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)
Producers: WGBH
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Telescope: Hunting the Edge of Space DVD – Home Use
Hunting the Edge of Space, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, and takes viewers on a global adventure of discovery, exploring the rich history of the telescope. Then NOVA turns its attention to a new generation of ever-larger telescopes, poised to reveal answers to longstanding questions about our universe, and, in turn, to raise new questions.
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Telescope: Hunting the Edge of Space DVD – Public Performance
Hunting the Edge of Space, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, and takes viewers on a global adventure of discovery, exploring the rich history of the telescope. Then NOVA turns its attention to a new generation of ever-larger telescopes, poised to reveal answers to longstanding questions about our universe, and, in turn, to raise new questions.
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scienceNOW – Can We Make it to Mars? – Public Performance
This NOVA scienceNOW poses the question – Can We make it to Mars? – and host Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles one of science’s major challenges in each episode. He will guide us as he explores dramatic discoveries and the frontiers of research that connect each central, provocative mystery. Program episodes include Space Dangers – A trip to Mars and back could take two to three years. Can humans survive the journey, fraught with deadly meteoroids, bone and muscle wasting, and perilous levels of radiation? Scientists are developing new ways to keep astronauts alive, using novel meteoroid-proof materials, artificial gravity, and exercise. But will they be enough?
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scienceNOW – Can We Make it to Mars? – Home Use
This NOVA scienceNOW poses the question – Can We make it to Mars? – and host Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles one of science’s major challenges in each episode. He will guide us as he explores dramatic discoveries and the frontiers of research that connect each central, provocative mystery. Program episodes include Space Dangers – A trip to Mars and back could take two to three years. Can humans survive the journey, fraught with deadly meteoroids, bone and muscle wasting, and perilous levels of radiation? Scientists are developing new ways to keep astronauts alive, using novel meteoroid-proof materials, artificial gravity, and exercise. But will they be enough?
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The Perfect Corpse – Public Performance
Central Ireland’s waterlogged landscape is no ordinary ground. Here, the moist earth halts decomposition, perfectly preserving stunning evidence of brutal ritualistic killings, corpses from the prehistoric Iron Age, over 2,000 years ago. These are not skeletons or mummies, but the soft tissue and remains of people trapped in time. NOVA is granted exclusive access to the investigation of two recently unearthed and exceedingly rare bog bodies.
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The Pluto Files – Home Use
Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has held a warm place in the public imagination. So, when the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium stopped calling Pluto a planet, director Neil deGrasse Tyson found himself at the center of a firestorm-a firestorm led by angry, Pluto-loving elementary school students. But what is it about this cold, distant rock that captures so many hearts? NOVA joins Tyson as he follows the amazing story of its discovery and the captivating science that surrounds this former planet, including the possibility of finding more Pluto-like planets in the mysterious Kuiper belt – an area of icy rocks at the edge of the solar system. From the scientists trying to classify Pluto to die-hard “Pluto-philes,” Tyson meets a fascinating cast of characters with just one thing in common: Strong opinions about Pluto. Based on Tyson’s book of the same name, Pluto Files is an exciting and entertaining look at the solar system’s best-loved non-planet.
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The Pluto Files – Public Performance
Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has held a warm place in the public imagination. So, when the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium stopped calling Pluto a planet, director Neil deGrasse Tyson found himself at the center of a firestorm-a firestorm led by angry, Pluto-loving elementary school students. But what is it about this cold, distant rock that captures so many hearts? NOVA joins Tyson as he follows the amazing story of its discovery and the captivating science that surrounds this former planet, including the possibility of finding more Pluto-like planets in the mysterious Kuiper belt – an area of icy rocks at the edge of the solar system. From the scientists trying to classify Pluto to die-hard “Pluto-philes,” Tyson meets a fascinating cast of characters with just one thing in common: Strong opinions about Pluto. Based on Tyson’s book of the same name, Pluto Files is an exciting and entertaining look at the solar system’s best-loved non-planet.
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Mind Over Money – Home Use
In the wake of the worst financial crisis in a generation, NOVA investigates what science can tell us about the way we make crucial financial decisions. Traditional economics has little to say about our spending, saving, and investing habits except to assume that we all act rationally-a notion that seems wildly improbable in the current turmoil on Wall Street and beyond. But there’s a new breakthrough in social science-behavioral finance-that’s taking a more realistic look at our attitudes to money by bringing cognitive psychology and even neuroscience into economics. In a timely and lively exploration, NOVA’s Behavioral Economics recreates behavioral finance’s most surprising findings and compelling experiments. These include wiring up Wall Street traders so we can watch their brain scans as they buy and sell stocks, exposing a seething interplay of brain activity patterns linked to reason and emotion. Other tests show how too much consumer choice-for instance, between similar brands at a supermarket-can overwhelm our ability to make good decisions. With the help of mini-dramas following real people as they grapple with real financial decisions, Behavioral Economics shows how new theories are revealing unexpected insights into our emotions and behavior in a time of unprecedented crisis in the marketplace.
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Nova: Mt. St. Helens: Back from the Dead
When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, every living thing in the blast zone was buried beneath 300 feet of avalanche debris, covered with steaming mud, and finally, topped with a superheated layer of frothy rock from deep within the earth. It seemed as though Mount St. Helens might remain a wasteland forever. Then, to everyone’s surprise, life began to bloom again. Over the course of thirty years, biologist Charlie Crisafulli has been documenting the dramatic return of plant and animal life to the barren landscape. But he has also tracked a new threat: The mountain, like the wildlife, is coming back to life. Soon after the 1980 eruption, new lava was bubbling up to the surface, and in 2004, a flurry of explosions blasted steam and ash thousands of feet into the air over Mount St. Helens. What force is driving this baffling pattern? Using GPS, magnetic mapping, and more, geologists are tracking the movement of magma deep within the volcano and revealing a hidden lattice of faults that lies beneath the volatile landscape. NOVA presents a pioneering look at the interplay between biology and geology that may help scientists predict future volcanic eruptions.