific and organized information; and seeing the positive effects of knowing and understanding Yourself.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: In the West, Islam is often oversimplified-to the detriment of better understanding this complex religion and the diverse interpretations inspired by its tenets. The Aspen Institute and Bill Moyers brought together eight journalists and scholars from the U.S., Pakistan, France, Iraq, Turkey, India, and Britain to join in a conversation about the history and motives of the states too easily...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Referring to the work of Piaget, Erikson, and Goffman as well as to the studies of David Elkind, this program looks at the intellectual, emotional, and social consequences resulting from adolescent changes in thinking - a transition that can create social and emotional difficulties. The video includes footage of a public middle school and structured interviews illustrating the intellectual...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1999
View online at AVOD
Summary: According to Piaget, intelligence develops in a necessary sequence of stages that are related to age. In this program, David Elkind uses structured interviews with children from 4 to 9 years of age to illustrate the development of transitive thinking and reversibility as boys and girls move from the preoperational to concrete operational stage of cognitive development. Children’s construction...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1993
View online at AVOD
Summary: This important lesson discusses habits and traits that keep us from being good listeners and teaches improved listening skills with the D.R.I.V.E. process. Students learn the benefits of listening and master the skill by Deciding to listen, Reading all stimuli, Investing spare time wisely, Verifying what they hear, and Expending energy. Teach your students how to process the information that...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Muslims have lived in the U.S. for centuries. Should the work of Islamist extremists be allowed to undermine their place in American society? This program captures a spirited discussion between Bill Moyers and Imam Zaid Shakir, who details his experiences as both a Muslim and an American in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In addition, Imam Zaid describes the structure and comprehensiveness of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians continue to flare, while small-scale conflicts in postwar Iraq proceed unabated-will the bloodshed and anguish in the Middle East never end? In this special edition of NOW with Bill Moyers, the Aspen Institute and Moyers invite eight journalists and scholars to participate in a dialogue exploring the religious and political roots of these chronic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: In this program, Bill Moyers and Georgetown University's John Esposito-author of Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam and editor-in-chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World-focus on Islam in Asia, where the vast majority of all Muslims live. The conflict within Islamic countries among religious fundamentalists, radical extremists, and the moderate mainstream is...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005