The Brain is an astonishing voyage of discovery into our last biological frontier. Although today’s computers can make calculations in one-100th of a second and technology can transport us outside the bonds of Earth, only now are we beginning to understand the most complex machine in the universe.

Using simple analogies, real-life case studies, and state-of-the-art CGI, this special shows how the brain works, explains the frequent battle between instinct and reason, and unravels the mysteries of memory and decision-making.

It takes us inside the mind of a soldier under fire to see how decisions are made in extreme situations, examines how an autistic person like Rain Man develops remarkable skills, and takes on the age-old question of what makes one person good and another evil.

Research is rushing forward. We’ve learned more about the workings of the brain in the last five years than in the previous one hundred.

Watch the full documentary now (playlist)

The fact is, there has never been a single study on the human safety of these products. Any implication to the contrary is a pure fabrication. Make the corporate apologists produce a single study, and they can not. The important point is this. Among scientists, the scientific community is deeply divided as to whether these foods are safe or not, so the burden of proof is on industry. And so far, the corporations have failed to demonstrate the safety of these foods on humans through a single study. In the last thirty years global demand for food has doubled. In a race to feed the planet, scientists have discovered how to manipulate DNA, the blueprint of life, and produce what they claim are stronger, more disease-resistant crops. However, fears that Genetically Modified Food may not be safe for humans or the environment has sparked violent protest. Are we participating in a dangerous global nutritional experiment? This informative film helps the viewer decide if the production of genetically modified food is a panacea for world hunger or a global poison.

Watch the full documentary now

The quest to live longer has been one of humanities oldest dreams, but while scientists have been searching, a few isolated communities have stumbled across the answer.

On the remote Japanese island of Okinawa, In the Californian town of Loma Linda and in the mountains of Sardinia people live longer than anywhere else on earth.

In these unique communities a group of scientists have dedicated their lives to trying to uncover their secrets.

Horizon takes a trip around the globe to meet the people who can show us all how to live longer, healthier lives. (Excerpt from bbc.co.uk)

Watch the full documentary now

In Secrets of the Mind we gain insights through various tragedies that have affected others, thanks to the logic and insights of Professor Ramachandran regarding what he calls the most complex organized matter in the universe.

The documentary begins with “phantom limb syndrome” – pain and sensation in missing body areas. Ramachandran’s reasoning, confirmed through a CAT-scan, is that the brain has a map of various body areas, and that eg. the right arm and right face areas of the brain are adjacent. Thus, missing body areas can lead to interference by those associated brain areas trying to cope with stimulus deprivation – eg. “cross-wiring.”

However, we are still left with the problem of treating pain in a body-part that no longer exists. Dr. Ramachandran found that placing the remaining opposite body part (eg. hand) into a mirror-box fools the mind into receiving feedback from the missing part and no longer sending ever-increasing (and unmet) signals that cause the pain.

Visual activities take up almost half the human brain. Dr. Ramachandran is confronted with an individual who can “see” (detect) movement but not recognize what the object is. His explanation is that there are two pathways from the eye in humans: one to the visual cortex that recognizes the object, and other to the brain stem that simply senses movement. Thus, when the visual cortex link is severed, one would only be able to recognize movement of a fly, but not the fly itself – perhaps the way a lizard views the world. Similarly, he says to driving – most of the time it is done without consciousness while the conscious brain is taken up in talking of other thinking.

Dr. Ramachandran believes that there are some 30 areas in the brain concerned with seeing – separate areas for color, movement, shape, distance and depth perception, etc. Interference/damage to any one of these areas can lead to oddities – eg. an individual believing his parents are impostors when the emotional response area is cut.

Finally, viewers are told that some people with temporal seizures have intense religious or emotional experiences, possibly believing they are a prophet or even God, or sensing an intense emotional reaction to everything – even a grain of sand.

Watch the full documentary now

ABC News television documentary with Peter Jennings on the history of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine) also known as ecstasy.

It includes a short history of the drug and criticizes the negative health claims made by the U.S. government.

The rise of Ecstasy is a major event in drug history. If current trends continue, 1.8 million Americans will try Ecstasy for the first time in 2004.

Only marijuana will attract more new users. Overwhelming, positive word of mouth has made Ecstasy a nightmare for drug controllers.

On a special edition of ‘Primetime Thursday’ Peter Jennings tells the epic story of Ecstasy that has never been heard.

Watch the full documentary now

In the United States, the number of mandatory vaccine injections has risen to 36 per child. Each of these injections contains neurotoxins such as aluminum, formaldehyde, aborted fetal tissue, animal by-products, heavy metals, and many others. What happens to a child’s fragile immune system when it’s overloaded with these toxins? From the award-winning director of The Drugging of our Children, Gulf War Syndrome: Killing Our Own and AIDS Inc. – comes the latest film of critical social importance: Vaccine Nation.

For most people, vaccinating themselves and their children seems like a good idea. Vaccines are safe, effective and are supposed to protect us against dangerous infectious diseases – Right? Wrong! What you don’t know can harm you or kill you! In this groundbreaking film, you will: See the truth about the dangers of vaccines and their direct relationship to autoimmune diseases, infections, allergies and a massive increase of developmental learning and behavioral disorders in children, such as Autism. Discover the truth about the history of vaccines and how they have NEVER been proven to be safe and effective for anyone. Witness the legacy of governmental deception and cover-ups associated with vaccines.

Learn about the corruption within the scientific community and how vaccine studies are seriously flawed. You’ll also follow heart-wrenching, real life stories of the parents and children devastated by the effects of vaccines. Join director Gary Null PhD and over 40 of the worlds foremost vaccine experts in this shocking expose’ that will shatter the truth as you know it.

Watch the full documentary now

Dispatches exposes the myths and misconceptions that surround a condition said to affect 10 per cent of the population. The Dyslexia Myth argues that the common understanding of dyslexia is not only false but makes it more difficult to provide the reading help that hundreds of thousands of children desperately need.

Drawing on years of intensive academic research on both sides of the Atlantic, Dispatches challenges the existence of dyslexia as a separate condition; but in doing so, reveals the scale and pain of true reading disability.

The programme examines the chasm between evidence and educational practice and shows that, after hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in the teaching of reading, the number of children encountering serious problems has hardly changed. (Excerpt from channel4.com)

Watch the full documentary now

On the 25th anniversary of the first diagnosed cases of AIDS, FRONTLINE examines one of the worst pandemics the world has ever known in The Age of AIDS. After a quarter century of political denial and social stigma, of stunning scientific breakthroughs, bitter policy battles and inadequate prevention campaigns, HIV/AIDS continues to spread rapidly throughout much of the world, particularly in developing nations. To date, some 30 million people worldwide have already died of AIDS.

“It’s a very human virus, a very human epidemic. It touches right to the heart of our existence,” says Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. “When you think of it, that in let’s say 25 years, about 70 million people have become infected with this virus, probably coming from one [transmission]… it’s mind blowing.”

And the crisis continues: Over the next decade, an estimated 40 million more people will contract HIV. “We cannot continue just to treat patients as they become infected,” says Dr. David Ho, AIDS researcher and Time magazine’s 1996 “Man of the Year” for his work on the life-prolonging “triple cocktail” treatment. “The real solution to this epidemic is to curtail the spread of the virus.”

Why humanity has failed to stop the spread of HIV is the central question of “The Age of AIDS.” Over four hours, the series examines one of the most important scientific and political stories of our time: the story of a mysterious agent that invaded the human species and exploited its frailties and compulsions — sexual desire and drug addiction, bigotry and greed, political indifference and bureaucratic inertia — to spread itself across the globe.

Filmed around the world in 19 countries, The Age of AIDS features interviews with major players in the battle against HIV/AIDS: scientists, including Dr. Jim Curran of Emory University and formerly with the Centers for Disease Control, and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute for Allergic and Infectious Diseases; political figures, including former President Bill Clinton, U2 front man and AIDS activist Bono and evangelist Franklin Graham; and innovative activists, including Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS Quilt; Noerine Kaleeba, founder of Africa’s first AIDS support organization; and Mechai Viravaidya, “the condom king” of Thailand. (Excerpt from pbs.org)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used, manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on the industry’s marketing practices, media scholars and health professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors.

Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big Pharma challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well-being. (Excerpt from mediaed.org)

Watch the full documentary now

Ever wonder what British Columbia’s most profitable industries are? Logging? Fishing? Tourism? Ever think to include marijuana? If you haven’t, think again. No longer a hobby for the stereotypical hippie culture of the ’60s, BC’s illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a seemingly unstoppable business giant, dubbed by those involved as ‘The Union’.

Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually, The Union’s roots stretch far and wide, directly and indirectly affecting all areas of our society. With 65% to 85% of all ‘BC Bud’ being exported to the United States, it’s clear that the BC marijuana trade has become an international issue with consequences that extend far beyond our borders. When there are record profits to be made, who are the players, and when do their motives become questionable?

Why is marijuana illegal? What health risks do we really face? Does prohabition work? What would happen if we taxed it? Medicine, paper, fuel, textiles, food, etc. Are we missing something here?

Follow filmmaker Adam Scorgie as he dives head first into Canada’s most socially acceptable illegal activity. Along the way, Adam demsytifies the underground market and brings to light how such a large industry can function while remaining illegal. By interviewing experts from around the globe, including growers, clippers, police officers, criminalogists, economists, psychologists, medical doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, Scorgie explores the cause and effect nature of the business behind getting high.

Nobody’s innocent in this exploration of an industry that may be profiting more by being illegal. Join Adam Scorgie as he unravels the mystery of The Union. (Excerpt from theunionmovie.com)

Watch the full documentary now