Placebo – Radio Lab
This is a Podcast not a video but this radio show is still a very good documentary.
With new research demonstrating the startling power of the placebo effect, this hour of Radiolab examines the chemical consequences of belief and imagination.
Could the best medicine be no medicine at all? We take stock of the pharmacy in our brains, consider the symbolic power of the doctor coat, and visit the tent of a self-proclaimed faith healer.
Listen to the podcast here:
http://www.radiolab.org/2007/may/17/
Cocaine Cowboys
A thrilling documentary showing what Miami, one of the major cities in the US, is really made of – Cocaine.
The documentary recounts the story of the brutal drug war fought in South Florida during the 1970s and 1980s. The white “Cocaine-Towers” in the skyline and the thriving economy are built on many deaths and a white powder that everybody goes crazy for.
Warning: It’s not a light watch.
Full length video:
Frontline: God in America
An enlightening documentary about the religious history of North America. It explains where concepts like “born again” and “revivals” come from and shows with great clarity the emerging of different religious streams with a focus on the predominant protestant project.
6 hours in total. Split into 3 part (2 hours per part). On the website you can also find some study guides and notes to discuss this in a group!
http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/view/
Preview:
The Panama Deception
This 1992 90-minute documentary shows the story of just one of the Central American countries that have been fucked over by the US so badly. It details the case that the 1989 invasion of Panama by the US was motivated not by the need to protect American soldiers, restore democracy or even capture Noriega. It was to force Panama to submit the will of the United States after Noriega had exhausted his usefulness.
Walls Of Shame
It matters little what they are called – whether walls, barriers or fences – the intention is the same: to redefine human relations into ‘us’ and ‘them’. This series is about division, and about the barriers that men erect, in calculation or desperation, to separate themselves from others, or others from them. When diplomacy and conciliation fail, this is the alternative, and not since medieval times have walls been so in demand around the world. Tens of new walls, barriers and fences are currently being built, while old ones are being renovated. And there are many types: barriers between countries, walls around cities and fences that zigzag through neighbourhoods.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2007/11/200852518465249175.html
Stairway to the Sea
In this spectacular feature-length documentary, oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and an NFB crew sail up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes on board the specially equipped vessel, the Calypso. They explore the countryside from their helicopter and plumb the depths of the waters in their diving saucer. They encounter shipwrecks, the Manicouagan power dam, Niagara Falls, the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway and an underwater chase with caribou.
Full Film: http://nfb.ca/film/st_lawrence_stairway_to_the_sea/
The Sound of Istanbul
I am currently staying in Istanbul. And I like this town alot! This documentary, that some turkish friends showed me, makes me like it even more.
Fatih Akin, a Turkish-German Director (Im Juli), shows in Crossing the Bridge not only the turkish music scene – which is very elaborate and popular also among the regions youth – but also draws a nice picture of the diverse life in this massive city.
| Crossing the Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul ( Fatih Akin ) 1:30:12 Documentary ( Belgesel ) |
The Madoff Affair
On Dec. 11, 2008, Bernard L. Madoff confessed that his vaunted investment business was all “one big lie,” a Ponzi scheme colossal in volume and scope that cost investors $65 billion. Overnight, Madoff became the new poster child for Wall Street gall, greed and corruption.
The most shocking part about this investigation, to me, is that most of the investors knew of the shady nature behind the hedge fund Madoff was selling. It is unfortunate some very respectable people were lured into this by Madoff’s marketing boys.
Watch the full-length documentary at PBS:
Taxi to the Dark Side
Brilliant doc about US prison camps in the Afghan and Iraq wars, the policies on torture and interrogation and the forgotten rule of law.
This is dedicated to two people who are no longer with us, Dilawar, the young Afghan taxi driver, and my father, a navy interrogator who urged me to make this film because of his fury about what was being done to the rule of law. Let’s hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and back to the light.
Synopsis
Using the torture and death in 2002 of an innocent Afghan taxi driver as the touchstone, this film examines changes after 9/11 in U.S. policy toward suspects in the war on terror. Soldiers, their attorneys, one released detainee, U.S. Attorney John Yoo, news footage and photos tell a story of abuse at Bagram Air Base, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo Bay. From Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Gonzalez came unwritten orders to use any means necessary. The CIA and soldiers with little training used sleep deprivation, sexual assault, stress positions, waterboarding, dogs and other terror tactics to seek information from detainees. Many speakers lament the loss of American ideals in pursuit of security.
Trailer
Full Video (one version of it)
Taxi to the Dark Side = in full
Loosely related interesting TED Talk
Frontline: Ten Trillion and Counting
During our last FRONTLINE party, which is due when a new one comes out, we watched “Ten trillion and counting”. It’s a frightening portrayal of the current dept situation of the USA, which makes one wonder how deep the United States budget deficit can be before other countries, like China, stop trusting the government bonds and plunge the the nation into bankruptcy.
