Streaming Video Resources at the RLB Library

Henry Louis Gates Jr. uncovers the complex trade networks and advanced educational institutions that transformed early north and west Africa from deserted lands into the continent’s wealthiest kingdoms and learning epicentres.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores the impact of the Atlantic trading world, giving rise to powerful new kingdoms, but also transatlantic slave trade. Learn of the revolutionary movements of the 18th & early 19th centuries, including the advent of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores the dynamism of 19th century Africa, the “scramble” by European powers for its riches, and the defiant and successful stand of uncolonized Ethiopia.

In central China, a vast underground mausoleum conceals a terracotta army of cavalry, infantry, horses, chariots, weapons, acrobats, and musicians, all built to serve China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the afterlife. Lost for more than 2,200 years, this 8,000-strong clay army waited to help the first emperor rule beyond the grave. Now an archaeological campaign is probing the thousands of figures entombed in the mausoleum. With exclusive access to pioneering research, Emperor's Ghost Army reveals the techniques and organization that enabled the manufacture of the clay figures and the lethal weapons they carried. NOVA tests the power of these weapons with high-action experiments and reports on revolutionary archaeological techniques used to explore the site. Distributed by PBS Distribution.

Part one of the series From Jesus to Christ examines the influence of Judaism and the Roman Empire on the life of Jesus. Through compelling interviews with archeologists, theologians, and historians it is revealed that Jesus was an ordinary Jewish resident of his time, but new findings show that he was probably not of the assumed humble class. Nazareth, where he grew up, was about four miles from the cosmopolitan urban center of Sepphoris, one of the Roman provincial cities. And while Rome defined one dimension of Jesus' world, the other was symbolized by the great Temple in Jerusalem. The film also reveals an excavation of new theories leading to Jesus’ crucifixion—likely an act of the Romans—with little notice taken by Jewish people. Produced by Frontline. Distributed by PBS Distribution. Part of the series From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians.

Part two of the series From Jesus to Christ explores the period after the crucifixion of Jesus by tracing the beginnings of the “Jesus Movement,” as Christianity was first called in its early years. Drawing upon historical evidence and archeological finds as well as engaging interviews, we learn that the early Christians branched out spreading their message to non-Jews, while the Apostle Paul, in approximately 50 CE, traveled away from the traditional centers of the Jesus Movement to found new churches in Greco-Roman cities. In fact, Paul's letters to these fledgling congregations mark the first writings of the New Testament. Meanwhile, spiraling tensions between Jews and Rome would culminate in a catastrophic Jewish revolt against Rome, propelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple—the center of Jewish spiritual life. This film presents a rare and compelling glimpse at early Christianity. Produced by Frontline. Distributed by PBS Distribution. Part of the series From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians.

The first installment in Ken Burns’s remarkable documentary on the women’s suffrage movement, this program depicts the early years of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. With the help of rarely seen archival materials and voice-over portrayals by well-known actors, viewers learn how the ideas of both women came to maturity and how they became allies in the struggle for women’s rights. Distributed by PBS Distribution. A part of the series Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony—A Film by Ken Burns and Paul Barnes. (94 minutes)

The second installment in Ken Burns’s eye-opening profile of the women’s suffrage movement, this program depicts the later years of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. With the help of rarely seen archival materials and voice-over portrayals by well-known actors, viewers learn how the struggle for women’s rights gained momentum in America and coalesced around the right to vote. Distributed by PBS Distribution. A part of the series Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony—A Film by Ken Burns and Paul Barnes. (90 minutes)

Marian overhears Sir Percival and Fosco plotting against Laura. But Marian falls ill and Sir Percival conceals her, telling Laura that she has gone to London. Fosco puts his sinister plan into action. Will Marian be able to save Laura? Distributed by PBS Distribution.

Astonishingly gripping, LET THE FIRE BURN is a found-footage film that unfurls with the tension of a thriller.

On May 13, 1985, a longtime feud between the city of Philadelphia and controversial radical urban group MOVE came to a deadly climax. By order of local authorities, police dropped military-grade explosives onto a MOVE-occupied rowhouse. TV cameras captured the conflagration that quickly escalated--and resulted in the tragic deaths of eleven people (including five children) and the destruction of 61 homes. It was only later discovered that authorities decided to "...let the fire burn."

Winner of a Truer Than Fiction Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Winner of New Documentary Director at the Tribeca Film Festival.

CLIMATE REFUGEES is the first feature film to explore in-depth the global human impact of climate change and its serious destabilizing effect on international politics. The film turns the distant concept of global warming into a concrete human problem with enormous worldwide consequences. Experts predict that by mid-century hundreds of millions of people will be uprooted as a result of sea level rise and an increase in extreme weather events, droughts and desertification. Little is being done to plan for the potential mass migration of millions of refugees who will be forced to cross national borders. According to the UN, there are already more environmental refugees in the world than political or religious refugees. The Pentagon now considers climate change a national security risk and the phrase "climate wars" is being talked about in war-rooms.

The filmmakers traveled the world for nearly 3 years to document the impact of climate change, witnessing inhabitants of countries forced to leave their homes by climatic events with little or no protection. The film features a variety of leading scientists, relief workers, security consultants, and major political figures, including John Kerry and Newt Gingrich.

Faulty eyewitness identification is the most common source of wrongful convictions in the legal system. Here, take a closer look at some real-world instances of wrongful identification; discover how DNA testing has helped exonerate hundreds; and learn what specific reforms can help prevent these horrible mistakes in the future.

Release Me chronicles the story of Texas killer Kenneth Allen McDuff who received the death sentence in 1966 for a murderous rampage that left three teen-agers dead. He was paroled years later only to kill again. His subsequent recapture and trial resulted in another death sentence, carried out in 1998. After a public outcry over his parole, there was a complete overhaul of the prison and parole systems in Texas. All told, the killer was positively linked to six murders, but it is believed that he was responsible for as many as 13 during his lifetime. Viewers gain an inside looks at the teams of prosecutors who brought him to justice and who put him on death row, not once, but twice.

Now you must choose between pleading guilty and receiving a shorter sentence-or going to trial and risking decades behind bars. "THE VANISHING TRIAL" focuses on four individuals who were forced to make that excruciating choice. Each was threatened with a "trial penalty," the term used to describe the substantially longer prison sentence a person receives if they exercise their constitutional right to trial instead of pleading guilty. We see how the trial penalty has led to the shocking disappearance of one of the most fundamental individual rights and the explosion in America's prison population. Throughout the film, we hear the perspectives of national experts, including former federal judges and prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers, constitutional law experts, and criminal justice reform advocates.

To understand how criminal law works, you first have to understand what a crime is. What are the purposes of criminal law? Why is textualism so important to distinguishing the bygone era of common-law crimes from those of the 21st century? Who are the key players involved in defining a crime?

THE MASK YOU LIVE IN follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America's narrow definition of masculinity.

Pressured by the media, their peer group, and even the adults in their lives, our protagonists confront messages encouraging them to disconnect from their emotions, devalue authentic friendships, objectify and degrade women, and resolve conflicts through violence. These gender stereotypes interconnect with race, class, and circumstance, creating a maze of identity issues boys and young men must navigate to become "real" men.

Experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education, and media also weigh in, offering empirical evidence of the "boy crisis" and tactics to combat it. The Mask You Live In ultimately illustrates how we, as a society, can raise a healthier generation of boys and young men.

The division of the world's peoples into distinct groups - "red," "black," "white" or "yellow" peoples - has became so deeply imbedded in our psyches, so widely accepted, many would promptly dismiss as crazy any suggestion of its falsity. Yet, that's exactly what this provocative, new three-hour series by California Newsreel claims. RACE - THE POWER OF ILLUSION questions the very idea of race as innate biology, suggesting that a belief in inborn racial difference is no more sound than believing that the sun revolves around the earth.

Yet race still matters. Just because race doesn't exist in biology doesn't mean it isn't very real, helping shape life chances and opportunities.

Norman Lear explores the housing divide in New York City, where he is confronted by one of the nation's starkest images of inequality: a record number of homeless people living in the shadows of luxury skyscrapers filled with apartments purposely being kept empty. The creator of "All in the Family," "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons" speaks with tenants, realtors, homeless people, housing activists, landlords and city officials -- investigating the Big Apple's affordability crisis, hedge fund speculation on residential housing, and a legacy of racist discrimination that still persists today.

Jesse Williams journeys to the Gulf Coast town of St. Petersburg, Florida, once known for its beaches and pleasant weather, but now notorious for being the unlikely epicenter of the student achievement gap and school-to- prison pipeline. Williams investigates how resegregation has led to a massive educational and criminal justice divide for the students -- and witnesses the community's efforts to confront the school system and heal the divide.

Common returns to his hometown of Chicago - a city on fire in the aftermath of the brutal police killing of teenager Laquan McDonald. With thousands of people in the streets, Chicago has become the epicenter of national debates around police violence, racism and accountability. Working with community activists and whistleblowers, Common discovers a decades-long pattern of police corruption and sophisticated cover-ups that stretch all the way to the mayor's office. But Common also finds reason for hope. An energized movement in the streets mounts unprecedented pressure for reform. It's clear that the system is broken -- is it finally time for a change?

As the fate of some 11 million undocumented immigrants has become the political football of the 2016 campaign, actress America Ferrera heads to Texas, the state with the longest border and home to 1.65 million people living without papers. Ferrera, whose parents and siblings are immigrants from Honduras, understands the challenges faced by the new arrivals to the U.S. fleeing in Central America. In "Out of Reach," she witnesses the special difficulties for Central American refugees in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where US Border Patrol checkpoints inside the US, many miles from the border, keep undocumented people hemmed-in and place the American dream out of reach.

While most people are aware of the basic contours of the Flint water story, AMERICA DIVIDED goes deeper. Correspondent Rosario Dawson investigates how a government could poison its own citizens, what hidden forces may have been at work, and how specific policies unique to Michigan, led not only to the crisis in Flint but also damaged other poor, largely African American communities around the state.

Gretchen Carlson, who won a high profile victory with her opposition to the pervasive sexual harassment at Fox News, takes viewers to the halls of Congress to uncover an endemic culture of sexual harassment there held in place for decades by a deeply flawed system.

Carlson meets the survivors stepping forward to tell their stories and the women senators and representatives leading the call for reform. She also works to enact legislation outlawing the silencing of survivors through non-disclosure agreements and forced arbitration.

Native American actor Martin Sensmeier travels to San Juan County, Utah, to investigate the controversy over the Bears Ears National Monument.

While there, he learns how the fight over the monument is just one more battle in a long-running war between the county's Native American citizens and their Mormon neighbors over who will control the future of the county.

His journey reveals how voting rights denied by the Mormons have led to the marginalization of their Native neighbors and learns about the long history of looting of sacred archeological sites in the county.

Outpatients portrays a re-enactment of four segments of group sessions over the course of a mixed adult psychotherapy group. Dr. Yalom provides insightful, behind-the-scene commentary regarding his interventions. You'll see how his interpersonal model is applied, and learn techniques to steer groups into the here-and-now so they remain dynamic, on-track, and powerfully therapeutic. The general principles clearly outlined her will be extremely helpful and applicable to all therapists leading outpatient psychotherapy groups.

Group therapy sets the stage for a study in character and transformation in Yalom's novel. Master group therapist and teacher Molyn Leszcz leads two groups based on the characters and plot, which allows for the major themes and dynamics that occur in all working groups to quickly emerge in full force: authentic interpersonal engagement and feedback, conflict, jealousy, and the prospect of real intimacy. Additionally, you will see Leszcz skillfully demonstrate the core techniques in Yalom's interpersonal model of group psychotherapy: activating here-and-now interactions, reflection on group process, and the judicious use of therapist transparency. Commentary by Yalom and Leszcz help the viewer gain deeper understanding of the subtleties and nuances that occur in these fast-paced groups.

A bank robbery in Brooklyn goes wrong and evolves into a protracted hostage situation, turning the plan's mastermind into a media celebrity and the event into a media circus. Based on a true story.

Twenty-two-year-old slacker Scott Pilgrim meets Ramona Flowers, the girl of his dreams, and learns that in order to win her heart he'll have to defeat her seven evil exes in a series of video-game-styled battles.

Saga of Truman Burbank, the unwitting star of a reality-TV show chronicling his life. Adopted by the network and raised in the zoolike environment of a TV soundstage, Truman doesn't know he's a prisoner on an immense domed city-size soundstage.

This comedy-drama film is inspired by the Twitter thread that went viral in 2015. Tweeting under her account handle @_zolarmoon, Zola tweets about meeting a sex worker named Stefani and how their immediate friendship led to a strange road trip. The women aim to reach Florida and earn money by dancing in various strip clubs. However, they run into several mishaps and misadventures as they travel with Stefani's male companions: her boyfriend Derrek and her pimp named X.