The African Americans - Many Rivers to Cross

In the new six-part series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. recounts the full trajectory of African-American history airing six consecutive Tuesdays October 22, 2013 through November 26, 2013.

Written and presented by Professor Gates, the six-hour series explores the evolution of the African-American people, as well as the multiplicity of cultural institutions, political strategies, and religious and social perspectives they developed — forging their own history, culture and society against unimaginable odds. Commencing with the origins of slavery in Africa, the series moves through five centuries of remarkable historic events right up to the present - when America is led by a black president, yet remains a nation deeply divided by race.

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Afropop Worldwide: Jamaica In New York: The History of Reggae and Dancehall in the Big Apple

Jamaica In New York: The History of Reggae and Dancehall in the Big Apple
Afropop.org
September 26, 2013

New York City has long had a thriving and populous Jamaican community from Crown Heights, Brooklyn to the south Bronx. And as long as Jamaicans have come to the Big Apple they’ve brought their culture and music along with them. In this musical exposé Afropop producer Saxon Baird susses out the often overlooked NYC Jamaican music scene with interviews from some of its biggest players from Bullwackies in the Bronx to Brooklyn-based dancehall artists like Screechy Dan.

PBS - Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle

SUPERHEROES: A NEVER-ENDING BATTLE is the first documentary to examine the dawn of the comic book genre and its powerful legacy, as well as the evolution of the characters who leapt from the pages over the last 75 years and their ongoing worldwide cultural impact.

3-hour documentary film, Premiers Tuesday October 15, 2013 on PBS.

Soryu Grape Farm and Winery - Yamashi Prefrecture Japan

Soryu Winery is located in Koshu City, Katsunuma town in Yamanashi Prefecture. It was founded by the families of Masanari Takano and Ryuken Tsuchiya, who traveled to France to learn the proper French winemaking techniques and then pioneered winemaking in Japan. Soryu is one of Katsunuma’s most historic wineries, with annual production equivalent to 1.2 million bottles.

The name of the winery "Soryu Budoshu" originated from "Soryu" which is the God to protect the Eastern Gods protecting East/West/South/North from the ancient Chinese lore and is also the God that brings luck. The winery has been making great wines since 1899 in Katsunuma which has a great climate for growing the best grapes for Japanese wine.

Michael Pollan - Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation

In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements—fire, water, air, and earth— to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink.

Fire, Water, Air, Earth: Michael Pollan Gets Elemental In 'Cooked'
April 21, 2013
NPR Weekend Edition Sunday

NOVA - Earth from Space

NOVA "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. NOVA takes data from earth-observing satellites and transforms it into dazzling visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate and surprising web of forces that sustains life on earth. Viewers witness how dust blown from the Sahara fertilizes the Amazon; how a vast submarine "waterfall" off Antarctica helps drive ocean currents around the world; and how the Sun's heating up of the southern Atlantic gives birth to a colossally powerful hurricane. From the microscopic world of water molecules vaporizing over the ocean to the magnetic field that is bigger than Earth itself, the show reveals the astonishing beauty and complexity of our dynamic planet.

Robert Reich - Inequality for All

http://inequalityforall.com/

INEQUALITY FOR ALL examines the crisis of widening income inequality in the US through the eyes and the influential work of Robert Reich

In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic policy expert Robert Reich takes on the enormous question of what has been happening to our economy. He distills the story through the lens of widening income inequality -- currently at historic highs -- and and explores what effects this increasing gap has not only on our economy but our democracy itself.

In the wake of the financial crisis and the recent rise of the Occupy movement, the issue of income inequality has gained unprecedented public awareness. Over the last thirty years, the U.S. economy itself doubled. But, these gains went to a very few: the top 1% of earners now take in more than 20% of all income -- three times what they did in 1970. Distortions are even more extreme at the very top. The 400 richest Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 150 million combined. While this level of inequality poses a serious risk to all Americans, regardless of income level, much of the rhetoric on this subject has been fueled by anger and resentment from a frustrated middle class who feel their birthright – the American Dream – has been taken away from them.