Media Menu for November 30, 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  30, 2011,
9-10  p.m.
PBS
Science
Elementary, Middle and High  School

NOVA: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies

Orange-and-black wings fill the sky as this documentary charts one of nature's most remarkable phenomena: the epic migration of monarch butterflies across North America. To capture a butterfly's point of view,  filmmakers used a helicopter, ultralight, and hot-air balloon for aerial views along the transcontinental route. This  annual migration, which scientists are just beginning to fathom, is an endangered phenomenon that could dwindle to insignificance if the giant firs that the butterflies cling to during the winter are cut down to the point that they disappear. TV-G
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/journey-butterflies.html

Thursday, December 1, 2011,
8-9  p.m.
National Geographic Channel
Science  and Geography
Elementary, Middle and High  School

Drain the Great Lakes

North Americas Great Lakes are the largest system of free fresh water on earth, wielding huge influence on the continent. Over 34 million people live by their shores in some of greatest cities in the world. This documentary pulls a virtual plug on the huge lakes, using computer-generated imagery to reveal hidden secrets of their human history and changing geological past.
Log on http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0209/feature2/?fs=www7.nationalgeographic.com

Thursday, December 1, 2011,
10-11:30p.m.
PBS
Economics
Middle and High  School

INDEPENDENT LENS: Art & Copy

This documentary provides a glimpse at the people behind the curtain of modern consumer culture. You may thank (or curse) the artists shown  in the film for such familiarly evocative slogans as “Just Do It,” “I ♥ NY,” “Where’s the Beef?” “Got Milk?” “Think Different,” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. The program  reveals the work and wisdom of some of  people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in the film led the way in the creation and constant redefinition of the ad business. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads is brought to light in this exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion. The film serves as a history lesson in a time when we celebrate advertising entrepreneurs in TV shows such as Mad Men, but also are increasingly concerned about privacy issues and the sheer volume of spam, junk mail, and targeted marketing messages we are bombarded with daily. What does the crush of advertising do to our psyches? What makes truly good advertising both effective and entertaining? How do advertising creatives exploit the human brain to manipulate us into wanting things we might not even need? And most of all, what would we do without them?
Log on http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/art-and-copy/

Friday, December 2,  2011,
8-9 p.m. ET, 5-6 P.M. PT
CNBC Channel
Government and Economics
Middle and High  School

American Greed: Funny Money

As shown in this documentary, an estimated $200 billion in counterfeit U.S. money is manufactured each year. The U.S. Secret Service is best known for protecting the President, but the agency’s original mandate was to safeguard our money.  The program follows Albert Talton  who is running a counterfeiting operation and circulates more than $7 million in phony cash around the globe. In 2005, Secret Service agents encounter a bill unlike anything seen before. The cash looks and feels genuine. That spells trouble for the agency. Also shown is how  counterfeits are usually made with engraved plates and printing presses. That type of set-up is hard to hide, but a digital counterfeit operation can be almost invisible. Finding the Talton’s  printer will be like finding a needle in a haystack.  The homemade money turns up everywhere from upscale retailers to mom and pop operations. The lost revenue creates a widespread ripple effect. Agents in Los Angeles track the bogus money that leads to Albert Talton.
Log on http://www.cnbc.com/id/35988260

Saturday,  December 3,  2011,
8-9 p.m.
CNN
Government and Geography
Middle and High  School

Gerry-Rigged: Ignoring the American Voter

Why is Congress so polarized, so gridlocked today? In part, it is because incumbents so rarely have to answer to the American voter. In the past decade, 78% of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives did not change party hands, even once. One expert says as few as 20 races can be considered toss-ups next year, out of a total of 435 seats in the House. In this documentary, reporter Drew Griffin investigates how “gerrymandering” locks in super-safe seats for many congressmen. This 200-year-old term is the name applied to drawing weird district designs so politicians can pick the voters they want, not what you may want
Log on http://cnnpresents.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/17/cnn-presents-gerry-rigged-why-your-vote-might-not-matter/

Sunday, December 4, 2011,
8-9  p.m.
History Channel
Science  and Geography
Middle and High  School

History of the World in Two Hours

This is a repeat broadcast of a new,  rapid-fire history of our world, from the beginning of time as we know it to present day. This two-hour CGI-driven special delves into the key turning points: the formation of the planet beneath our feet, the emergence of life, spread of human habitation and the growth of civilization--and reveals their surprising connections to our world today. TVPG VL
Log on http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/arts/television/history-of-the-world-in-two-hours-review.html

Monday, December 5, 2011,
7-8  p.m.
Science Channel
Science 
Elementary, Middle and High  School

Asteroids: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Asteroids are the extraterrestrials most likely to pay a visit to Earth. Yet for centuries they were largely ignored by science; dismissed as either boring or caricatured as the harbingers of an unlikely doom. As shown in this documentary, the truth is far more weird and interesting.
Log on http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/passionateeyeshowcase/2011/asteroid/index.html

Tuesday, December 6, 2011,
4-6  p.m.
History  Channel
Science 
Middle and High  School

First Invasion: The War of 1812  (repeat broadcast)

Just 30 years after the closing days of the American Revolution, an immature United States faced annihilation by its parent country. This documentary is a bicentennial   look at the War of 1812, when the mighty British Empire, aided by Canadian colonists, waged war against the fledgling US. This largely forgotten war witnessed Washington in flames, inspired the national anthem, allowed the Founding Fathers to step aside for a new generation of common men and women with uncommon courage, and saw America emerge as a world power.  TV-PG
Log on http://www.history.com/images/media/interactives/warof1812SG.pdf

Wednesday, December 7, 2011,
8-10  p.m.
History  Channel
U.S. and World History
Middle and High  School

Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After

This documentary offers an in-depth look at the critical 24-hour period after news of Japan's attack on U.S. soil in 1941 reached the President. Drawing on exhaustive research and new information provided by the FDR Library, the program gives a rare and surprising glimpse at the man behind the Presidency and how he confronted the enormous challenge of transitioning the nation from peace to war. There was no direct phone line between Pearl Harbor and the White House. As information slowly trickled in and word of the bombing got out, panic gripped the White House. FDR's unique style of leadership enabled him to galvanize the American people in the wake of a grave and potentially demoralizing attack. The program features  historian Steven M. Gillon, author of the recently released “Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation Into War”. TV-PG
Log on http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Harbor-Leads-Nation-Into/dp/0465021395

Book TV Schedule

Saturday, December 3rd

8am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 20 min.
"The Time of Our Lives: A Conversation About America"
Tom Brokaw

9:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 20 min.
"Black Tuesday"
Nomi Prins

11am (ET)
Approx. 52 min.
"No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington"
Condoleezza Rice

12pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 24 min.
50th Anniversary of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22"
Christopher Buckley; Robert Gottlieb; Mike Nichols

1:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 5 min.
"Conquered Into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath That Made the American Way of War"
Eliot Cohen

2:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 10 min.
"EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want"
Frances Moore Lappe

4pm (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality"
Deepak Chopra; Leonard Mlodinow

5pm (ET)
Approx. 44 min.
"Ten Letters: The Stories Americans Tell Their President"
Eli Saslow

6pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
Encore Booknotes: "The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent"
Robert Caro

7pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 18 min.
"A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future"
Jennifer Granholm

8:30pm (ET)
Approx. 35 min.
"Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America's Border"
Gov. Jan Brewer

9:15pm (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam"
Noam Chomsky; Fred Wilcox

10pm (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
After Words: Max Hastings, "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945," hosted by Toby Harnden, Daily Telegraph of London

11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 9 min.
"Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools"
Robert Moses

Sunday, December 4th

12:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year"
Charles Flood

1:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 20 min.
"Black Tuesday"
Nomi Prins

3am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
"Sharon: The Life of a Leader"
Gilad Sharon

4:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 13 min.
"Constitution Cafe: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution"
Christopher Phillips

6am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"A Tale of Two Revolts: India's Mutiny and the American Civil War"
Rajmohan Gandhi

7:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 28 min.
"Witness to an Extreme Century: A Memoir"
Robert Jay Lifton

9am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 5 min.
"Conquered Into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath That Made the American Way of War"
Eliot Cohen

10:15am (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff"
Calvin Trillin

11am (ET)
Approx. 47 min.
After Words: Clifton Truman Daniel, "Dear Harry, Love Bess: Bess Truman's Letters to Harry Truman 1919-1943" hosted by Margaret Hoover

12pm (ET)
Approx. 3 hr.
In Depth: David Brooks

3pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 9 min.
"Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools"
Robert Moses

4:15pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year"
Charles Flood

5:15pm (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam"
Noam Chomsky; Fred Wilcox

6pm (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
After Words: Max Hastings, "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945," hosted by Toby Harnden, Daily Telegraph of London

7pm (ET)
Approx. 35 min.
"Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America's Border"
Gov. Jan Brewer

7:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 10 min.
"EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want"
Frances Moore Lappe

9pm (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
After Words: Max Hastings, "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945," hosted by Toby Harnden, Daily Telegraph of London

10pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 18 min.
"A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future"
Jennifer Granholm

11:15pm (ET)
Approx. 37 min.
2011 Miami Book Fair International - Jim Lehrer, ""Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to McCain-Obama"
Jim Lehrer

Monday, December 5th

12am (ET)
Approx. 3 hr.
In Depth: David Brooks

3am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
After Words: Max Hastings, "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945," hosted by Toby Harnden, Daily Telegraph of London

4am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
"The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins, the Anthrax Attacks, and America's Rush to War"
David Willman

5am (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"The Whole Damn Deal: Robert Strauss and the Art of Politics"
Kathryn McGarr

6am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 5 min.
"Conquered Into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath That Made the American Way of War"
Eliot Cohen

7:15am (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
2011 Texas Book Festival: Dana Priest, "Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State"
Dana Priest