The true story of Mormon Fundamentalist brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty who murdered their sister-in-law and her baby daughter because they believed that God wanted them to.

Comedy is the complement of tragedy, and tragedy is one of the oldest forms of ritual in the Western world. However, while tragedy is linked to the sacred, comedy is often linked to the profane and sometimes even the sacrilegious. This program explores comedy, from Aristophanes and Cicero to the Christian ban on humor. The Feast of Fools and Carnival as Christian institutions that celebrate the profane are examined, along with the role of the Fool...

From music charts to executive boards, feminism is certainly in fashion. Yet some argue that once radical feminist ideas for the future have been harnessed for commercial gain. Are Beyonce and Simone de Beauvoir feminists really on the same side? How much do the second, third and fourth wave feminists share? Do successful women who make it to the top like Margaret Thatcher or Sheryl Sandberg risk reinforcing a man's world while doing little about...

The fate of Jerusalem's Temple Mount, a site holy both to Jews and Muslims, is at the very heart of the Middle East conflict-perhaps the world's most important unresolved religious dispute. A billion Muslims will not rest until the site is under Islamic sovereignty. For Jews in Israel and around the world, however, it is part of their historic capital, never to be surrendered. Can anything short of divine intervention settle the issue? In this final...

Although Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door, his action sparked a political upheaval as well as a religious one. This program examines the rise of the Protestant movement in Europe and its link to revolution, civil war, and modern incarnations of radical and conservative politics. Studying the theology Luther crafted at Wartburg Castle and his confrontations with papal and secular authorities, the film explores Thomas Muntzer's bloody...

The slow collapse of the Roman Empire and the departure of Roman troops from Britain in about 410 AD led to the arrival of new cultures which threatened the Celts. This program claims that British king Vortigern invited the Anglo-Saxons into Britain to help defeat the Picts. Whether due to armed conflict or successful migration, Britain was soon under Saxon domination, which continued until the legendary King Arthur defeats them at the Battle of Mount...

In 2003, the Wide Angle program Time for School profiled children in seven countries-Afghanistan, Benin, Brazil, India, Japan, Kenya, and Romania-as they started their first year of school, often in the face of great adversity. Three years later this Wide Angle episode returns to visit each child, updating the progress of their educational and personal development. The similarities and contrasts that emerge among the lives of these young people provide...

Did the Soviet Union collapse under external pressure or its own weight? What enabled free market forces to assert themselves in China? Is socialism dead, or has it simply evolved? This program addresses these and other questions, focusing on the political, cultural, and economic factors behind the fall of the iron curtain regimes. Outlining the Cultural Revolution and its consequences, the emergence of the Reagan and Thatcher administrations, and...

World-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and London School of Economics professor Ernest Gellner discuss contemporary philosophy, its historical and social backgrounds, and its role in modern society. Gellner examines the radical expansion of scientific knowledge and its dehumanizing effect on society as expressed by sociologist Max Weber. Marxism's messianic expectation is blamed for its failure to reconstruct society. Gellner dismisses today's...

As children begin school and other new experiences, what happens to the values, behavior, and expectations they have learned at home? Why do so many young people follow the crowd? And when does conformity become a bad thing? This program explores those questions, visiting a group of 25 seven-year-olds who are learning to cope with peer groups and situations. Children and parents are given tasks to see who conforms and who is comfortable standing out,...