Media Menu, January 15, 2011

Here are home viewing suggestions for the week, selected from online advanced TV program listings and aligned with the state and national K-12 academic standards available online. Please consult local listings also, since actual broadcast times may vary. The Websites cited in the “Log on“ box below the tv listing provide further details about the show’s topic and may contain links to video clips from the show or a complete streaming video version of the show.

Saturday, January 15, 2011,
8-9 p.m. ET, 5-6- p.m. PT
CNBC Channel
U.S. History and Economy
Middle and High School

“Target: Inside the Bullseye"

In this documentary Target store CEO Gregg Steinhafel, reveals how his stores became both tastemaker and discount retailer extraordinaire while continually reminding its customers to "Expect More, Pay Less." A $65 billion-dollar discount icon that changed the face of shopping, the chain rose humble beginnings as a family-owned Minneapolis department store to retail giant. Founder Draper Dayton and his sons took a small Minneapolis department store and changed the face of retail forever, consistently donating 5% of its revenue to charitable causes. Target mimics the prices of a big box discounter while retaining the cache of an urban boutique. Because of this unique dichotomy the company has managed to avoid many of the problems of its competitors.
Log on http://www.cnbc.com/id/40588422

Sunday, January 16, 2011,
7-8- p.m. E/P
CBS
U.S. and World History
High School

“60 Minutes"

In the first story in this newsmagazine reporter Scott Pelly interviews friends and classmates and ex-Secret Service to reconstruct the pathway to mass murder Jared Loughner allegedly took in Tucson – a pattern these agents who once guarded the president could write a textbook about. In the second story Steve Kroft reports on the U.S.’s new partner in the war on terror, Yemen, a known al Qaeda hideout and recently the source of several explosive packages sent to America. .
Log on http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml?tag=hdr;snav

Monday, January 17, 2011,
10-11 p.m. E/P
PBS
World History
Middle and High School

“After The Wall: A World United”

This a documentary about the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, also about the unification of Germany after 40 years of separation, and the peaceful end of the Cold War. It covers the events of 1990, going behind the scenes of this unparalleled diplomatic effort to examine how the relationships among world leaders determined the outcome. Interviews with George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl offer unusual and intimate details about the inner workings of government at the highest levels. Other major players from all sides provide insightful and often surprising perspectives, including then-Secretary of State James Baker, National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and his aide Condoleezza Rice, and West German National Security Advisor Horst Teltschik. Hear first-hand testimony from East German leaders who oversaw the abrupt and unexpected end of their 40-year-old experiment in socialism, as well as the stories of ordinary Germans who had to re-invent their lives and make their way in a new nation. TV-PG

Tuesday, January 18, 2011,
8-10 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
World History
Elementary Middle and High School

“When Rome Ruled: Birth of Rome/ Ancient Superpower”

This is a broadcast of two documentaries about ancient Rome. In the first, “The Birth Of Rome’, viewers see that over centuries, the Romans transformed a swamp on the banks of the Tiber into a settlement, then a city of brick and ultimately the gleaming marble core of the ancient world's greatest empire. Journey through massive Roman tunnels and trace the city's architectural and engineering evolution, including tombs, temples, monuments and aqueducts. The second program, “Ancient Superpower”, explains that for centuries, Rome governed hundreds of thousands of people in an empire that covered as much as 2 million square miles. In an age when most travel was done on foot, how was this possible? Digging deep into the lives of two emperors who presided over one of the most successful periods in Roman history, the program explores how the empire owed its longevity to its ambition, innovation and genius for administration. See how Rome endured for centuries as one of the greatest bureaucracies on earth, and the far-reaching legacy she left Western civilization.
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/when-rome-ruled/all/Overview

Tuesday, January 18, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
CNBC Channel
U.S. History and Economics
High School

“60 Minutes on CNBC: Your Money”

This is an anthology of economic reports initially aired on CBC’ “60 Minutes”. Included are three stories about money: First an interview with a sitting Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke talks to 60 Minutes on CNBC about America's financial crisis and recovery. Second, What happens when a bank fails? The program’s reporters gain exclusive access to the FDIC's takeover of a Chicago bank. Third, a report about the ongoing debate over the necessity of U.S. pennies and nickels, whose metal content is worth more than their face value.
Log on http://www.cnbc.com/id/40795923/

Tuesday, January 18, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
PBS
U.S. and World History
High School

“FRONTLINE: Are We Safer?”

In this documentary, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest investigates the terrorism-industrial complex that grew up in the wake of 9/11. Against a backdrop of recent mail bomb threats from Al Qaeda in Yemen and growing concerns about homegrown terrorists, Priest explores the growing reach of homeland security, fusion centers, battlefield technologies and data-collecting into the lives of ordinary Americans.
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/are-we-safer/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist

Wednesday, January 19, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science and Technology
Middle and High School

“NOVA: Making Stuff”

This is the premiere of a new science documentary series hosted by The New York Times technology columnist David Pogue, The series focus is on the personal qualities that underlie the process of invention — the visionary talent, sheer luck and dogged determination that turn a wild idea into a cutting-edge material. This episode, entitled “Making Stuff Stronger”, asks what is the world’s strongest material? From steel to Kevlar and spider silk to carbon nanotubes, Pogue looks at the ways in which science and nature work to make strong stuff. TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making-stuff-stronger.html
Link to the PBS iPhone app: http://to.pbs.org/pbsiphone

Thursday, January 20, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
Science and Technology
Middle and High School

“America's Secret Weapon"

This documentary provides viewers rare access to a highly classified division of the Defense Department known as DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). It's considered to be America’s secret weapon lab, and although most civilians have never heard of it, its innovations have led to the invention of the Internet, the computer mouse and the global positioning system. We'll unlock the door to this highly classified facility for an insider's look at the latest generation of remarkable breakthroughs. We'll get a sneak peek at unmanned aerial vehicles, the Navy Seals' power swim technology and hypersonic aircraft.
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/inside/3933/Overview

Friday, January 21, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science and Technology
Middle and High School

“Modern Marvels: Grease”

It makes the whole world go around...and up and down...and side to side. Without it, the wheels of industry and our modern existence would grind to a halt, along with everything else. This documentary takes a close up look at grease In our lifelong battle to fight friction, it is the unsung hero. Journey deep into places few people ever get to see, to discover the "hidden" uses of one of our most slippery products inside giant machines. We'll also investigate how it's made in a factory in New York, as well as what new advances some are working towards for grease of the future. We'll witness how grease is currently used inside a US Navy aircraft carrier, San Francisco's famous cable cars, elevators & escalators, assembly lines, huge excavators, amusement park rides, and even the Panama Canal. From pig fat to nano-particles... amazing grease keeps things rolling along.

Saturday, January 22, 2011,
10:15-12:30 p.m. E/P
IFC- Independent Film Channel
U.S. History and Economics
Middle and High School

“Harlan County, USA”

Director Barbara Kopple's Oscar winning documentary look at a 13-month coal miners' strike that took place between 1973 and 1974 in Harlan County, KY. It, is one of the great films about labor troubles, though not for a sense of objectivity. Kopple lived among the miners and their families off and on during the four years the entire story played out, and it's clear in every frame of the film that her sympathies lie with the miners and not their bosses at Eastover Mining, owned by Duke Power Company. Kopple's camera focuses on the desperate plight of people still living in shacks with no indoor plumbing and working dangerous jobs with little security and few safety rules. The miners are determined to join the United Mine Workers, and the company is determined to break the strike with scabs, who are even more desperate than the men with jobs. The miners eventually win a new contract, though it turns out that some of the benefits they had fought for were not included in the final deal. The filmmaker's strong identification with one side of a labor struggle doesn't make for a balanced historical record, but it did provide the right stuff for a powerfully dramatic film.
Log on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074605