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Lego

   2018    Technology
In 1949, after decades of making wooden furniture and toys, Ole Kirk Christiansen's small factory in Billund, Denmark, moved to plastic and created the 'Automatic Binding Bricks', which would later be known as LEGO. When the company patented the tube system in 1958, LEGO became the dominant toy line worldwide throughout the 1960s and 1970s. When other competitors capitalized on the expiration of the company's patents in the 1980s, LEGO faced stiff competition until they reported their first loss in 1998. Poor business decisions with film licenses and the failure of the Jack Stone and Galidor lines brought LEGO to near-bankruptcy until Jørgen Vig Knudstorp took over the company and, by bringing it back to its roots, rejuvenated LEGO's profits.
By the time The Lego Movie hit theaters in 2014, LEGO became the largest toy franchise in the world.
Series: The Toys that Made Us

Changing Work Changing Workers

   2021    Technology
As the landscape of work shifts, do we need a drastic rethinking of social safety nets? Do businesses need offices? Is a 9-to-5 workday valid? Does the nation need a drastic rethinking of the social safety nets? Does America face a 'post-work' era, or will there be increased inequities in how we make our livings?
Series: Future of Work

Kennedy Sinatra and the Mafia

   2023    History
This featured documentary delves into the tangled web of politics, show business, and organized crime in post-World War II America. It traces the unlikely connections between President John F. Kennedy, iconic singer Frank Sinatra, and notorious mobsters, revealing a saga of mutual assistance amidst corruption and betrayal. The film highlights the complex interplay of fame, money, and power, illustrating how these forces helped these figures rise to prominence in a chaotic and corrupt American landscape, ultimately leading to personal and political tragedies.
The documentary paints a vivid picture of Kennedy and Sinatra's ascent, influenced by their ties with the mafia. Kennedy, groomed for power from birth, and Sinatra, rising from humble beginnings, both relied on mafia connections for their successes. As Kennedy's political career and Sinatra's entertainment stature grew, so did their dependence on the underworld. The film culminates in the portrayal of Sinatra's deep involvement in Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign and the subsequent betrayal of the mafia by the Kennedy administration, suggesting that this complex network of relationships may have played a role in Kennedy's assassination. This provocative tale is a stark reminder of the dark intersection of fame, power, and crime.

A Liar Not a Failure

   2023    History
This TV series delves into the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff, the man behind the largest fraud in US history. With his Ponzi scheme, Madoff bilked $65 billion from unsuspecting victims, marking one of the greatest cons in the history of investment banking. The series offers an intriguing look into the mind of this monumental swindler.
In the first episode we will see how Bernie Madoff starts his career in penny stock trades and builds a lucrative side business as an adviser, attracting clients with impressive returns.
Series: Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street

Freightened: The Real Price of Shipping

       Technology
90% of the goods we consume in the West are manufactured in far-off lands and brought to us by ship. The cargo shipping industry holds the key to our economy, our environment and the very model of our civilization; without it, it would be impossible to fulfill the ever-increasing demands of our societies. Yet the functioning and regulations of this business remain largely obscure to many, and its hidden costs affect us all. Due to their size, freight ships no longer fit in traditional city harbors; they have moved out of the public's eye, behind barriers and checkpoints.
The film answers questions such as: Who pulls the strings in this multi-billion dollar business? To what extent does the industry control our policymakers? How does it affect the environment above and below the water-line? And what's life like for modern seafarers? Taking us on a journey overseas and oceans, we reveal in an audacious investigation the many faces of world-wide freight shipping and sheds light on the consequences of an all-but-visible industry.

When Banana Ruled

   2017    History
The saga of a handful of conquerors who built an empire in Central America and invented the methods of one of the very first multinationals. In 19th century Central America, a few entrepreneurial cowboys built an empire that enslaved populations and corrupted governments for over 100 years. The United Fruit Company thrived on unregulated capitalism; this film tells its story and that of its pioneers who feared neither God nor Man, and managed to get away with murder. Until the 1970s, that multinational set up a monopoly by combining violence, repression, corruption, environmental destruction and a formidable marketing machine. It turned an unknown fruit into an instrument of fortune and domination, and created a business model still largely used by today’s tech giants.
Using a rich trove of archival footage and documents, including letters to and from lobbyists, telegrams, vintage ads and movie clips, and gorgeous, hand-tinted stills, 'When Banana Ruled' is a story of intrigue that touches on economics, international politics, the history of business and reveals how an array of forces conquered the world through a simple fruit.
Reel Rock

Reel Rock

2014  Culture
The Big Conn

The Big Conn

2022  Culture
Natural World

Natural World

2009  Nature
Conquest of the Skies

Conquest of the Skies

2015  Nature
Rotten

Rotten

2018  Nature
Enemies of Reason

Enemies of Reason

  Medicine
Neanderthal

Neanderthal

  History