Off-air recordings 31 January - 6 February 2009

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

Darwin's Struggle: The Evolution of the Origin of Species - "Documentary telling the little-known story of how Darwin came to write his great masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, a book which explains the wonderful variety of the natural world as emerging out of death and the struggle of life... "

Horizon: Cannabis: The Evil Weed? - "Cannabis is the world’s favourite drug, but also one of the least understood. Can cannabis cause schizophrenia? Is it addictive? Can it lead you on to harder drugs? Or is it simply a herb, an undervalued medicine?
Addiction specialist Dr John Marsden discovers that modern science is finally beginning to find answers to these questions. John traces the cannabis plants’ birthplace in Kazakhstan; finds the origins of our sensitivity to cannabis in the simple sea squirt; and finds out just what it does to our brains.
He meets people who have been changed by this drug in drastically different ways - from those whose lives have been shattered to those who lives have been revived."

Egyptian Monster Moves - "Documentary series following professionals who transport huge buildings and machines to different locations. This edition shows how 20 Egyptian temples were rescued from the rising waters of the River Nile in the 1960s. Royal Navy diver Ed Thompson explains how flooded monuments on the Island of Philae were rescued by dismantling them underwater and floating them to the surface. And Egyptian engineers reveal how they moved the 900-ton temple of Amada two miles across the desert on rail tracks."

Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's - "Bestselling author Terry Pratchett has early onset Alzheimer's, a disease he is prepared to tackle head-on.
In the first of a two-part series, we will join Terry as he confronts living with his uncertain future and faces a world ultimately without words. Following Terry's progress through his first year with Alzheimer's, we will explore some cutting-edge science and weird treatments to reveal what it is like to be diagnosed with this terrifying illness."

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* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.

Off-air recordings for week 24-30 January 2009

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

1929: The Great Crash - "In 1929 Groucho Marx, a sceptical investor who had nonetheless put all his savings in the booming stock market, went to see his broker and asked in amazement how it was that share prices kept going up and up. His broker placated him with reassuring words about the new worldwide market and Marx continued to invest. In the crash that followed that October he lost everything he'd earned from his films. Like the rest of this programme, it's a salutary tale with thumping reminders of the present woes in the economy. The programme only has to walk us patiently through the history of the crash and the parallels fairly scream at you, although the markets of the 1920s were, it seems, more corrupt: "It was a big casino," recalls one contributor "and it was rigged by professional investors." The really gloomy part of the story is the ending: that a crash led to a depression, which ultimately led to war."

As You Like It - "Kenneth Branagh's imaginative adaptation of Shakespeare's play celebrates the enduring power of love in all its many disguises.
Witty and playful, the story is a magical romantic adventure in which Rosalind and Orlando's famous courtship is played out against a backdrop of political rivalry, banishment and exile in the Forest of Arden."

Explore: Patagonia to the Pampas - 1/4 "In the first of a new series, Simon Reeve leads a team of presenters on a journey through the spectacular landscapes of Argentina, from the vast ice fields of Patagonia to the wide open plains of the Pampas. On the way we take in one of the greatest matches in world football, visit a penguin colony on the edge and a Bishop with a rather unorthodox interest in Evita."

Time Team: Toga Town - 4/13 "Location: Caerwent, South Wales"

Robert Burns: The People's Poet - "Writer Andrew O'Hagan asks what made Robert Burns one of the world's favourite poets, as Scotland prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of its most famous sons. He travels through the landscape of modern Scotland in a poetic journey to the places that inspired Burns and to discover the story of his wild and dramatic life."

Mark Lawson Talks to Bill Bryson - "Anglophile travel writer Bill Bryson, whose books include The Lost Continent and Notes From a Small Island, chats to Mark Lawson about how a boy from Iowa who dropped out of college has ended up as Chancellor of Durham University. He also discusses how he shares the British sense of humour, his techniques for tackling litter louts and his childhood superpowers."

What Darwin Didn't Know - "Documentary which tells the story of evolution theory since Darwin postulated it in 1859's On the Origin of Species.
The theory of evolution by natural selection is now scientific orthodoxy, but when it was unveiled it caused a storm of controversy, from fellow scientists as well as religious types. They criticised it for being short on evidence and long on assertion and Darwin, being the honest scientist that he was, agreed with them. He knew that his theory was riddled with 'difficulties', but he entrusted future generations to complete his work and prove the essential truth of his vision, which is what scientists have been doing for the past 150 years.
Evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Marie Leroi reveals the scientific progress that brought about the triumphant renaissance of Darwin's vision, and argues that the next challenge, using the new science of evolutionary developmental biology, is to take that vision further by attempting to predict what will evolve, as opposed to just explaining what has already evolved."

Channel 4 Education - Rat-A-Tat-Tat Phonics - "Educational series experimenting with words and sounds to make them lively and interesting."

Explore: Argentina's Dirty War - "Follow up to Sunday's programme looks at how the horror of what occured during Argentina's brutal military dictatorship of the 1970s and 80s is now emerging. Maria Belen Gentile is part of a campaign for justice, but how should this stretch out to victims on both sides of the political divide?"

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* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.

Departmental Media Payment Cards

Like the old Departmental Photocopy Cards, the Departmental Media Payment Cards used to pay for off-air recordings, DVDs, CDs etc. are now going to be phased out too. As it stands, there is probably only a few quid left on each of the Departmental Media Cards anyway. The cards can be used until there is no money left on them, but will not be re-credited in future.

Until the Departmental Cards run out, staff can use either means to pay, or by cash if they wish. In future though all staff paying for media related items and off-air recordings in relation to their teaching / lecturing purposes should use their own University Staff Cards, or cash. Any amounts taken off their cards though will be charged to the department.

Hope this makes sense.

Rich

Off-air recordings for week 17-23 January 2009

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

Time Team: Denia: A Muslim Port in Spain - "Just along the coast from Benidorm on Spain's Costa Blanca, the port of Denia was a bustling Arab town from 711 to 1242. Today, its castle is the only visible reminder of the Muslim Arab presence, which dominated Spain for 500 years after the initial invasion by Arabs and Berbers from North Africa in 711. Yet under the buildings of the modern town are extensive remains of the earlier Islamic town, which consisted of a main fortified centre and an adjoining suburb... "

John Mortimer: A Life in Words - "Documentary examining the thoughts and observations of writer, raconteur and national treasure, Sir John Mortimer.
He enjoyed a successful career as a QC before becoming a full-time writer, a staunch defender of civil liberties who was involved in the Oz magazine obscenity trial in the 1960s and the man who won the Sex Pistols the right to put the word 'bollocks' in the title of their infamous album.
Opinionated and unconventional, Mortimer persists in speaking out against the ludicrous ways in which politicians try to curtail our liberties and, very often, our fun. This characteristic outspokenness is delivered with such gentlemanly charm and wit that he continues to be admired and adored by all."

President Obama: The Inauguration - "Live coverage from Washington of the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States."

Obama: His Story - "BBC correspondent Clive Myrie traces the life story of America's first black president. From his broken home childhood in Hawaii, through his political awakening in the rough neighbourhoods of Chicago, to his arrival in Washington, Myrie follows the extraordinary journey that transformed the son of a Kenyan student into the most powerful man in the world."

True Stories: a President to Remember - "New. Documentary providing an insight into US president John F Kennedy's personal responses to international events that occurred during his administration."

Natural World - Polar Bears and Grizzlies: Bears On Top of the World - "Natural history film documenting the similarities between polar bears and grizzlies by following two families in the wild. As the Arctic warms up, the creatures' habitats are beginning to overlap, meaning the brown and white bears are competing for food and space and, in some cases, interbreeding. Peter Guinness narrates."

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* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.

Off-air recordings for week 10-16 January 2009

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*


If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.



Time Team: The Wedding Present - Scargill, Durham



Nazis: A Warning From History - We only have a couple of episodes in the library already, but this is a repeat of the whole series.
"Whenever a study of the Nazis is undertaken, there is one burning question that emerges: How could a cultured nation, at the heart of Europe, be responsible for acts so horrible, so inhuman? Laurence Rees' BAFTA Award-winning series attempts to answer this question by exploring the underlying politics and psychology behind the Nazi's rise to power."



Christianity: A History - New series "Eight-part history of the Christian faith, looking at its origins, development and turbulent past. High-profile British personalities examine a religion that has particular resonance for them."



Curriculum Bites - Key Stage 3 - History-Interpretations - "People interpret events from the past in different ways, so what is history? "



Curriculum Bites - Key Stage 3 - French Revolution - "A look at how the answers to questions about the past vary depending on its interpretation."



Curriculum Bites - Key Stage 3 - Challenging Christianity 11-14 - "A look at issues of Christianity and critical thinking."

Learning Zone - Science in Action: :Life Processes and Living Things - "Lively real-life situations demonstrating the science in everyday life."

Dispatches: Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's and Me - "Fiona Phillips investigates the struggle of Alzheimer's sufferers and their families to get adequate care and support. The number of people suffering from dementia, the majority with Alzheimer's, is projected to rise from 700,000 to over 1 million by 2025 and 1.7 million by 2051. Fiona investigates whether the level of financial support for sufferers, and respite care for those looking after them, is adequate. And with numbers set to increase, is the Government prepared to cope? Fiona's father has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and her mother died after developing an aggressive, early-onset form of the disease. As Fiona faces her own dilemma about the care of her father, she talks to families around the country about the difficulties they have faced in obtaining help, from both the NHS and local authorities."

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* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.

Off-air recordings, 5-9 January 2009

Happy new year! Apologies for the short notice with regards the following programmes. What with Xmas holidays I didn't get a chance to check the current listings until today. As always, please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

International Terrorism Since 1945 - "This ambitious series of documentaries promises to catlaogue the modern history of terrorist movements. The opener, the first of two daily films, tells how Jewish extremists signalled the start of the modern era wity the first major act of violence after World War II. It's scrupulous, detailed story-telling with high quality archive footage." Other programmes look at Al-Qaeda, IRA, Baader-Meinhof, Weathermen, Red Brigades, ETA, PLO, Fatah/Hamas, Gaddafi and Libya, SLF and Patty Hearst, and many more.

The Diary of Anne Frank - "BBC One presents a new adaptation of The Diary Of Anne Frank which will be shown in five episodes on consecutive nights in early January.
Anne Frank started to write her diary on her 13th birthday in June 1942, just two weeks before she and her family were forced to go into hiding in Nazi occupied Holland."

Ann Frank Remembered - "Oscar-winning documentary about the life and legacy of the 15-year-old whose diary records two years in hiding in an Amsterdam office building during World War II. The film combines personal testimony, family letters and rare archive film with contemporary footage, telling her story from her childhood in Frankfurt and Amsterdam to her capture and death in Bergen Belsen in 1945. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh."

An Islamic History of Europe - Originally broadcast in 2007 - "In this 90-minute documentary, Rageh Omaar uncovers the hidden story of Europe's Islamic past and looks back to a golden age when European civilisation was enriched by Islamic learning.
Rageh travels across medieval Muslim Europe to reveal the vibrant civilisation that Muslims brought to the West.
This evocative film brings to life a time when emirs and caliphs dominated Spain and Sicily and Islamic scholarship swept into the major cities of Europe.
His journey reveals the debt owed to Islam for its vital contribution to the European Renaissance. "

Science and Islam - New 3-part series - "Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries."

The Secret Diary of the Holocaust - "Documentary telling the extraordinary tale of a 14-year-old Polish girl, Rutka Laskier, who was murdered at Auschwitz in 1943.
In 2005, the school notebook in which Rutka recorded her last months in the ghetto of Bedzin was made public, six decades after she hid it under the floorboards of her home there. Rutka was immediately dubbed the 'Polish Anne Frank'.
In her diary, Rutka wrote about her life in the ghetto in 1943, detailing not just the Nazi atrocities, physical hardship and hunger, but also how she was developing as a young woman. She also tells how she made a daring escape from one of the early 'aktions', Nazi round-ups of Jews for transportation.
The documentary will unravel Rutka's story through the eyes of her half-sister, Israeli academic Zahava Scherz, on a journey to Poland in search of the sister she never knew."

Nicholas Crane's Britannia: The Great Elizabethan Journey - New 3-part series - "When William Camden's Britannia was printed in 1586, it staggered its Elizabethan readers. Nothing like it had been seen before. For the first time, the entire British Isles had been described in astonishing detail: the mountains and rivers, the history and customs, the climate and the people of each and every county. Britannia was an encyclopaedic tour of the whole country in a single book.
In this three-part series, Nicholas Crane rediscovers this 'lost' masterpiece as, on an epic 5000-mile hike, he battles the elements in search of Elizabethan Britain. He looks at England and Wales first."

Dispatches: Britain's Challenging Children - "With primary schools across the country being stretched by the violent and disruptive behaviour of a small minority, Dispatches reveals the results of an extensive, in-depth survey of teachers to identify the impact on their ability to teach, and documents the efforts of five schools which are tackling the problem head on. The survey, the largest if its kind ever undertaken and supported by the teaching union NASUWT, reveals the extent of deteriorating standards of behaviour in classrooms across the UK. With millions of teaching hours being lost; it's the majority of well-behaved kids that are paying the price... "

Panorama: Kids Behaving Badly - "Whether it is 10-year-olds talking about who they have snogged or schoolgirls calling themselves sluts on their social-networking profile pages, it seems our kids can't get away from sex. But what happens when the banter and name-calling gets physical?
Jeremy Vine reveals the problem of sexual bullying in our schools and hears from experts, parents and teachers - but most importantly from the kids themselves - on what we can do to tackle it."

Around the World In 80 Faiths - New 8-part series (Unfortunately I didn't manage to record the first episode on 2 January, but it will no doubt be repeated in the forthcoming weeks) - "Smoking babies, naked festivals, cargo cults, cow-mud slinging and serpent-handling, are just a few religious rituals explored in a new eight-part series for BBC Two, Around The World In 80 Faiths.
The series follows Anglican vicar Peter Owen Jones (last seen in BBC Two's Extreme Pilgrim) on a year long journey across six continents in a quest to explore and understand 80 very different expressions of humankind's fascination with the divine."

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.