In the first decades of the 20th century, when life was being transformed by scientific innovations, researchers made a thrilling new claim: they could tell whether someone was lying by using a machine. Popularly known as the “lie detector,” the device transformed police work, seized headlines and was extolled in movies, TV and comics as an infallible crime-fighting tool. Husbands and wives tested each other’s fidelity. Corporations routinely tested employees’ honesty and government workers were tested for loyalty and “morals.” But the promise of the polygraph turned dark, and the lie detector too often became an apparatus of fear and intimidation. Written and directed by Rob Rapley and executive produced by Cameo George, The Lie Detector is a tale of good intentions, twisted morals and unintended consequences.
Despite Blacks making up only 7% of Madison WI's population, they are leading in so many important areas from education to politics, and are launching so many multi-million dollar projects that people describe this period as a "Black Renaissance."
A Documentary film exploring the history and evolution of vinyl records. Featuring Interviews with the experts, musicians and fans alike, 'Stuck in the groove' takes you on a journey of vinyl-mania, music and nostalgia.
Ascent of Evil: The Story of Mein Kampf is an autobiographical manifesto written by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler while imprisoned following his 1923 failed coup attempt in Munich. In Mein Kampf, Hitler outlined his political ideology and goals for Germany. Today, Mein Kampf is still available in libraries, on the Internet, at universities and even at bookstores worldwide. Yet much of the history of this 720-page, two-volume screed is now forgotten. Using historical footage, photographs and interviews with scholars, Ascent of Evil plunges deep into the infamous blueprint for evil’s dark secrets and reveals how this book came to be written and its impact on world.
Discover the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst who helped bring down gangsters and break up a Nazi spy ring in South America. Her work helped lay the foundation for modern codebreaking today.
Three stories intertwine in a realm haunted by a bloodthirsty Beast. The lord of the castle must think about the survival of his people - decimated by the monster - when his daughter is infected with a mysterious disease. In the woods, two brothers share a dark secret, and the time of truth has finally come. A mysterious warrior from afar is on a mission, he is looking for the Beast.
Fish & Men exposes the high cost of cheap fish in the modern seafood economy and the forces threatening local fishing communities and public health by revealing how our choices as consumers drive the global seafood trade. But, a new movement is underway – an opportunity to return sustainability to both fish and fishermen. Thriving on local communities, pioneering fishermen and celebrated chefs are leading a revolutionary new model, a ‘Catch of the Day’ revival based on local, seasonal, sustainable fish and reconnect us with those who risk their lives to harvest the bounties of the sea. Featuring the owners of Mac’s Seafood on Cape Cod and the Gloucester, Massachusetts fishing community.
On a stormy day in May of 1889, the South Fork Dam impounding Conemaugh Lake exploded, unleashing a 40-foot wall of water. The bustling industrial city of Johnstown, PA, in the valley below was reduced to a wasteland, killing more than 2,200. This heavily dramatized documentary reviews the factors that led to the dam's collapse, while dramatic reenactments and survivors' personal testimonies detail the horror.
What happened next could never have been anticipated and forms the story line for the final film of the trilogy; Born Under The Red Flag examines China’s remarkable transformation after Mao’s death. In just 15 years, under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership, China raced forward at an astonishing pace to become a never-before-seen hybrid of communism and capitalism. The world’s most populous nation has reinvented itself, changing from a relatively undeveloped and isolated nation into an economic giant and a major international power. For many Chinese, this transformation has brought unprecedented prosperity, but it has also raised troubling questions of national identity and social inequality.
The trilogy continues with The Mao Years, a look at the next period of modern China’s history: Mao Zedong’s rule, from 1949 to his death in 1976. The film begins with the celebrations marking the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, a moment of great hope for millions of Chinese. But the quarter-century of Mao’s rule was as turbulent as the decades which preceded it. Interludes of relative calm and increased prosperity were interrupted repeatedly by violent campaigns, purges, and a famine in which killed more than 30 million people. It culminated in Mao’s colossal and tragic experiment, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. When Mao died in 1976, people were exhausted by the turmoil and longed for stability.
This film follows the path of the Jonah Family in remembrance of the loss of their son, Jack, to a heroin overdose. The film brings awareness to the drug/opioid crisis in Massachusetts and the world itself. Focusing on Jack's Family and people they meet along the way, it shows different types of grief, the signs of an addiction we may miss, and how we can inspire courage to be contagious.
Over the course of two centuries, seven million men, women and children abandoned their homeland for America's shores. In just one horrifying decade, two million left to escape a famine that left another million dead. This is the moving chronicle of the Irish immigrant experience.
How U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson used his political prowess to make the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 happen. The story is told using rarely-seen footage, interviews and secret White House tapes.
In the middle of a broadcast about Typhoon Yolanda's initial impact, reporter Jiggy Manicad was faced with the reality that he no longer had communication with his station. They were, for all intents and purposes, stranded in Tacloban. With little option, and his crew started the six hour walk to Alto, where the closest broadcast antenna was to be found. Letting the world know what was happening to was a priority, but they were driven by the need to let their families and friends know they were all still alive. Along the way, they encountered residents and victims of the massive typhoon, and with each step it became increasingly clear just how devastating this storm was. This was a storm that was going to change lives.