Vintage footage from the Vietnam war is presented along with narration from both war veterans and Hollywood voice talent. The documentary follows key events and their impact on both the war effort and the American public. The Beginning: The first episode looks at the early months of the Vietnam war from the escalation following the Gulf of Tonkin incident to the grim fighting of the Battle of Ia Drang where a few hundred American soldiers are pinned down by three battalions of North Vietnamese infantry. Using superior air power and reinforcements, the Americans fight the North Vietnamese to a draw.
Dr Hannah Fry explores a paradox at the heart of modern maths, discovered by Bertrand Russell, which undermines the very foundations of logic that all of maths is built on. These flaws suggest that maths isn't a true part of the universe but might just be a human language - fallible and imprecise. However, Hannah argues that Einstein's theoretical equations, such as E=mc2 and his theory of general relativity, are so good at predicting the universe that they must be reflecting some basic structure in it. This idea is supported by Kurt Godel, who proved that there are parts of maths that we have to take on faith. Hannah then explores what maths can reveal about the fundamental building blocks of the universe - the subatomic, quantum world. The maths tells us that particles can exist in two states at once, and yet quantum physics is at the core of photosynthesis and therefore fundamental to most of life on earth - more evidence of discovering mathematical rules in nature. But if we accept that maths is part of the structure of the universe, there are two main problems: firstly, the two main theories that predict and describe the universe - quantum physics and general relativity - are actually incompatible; and secondly, most of the maths behind them suggests the likelihood of something even stranger - multiple universes. We may just have to accept that the world really is weirder than we thought, and Hannah concludes that while we have invented the language of maths, the structure behind it all is something we discover. And beyond that, it is the debate about the origins of maths that has had the most profound consequences: it has truly transformed the human experience, giving us powerful new number systems and an understanding that now underpins the modern world.
Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that cause illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms' Gary Hirschberg and Polyface Farms' Joe Salatin, the film reveals surprising--and often shocking truths--about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.
There is a contest each year that can change a young skater's life. There are no pros with million dollar endorsement deals here, just real kids with real lives and everything on the line. This is the story of a few of the best, from France, Brazil and the USA, as they risk everything for a chance of a lifetime. Motivation 3: The Next Generation is a proper follow-up to The Motivation but this time the stakes are so much higher. We're in deep with real kids escaping poverty and violence, crashing in skate-houses or still living with mom. For all of these kids a win at Tampa Am could mean a way out and an opportunity to do what they love for a living-skate.
David Attenborough reveals the surprising truth about the cold-blooded lives of reptiles and amphibians. These animals are as dramatic in combat, as colourful in their communication and as tender in their parental care as any other animals. Join giant courting crocodiles, jousting tortoises and bright red sumo-wrestling frogs in their sophisticated, solar-powered lives.
Growing up. Finding food. Seeking shelter. Finding a soul mate. Raising children. These universal themes touch the hearts of audiences everywhere. Parents will do anything to give their kids the best start in life. Witness the epic journey of a tiny poison arrow frog, scaling impossibly high trees to feed her tadpoles in the canopy. As the young grow, they confront the life long search for food. Capuchin monkeys spend up to eight years teaching their young the complex process of preparing a palm nut meal. For those creatures who successfully negotiated all the obstacles to adulthood, it’s time to face the ultimate test: to find a partner and to pass on their genes to the next generation. In what is one of the most spectacular and romantic courtship dances in the world, grebes step out across the surface of a lake in perfect unison. We see so much of ourselves in these different animals, and them in us – intelligence, strength, determination, courage, even love. The stories combine to reveal how every living thing on our planet shares the same desire – not just to live, but to foster new life. Relevant, engaging and above all, amazing. Narrated by Daniel Craig,
The Beginning: The first episode looks at the early months of the Vietnam war from the escalation following the Gulf of Tonkin incident to the grim fighting of the Battle of Ia Drang where a few hundred American soldiers are pinned down by three battalions of North Vietnamese infantry. Using superior air power and reinforcements, the Americans fight the North Vietnamese to a draw.