What makes a person walk into a theater, church, or classroom and open fire? What combination of circumstances compels a human being to commit the most inhuman of crimes? As the nation tries to comprehend the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut, NOVA correspondent Miles O’Brien investigates theories that many rampage killers are driven most of all by the wish to die, not the urge to kill. Could suicide-and the desire to go out in a media-fueled blaze of glory-be their main motivation? How much can science tell us about a brain at risk for violence? Most important, can we recognize dangerous minds in time to stop the next Newtown?
Countries: US
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NOVA scienceNOW: How Does the Brain Work?
Host Neil deGrasse Tyson will tackle one of science’s major challenges in each episode, framed as a simple question that ordinary people wonder and worry about. Neil will guide us as he explores dramatic discoveries and the frontiers of research that connect each central, provocative mystery. Episode includes: 1) Magic and the Brain – Neuroscientists join Penn and Teller to explore why humans are so easily fooled by magic tricks. 2) Can Machines Think Like Us? – A computer named Watson is the latest contestant in machine v. human battles of the “mind.” 3) Magnetic Mind Control – Using magnetic wands, researchers can control the brain functions of human subjects. Sound scary? 4) Profile: David Eagleman – A neuroscientist finds inventive ways to study the brain-like sending test subjects into a terror-inducing free-fall.
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Longest Hatred
“They are the other. They are not us.” Throughout time, words such as these have been used to justify and vilify. This stunning documentary takes an unsparing look at the ways such words have shaped the experience of Jewish people, from the first century to the present. In part one, “From the Cross to the Swastika,” traces an image that begins with the earliest writing of Christianity. In part two, “Enemies of the People,” shows how anti-Semitic sentiment has accompanied a growing nationalism in Europe in recent decades. Part three, Between Moses and Muhammed, takes a humanistic look at relations between Arabs and Israelis, once linked by pseudo-science under the degrading label ”Semite,” and now enmeshed in one of the world’s most violent conflicts. (2.5 hrs. on 2 cassettes)
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NOVA: Hunting the Elements
Where do nature’s building blocks, called the elements, come from? They’re the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones. To unlock their secrets, David Pogue, the lively host of NOVA’s popular “Making Stuff” series and technology correspondent of The New York Times, spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry: the strongest acids, the deadliest poisons, the universe’s most abundant elements, and the rarest of the rare-substances cooked up in atom smashers that flicker into existence for only fractions of a second. Why are some elements-like platinum or gold-inert, while others-like phosphorus or potassium-are violently explosive? Why are some vital to every breath we take while others are lethal toxins that kill off their discoverers, as with Marie Curie? As he digs for answers, Pogue reveals the story of the elements to be a rich stew simmering with passion, madness, and obsessive scientific rivalry. Punctuated by surprising and often alarming experiments, this program takes NOVA on a roller-coaster ride through nature’s hidden lab and the compelling stories of discovery that revealed its secrets.
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Sister Wendy in Conversation with Bill Moyers Book
A 96-page companion book to the video Sister Wendy in Conversation with Bill Moyers, contains the complete transcript of the three-hour conversation between Sister Wendy and Bill Moyers–including additional dialogue not in the video.
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NOVA scienceNOW: What are Animals Thinking?
Have you ever wondered what’s going on inside your pet’s mind? In What Are Animals Thinking? find out how a beehive resembles a human brain and whether your dog is really feeling guilty when it gives you that famous “guilty look.”
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The Churchills
An astounding portrait of one of history’s most important families. They overcame doubters with powerful persuasion. They overthrew enemies with ruthless determination. They overjoyed the public with courageous leadership. The Churchills–regally descended from the first Duke of Marlborough–blended aristocratic privilege with ceaseless ambition to ultimately bring glory to their nation and their name. Special DVD features include: a link to the American Experience Web site; closed captions; and video descriptions. (2.5 hrs on 1 disc)
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NOVA scienceNOW: What will the future be like?
Mobile phones that read your mind? Video games that can cure cancer? Wearable robots that give you the strength of Ironman? David Pogue predicts which technologies will transform our daily lives. These advancements are already taking shape in laboratories around the world – and gadgets that once were purely science fiction are on the verge of becoming as common as the iPhones and Androids Pogue reviews every day.
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NOVA: Ultimate Mars Challenge
Mars Curiosity. It could be NASA’s last chance to set wheels down on Mars until the end of the decade: This August, a rover named Curiosity will touch down inside Mars’ Gale Crater, carrying 10 new instruments that will advance the quest for signs that Mars might have once been suitable for life. But Curiosity’s mission is risky. After parachuting through the Martian atmosphere at twice the speed of sound, Curiosity will be gently lowered to the planet’s surface by a “sky crane.” This first-of-its-kind system has been tested on Earth, but will it work on Mars? With inside access to the massive team of scientists and engineers responsible for Curiosity’s on-the-ground experiments, NOVA will be there for the exhilarating moments after Curiosity’s landing-and for the spectacular discoveries to come. But no rover does it alone: Curiosity will be joining a team that includes the Mars Odyssey, Express, and Reconnaissance orbiters, along with the tireless Opportunity rover. As we reveal the dynamic new picture of Mars that these explorers are painting, we will discover the deep raised by forty years of roving Mars: How do we define life? How does life begin and what does it need to survive? Are we alone in the universe?
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NOVA: Ultimate Mars Challenge Blu-ray
Mars Curiosity. It could be NASA’s last chance to set wheels down on Mars until the end of the decade: This August, a rover named Curiosity will touch down inside Mars’ Gale Crater, carrying 10 new instruments that will advance the quest for signs that Mars might have once been suitable for life. But Curiosity’s mission is risky. After parachuting through the Martian atmosphere at twice the speed of sound, Curiosity will be gently lowered to the planet’s surface by a “sky crane.” This first-of-its-kind system has been tested on Earth, but will it work on Mars? With inside access to the massive team of scientists and engineers responsible for Curiosity’s on-the-ground experiments, NOVA will be there for the exhilarating moments after Curiosity’s landing-and for the spectacular discoveries to come. But no rover does it alone: Curiosity will be joining a team that includes the Mars Odyssey, Express, and Reconnaissance orbiters, along with the tireless Opportunity rover. As we reveal the dynamic new picture of Mars that these explorers are painting, we will discover the deep raised by forty years of roving Mars: How do we define life? How does life begin and what does it need to survive? Are we alone in the universe?