In the Name of Confucius

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

The theory of evolution and a re-write of American history are caught in the crosshairs when an unabashed Creationist seeks re-election as chairman of America's most influential Board of Education.

This documentary depicts a vivid example of America's current culture war. It shows a rural community, Philomath, Oregon, that is making a large transition from once being a dominant force through an "old time" profession, the timber industry, to one that is dominated by professionals and techies, the "information age". This is shown by the drastic decline of lumber mills in the area. In 1980, there were twelve mills around Philomath, but twenty-five years later there were only two. The largest employers are no longer the lumber mills but Oregon State University in Corvallis, which is about six miles from Philomath, and a Hewlett-Packard center involved in engineering ink-jet components.

Laura Partridge is a very enthusiastic small stockholder of 10 shares in International Projects, a large corporation based in New York. She attends her first stockholder meeting ready to question the board of directors from their salaries to their operations.

Two years after the discovery of "Sue," the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found to date, government officials seize the remains and claim that "Sue" was stolen from federal land.

With the help of their high school's newest teacher, four Hispanic students form a robotics club. Although they have no experience, the youths set their sights on a national robotics contest. With $800 and parts scavenged from old cars, they build a robot and compete against reigning champion MIT. Along the way, the students learn not only how to build a robot but something far more important: how to forge bonds that will last a lifetime.

This feature documentary is a portrait of Adélard Godbout, the largely forgotten man who was Premier of Quebec from 1939 to 1944. During his office, Godbout helped lay the groundwork for the Quiet Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s: instituting compulsory education, giving women the vote, creating Hydro-Québec and trying to free the province from domination by the clergy. Yet, during the conscription crisis, he favoured sending volunteers to fight Hitler: a sin for which many would never forgive him. Filmmaker Jacques Godbout takes a fresh look at his great-uncle's legacy.

A Super Computer plans world domination with the help of Robbie the robot and a 10 year old boy who is the son the computer's inventor.

Peter Gifford is a likable, dedicated schoolteacher that teaches a senior life skills class. When student Janet Sommers brings up the topic of sex and dating, he asks students to write questions on the topic, and will cover them in the next class. The parents get wind of what Gifford is about to do, notify the principal, and he warns Peter not to read the questions in class. Gifford decides to go against this and is suspended. The whole student body protests, and the administration gets worried on what to do.

A once reluctant homeschool family sells their home and everything in it, packs up in an RV and travels the country to tell the story of the millions of American families who are a part of the Homeschool Revolution. After talking with education experts, homeschooling pioneers, and regular families at every step in their home education journey, they learn come away convinced that it's time for America to bring their children home. The movie follows host, Yvette Hampton, as she travels the country with her family talking with education experts, curriculum developers, college and university faculty and administrators, and homeschooling families at every stage in the process, from kindergarten to college graduation and beyond. As viewers follow Yvette on this journey and share in her challenges and victories as a homeschool mom, they will gather the necessary resources and encouragement to homeschool their own children with excellence.

Confucius was one of history's most influential thinkers. He was a sage, philosopher and teacher who, with Socrates and Buddha, lived at an extraordinary time in the evolution of human civilization. This stunningly beautiful drama-documentary explores the life and times of Confucius, while reflecting on his influence on modern justice and morality. Today, Confucius is a window into China's rise.

For over a century, tens of millions of visitors have marveled at the natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park. But, beneath all this beauty lurks a beast. Yellowstone sits directly above one of the largest volcanic systems on Earth. For the past two million years, this supervolcano has erupted roughly every 600,000 years. The last major eruption occurred 640,000 years ago. So, is it overdue for another eruption? There have been disturbing signals... Supervolcano: Yellowstone's Fury examines the cataclysmic effect an eruption would have on the world. It would be the largest natural disaster in recorded history. NYU Earth Scientist Michael Rampino warns, "An eruption like Yellowstone could trigger the end of civilization as we know it." For experts, the question is not if there will be another eruption, but when. University of Toronto geologist John Westgate agrees: "There will be a very large-scale supervolcanic eruption from Yellowstone. That's a fact."

Music Teacher revolves around Alyson Daley (Potts), a high school music teacher who is on the brink of losing her beloved school music program because of district budget cuts. In an effort to spare the program, Daley's former students band together to stage a musical to raise money to keep the program alive.

Fourth Week Films and the New Orleans Jesuit Province present Xavier, a new PBS-style documentary film on the life of the famed 16th-century Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier. Narrated by Liam Neeson, Xavier tells the missionary's compelling story through dramatizations, interviews, contemporary location shots, paintings and engravings, maps, and most importantly, the extant letters of Xavier. The film features interviews with distinguished scholars of Jesuit and Renaissance history including Ingrid Rowland (Notre Dame University), Andrew Ross (University of Edinburgh), Lourdes del Costa (University of Goa, India), Anthony Ucerler, SJ (Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome), Gauvin Bailey (Clark University) and John O'Malley, SJ, (Weston Jesuit School of Theology).

Why do over 1,000 New York City schoolchildren audition for a modern dance program that requires them to sacrifice free time and involvement in sports and music? For a chance to study with the charismatic Jacques d'Amboise at the National Dance Institute. His philosophy--that creativity exists within everyone and that trying one's best ensures success--forms the foundation of a unique dance program. This documentary chronicles one school-year-long program including initial auditions, rehearsals, and the creation of an exclusive "SWAT" team, and culminates in an amazing, year-end performance at New York's Felt Forum. D'Amboise's enthusiasm is infectious--children, parents, teachers, professional dancers and musicians, and even local law enforcement officers find themselves involved in his productions. This Academy Award-winning documentary details the inspiring story of how one talented dancer's vision flourished into a coveted New York City dance program.

3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G. Atkins, who was responsible for much of the scientific content of the show, felt that the TV program wouldn't replace a classroom but would open the viewers to ask questions about the scientific purpose of things.

When disgraced Harvard philosophy scholar Jack Griffin loses out on his dream job, he is forced to return to Toledo, Ohio, and work as a high school Advanced Placement biology teacher.

Beakman's World is an educational children's television show. The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate syndicated comic strip You Can with Beakman and Jax created by Jok Church. The series premiered September 18, 1992 on The Learning Channel cable network and in national syndication. On September 18, 1993 it moved from national syndication to CBS Saturday morning children’s lineup. At the peak of its popularity, it was seen in nearly 90 countries around the world. The series was canceled in 1998. Reruns returned to national syndication in September 2006, after which it was transferred to local stations such as KICU. The show debuted a year prior to Bill Nye the Science Guy, which covered similar topics. The show's host, Paul Zaloom, still performs as Beakman in live appearances around the globe.

Paranormal State is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on the A&E Network on December 10, 2007. The program follows and stars the Pennsylvania State University Paranormal Research Society, a student-led college club. The show features the group's investigations of alleged paranormal phenomena at reportedly haunted locations.

College Hill was a reality television show on Black Entertainment Television that follows the lives of students at historically black colleges. First broadcast in 2004, the show has become quite popular, bringing in record ratings during its third and fourth seasons for BET. The sixth season, which is set in South Beach, Florida, premiered on March 24, 2009. The show aired every Tuesday at 10 pm on BET. In 2007, a spin-off was produced called College Hill Interns that focused on the lives of ten college students from different universities around the country on their summer internship program in the city of Chicago. The future of the show is unknown. In a recent BET meeting, College Hill and fellow BET original shows Baldwin Hills and Harlem Heights weren't mentioned as returning series.

Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish, also known simply as Destinos, is an educational television program created by Bill VanPatten, who was, at the time, Professor of Spanish and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The show, designed to introduce viewers to the basics of Spanish, had two seasons, beginning in 1992. Its 52 episodes are often used for educational purposes in schools and are still broadcast regularly on many PBS stations, as well as many local channels. Destinos was produced by WGBH Boston and funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project, with additional funding by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Closer to Truth is a continuing television series on PBS & public television originally created, produced and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. The first premiere series aired in 2000 for 2 seasons, followed by a second series aired in 2003 for a single season. The current / third series of the program, Closer to Truth: Cosmos. Consciousness. God., launched in 2008, with 12 full seasons to date. Robert Lawrence Kuhn is the creator, executive producer, writer and presenter of the series. Peter Getzels is the co-creator and producer / director. The show is centered on on-camera conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, theologians, and scholars, covering a diverse range of topics or questions from the size and nature of the universe, to the existence and essence of God, to the mystery of consciousness and the notion of free will.

Three Ming dynasty imperial officials accidentally travel to modern-day Mainland China while searching for a missing princess.

In December of 2017, The New York Times published a stunning front-page exposé about the Pentagon’s mysterious UFO program, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). Featuring an interview with a former military intelligence official and Special Agent In-Charge, Luis Elizondo, who confirmed the existence of the hidden government program, the controversial story was the focus of worldwide attention.

It's the age-old question that has daunted scientists, government officials, explorers, religious leaders and populations around the world for centuries - have aliens made contact with Earth? While more than half the U.S. population believes they have, most sightings and theories still lack the evidential proof to silence the naysayers. In Contact, six highly trained investigators seek to find the answers we've all been searching for. Using groundbreaking CIA developed software, military special operations investigative techniques and boots-on-the-ground journalism to track down leads around the world, Contact is the first ever global investigation to determine whether or not aliens have made contact here on Earth.

Northern Mysteries is a docudrama-style television program that retells some of the stranger events in Canadian history, dealing with ghosts, paranormal events, lost treasures and bizarre murders. Hosted by Kenneth Welsh each episode usually tackles two events or subjects, by discussing with Journalists, the police and eye witnesses a complete account of what happened, as well as re-enacting the events for entertainment purposes. Original versions of each episode were released in both English and French.

We asked 100 game show-loving Canadians: Name the only iconic TV show featuring two Canadian families competing to guess popular answers to fun survey questions. Top answer on the board? Survey says...get ready for Family Feud Canada!

An investigation based on the largest leak of documents in British political history. The Labour Files examines thousands of internal documents, emails and social media messages to reveal how senior officials in one of the two parties of government in the UK ran a coup by stealth against the elected leader of the party.

Who was Homer, and what is the meaning of The Odyssey? In this documentary we follow the footsteps of Ulysses, also known by his Greek name Odysseus—a hero as relevant today as he was nearly three thousand years ago, on a journey across some of the most fascinating landscapes and seascapes of the Mediterranean region. With the help of prominent international scholars, we seek to resolve the questions that still surround one of humanity’s greatest literary works and its enigmatic author.

Drafted to the NBA out of high school when he was only 19 years old, two time NBA Champion JR Smith has a new focus. He's getting a college education and pursuing a new athletic passion at the nation’s largest historically black university - North Carolina A&T.