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Among Believers

   2013    History
With optional Hebrew subtitles. The story of medieval Jews struggling to preserve their identity--and sometimes their lives--under the rule of Christianity and Islam. Whether labelled 'Christ-killers' by the Christians or 'dhimmi' (non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic community) by the Muslims, diaspora Jews built new lives and invented new ways of being Jewish in exile in the face of discrimination, blood-libels and persecution interspersed with periods of tolerance, protection and peaceful co-existence. Drawing on some of the documents they left behind, this episode offers a vivid portrait of Jewish bankers, merchants, doctors, poets and artists flourishing in Lincoln, Cordoba, Venice and Cairo and tells the story of their mass expulsion from Spain in 1492.
Series: The Story of the Jews

Ancient Rome: Constantine

   2006    History
This episode tells the story of how the Emperor Constantine brought Christianity to the western world. In AD 312, Rome was in crisis. The empire had been divided into four parts, each with its own emperor who fought one another. Constantine intervened and united Rome, using military might and a new religion - Christianity.
Series: Ancient Rome

Baraka

       Culture
Without words, Ron Fricke shows us the world, with an emphasis not on 'where,' but on 'what's there.' It begins with morning, natural landscapes and people at prayer: volcanoes, water falls, veldts, and forests; several hundred Balinese Hindu men perform kecak, the monkey chant. Indigenous peoples apply body paint; whole villages dance. The film moves to destruction of nature via logging, blasting, and strip mining. Images of poverty, rapid urban life, and factories give way to war, concentration camps, and mass graves. Ancient ruins come into view, and then a sacred river where pilgrims bathe and funeral pyres burn. Prayer and nature return. A monk rings a huge bell; stars wheel across the sky. (Click CC for places description)

Beyond Death

   2016    Culture
At a crucial time in history, when religious violence is impacting peace all over the world, and science is venturing into areas that were once the realms of faith, Morgan Freeman embarks on a journey around the globe and through the centuries to uncover the Story of God. He will explore different cultures and religions on the ultimate quest to uncover the meaning of life, God and all these big questions in between. In the first episode, the actor examines religious belief. He starts by discussing the afterlife with scientists, scholars, a Hindu monk and a man who had a near-death experience.
Series: The Story of God

Boko Haram and Unnatural Selection

   2015    Culture
The terrorist group Boko Haram is responsible for thousands of deaths in Nigeria. Now, the government is determined to drive these militants from the country. But is the hunt for insurgents causing as much harm as it's preventing? Former Navy SEAL and new VICE correspondent Kaj Larsen travels to Nigeria to see what this cat-and-mouse game means for the people caught in the middle of the fight. 'Unnatural Selection': For centuries, scientists have been working to change the genetic traits of plants and animals. Now, the new gene-editing method CRISPR has made that process astonishingly simple - so simple it could easily be used on humans. Isobel Yeung reports from Brazil, Scotland, China and the U.S. on the technological advances that could reshape evolution as we know it.

Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali

       Art
Salvador Dali's strange crucifixion is often called the greatest religious painting of the 20th century. Yet its artist was a notorious blasphemer some of whose work had outraged the Catholic Church. The Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali is the first of two extraordinary crucifixions painted by Dali in the early 1950s. The painting is based on a 'cosmic dream' Dali is said to have had, in which the nucleus of the atom was a figure of Christ himself.
The painting offers a surrealist view of the crucifixion of Christ, and is based on a drawing by the 16th century Spanish friar Saint John of the Cross. But Dali's vision was somewhat unique, using an unusual artistic perspective in which Christ is seen from above. His Christ of St. John of The Cross was inspired by a weird mix of Spanish mysticism and nuclear physics, with his Christ being modelled by a Hollywood stuntman. It's also a masterpiece of painting technique.
Series: The Private Life of a Masterpiece
The Jinx

The Jinx

  History
Clarkson Farm

Clarkson Farm

2021  Nature
The Crime of the Century

The Crime of the Century

2021  Medicine
Latino Americans

Latino Americans

2013  History
Galapagos

Galapagos

2006  Nature
Chemistry

Chemistry

2010  Science
Rotten

Rotten

2018  Nature