2. Contraception : no choice but to choose (23:53)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Main contributors:
Strout, Ben (Director, Writer, Editor)
Summary:
Uses a fictionalized story with college students to explain different methods of contraception, their advantages, and their disadvantages. Promotes discussion of contraception between partners and shared responsibility for using contraception.

3. East Africa : ends and beginnings (50:53)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Presents an investigative report on the political, economic, and social development in Kenya and Tanzania, including an extensive interview with Tanzanian President Julius K. Nyerere. Observes that under Kenya's President Kenyatta the capitalistic system of business and trade is largely controlled by foreign investors which has led to increased unemployment and poverty. Explains that in Tanzania people are working together toward socialism as outlined by the Arusha Declaration and foreign investors must invest their profits in Tanzania so that Tanzanians may benefit.

4. Our food : fruits and vegetables (27:25)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Fruit and vegetables are the familiar products examined in this program. Bill Smith journeys to the farm to see how peas are harvested, processed, and packed – a highly mechanized operation. He visits a strawberry patch where the luscious, red fruit is being picked. As a side trip he visits a carton factory to see how frozen food containers for peas and strawberries are made.

5. Our foreign policy objectives (29:42)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Huston Smith interviews Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in New York City and Harold Stassen in Philadelphia on what we are really seeking in our diplomacy. They answer that our aim is to build a peaceful world of independent and prospering democracies. They explore ways to do this.

6. Overview of ASSIST and the changing field of special education (13:31)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Main contributors:
Benjamin Strout (Cinematographer), George Hales (Director)
Summary:
2 shorts from the ASSIST series together on 1 reel, "Overview of ASSIST" and "The changing field of special education." Examines the important role of the associate instructor (AI) in a classroom situation with emphasis on AI skill development in the mainstreaming of mildly handicapped individuals. Suggests that the best way to assist these individuals is not through segregated training but rather through the mainstreaming approach, where the person is afforded a more normal classroom experience. Discusses two case histories and outlines a plan for remediation.

7. Rank and file (17:09)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Segment from episode 20 of Black Journal. Points out that discrimination within labor unions restricts minority membership, thus perpetuating the existing power structure. Notes that minorities in the New York local of the Transport Workers Union are trying to overcome discrimination by forming their own union. Indicates that although the TWU organizes on Transit Authority property, other groups are not allowed to do so.

8. Sailing I (26:59)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Provides beginning sailors with a general overview of the principles and terminology of elementary sailing and the effect of wind upon the sail and boat. Illustrates the functions of the mast, boom, rudder and centerboard housing. Emphasizes that each person must know how to swim and shows the correct way to use a life preserver.

9. Still a brother : inside the Negro middle class (1:31:05)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Dr. St. Clair Drake states that the middle class is not only based on the economy, but is a way of life. Black middle and upper classes parallel those of the whites, yet he is "still a brother" and without a "mental revolution" will never escape the bonds of prejudice.

10. The Indiana University Speech and Hearing Center residence program (22:48)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Main contributors:
Strout, Ben (Director, Editor)
Summary:
This film shows a typical day at the Exchange Home near the Speech and Hearing Center at Indiana University. Founded in 1938, it is named after the Exchange Clubs of Indiana, which provided funding for the home. The Exchange Home is a two story residence that includes a kitchen, dining rooms, laundry room, play room, TV lounge, and bedrooms for 25 children. A house mother and students majoring in speech and hearing live in the Exchange Home with the children.

11. The mountain men (09:09)

Date:
unknown/unknown
Summary:
Visits Grand Teton National park near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Discusses the life of the early French beaver trappers. Explains their methods of survival, and how they lived, traded, and fought with the Indians. Shows traps used by the early mountain men and demonstrates how they were set. Illustrates with film footage, dioramas, and photographs.

12. Fred's case : a stimulus (11:05)

Date:
[1974]
Main contributors:
Strout, Ben (Photographer)
Summary:
Designed to serve as a stimulus for discussion, this film shows the various steps in determining whether a student will be placed in a special education class. Demonstrates the following procedural steps used by school officials to determine whether Fred will be transferred to a special education class: appointing the case conference committee, sharing information, initiation of individual educational plan, placement review, and revised program. Records Fred's parents being told that his cognitive, verbal, and perceptual progress is below normal for his grade level and shows their disapproval for transferring Fred to a special education class. Indicates that they will request a hearing to determine Fred's status.

13. Wellmet House (29:30)

Date:
19uu
Summary:
Explains that Wellmet House attempts to rehabilitate the mentally ill not by gaining conforming behavior but by helping them relate to other people in natural and unstructured ways. Points out that half of the residents are mentally ill and the other half are college students from nearby universities who staff Wellmet House. Emphasizes the need for each patient to find individual expression. Shows patients and staff at dinner, parties, the local pub, and a house meeting.

14. Asi Fue (So It Went) (56:42)

Date:
1986
Main contributors:
Strout, Toby (Writer, Producer); Schwibs, Susanne (script); Sumpter, Wally (Director); Arnove, Robert (Producer); Michael Luhan(Producer);
Summary:
Documents the political issues and diverse views of the people of Nicaragua during the period surrounding the elections of 1984; the first elections held since the overthrow of the Somoza regime. Sampling the campaigns of seven contending political parties, several major issues surface repeatedly and dominate debate: the direction of national reconstruction, changing social roles and responsiblities (particularly of women and young people), the war with the Contras, economic conditions, the makeup of the electoral process, and the conduct of the election itself.

15. [Eco original time lapse, 1984] (10:18)

Date:
1984
Main contributors:
Unknown
Summary:
Time lapse film showing the movement of clouds and fog, as well as the growth of flowers. Footage was shot between May and June of 1984.

16. Food For Thought (18:55)

Date:
1980
Summary:
A detailed look at a centralized, integrated, food service which provides 50,000 meals each day on a large university campus. Includes information about scientific control of the storage environment, computer regulation of inventory, dietary planning, and food quality control.

17. Dee (10:10)

Date:
1978
Main contributors:
WGBH Educational Foundation, Linc Services, Inc., Janet Weaver, Elizabeth Graham, Rebecca Eaton, Tim Hill, Bernice Chesler
Summary:
Focuses on a 12-year-old girl with Larsen's syndrome, showing how she has learned to cope with her disability and to adjust to her surroundings.

18. Journey to the center of a triangle (08:57)

Date:
1976
Main contributors:
Bruce Cornwell, Katharine Cornwell
Summary:
Animation and a musical background are used to locate incenters, circumcenters, centroids, and orthocenters in a number of triangles. The film was created on the Tektronics 4051 Graphics Terminal.

19. Super-8 (28:15)

Date:
1976
Main contributors:
Strout, Ben (Director, Editor)
Summary:
Follows a variety of activities by a high school filmmaking class involved in creating super 8mm motion pictures. Shows students participating in the following processes: scratching images directly on film, storyboarding and scripting, camera operations, basic lighting techniques, simple animation, pixillation, macrophotography, kinestasis, editing and splicing, adding sound, and critiquing finished film. Emphasizes how communication skills are enhanced by the experiences and includes samples of student productions.

20. The human tree players (29:48)

Date:
1976
Main contributors:
Strout, Ben (Photographer)
Summary:
A documentary on the Human Tree Players, a drama group composed of mentally challenged individuals.

21. David's case: an example (33:44)

Date:
1975
Main contributors:
Ben Strout (Photographer)
Summary:
Demonstrates the following procedural steps in reviewing problems between school officials and parents with regard to students: appointing the case conference committee, sharing information, initiation of individual educational plan, placement review, and revised program. Indicates that the appointment of the case conference committee is determined by the child's problems and shows the committee specialist sharing information pertaining to David's behavior patterns. Discusses a program that will remedy David's academic and social problems. | Intended audience: professional. Summary: Explains the five steps of the case conference procedure, and illustrates with a sample case. Accompanies Case Conference: a simulation and source book. [Summary from original catalog card.]

22. More than a place to live (20:01)

Date:
1975
Main contributors:
Alfred R. Edyvean, Jr.
Summary:
A film describing sorority life at IU, the benefits of joining a sorority, their traditions, and the function of IU's Panhellenic Association. Shows how sorority life offers potential for personal development, exploration, and fulfillment of ideals in addition to lifelong bonding. The film also gives a glimpse into life in a Greek house as an alternative residence lifestyle. Highlights the important contributions Greek societies make to campus life, their role as leaders, and the high scholastic achievement of sorority members.

23. Otto : a study in abnormal psychology (28:25)

Date:
1975
Main contributors:
Strout, Ben (Assistant Director)
Summary:
Dramatizes an open-ended case study in abnormal behavior by portraying Otto as a middle-aged man suffering from real and imagined pressures at home and work. Explains that Otto feels overburdened and insecure in his job as senior book editor and observes him trying to relate calmly to his secretary, his assistant, and his boss. Pictures Otto at home, where his wife complains that he never listens to her and never tells her about his feelings and watches Otto suffering from insomnia and becoming increasingly withdrawn and anxious.

25. Mathematics peep show (11:45)

Date:
1973
Main contributors:
Charles Eames, Ray Eames, Glen Fleck, Elmer Bernstein, Ray Redheffer, Robert Hostick, Parke Meek, Jeremy Lepard
Summary:
The following is a collection of mathematical peepshows produced for International Business Machines Corporation. Illustrates, in five segments, five basic mathematical principles, using animation and photography. Includes Eratosthenes' method of abstract measurement of the earth, topology, symmetry, functions, and exponents, which were originally part of the Charles and Ray Eames exhibit Mathematica.

26. The Hobcaw story (29:58)

Date:
1973
Main contributors:
Lewis W. Riley, Henry W. Cheney
Summary:
This film explores the history and ecology of Hobcaw Barony near Georgetown and the programs of Clemson's Belle W. Baruch Research Institute. The film received the 1973 CINE Golden Eagle Award at the Council on International Nontheatrical Events' annual awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., and also placed third in national competition in the annual Forestry Film Festival sponsored by the Society of American Foresters.

27. Digging for black pride (19:55)

Date:
1971
Summary:
Shows children in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant section learning about their African heritage through classroom activities and "digs" in vacant lots and urban renewal areas to locate artifacts linking them to their 19th century ancestors. Explains that under "Project Weeksville" the black children are piecing together the history and organization of this self-sufficient black community which existed in the early 1800s. Examines how the Bedford- Stuyvesant residents held off white raiders during the Draft Riot of 1863.

28. Transitions : conversations with Wendell Castle (31:03)

Date:
1971
Summary:
Presents Wendell Castle, a sculptor who likes plastic and rugged woods better than materials which are traditionally used. Explains that Castle creates forms which are both beautiful and functional, relatively inexpensive, and fit with each other in a total environmental situation. Relates that Castle believes art is continually changing because the artist or designer by his very nature cannot be happy with things as they are.

29. Operation reentry (29:07)

Date:
1970
Summary:
Demonstrates the successful rehabilitation of mental health patients in Palo Alto Veterans Hospital. Explains that they are given tokens for rewards, trained in sheltered workshops, and finally re-established in the outside world. Shows examples of last-phase patients operating their own gas station and renovating a home where other released patients will live. Points out that an ex-patient serves as an advisor for newly released patients.

30. The chain of life (28:46)

Date:
1970
Summary:
Depicts man as the end link in "The Chain of Life" and indicates that he is limiting his own survival by destroying other links in the chain. Explains that a healthy environment is as essential to the survival of man as to plants and animals, since man must ultimately consume plants and animals. Points out that pesticide controls can be biological rather than chemical, but consumers prefer "pretty" fruit to the blemished skin of safe fruit. Emphasizes that industries prefer chemical to biological control for economic reasons.

31. The tribe that hides from man (1:02:26)

Date:
1970
Summary:
Warning: This film contains nudity and close up images of corpses. Focuses on Brazilian explorers Orlando and Claudio Villas Boas who, with the aid of the disc-lipped Tchukahmei, search the Amazon jungle from the air and ground for the Kreen-Akrore Indians, a group which has previously killed on sight. Explains that the objective is to bring the Kreen-Akrore to the 8,500 square mile Xingu National Park where Indian culture and economy survive. Records similar efforts to save other Amazon tribes.

32. Our food : eggs and dairy products (27:25)

Date:
196u
Summary:
William C. “Bill” Smith of Oregon Educational Broadcasting, who hosts and narrates this group of programs, takes youngsters on a day’s jaunt to an Oregon “egg factory,” a dairy farm and a dairy manufacturing plant to show them that, though milk, butter and eggs still come from the same old reliable sources, the ways which they are processed have changed considerably. On a farm where 100,000 laying hens produce enough eggs in one day to feed cities the size of Schenectady; New York; St. Joseph, MO; and Kalamazoo, Michigan, we see how eggs are gathered, cleaned and graded, and sent to market. On the dairy farms we see modern milking methods and milk being transported to a manufacturing plant. Processes involved in bottling milk and making cheese are seen, and the ice cream bar section is visited.

33. Fountain House (29:09)

Date:
1969
Main contributors:
John Beard, Executive Director, Fountain House, Robert Kaiser, Gary C. Bergland, Larry Novak
Summary:
Shows how Fountain House, located in the "Hell's Kitchen" section of New York City, reintegrates patients returning from mental institutions as functioning citizens. Explains that the house is non-residential and most of the people who come there do not have jobs. Records how Fountain House helps its people find housing, provides vocational training, arranges jobs with nearby businesses, and offers community services in the house itself. Includes conferences between patients and staff at the house and at places of work.

34. None of my business (31:52)

Date:
1969
Summary:
Part of episode 221 of PBL. Studies the widespread and often erroneous notions about welfare recipients. Presents the fallacy that many people on welfare could work if they wanted to. Reveals that 90 percent of all welfare recipients are young children or are aged, blind, or totally disabled. Attempts, through interviews, to give a view of welfare life. Shows segments of the hearings of the President's Commission on Income Maintenance.

35. Safe living at school (second edition) (09:42)

Date:
1969
Summary:
Stop-action photography of common school mishaps illustrates potential safety hazards and ways they can be avoided. Points out that a school building is constructed for maximum safety: accidents are caused by people. Stresses the individual child's responsibility for accident prevention.

36. The heartmakers (58:53)

Date:
1969
Summary:
Develops the need for a artificial hearts while arguing for cautious human experimentation. Interviews Dr. Denton Cooley, who made the first artificial heart insertion, and Dr. Michael DeBakey, who is opposed to heart insertion. Shows the famous Karp operation where Dr. Cooley inserted the first artificial heart. Explains that the main problems in using artificial hearts are the power source and the internal lining of the heart, which sometimes have an adverse effect upon red blood cells.

37. The suicide clinic : a cry for help (27:51)

Date:
1969
Summary:
Indicates that a suicide attempt is a cry for help, sympathy, and understanding--all of which can be handled by the suicide clinic. Indicates that most suicide attempts are the result of a crisis which passes leaving the person fully recovered. Shows that suicides cross all socioeconomic levels and that these individuals are not necessarily emotionally unstable. Links most suicides with long-term depression involving love, work, or physical illness. Looks at the need for recognition and therapy of persons with suicidal tendencies.

38. The Warren years : the great decisions (23:07)

Date:
1969
Main contributors:
National Educational Television
Summary:
Examines Supreme Court rulings regarding civil rights, reapportionment, and criminal procedure in the light of subsequent consequences of these decisions. Interviews allies and critics of the Warren Court, who evaluate the decisions. Reveals that for Earl Warren, the role of the court was that of responding to human needs.

39. The whole world is watching (52:55)

Date:
1969
Summary:
Presents reporters David Brinkley and Walter Cronkite with critics John Fischer and Senator John O. Pastore probing the question of bias in television newscasting. Discusses topics such as the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and the restraints and influences placed upon television by advertising. Shows David Brinkley contending that a completely objective person would be virtually a vegetable and that he strives for fairness, not simply objectivity.

40. Tomorrow's television : get what you want or like what you get (36:24)

Date:
1969
Summary:
Examines the competitive struggle of cable television operators against movie-theater owners, commercial broadcasters, and the telephone company. Discusses the differences in programming philosophies of commercial and cable TV. Includes a discussion of Federal Communications Commission policies in the regulation of broadcasting.

41. Diary of a Harlem family (20:24)

Date:
1968
Summary:
Reveals the all-too-common plight of one family living in New York City's black Harlem through the photographs of Gordon Parks. Includes the problems of inadequate educational background, restricted job opportunities, a lack of food and adequate heating, the drinking of the father and the despair of the mother, and the hostility and violence that results. Points out the importance of poverty agencies or other help, and leaves the family's difficulties unsolved.

42. In search of space (29:01)

Date:
1968
Main contributors:
Ralph J. Tangney
Summary:
Tells how three boys write a report titled Doomsday 2000 after they lose their ballfield to an apartment project. Analyzes problems of air and water pollution, expanding population, and lack of recreational facilities. Shows the boys preparing a second report recounting how small plots of land are being used to make life more pleasant for children and adults.

43. Last reflections on a war (46:58)

Date:
1968
Summary:
This is an excerpt showing one segment of episode 117. Presents critical comments and views of Asian scholar and war correspondent, Bernard B. Fall. Discusses the nature of the war in Vietnam, its effect upon the people, and the possibility of a practical solution. Includes taped comments.

44. Questioning (29:02)

Date:
1968
Summary:
Presents a dialogue between Indian spiritual leader Krishnamurti and the boys of the Thatcher School of Ojai, California, in which Krishnamurti encourages the students to question life in order to enhance their self understanding. Warns against the traditional intellectual and argumentative approach to questioning, which Krishnamurti believes dulls the mind. Shows the boys posing questions concerning war as a way of life, acceptance of death, and such world problems as hunger and poverty.

45. Stop or go : an experiment in genetics (28:41)

Date:
1968
Main contributors:
Bert Shapiro, David Prowitt, Vilma Bautista, Dr. Dean Engelhardt, Dr. Peter Model, Hugh Robertson, Dr. Robert E. Webster, Niyati Yodh, Dr. Norton D. Zinder
Summary:
Shows an experiment which successfully analyzed the genetic code of a mutant virus. Portrays Dr. Norton Zinder and his colleagues at Rockefeller University as they separate the mutant virus from non-mutant virus, grow new generations of mutants, extract genetic material, and test for possible manufacture of coat protein.

46. Stop ruining America's past (21:45)

Date:
1968
Summary:
One segment from episode 119 of PBL. Describes the campaign to save Illinois' archaeological sites from urban and industrial expansion. Interviews Stuart Struever, archaeology professor at Northwestern University, who explains the significance of the sites. Shows Struever and others surveying and digging at sites. Ends with the suggestion that the area's heritage could be saved with the help of others.

47. The black soldier (26:54)

Date:
1968
Summary:
Traces the history of the black American's participation in the armed forces of the United States, from the Revolutionary War to the war in Vietnam. Reveals little known facts about blacks such as segregation in the military prior to 1947, the first soldier to fall in the Revolutionary War was black, black soldiers were the first to receive the Croix de Guerre in World War I, and over 1,000,000 Negroes served in World War II. Points out that black soldiers have served in the American wars, whether they were accepted socially or not.

48. The Burn Center (26:55)

Date:
1968
Summary:
Discusses burn injuries in general and new techniques and materials used by the medical researchers to treat burns. Shows patients in various stages of recovery from effects of serious burns. Shows researchers at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

49. The end of conflict (29:02)

Date:
1968
Summary:
Presents Indian spiritual leader Krishnamurti speaking of the personal discontent suffered because people compare what they are with an ideal of what they should be. Explains that this comparison takes place because they accumulate emotions such as hatred and aggression in their memory which limits their freedom to be aware of life. Suggests that people must become totally attentive to and aware of their present environment without interference from memory and past experience to end the conflict.

50. Where are we going? (29:04)

Date:
1968
Summary:
Presents Indian spiritual leader, writer and lecturer Krishnamurti's views of the world crisis which has developed because the old traditions and values are no longer acceptable. States that the greatest miracle is being able to listen with one's mind, eyes, and ears without the raising of self-defenses against what is being said. Argues that hope and faith should not be important and that the only important things in our lives are what we are and what is--not what we think should be--and that this requires a radical transformation of the mind.

51. A matter of acceptable risk (28:57)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Illustrates aircraft control in the crowded air lanes between New York and London. Explains the development of mathematical formulas to evaluate the present risk of collision between aircraft and the anticipated risk if the distance between air lanes is narrowed. Shows a ship collecting data on the position of all aircraft flying the Atlantic and two mathematicians explaining the probability of collision and its calculation.

52. Auto safety : on the skids (29:14)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Reports on survival--car design, highway simulation tests, and the "skid school" at the research center of the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company at Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Shows two cars designed to protect a driver from crash injuries--a research and a production model. Demonstrates the use of the highway simulator and delineates methods used in the skid school to train drivers to control skids.

53. Cities of the future (25:35)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Shows growth of cities today and the steps man is taking to improve them. Describes city population in the United States as seventy percent of the total population. Compares new cities of Brasilia, Brazil; Reston, Virginia; and Chandigahi, India, with old cities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; and Stockholm, Sweden.

54. Goodbye and good luck (32:09)

Date:
1967
Summary:
A Black G.I. returns from Vietnam and is confronted by various Black Power activists. He is forced to question his reasons for having served in the military and what he wants to do in the future.

55. Human aggression : key to survival (28:37)

Date:
1967
Main contributors:
David Prowitt, Dr. Konrad Lorenz, Gordon Rattray-Taylor, Larry Toft, Don Feldstein, Peter Cantor, Sharon Lynne Gross
Summary:
An exciting look into the study of aggression featuring the precedent-setting research in animal psychology of Professor Konrad Lorenz, author of “On Aggression,” at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

56. Medicine men of Africa : part I (29:03)

Date:
1967
Summary:
The effectiveness of the African medicine man or “witch doctor” has been a subject of much speculation among the lay public and professional medical men for many years. In this program a Western physician investigates the work of “witch doctors” in Nigeria. The viewer is shown actual “healing” sessions and sees the results of what many doctors believe is mass hypnosis induced in his patients by the “witch doctor.” Nigerian physicians and psychiatrists give their explanations of the healing phenomenon.

57. Medicine men of Africa : part II (28:33)

Date:
1967
Summary:
A continuation of the filmed record of a Western physician’s trek to Nigeria to investigate the healing phenomena attributed to the African “witch doctors.”

58. Sailing II (27:02)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Presents a beginner's guide to smooth and efficient sailing by investigating the effects of weight placement, wind, and sail adjustment. Demonstrates the rules and courtesies of navigation and gives several examples showing which boat has the right-of-way under various conditions.

59. The Universe from Palomar (29:12)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Presents a history of the Hale Telescope and the contributions it has made to our knowledge of the universe. Shows transportation and construction of the 200-inch mirror. Illustrates recent discoveries with photographs taken through the telescope at its Mount Palomar site.

60. The way it is (1:00:05)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Warning: This film contains dated language regarding race. Documents the chaos of a "ghetto" school and what is being done in one particular school to remedy this situation. Focuses on Junior High School No. 5 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn where the workers with a New York University special learning project are shown in classrooms, teachers' meetings, and visits with parents. Suggests that moderate success in reaching the children was achieved only when many different approaches were adopted.

61. Thornton Wilder (29:00)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Presents the biography of Thornton Wilder by tracing his life and family background. Provides excerpts from his speeches and quotations from his writings and film clips. Analyzes, for their social meanings, the themes of several of his works.

62. Where is prejudice? (1:01:02)

Date:
1967
Summary:
Warning: This film contains dated and offensive language regarding race. Twelve college students of different races and faiths participate in a week-long workshop to test their common denial that they are prejudiced. A frank discussion and questioning of one another continues and latent prejudices emerge. Shows why the participants are unable to cope with the revelations.

63. Brother Antoninus and Michael McClure (29:35)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Depicts Michael McClure, an experimental poet who has written in many styles, and Brother Antoninus, a Dominican lay brother who is distinguished as a poet because of his unique combination of poetry reading and dramatic encounters with his audiences. Touches upon McClure's use of hallucinogenic experimental system of developing poetry through the use of words printed on cards which are shuffled to create poems at random. Places the viewer in the audience during one of Brother Antoninus' celebrated readings.

64. Face of excellence (28:52)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Portrays some of the learning of both students and instructors at the Harvard Medical School. Presents discussions of an instructor's first lecture, the meaning of academic freedom, and the reasons why a teacher must also be a researcher. Demonstrates a bedside teaching situation, a clinical conference dealing with pathology, and a brain-cutting operation conference.

65. Hope of disarmament (28:56)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Contrast the Russian and United States' plans for disarmament and points out the difficulties of implementing either plan. Explains the limited success of the nuclear test ban and the low probability of its being extended, some of the difficulties involved in setting up a United Nations force to keep the peace, and the refusal of the nuclear powers to give concessions to the non-nuclear nations in return for the latters' agreement to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

66. Laser : the light of the future (29:09)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Describes the contributions of Arthur Schawlow in the development of the ruby laser. Demonstrates, through a working model of atoms, how ordinary light is produced and how laser light is generated and controlled, and shows why getting the light under control is so difficult. Presents several sequences showing Schawlow's part in working out the physics behind the first successful laser.

67. Nuclear forces (30:00)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Examines the various means of delivering nuclear weapons to distant targets and protecting these delivery systems from surprise attack. Discusses how the vulnerability of bombers to nuclear attack led to the development of various kinds of protected missile sites. Reviews the effectiveness of the U.S. defenses against bomber and/or missile attack.

68. Prospects of survival (28:50)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Warning: This film begins with combat footage and images of deceased soldiers. Examines various methods of countering the possibility of governments using weapons of mass destruction and engulfing the major powers in an expanding local conflict. Presents some of the views held by international leaders and scientists on the potential dangers of chemical, bacteriological, and nuclear weapons, and some of the propositions by which the Western nations might cooperate to lessen these dangers.

69. Richard Wilbur and Robert Lowell (29:17)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Interviews Richard Wilbur and Robert Lowell (Pulitzer Prize winners) and explores their interests in poetic expression, and the origins of the ideas in their respective poems. Presents Wilbur reading "On The Marginal Way," "Love Calls Us To The Things of this World," and "Advice to a Prophet." Shows Lowell reading "Water," "Soft Wood," "A Flaw," "Fall, 1961," and "The Opposite House."

70. Robert Creeley (28:47)

Date:
1966
Main contributors:
Robert Creeley, Richard Moore, Philip Greene
Summary:
Provides a candid view of poet Robert Creeley in his home and introduces his poetry. Presents him describing the influences of other literary figures on his works and explaining his own method of working. Includes readings of several of his poems, such as "La Noche," "The First Time," "The Place," and "Someplace."

71. Robert Duncan and John Wieners (29:08)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Studies the return of romanticism to contemporary poetry through the poetry of Robert Duncan and John Wieners. Presents Duncan reading several poems, including "The Architecture," and excerpts from "A Biographical Note" and "A Statement on Poetics." Shows Wieners, a student of Duncan, reading "A Poem for Painters," "Cocaine," and an excerpt from an unpublished prose work.

72. The troubled cities (59:49)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Probes, in documentary style, the attempts which are made to solve the problems which have been brought about by the urban population explosion. Cites slum areas, racial unbalance in the schools, and the needs of untrained or illiterate rural immigrants as some of the elements involved. Points out projects in urban renewal and urban rehabilitation, bussing children from one school district to another, and antipoverty programs as attempted solutions.

73. To sleep...perchance to dream (29:32)

Date:
1966
Summary:
Documents several experiments conducted at the Sleep Research Laboratory of the University of California at Los Angeles in studying the nature of sleep. Presents experiments to determine the relationship of dreams to stomach secretions, the amount of time infants spend dreaming, and the effects of depriving a subject of dreams. Shows the recording and interpretation of electrical impulses from a sleeping subject and the rapid eye movements during dreaming.

74. Bulls, bears, and chimpanzees (30:04)

Date:
1965
Summary:
The circus is a glorious mixture of many different acts, and the circus crowd is a glorious mixture of many different kinds of people with greatly varied taste. For some, the antics of the clowns are the most memorable parts of the show; for others, the grace and daring of the aerialists draw the loudest cheers; and there are some to whom the massive, lumbering elephants are the circus’s most exciting offering. This program is about the elephants (dubbed “bulls” in circus jargon). It also looks at two other important circus animals; the bears and the chimpanzees.

75. Cities : crime in the streets (1:01:31)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Discusses the two major aspects of the crime problem in the United States--police protection of citizens from crime and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders through training schools and reformatories. Aspects of these problems are examined by police experts, criminologists, and others. Methods of operation used by the Chicago Police Department are evaluated; training schools are visited; and their methods are contrasted with community programs designed to keep the juvenile from ever becoming a criminal.

76. Development of our decimal numeration system (27:26)

Date:
1965
Main contributors:
Joseph Moray, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, John M. Davidson, Richard Gilbert, Arthur M. Kaye, Shirley Tebbe, Francesca Greene, Peter Smith, Carole Eickhoff, Davidson Films
Summary:
Delineates interesting facets of the development of our decimal system. Compares the additive, subtractive, multiplicative, and positional notation aspects of the Chinese, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Hindu-Arabic systems. Uses models to explain concepts which lead to greater understanding of base 10 systems. This film traces the historical development of our present decimal system--the Hindu-Arabic system of numeration. The meaning and importance of base ten, place value, grouping, numerals, and expanded notation are carefully described.

77. Dorothea Lange : the closer for me (30:15)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Provides an opportunity for the viewer to compare the personality of Dorothea Lange, photographer-artist, with her work. Many of her photographs are presented; these cover various periods, such as the depression, World War II, and the growth of the urban sprawl in contemporary California. Lange is shown in her home as she states she is convinced the world is not being truly photographed at all today. To the present generation of photographers, she proposes a new photographic project with the cities of America as the subject--to be done on a scale comparable to that of the Farm Security Administration Photographic Project of the thirties.

78. Dorothea Lange : under the trees (30:10)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Provides a close view of Dorothea Lange and her photographs, enabling the viewer to share her deep involvement in her work and her philosophy as a photographer. Looks in on Lange as she prepares for a one-woman exhibition of her work covering the past fifty years and comments on the reasons and emotions that have moved her to photograph particular scenes. Represents, with her death in October, 1965, a memorial to her and to the despair and hope which she captured so well in her documentary photographs.

79. Echoes of jazz (29:15)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Traces the development of American jazz dance, from tap dancing through the stylized theatrical form of the 1900's and orchestrated jazz of the Thirties, to the cool, abstract music of the Sixties. Demonstrates the basic steps of tap dance (sand shuffle, waltz clog, time step, buck and wing) as performed by Honi Coles. Presents Paula Kelly, Dudley Williams, and William Luther dancing to "Storyville, New Orleans" and the music recorded by Jelly Roll Morton, and Grover Dale and Michel Harty dancing in "Idiom 59" and to recorded music of the same title by Duke Ellington. Presents John Butler's choreography of music by Gunther Schuller, variations on a theme by John Lewis.

80. Flicks #1 (27:43)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Defines movies as glorified shadow shows and traces the motion picture revolution from a simple shadow on a wall to modern movies. Presents a history of the development of the movie camera, film, and other photographic inventions. Includes Al Jolson, Lon Chaney, Laurel and Hardy, and sequences from The Great Train Robbery and a Conquest of Space.

81. Gift of choice (edited version) (29:03)

Date:
1965
Main contributors:
Richard Lukin, Ron Allen
Summary:
Condensed version of "Gift of Choice" episode of Population Problem. Reports on experiments being carried out to determine the factors controlling pregnancies both to aid those who want children and to control fertility for those who want to limit family size.

82. The daybooks of Edward Weston : how young I was (29:16)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Illustrates Edward Weston's philosophy of photography and life through his writings, which he called "Daybooks." Relates the feelings of the photographer as photographs are presented from Weston's soft-focus period, his abstract photographs, and his work done in Mexico. Evaluates Weston as an artist through discussions by two of his sons, his second wife, and one of his former students.

83. The daybooks of Edward Weston : the strongest way of seeing (29:01)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Illustrates Edward Weston's philosophy of photography through his photographs. Includes photographs from his study of Point Lobos, California; his record of California and the western United States; portraits of his cats; and samples from his satirical series and his civil defense series.

84. The Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet (29:09)

Date:
1965
Main contributors:
Morton Gould, Sol Schoenbach, Clark Jones
Summary:
Introduces the music of the woodwinds. Presents the story of their evolution from outdoor performances to the concert hall. Includes the following: the Second Movement of Haydn's Divertimento in B Flat Major; the First Movement of Antonio Rosetti's Wind Quintet in E Flat; and the Pastorale of Gabriel Pierne.

85. The renaissance band (29:22)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Presents music of the renaissance played by the New York Pro Musica using authentic instruments of the period. Demonstrates the recorder, brumhorn, sackbut, dulcian, viola da gamba, and shawm. Performs such compositions as: Passamezzo for the Coronettas, Galliard of Monsieur Wustrow, Galliard of the Battle, Reprise, Spanish Pavane, Bourree, The Queen's Courante, Passamezzo, and Galliard.

86. A breeder in the desert (1:00:56)

Date:
1964
Summary:
The desert plains of central Idaho bore silent witness to many events in history – the coming of the Oregon Trail, the wars between the whites and the Indians, the events of the Old West, Today they are witnessing a change that is far more important – the coming of atomic power. On the lava plains of central Idaho is the National Reactor Testing Station, famous for “firsts” in nuclear energy. Here electricity was first generated from atomic energy and atomic power first was used to light a town. Principles of nuclear submarine propulsion were worked out in “a ship on the desert” in Idaho. “Challenge” visits the National Reactor Testing Station to look at a power plant of the future, a reactor that makes more nuclear fuel than it consumes. The principle is not perpetual motion. This reactor takes the part of uranium that is not fissionable fuel (more than 99 per cent of the total) and converts it into plutonium, a man made element that is a good nuclear fuel. Because the reactor “breeds” plutonium it is called a “breeder” reactor – Experimental Breeder Reactor-II. How this breeding is accomplished, and how fuel for EBR-II is fabricated by remote control, is explained in this program.

87. A chemical somersault (59:18)

Date:
1964
Summary:
A few years ago history was made at the United States Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory where this program was filmed. This is the story of the dedicated research scientists whose search for truth ended a fallacy in chemistry which had existed for more than half a century. Although their efforts were not as exciting as the discovery that the world was round and not flat, the scientists at Argonne disproved that a group of elements called “inert gases” would not react with other elements to form compounds. This is not to imply that these elements – helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon – did not have utility. Helium is the gas used to send balloons aloft. Neon, argon, and krypton are used in light bulbs: xenon in high speed photographic cells; and radon in medical therapy to irradiate cancer cells. What the Argonne scientists investigated was the atomic structure of these elements. For years it had been falsely believed that the electrons within these elements could not combine with electrons within the atoms of other elements. Following a report of Canadian scientists, the researchers at Argonne found that, instead of picking up electrons from other atoms, some of these so-called “inert gases” actually gave up electrons when combined with other elements. Using Krypton, xenon, and radon, in separate experiments, the Argonne scientists succeeded in making compounds which previously were unheard of. In fact, they also found at least one xenon compound for which they weren’t looking. This was xenon trioxide, a powerful explosive, made from xenon and oxygen. Many new uses will doubtless be found for these new compounds, according to the scientists. One might be the use of xenon tetrafluoride to store large quantities of fluorine as an oxidizing agent in rocket fuel.

88. Algae (17:14)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Depicts the five major groups of algae, showing growth, movement, reproduction, and nutritional patterns. Describes the tremendous size range of algae from the giant kelp to the minute forms found in a drop of pond water. Discusses the evolutionary development and the economic and ecological importance of the algae.

89. Automation (1:00:42)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Mr. Hoffer examines the role that works plays in self-esteem as well as the effects of growing automation upon this self-esteem. He comments on the basic human need in all societies, in every period of history, for self-realization. It is, he feels, the feeling of worth derived from productive activity whether it be manual labor or the creation of art, literature and philosophy. Mr. Hoffer points out that early science grew out of Western man’s conception of God as “a master scientist,” and that Leonardo da Vinci, for his art, investigated anatomy and became interested in science because he believed it was “God’s work.” He then traces the development of machines from early civilization to what he terms, “present day over-mechanization and automation.” Today’s fast-growing automation and shrinking labor market is turning early man’s dream of luxury and leisure into a nightmare. Unemployment among workers is outstripping the ability of today’s economy to supply jobs for the unskilled. Mr. Hoffer cites current unemployment figures and projects them into the future, commenting that “when man is cut off from the chance to exercise his skills, he loses his confidence, his joy for life, and his sense of worth. Where you have people without a sense of usefulness, you have a potentially explosive situation ideal for the growth of hatred, bigotry and racism.”

90. Cats and dogs (30:01)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Wild animal exhibitions originated with the menagerie, but jungle beasts as performers are relative newcomers to the circus. Because traveling menageries were so successful financially, circus operators around the turn of the century began to incorporate into their shows wild animal exhibitions with “lion tamers” in attendance. The American public flocked to see the dangerous denizens of faraway jungles paraded with great ballyhoo by nerveless human handles, and wild animal acts swiftly became an integral part of the circus. There is another kind of animal act which answers a different interest among circus audiences and comes out of a longer standing tradition than the wild animal acts: the tame animal act in which the animal, through meticulous training, is able to perform tricks exploiting the upper limits of its physical capability and intelligence. It is always with squeals of delight that the audience watches an animal –a seal, pony, chimpanzee, or dog –break into a routine which makes it look “human.”This program concentrates on these two kinds of animal performance. It uses as examples of the tame animal act the skillful and imaginative “Stephenson’s Dogs,” seen in rehearsal on the Ringling lot. In the wild animal category there are three different performers: Clyde Beatty, Pat Anthony, and Robert Baudy. In each case the viewer sees them at work with their “cats” (tigers and lions), while their voices come over their own performance shots describing the dangers of their profession, their training methods, how they groom the animals, and what happens when a snarling cat turns against his master (Anthony, who puts his arm in the mouth of a tiger, tells us that if the animal begins to bite his arm, he bites his ear, which makes the tiger relinquish its hold.) The three trainers on this program represent two different approaches to the art of the wild animal act. Both Pat Anthony (who studied animal training under the G.I. Bill) and veteran Clyde Beatty (whose performances are seen in both old and current film clips) give “fighting acts,” concentrating on the physical aspects of their performances –often wielding the gun and whip irritating the cats into loud roaring, and, in general, making it as clear as possible that a 165-pound man is taking on 8700 pounds of “unleashed jungle fury.” Robert Baudy, a Frenchman, has a different approach. His act emphasizes “style” rather than combat, and, clad in rich costume, he enters the steal arena with a more aesthetic objective than that of his colleagues Beatty and Anthony: he makes his Siberian tigers go through the paces of their impossible tricks with quiet, sinister, grace.

91. Down on the farm (1:01:05)

Date:
1964
Summary:
In this program research scientists explore a mystery that has baffled man for ages – the life process itself. To gain knowledge that someday might answer questions such as, “How do plants make food?” and “What will control the spread of cancer?” Scientists at the United States Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory are experimenting with the simplest forms of plant and animal life. One avenue of research is centered on the study of algae, one-celled green plants commonly found in pools of stagnant water. The algae were singled out because, like man, they are basically chemical factories – only infinitely more simple in structure. Scientists explain, in this program, how they have succeeded in growing algae in pure “heavy” water, a rare form of water that has hydrogen atoms that are twice as heavy as Normal hydrogen atoms.From a unique “algae farm” the scientists harvest these tiny plants. Their crop gives them chemicals that have heavy hydrogen in place of ordinary hydrogen atoms. Other larger plants are being grown successfully in mixtures of heavy water and ordinary water, and these also are valuable chemical factories.The scientists found that organisms growing in heavy water grow at a slower rate and have different nutritional requirements than organisms growing in ordinary water. From these findings, research scientists are exploring the possibility that heavy water might cause a slow-down in the aging process. Scientist has experimented also with mice to determine what effect heavy water has on animals. Already, they have succeeded in replacing about 30 percent of the normal water in mice with heavy water. Scientists have found that heavy water retards the growth of mice and that tissue which normally grows the fastest appeared to be the most retarded in growth. This latter finding may someday have a bearing on understanding cancer in humans and may lead to a breakthrough in its treatment.Other startling biological effects also have been demonstrated in organisms which have been given doses of “heavy” carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. In these experiments, scientists were able to alter the growth of the organisms. These alterations may hold further clues to the life process.

92. Harnessing the rainbow (1:00:12)

Date:
1964
Summary:
What fingerprinting is to the F.B.I., spectroscopy is to the scientist. Through its use, astronomers have been able to learn more about the chemical composition of the sun than is known about the composition of the earth. Spectroscopy is used in food research to find impurities in canned food and cans of beer; it is used to trace the origin of paint found on a car in a hit-and-run accident; or to determine how jewelry was made centuries ago. Just how does this technique work? It is a simple story as explained by physicists at Argonne National Laboratory. Yet its applications are extremely precise. The basic instrument is the spectroscope, which can be as simple as a piece of glass used to split sunlight into a “rainbow” of color or as complicated as a piece of delicate apparatus that can single out sixty thousand different colors and requires a room as big as a small house. The use of spectroscopy was extremely important during the development of the atomic bomb. Large quantities of uranium and graphite were needed to produce the bomb, and scientists knew that the very success of the project depended on obtaining these elements in their purist forms. Using a spectroscope, scientists were able to measure the purity of the valuable elements. They knew that each element emits certain colors in the same manner that each man has different fingerprints. Thus, scientists could “look” at two pictures of different samples of uranium and determine which was the purer, since uranium containing impurities gave a different color or wavelength when photographed and compared with photographs of light from pure uranium. Scientists have spent literally years studying photographic plates from the spectrograph to determine the frequencies of light from specimens of chemical elements. The measurement and interpretation is an exacting and time-consuming task which is important if scientists are to understand the structure of atoms.

93. Machines that think (30:09)

Date:
1964
Summary:
The task of today’s mathematicians and computers is to keep abreast of the fast-moving world of nuclear research where yesterday’s successful experiments can be outdated tomorrow. To record the progress being made in this complex field, television camera crews went to the Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory where in the Mathematics Division men and machines are working daily to process the avalanche of data, the results of thousands experiments that are performed each year at Argonne. In this program, “Machines that think” cameras focus on the latest computers which in a matter of minutes can analyze and solve problems that would take a team of mathematicians a life time to work out. The program reports on computers that have such names as Chloe, Phylis, Engine No.2, and Analog. Chloe is a computer capable of transforming picture patterns, such as chromosome alignments, into numbers, the meaningful language of computers. In the study of radiation effects on chromosomes, for example, Chloe can come up with faster and more accurate answers than human observers. Chloe’s information, in turn, can be fed to other computers which can interpret the findings and “tell” the experimented the results he’s getting while the experiment is still in progress. Still other computers are capable of making adjustments, again while the experiment is in progress, while others can make “decisions,” such as interrupting the function of a main computer to “ask” a question about the experiment. There are other new computers which can tell scientists whether or not their design in experimental models, such as rockets or reactors, will work –even before the machine is built. This is accomplished by feeding the computers mathematical models of the proposed rocket or reactor and asking the computer to test them. Their answers can save scientists years in experimenting by trial and error and millions of dollars necessary to build experimental models.

94. Microscope for the unknown (59:54)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Had it not been for the study into the nature of matter itself, the twentieth century probably would be without television, atomic power, and space satellites. This Program looks into a branch of science called particle physics, a study of sub nuclear particles. The experiments are being carried out at the Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory. This is the story of experiments in a field where the lifespan of one of the subjects can be less than a billionth of a second and where the subject has no mass or shape –terms almost impossible for the layman to visualize yet alone comprehend. One of the particles which scientists know little about is the neutrino, a neutral particle carrying no electrical charge, but which some day may yield the key to the universe. Scientists say the neutrino does not have mass and the only way it can be observed is by collecting trillions of them and forcing them to collide with other particles, and then observing the damage of that collision. To accomplish this collision, a maze of machinery and nearly infinite timing and precision is required. This program reports on some of these experiments and the machinery employed. For these experiments, where the sub nuclear particles are in existence less than a few billionths of a second and are without mass, scientists have invented various detection devices. A sophisticated electron detector can observe and record these collisions in a manner similar to conventional radar which can follow aircraft. Another method which the program illustrates is high-speed photography which is capable of following the collision in the same way vapor trails from a high-altitude jet can be photographed without the camera capturing the plan itself. The ambition of the sub nuclear physicist is to unify all of nature’s phenomena into coherent sets of laws. His eventual goal is to find the answers that are at the core of the universe.

95. Talent (59:54)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Mr. Hoffer argues that the men working beside him as longshoremen on the San Francisco docks are “lumpy with talent.” Genius, he notes, is not rare, it is wasted; and the talent of the workingman is a kind of common sense practicality. Wherever this talent exists among working men, they do their jobs without “all that fuss” which he considers to be characteristic of the underdeveloped countries of the world. Then, Mr. Hoffer raises a question regarding the forces that bring about creative periods in our history – periods that began quite suddenly and ended just as suddenly. He cites, as examples, “the period of cave drawings,” “the Age of Pericles,” “the Florence of the Renaissance,” and “the flowering of New England,” Mr. Hoffer contends that it was not because there was more talent during these periods (“the artists of Florence,” he notes, “were the sons of shopkeepers, and tailors.”), but rather that others forces which exist in every period of history were at work and these forces freed the talent.

96. Testing for tomorrow (59:54)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Precision and perfection are the watchwords of today’s Space and Atomic Age. Nothing can be overlooked everything must be checked and rechecked before the “go” signal can be given. A crack in a missile’s fuel line, invisible to the human eye, can be disastrous. A defect in an atomic reactor, while not disastrous, can mean costly and time-consuming repairs. This program examines “non-destructive testing”, a new-comer, yet one of the most important engineering techniques. Non-destructive testing is simply a method of examining an object for defects without destroying it in the process. It is unlike other testing methods such as automobile test, for example, in which the vehicle is pushed to its maximum performance before it ends up on the junk pile. The television cameras are at the Metallurgy Division of the United States Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory, where scientists are using such non-destructive testing techniques as X-rays, gamma rays, and neutron radiography. At Argonne, neutronradiography is an invaluable aid to pinpoint what happens to uranium or plutonium fuel that sustains a chain reaction in an atomic reactor. The knowledge gained through this technique is important in designing the atomic power plants of today and tomorrow. Also shown are the ultrasonic testing methods used to detect imperfections by “bouncing” sound waves through objects that are being tested. One of these methods converts sound waves into electronic signals to show television pictures of hidden defects. The value of these non-destructive testing methods becomes increasingly more important as the tolerances become smaller and smaller for the new atomic reactors, space vehicles, and aircraft engines that are being constructed.

97. The alchemist's dream (59:47)

Date:
1964
Summary:
For centuries men have dreamed of turning common elements such as lead and zinc into more precious metals such as gold and silver. Today, nuclear scientists are looking beyond this and are inventing new elements which are more valuable than gold. This program, “The Alchemist’s Dream,” looks into these new elements –like curium and berkelium –which were unheard of a few years ago. Using an instrument called a cyclotron –an atom smasher –scientists at the United States Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory are making new elements which do not exist in nature. In a manner of speaking, scientists at Argonne are working in an “atomic shooting gallery.” Houses in a special room behind seven –foot thick concrete doors, a cyclotron bombards target atoms of curium with a beam of a special variety of hydrogen nuclei, resulting in the making of a new elements, berkelium, one of eleven elements which have been “invented” by science. Behind heavy concrete walls, painstaking precautions are taken in the manufacture of these new elements because of harmful radiation, a byproduct of atom splitting. Though these experiments yield only small amounts of the new elements, they enable scientists to work out their chemical properties. This research provides new information on how atoms are put together. It also tells the scientists what to expect when larger quantities of the new elements are available. Already, some of these man-made elements are furnishing the power for satellites and remote weather stations. A small quantity of one of the new man-made elements, californium, scientists predict, could produce enough energy to do the job of a nuclear reactor weighing several tons.

98. The fuel of the future (59:37)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Electrical power to heat and light American homes and industries in the future will be furnished by plutonium. This program reports on plutonium, one of the eleven man-made elements, which as a future source of fuel will produce two million times more energy than coal. Plutonium did not exist on earth until less than a quarter-century ago when it was born in a nuclear reactor. Born in a wartime program to obtain material for the atomic bomb, plutonium is finding important peacetime uses because it is a potent nuclear fuel. In fact, 99 percent of all uranium that is mined must be converted into plutonium in a reactor in order for mankind to use its latent energy. It has been estimated that the reserve of uranium that can be converted into plutonium represents hundreds of times more energy than the nation’s combined reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas. Against this background of the importance of plutonium, the program shows some of the elaborate precautions that must be taken in handling it. Plutonium is highly toxic. It burns easily in air. Its metallurgical properties make it extremely difficult to work with. At the Plutonium Fabrication Building, the cameras capture the elaborate precautions employed, revealing how plutonium is combined with uranium and other elements and shaped into wire-thin rods of fuel. As the program points out, 25 years ago the word plutonium could not be found in the dictionary, but tomorrow – through scientific research – the word plutonium will be as common as the words coal and oil are today.

99. The growth of a train of thought (1:00:05)

Date:
1964
Summary:
San Francisco longshoreman and author-philosopher Eric Hoffer began more than fifteen years ago to identify in his thought the nature of the “true believer,” the inspiration for his book on the subject. After writing the book, he turned his thoughts to the underdeveloped nations of the world, leading him to a consideration of the effects of change. Suddenly, Mr. Hoffer found himself thinking about juveniles; concluding that nations, as people, can be juvenile and that “true believers” are, in fact, perpetual juveniles – “true believers” such as General de Gaulle of France, Premier Khrushchev of Russia, and Premier Sukarno of Indonesia. His conclusion from all this is that each human being has one central preoccupation, - one train of thought- to which all of his thoughts are related.

100. The individual (34:21)

Date:
1964
Summary:
Examines the problem of the individual in a complex society. Analyzes how various aspects of American life satisfy man's need for self-identification. Assesses the impact of government planning on individual initiative and community identification and examines the problems of people living in urban renewal projects. Points out how the Polaroid Corporation deals with the suppression of individuality in industry and how a steel corporation treated an executive who expressed personal opinions.