Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life-from...

Beginning in 1977, Andrew Kolker and Louis Alvarez produced a series of half-hour documentaries about New Orleans' challenges called Being poor in New Orleans. The programs were broadcast on WGNO-TV (Channel 26) and produced under the auspices of NOVAC, the New Orleans Video Access Center. Presenting some of the first independent TV documentaries made in New Orleans, the series was a pathbreaking look at New Orleans' problems and raised a number of...

Many people believe that leaders are the rare few at the upper echelons of a business or other enterprise. But the truth is leaders can be found at any level of an organization. These are the Sparks -- the doers, thinkers, innovators, and key influencers who are catalysts for personal and organizational change. Sparks aren't defined by the place they hold on an organizational chart. They are defined by their actions, commitment, and will. When Sparks...

Combined technology spending in today's global economy now tops {dollar}4.2 trillion dollars, a number larger than the gross domestic product of most nations. This rising global "Technology Economy" is most certainly a driving force in business today. In this program, IT benchmarking expert, Dr. Howard Rubin, introduces us to "Technology Economics," and explains how by "recognizing, mapping and understanding the interaction of technology investment...

The medieval Age of Faith was transformed by the 14th-century disasters of famine, plague, and warfare. Learn how these upheavals caused many to question their understanding of faith and the world. Learn how within Christendom, China, and the lands of Islam, people responded by blaming rulers or by appealing to God directly, forcing key changes both within these faiths and in secular society.

Peoples from Northern Europe also ventured far afield in the Middle Ages. Here, follow the voyages of the Vikings in their fast-moving ships and how they reached North America in the 10th century. Learn about the Viking settlements on Iceland and Greenland and their expeditions further west while seeking hospitable lands, leading to violent conflict with Algonquian tribes and later the Inuit.

As the Middle Ages drew to a close, major political shifts changed the power balance in Asia. Take account of the fall of the Mongol Empire and the new empires of Tamerlane, the Russian state, and the Ottoman Turks. Learn how the Ottomans took Constantinople, initiating an empire that would last 600 years. Conclude with a look at how medieval culture left a clear mark on the future world.

Investigate the turbulent events that marked the beginning of the Middle Ages. Trace the rise of warrior peoples from the Asian steppes that brought down the Chinese, Indian, and Roman empires, and the advent of Germanic kings who ruled the West. Take account of the great trading networks that connected the civilizations of Asia with those of the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

The Travels of Marco Polo is among history's most famous and influential travel narratives. Track the route of Marco's three-year journey from Venice across Central Asia, to reach the court of the great Kublai Kahn. Learn about the 24 years he spent in service to the Kahn, during which he traveled extensively across China and Asia, before making a triumphant journey back to Venice.