La Salada is South America’s largest marketplace for fraudulently labeled clothing, a sprawling and dangerous bazaar on the fringes of Buenos Aires where counterfeit goods are bought and sold, armed thieves roam the nearby streets, and corrupt police and politicians turn a blind eye to widespread unlawful behaviors. Despite conditions traditionally considered inhospitable to economic growth—including acute interpersonal distrust, pervasive

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Austin, Texas, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, is experiencing one of the most dynamic periods in its history. Wedged between homogenizing growth and a long tradition of rebellious nonconformity, many Austinites feel that they are in the midst of a battle for the city's soul.

From this struggle, a movement has emerged as a form of resistance to the rapid urban transformation brought about in recent years: "Keep Austin Weird"

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Where water supply, railway transportation, and oil reserves have been abundant, towns in central West Texas have prospered; where these resources are few, settlements have maintained only slight growth or disappeared entirely. Supporting his conclusions with profuse statistical evidence, Robert L. Martin traces the economic development of six major towns in the area, all with over 10,000 residents in 1960: Lamesa, Snyder, Sweetwater, Big Spring,

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In The Devil in the White City, The Devil in the White City draws the listener into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that...

Today, much of the planet's population lives in a British-shaped world. How did this clutch of islands off the coast of Europe come to dominate the globe? The British presents the history of the British Isles from Stonehenge to World War Two using gripping drama reconstruction, the latest CG, time-lapse and aerial footage. A Tale of Two Cities covers the London Exposition, Industrial Revolution urbanization issues, and Victorian social reforms inspired...

This program with Bill Moyers examines why America has become an unfriendly culture for families and children, and explores ways to rebuild a web of support for families. Among those featured on the program are Rosalie Streett, Exec. Director of Parent Action (Baltimore, MD); Jill Bradley, Director of Child Care Services, Chicago Housing Authority; and Richard Louv, author of the book Childhood's Future. They discuss some of the practical steps needed...

There is still a king or Oba of Benin today, and he still dispenses justice to his people. He lives in a very traditional world but has received a British university education. Contrasts like these are commonplace in modern Nigeria: the children shop in the tumult of a traditional market and go to a supermarket to buy plastic toys made in China. Overseas trade is not new to Benin; it was taking place long before the white man arrived. By dramatizing...

What prevents minority communities from joining the European mainstream? Is there an appropriate balance between assimilation and preserving one's cultural heritage? This program wrestles with questions of identity-racial, cultural, and sexual-resulting from the startling new diversity of European society. Depicting daily life in immigrant communities on the Continent and in Great Britain, the film features observations from African, Asian, and Middle...

An ideal discussion-launcher for sociology courses, this program examines cultural and psychological aspects of what is now an archetypal suburban experience: shopping at the mall. Visiting "cathedrals of consumerism" throughout North America-from the Southdale, Minnesota, progenitor of the enclosed retail mall to the absurdly spectacular Grand Canal Shoppes and Desert Passage in Las Vegas-the video raises fundamental questions about consumer identity...

What is the relationship between addiction and homelessness? Where does personal responsibility fit into the equation? Should street addicts be left to their own devices, or do full-service shelters, legalized heroin dispensaries, and other provisions make for smart urban policy? In search of answers, Misha Klieder has put away his sociology textbooks and opted for real-life experience-spending close to a month sleeping and scavenging in the crime-infested...