Media Menu for December 13, 2012

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.

Thursday,  December 13,  2012
7-8 p.m. E/P   
PBS   
Science   
Elementary, Middle and High School

NATURE: An Original DUCKumentary

Airing on  KLCS, this documentary explores the world of ducks. There are some 120 species of duck, representing a wide variety of shapes, sizes and behaviors. Some are noisy and gregarious, others shy and elusive. They are familiar animals we think we know. But most of us don’t really know these phenomenal, sophisticated creatures at all. This program follows a wood duck family as a male and female create a bond, migrate together across thousands of miles, nurture and protect a brood of chicks, then come full circle as they head to their wintering grounds.
Log on  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/an-original-duckumentary/full-episode/8068/

Friday,  December 14,  2012
7-8 p.m. E/P   
History Channel   
Science and Technology   
Elementary, Middle and High School

Modern Marvels: Grease

In mankind’s lifelong battle to fight friction, Grease--in all its forms--is the unsung hero. This  documentary goes 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 is  made in a factory in New York, as well as what new advances some are working towards for grease of the future. But in the meantime, we’ll witness how it is currently used inside a US Navy aircraft carrier, San Francisco s famous cable cars, elevators and escalators, assembly lines, huge excavators, amusement park rides, and even the Panama Canal. From pig fat to nano-particles... amazing Grease keeps everything rolling along--smooth and fast.
Log on http://www.lelubricants.com/industrial-greases.html?gclid=CMuWg5zDlbQCFWlxQgodcmAAkQ

Saturday,  December 15,  2012
7-8 p.m. PT   
ABC   
Government   
Middle and High School

ABC7 Presents the Los Angeles Mayoral Candidates Debate

Airing on KABC-TV in Los Angeles, this debate is moderated by reporter Marc Brown. Candidates include: L.A. City Council members Eric Garcetti & Jan Perry, L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel, political commentator & radio host Kevin James.
Log on http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8898897

Sunday,  December 16,  2012
8-9 p.m.  E/P   
CNN   
U.S.
History and Economics   
High School

Tough Decisions: A GPS Special

In this documentary reporter Fareed Zakaria reveals how top leaders make extremely tough decisions... From gutsy calls with global consequences like the raid on Bin Laden... To personal, life-altering choices like leaving a lucrative career.
Log on http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/?iref=allsearch

Monday,  December 17,  2012
7-8 p.m. E/P   
History Channel   
Economics   
High School

American Greed : The Foreclosure Scammer

Stacy Keach narrates this dissection of the dark side of the American Dream, a survey of how far some people go to become rich, no matter the cost to themselves and those around them. Real-life cases are reviewed and involve such criminal activity as foreclosure scams. This episode profiles Jeanetta Standefor offers a way to “help” troubled homeowners.
Log on http://www.thestreet.com/story/11734817/1/how-to-save-yourself-from-the-foreclosure-fraud-epidemic.html

Tuesday,  December 18,  2012
9-11 p.m. E/P   
History Channel   
World History   
High School

Mankind The Story of All of Us: New Frontiers

The end of the Civil War in America  allows  people  to go into overdrive. This is an age of innovation, transformation and mass production. People believe that "Anything, everything, is possible." Japan goes from feudal society to industrial superpower within 50 years. But progress has its dark side. The demand for rubber devastates Africa. And the desire to build bigger, faster, better leads to a titanic disaster...Mankind takes on godlike powers: to feed billions of people, reshape the landscape, re-engineer the human body. The greatest power of all was unleashed over Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. Since entering the Atomic Age we've been living between eternity and oblivion. But at the same time, we've become more connected as a species. 100,000 years ago there were a few thousand hunter-gatherers on the African savannah. Today there are 7 billion of us in every corner of the globe. TV-PG
Log on http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us#fbid=Y21IXbmMEkA

Wednesday,  December 19,  2012
10 p.m. –Midnight  E/P   
History Channel   
World History   
Elementary, Middle and High School

The Real Story of Christmas

This is a history documentary about Christmas lore. Early versions of the heartwarming legend of Santa Claus described him as a horrible devil named Krampus who beat and kidnapped naughty children. In America during the 17th and 18th Centuries, celebrating Christmas was against the law! There's a lot to tell about the history of Christmas, and a lot you may not know. Along the way, meet Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey, The Grinch and Rudolph, and learn the true origins of our Christmas traditions.
Log on http://www.history.com/topics/christmas

Book TV Schedule

Saturday, December 15th

8am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 7 min.
Thomas Ricks, "The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today"
Thomas Ricks

9:15am (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Black Fire: The True Story of the Original Tom Sawyer and of the Mysterious Fires That Baptized Gold Rush-era San Francisco"
Robert Graysmith

10am (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
"Round About the Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit"
Joyce Chaplin

11am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 14 min.
"The Outsourced Self: Intimate Life in Market Times"
Arlie Hochschild

12:30pm (ET)
Approx. 40 min.
"Regulating to Disaster: How Green Jobs Policies Are Damaging America's Economy"
Diana Furchtgott-Roth

1:15pm (ET)
Approx. 41 min.
Interview with Neil Barofsky, "Bailout"
Neil Barofsky

2pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
Conference on Whittaker Chambers' "Witness" - Panel: "The History of Witness"
Lee Edwards; M. Stanton Evans; John Lewis Gaddis

3:03pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 9 min.
Conference on Whittaker Chambers' "Witness" - Panel: "Foreign Policy and Chambers: Is Witness' Message Relevant Today"
Elliott Abrams; Max Boot; Jay Nordlinger

4:12pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 4 min.
Conference on Whittaker Chambers' "Witness" - Panel: "Without Anti-Communism: What Defines Conservatives Today?"
Peter Berkowitz; Norman Podhoretz; Alfred Regnery

5:15pm (ET)
Approx. 43 min.
"The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses and Changed the Workplace"
Lynn Povich

6pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
Encore Booknotes: Jean Strouse, "Morgan: American Financier"
Jean Strouse

7pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
"Detroit City is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis"
Mark Binelli

8pm (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"James Meredith and the Ole Miss Riot: A Soldier's Story"
Henry Gallagher

9pm (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
2012 Year in Books
Bob Minzesheimer; Sarah Weinman

10pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Cynthia Lowen, "Bully: An Action Plan for Teachers, Parents, and Communities to Combat the Bullying Crisis

11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 4 min.
"Listening In: The Secret White House Recordings of John F. Kennedy"
Ellen Fitzpatrick; Caroline Kennedy; Tom Oliphant; Ted Widmer

Sunday, December 16th

12:15am (ET)
Approx. 32 min.
Interview with David Rothkopf, "Power, Inc."
David Rothkopf

1am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 51 min.
"Patriots Debate"
Stewart Baker; Charles Dunlap, Jr.; Gregory Jacob; Harvey Rishikof; Stephen Vladeck

3am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 6 min.
"The New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age"
Martha Nussbaum

4:15am (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
2012 Texas Book Festival: William Dobson, "The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy"
William Dobson

5am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
2012 Paolucci/Bagehot Book Award Dinner: John Fonte, "Sovereignty or Submission"
John Fonte

6am (ET)
Approx. 40 min.
2012 National Book Festival: Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, "Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam"
Lien-Hang Nguyen

6:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 9 min.
"Life After Death"
Damien Echols

8am (ET)
Approx. 46 min.
"The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture"
David Mamet

9am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
"A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico"
Amy Greenberg

10:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 14 min.
"Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence"
William Silber; Paul Volcker

12pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Marty Makary, "Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won't Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care," hosted by Richard Davis, Sibley Memorial Hospital President

1pm (ET)
Approx. 23 min.
Book TV at the University of Pennsylvania: Steven Hahn, "The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom"
Steven Hahn

1:25pm (ET)
Approx. 19 min.
Book TV at the University of Pennsylvania: Sarah Gordon, "The Spirit of the Law: Religious Voices and the Constitution in Modern America"
Sarah Gordon

2pm (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
"Israel: The Will to Prevail"
Danny Danon

3pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 19 min.
"Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country - And Why They Can't Make Peace"
Patrick Tyler

4:30pm (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
After Words: John Corvino & Maggie Gallagher, "Debating Same-Sex Marriage"

6pm (ET)
Approx. 50 min.
"American Tempest: How the Boston Tea Party Sparked A Revolution"
Harlow Unger

7pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 12 min.
"Of Africa"
Wole Soyinka

8:15pm (ET)
Approx. 29 min.
"Democracy's Big Day: The Inauguration of Our President, 1789-2013"
Jim Bendat

9pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Cynthia Lowen, "Bully: An Action Plan for Teachers, Parents, and Communities to Combat the Bullying Crisis

10pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
"Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power"
Jon Meacham

11pm (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
"A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico"
Amy Greenberg

Monday, December 17th

12am (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Cynthia Lowen, "Bully: An Action Plan for Teachers, Parents, and Communities to Combat the Bullying Crisis

1am (ET)
Approx. 23 min.
Book TV at the University of Pennsylvania: Steven Hahn, "The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom"
Steven Hahn

1:25am (ET)
Approx. 19 min.
Book TV at the University of Pennsylvania: Sarah Gordon, "The Spirit of the Law: Religious Voices and the Constitution in Modern America"
Sarah Gordon

2am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
2012 Year in Books
Bob Minzesheimer; Sarah Weinman

3am (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Cynthia Lowen, "Bully: An Action Plan for Teachers, Parents, and Communities to Combat the Bullying Crisis

4am (ET)
Approx. 51 min.
2012 Miami Book Fair International: Tom Wolfe, "Back to Blood"
Tom Wolfe

5am (ET)
Approx. 2 hr. 9 min.
"The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and Hope"
Amy Goodman; Denis Moynihan

7:15am (ET)
Approx. 40 min.
"Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc - The Rangers Who Accomplished D-Day's Toughest Mission and Led the Way Across Europe"
Patrick O'Donnell