Media Menu for November 2, 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.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011,
8-9 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science
Middle and High  School

 NOVA:  The Fabric of the Cosmos: What Is Space

This is the initial episode of a 4 part science miniseries which accompanies physicist and acclaimed author Brian Greene on a mind-bending reality check and journey to the frontiers of physics to see how scientists are piecing together the most complete picture yet of space, time and the universe. Based on his book, “ The Fabric of the Cosmos”,  the program goes beneath the surface of our everyday experience lies a world we’d hardly recognize—a startling world far stranger and more wondrous than anyone expected. “What Is Space” is the title of this initial episode.  To most of us, space is nothing, an empty void.  It turns out space is not what it seems. From the passenger seat of a New York cab driving near the speed of light to a pool hall where billiard tables do fantastical things, Brian Greene reveals space as a dynamic fabric that can stretch, twist, warp, and ripple under the influence of gravity. Stranger still is a newly discovered ingredient of space that actually makes up 70 percent of the universe. Physicists call it dark energy because while they know it's out there, driving space to expand ever more quickly, they have no idea what it is. Some of the strangest places in space, black holes, have led scientists to propose that like the hologram on your credit card, space may just be a projection of a deeper two-dimensional reality, taking place on a distant surface that surrounds us. TV-G.  Episodes follow on November 9, 16 and 23.
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/fabric-of-the-cosmos.html

Thursday, November 3, 2011,
10-11 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Economics and Geography
Elementary, Middle and High  School

Harvest: Race To Redemption

Every year, deep in America's heartland, there's a race against nature as old as farming itself. From May to September, a group of hardworking men battle weather, machines and each other as they move south to north harvesting crops. Driving huge combines across thousands of miles, they contract work from America's small farmers, combating hail, tornadoes, fire, mechanical trouble and total exhaustion. It's a high stakes gamble for themselves and the people who hire them. This documentary follows three contrasting teams of harvesters, showing the danger and rewards of this little known world. This year, the stakes are higher than ever as the one of history's deadliest drought and tornado seasons bears down on the heartland, killing more than 500 people and leaving behind billions of dollars in damage. As these hard-core harvesters, driving monster machines, dash from one job to the next, they are only one mistake away from losing a job--or their lives. The clock is always ticking, and man, machine or Mother Nature could wipe them out at any moment, but like true American heroes, filled with courage and grit, they put their lives on the line every day, because they love what they do.
Log on  http://www.history.com/shows/harvest

Friday, November 4, 2011,
7-8 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Technology and World History
High  School

Modern Marvels: Brewing

 It's one of the world's  oldest  beverages--revered by Pharaohs and brewed by America's Founding Fathers. Today, brewing is a multi-billion-dollar global industry. This documentary looks at  brewing's history from prehistoric times to today's cutting-edge craft breweries, focusing on its gradually evolving technologies and breakthroughs. We'll find the earliest known traces of brewing, which sprang up independently in such far-flung places as ancient Sumeria, China, and Finland; examine the surprising importance that beer held in the daily and ceremonial life of ancient Egypt; and at Delaware's Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, an adventurous anthropologist and a cutting-edge brewer show us the beer they've concocted based on 2,700-year-old DNA found in drinking vessels from the funerary of the legendary King Midas.
Log on http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/stack.brewing.industry.history.us

Saturday, November 5, 2011,
8-9 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
U.S. History and Technology
Middle and High  School

CIA Confidential: Inside the Drone War

This is a documentary about  the invisible warriors in Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently Libya. But drones, the CIA's elusive, unmanned counterterrorism war planes, add a new level of danger for CIA operatives in the field. After a string of drone attacks on key al-Qaida and Taliban leadership, an undercover Taliban sympathizer penetrates deep into the heart of drone war headquarters and detonates a suicide vest, killing seven of the CIA's most effective officers.
Log on http://abcnews.go.com/WN/inside-predator-drones-game-changing-technology-war-afghanistan/story?id=9543587

Sunday, November 6, 2011,
8-9 p.m. E/P
CNN
Science and Economics
Elementary, Middle and High  School

Sharks: From Predator To Prey

Shark attacks make good headlines… but your odds of getting bit are slim, really slim. Globally sharks are in steep decline. Commercial fishing and a growing demand for their fins is taking millions of sharks out of our oceans. These predators long feared by man now have something to fear from us. This documentary brings viewers face to face with sharks and reveals how the threat to them also threatens our environment.
Log on http://cnnpresents.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/28/sharks-from-predator-to-prey/

Monday, November 7, 2011,
10-11p.m. E/P
PBS
U.S. History
Middle and High  School

Looking For Lincoln – Part 1 of 2

Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. separates facts from myths surrounding Abraham Lincoln in this documentary miniseries about the life and legacy of America's 16th president. In the film, Gates shows how the Lincoln legend grew out of controversy, greed, love, clashing political perspectives, power struggles, and considerable disagreement over how our 16th president should be remembered. His quest to piece together Lincoln’s complex life takes him from Illinois to Gettysburg to Washington, D.C., and face-to-face with people who live with Lincoln every day – relic hunters, re-enactors, and others for whom the study of Lincoln is a passion. Among those weighing in: Pulitzer Prize winners Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tony Kushner; presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; and Lincoln scholars including Harold Holzer, vice chair of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; Harvard University’s president Drew Faust and history professor David Hebert Donald; Yale University history professor David Blight; and Allen Guelzo of Gettysburg College. Former Ebony magazine editor Lerone Bennett challenges Lincoln’s record on race; writer Joshua Shenk talks about Lincoln’s depression; and New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik illuminates how Lincoln’s words changed the course of history. Part 2 airs in this timeslot November 14. TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wnet/lookingforlincoln/

Tuesday, November 8, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
PBS
World  History
Middle and High  School

FRONTLINE: Syria Undercover

To make this documentary reporter Ramita Navai traveled into Syria to meet members of the opposition movement, which has faced a violent crackdown by the government.  Navai's journey takes her to the besieged town of Madaya, where she becomes trapped in a safe house with opposition leaders.  But she was also able to report on the secret hospitals Syrian activists have set up in order to avoid the government’s brutal crackdown on wounded activists in state-run hospitals. “It’s a shocking scene. Every single patient we met had gunshot injuries, including children. Everything is makeshift and they don’t have enough equipment.”
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/syria-undercover/

Tuesday, November 8, 2011,
9-11 p.m. E/P
History Channel
U.S. and World
Middle and High  School

Vietnam in HD: The Beginning (1964-1965)/Search & Destroy (1966-1967)

This is the premier of a 6 hour miniseries, airing November 8, 9 and 10th, 2 episodes each night . Those who lived through the Vietnam War era will never forget the way it changed their lives and profoundly affected world politics. But for many young people, the war in Vietnam is a conflict they may know very little about. This series captures the war through eyes of those who experienced it firsthand. Culled from thousands of hours of rarely seen footage, much of it taken by soldiers and combat journalists, this series touches down into the drama of the war at key turning points. Narrated by actor Michael C. Hall, the series covers many of the major events in the war from its origins through the Fall of Saigon in 1975. The words and recollections of ten Vietnam War veterans, an Army nurse, the wife of a POW, and an UPI reporter are voiced by popular actors throughout the series. Viewers will also see how the war unfolded against a backdrop of domestic change and upheaval within the U.S. Vietnam in HD tells the story of the Vietnam War to a new generation of viewers, giving them insights into the causes and consequences of this tumultuous era. Rated TV-14
Log on http://www.history.com/shows/vietnam-in-hd

Wednesday, November 9, 2011,
9-10 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
Science and World History
Middle and High  School

Forbidden Tomb of Genghis Khan

Can technology solve an 800-year-old mystery and locate the tomb of the legendary warrior Genghis Khan? This documentary journeys  to Mongolia's "Forbidden Zone" with a team led by National Geographic Emerging Explorer Albert Lin, who hopes to virtually "excavate" the tomb without moving a single rock using sophisticated ground penetrating imagery.
Log on http://natgeotv.com/asia/forbidden-tomb-of-genghis-khan/about

Book TV Schedule

Saturday, November 5th

8am (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
2011 National Book Festival: Edmund Morris, "Colonel Roosevelt"
Edmund Morris

8:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World"
Lisa Randall

10am (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
"Black and Tired: Essays on Race, Politics, Culture, and International Development"
Anthony Bradley

11am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 34 min.
"That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back"
Thomas Friedman; Michael Mandelbaum

12:30pm (ET)
Approx. 20 min.
"The Unexpected Patriot: How an Ordinary American Mother Is Bringing Terrorists to Justice"
Shannen Rossmiller

1pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
2011 Brooklyn Book Festival - "Arab Spring and the Seasons Ahead"
Sinan Antoon; Yasmine El Rashidi; Lucette Lagnado; Hisham Matar

2pm (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
2011 Brooklyn Book Festival - Labor Panel
William Adler; Brian Purnell; Clarence Taylor

3pm (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
2011 Brooklyn Book Festival - Politics Panel
Major Owens

4pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 4 min.
"A Point in Time: The Search for Redemption in this Life and the Next"
David Horowitz

5:15pm (ET)
Approx. 44 min.
2011 National Book Festival: Eugene Robinson, "Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America"
Eugene Robinson

6pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
Encore Booknotes: Susan Eisenhower, "Breaking Free"
Susan Eisenhower

7pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 22 min.
"Sharon: The Life of a Leader"
Gilad Sharon

8:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 12 min.
"Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America"
Joseph McCartin

10pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 National Book Award Finalist After Words: Mary Gabriel, "Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution," host Bertell Ollman, NYU

11pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
2011 Brooklyn Book Festival - "Arab Spring and the Seasons Ahead"
Sinan Antoon; Yasmine El Rashidi; Lucette Lagnado; Hisham Matar

Sunday, November 6th

12am (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
2011 Brooklyn Book Festival - Labor Panel
William Adler; Brian Purnell; Clarence Taylor

1am (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
2011 Brooklyn Book Festival - Politics Panel
Major Owens

3am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 6 min.
"Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock"
David Margolick

4:30am (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"Watermelons: The Green Movement’s True Colors"
James Delingpole

5:30am (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
"The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens"
Brooke Hauser

6:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 13 min.
"1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created"
Charles Mann

7:45am (ET)
Approx. 52 min.
"Retirement Heist: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers"
Ellen Schultz

9am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 13 min.
"Constitution Cafe: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution"
Christopher Phillips

10:15am (ET)
Approx. 40 min.
2011 National Book Festival: Justin Martin, "Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted"
Justin Martin

11am (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
After Words: Bill Vlasic: "Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America's Big Three Automakers - GM, Ford, and Chrysler," host former Gov. Matt Blunt

LIVE 12pm (ET)
Approx. 3 hr.
In Depth: Ben Mezrich
Send questions for the author to Book TV

3pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 16 min.
"Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home"
Anita Hill

4:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 12 min.
"Gentleman Revolutionary: Gouverneur Morris, The Rake Who Wrote the Constitution"
Richard Brookhiser

6pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 National Book Award Finalist After Words: Mary Gabriel, "Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution," host Bertell Ollman, NYU

7:15pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 34 min.
"That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back"
Thomas Friedman; Michael Mandelbaum

9pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 National Book Award Finalist After Words: Mary Gabriel, "Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution," host Bertell Ollman, NYU

10pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 22 min.
"Sharon: The Life of a Leader"
Gilad Sharon

11:30pm (ET)
Approx. 21 min.
George Mason University Interviews: Colin Dueck, "Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy Since World War II"
Colin Dueck

Monday, November 7th

12am (ET)
Approx. 3 hr.
In Depth: Ben Mezrich

3am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 National Book Award Finalist After Words: Mary Gabriel, "Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution," host Bertell Ollman, NYU

4am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"Can Intervention Work?"
Rory Stewart

5:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 34 min.
"That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back"
Thomas Friedman; Michael Mandelbaum

7am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
"Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America"
Cameron McWhirter