Theoria (the Philosophy Club)

The consensus of the world's science academies, reached after a series of annual conferences, is that climate change is real, and that it's caused by human activity. Why, then, do so many people doubt these findings? In this program, Nobel Prize winner Paul Nurse seeks to understand what may be the greatest amount of suspicion of the scientific community since the Dark Ages.

Nurse goes head to head with climate change skeptic Fred Singer and takes on the misinterpreted "Climategate" emails that ignited a firestorm of denier outrage. Nurse also talks to a man with HIV who does not believe the virus causes AIDS and examines wariness of genetically modified foods. The role of the media in politicizing research and evidence is also considered. A BBC Production.

In this program, philosopher and theologian Conor Cunningham argues that only extremist viewpoints - Creationism and ultra-Darwinism - make evolution and religion mutually exclusive.

Experts from across the gamut of opinions frame the debate and trace its origins, including Father Gregory Tatum of the École Biblique; Pietro Corsi, University of Oxford historian; Nick Spencer, Darwin scholar and author of Darwin and God; Terry Mortenson, "Answers in Genesis" lecturer; Francis Collins, former director of the Human Genome Project; Daniel Dennett and Michael Ruse, philosophers; Susan Blackmore, author of The Meme Machine;and Simon Conway Morris, University of Cambridge paleobiologist. A BBC Production.

A few centuries ago, state-sanctioned killing was thought of mainly as a control mechanism, a deterrent to crime. Thus, a person could be hanged not just for murder but for minor offences such as petty theft. But with the emergence of the police force as a civic institution, some began to view capital punishment as the sordid appeasement of our communal thirst for vengeance, and today it is a continual source of debate.

This program explores the issue through historical examples and interviews with legal scholars. Case studies focus on Derek William Bentley, hanged as an accomplice to murder at the age of 19; Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom; and Gary Gilmore, the first person to be put to death following the 1976 reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States. Contains mature content. Produced by the Open University.

If the goal of Christian evangelism is to draw people to Jesus, then it makes a certain amount of sense to translate eternal Christian beliefs into the vernacular of pop culture. But it's a slippery slope. At what point might the methods to win souls obscure, cheapen, or compromise the message itself?

Believers and skeptics speak out as this program takes a balanced look at marketing the message. Ministries built around NASCAR racing, pro wrestling, skateboarding, and motorcycles are spotlighted along with Jesus-oriented products ranging from clothing and housewares to rock music CDs and Bibles styled like fashion magazines. A visit to The Holy Land Experience, Orlando, is also featured.

Like it or not, humans are adept at the art of lying. Drawing upon the fields of psychology, sociology, technology, philosophy, and criminology, this program sheds light on the complex realities of untruthfulness through the work of researchers who have made lying a subject of profound study: Professor Bella DePaulo, an expert on the communication of deception; Professor Maureen O'Sullivan, an authority on social-emotional intelligence, lie detection, and facial expression recognition; Paul Ekman, developer of the Micro Expression Training Tool; Cornell University's Jeff Hancock, an expert on digital deception in computer-mediated environments; David Livingstone Smith, a philosopher dedicated to analyzing the link between nature and deception; forensic psychologist Stephen Porter; and Ken Alder, author of The Lie Detectors, a study of the polygraph machine.

How did fraudulent investment manager Bernard Madoff get away with such an enormous scam for so many years? This CNBC Original program examines the bizarre details of Madoff's operation while exploring his motives and mindset.Interviews feature expert guests and key players affected by the scandal, including publisher and investor Mort Zuckerman; Forbes editor Robert Lenzner; financial journalist Michael Ocrant, who confronted Madoff in 2001; and investor advocate Jacob Zamansky. Ordinary investors drawn into the Madoff scheme also share their stories.For insight into Madoff's criminal mind, the program offers profiles of fraud pioneer Charles Ponzi and student-turned-con artist Hakan Yalincak.

In this ABC News program, SuperFreakonomicsauthors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner give the concept of cause and effect a whack on the head. In a whirlwind round of 20 questions, Levitt and Dubner make forays into the worlds of business, education, health care, environmental science, and psychology to shed light on how a doctor's necktie can harm patients, why emergency rooms should be located at airports, how lasers could reduce the spread of malaria, a connection between the birth control pill and fewer teachers in America's public schools, a disconnect between locally grown produce and carbon emissions, how a garden hose to the stratosphere could cool down the Earth, the enticing economics of being a high-end call girl, and much, much more. Original broadcast title: 20 Questions You Never Thought to Ask.

The teenage years have always been tough-but digital technology has raised the dangers of the social battlefield to a whole new level. This ABC News program reports on how cell phones, digital cameras, and personal websites encourage and amplify the frequent cruelty of teen behavior.

With the help of an experiment conducted by Brigham Young University child development researchers, the program analyzes the behavior of a group of teenage girls as they use online verbal innuendos and emotional attacks to vie for attention and create a social hierarchy. The program also looks at the difficulties parents face in monitoring what kids do on the Internet.

With roller-coaster gas prices becoming the norm, this ABC News program travels the country to uncover surprising and sometimes disturbing aspects of the oil industry. Charles Gibson reports from Cushing, Oklahoma, where the price of a barrel of oil dictates the price nationally; journeys 160 miles off the coast of Louisiana to one of the deepest-drilling oil rigs in the nation; and visits "refinery row" along the greater Gulf Coast.

Viewers learn how Wall Street speculators can cause oil prices to skyrocket, while Energy Secretary Steven Chu discusses the importance of biofuel development and former NATO commander General Wesley Clark discusses the role that oil played in the Iraq war.

Too many young adults equate easy credit with free money-a misperception that can quickly saddle them with huge financial burdens and years of payments.

This program examines the benefits of credit, as well as the not-so-obvious pitfalls, including variable annual percentage rates and paying only the minimum payment. In a culture where consumerism is king, a knowledge of credit is essential to staying out of debt. A Meridian Production. (11 minutes)

You're walking down the street and you see someone approaching. You glance at his or her face and see-what, exactly?

Filmed in London, this program brings together more than two dozen total strangers to reveal the hidden judgments people make about those they don't know. Cleverly composed of nothing more than juxtaposed faces and unvarnished commentary by the film's subjects, Conversation creates an edgy meta-dialogue on how we tend to project our fears and desires onto our fellow humans.

Illuminating and unsettling - and a guaranteed discussion-starter for courses in the areas of psychology, sociology, communications, and race/ethnicity/gender studies as viewers become aware of their own preconceived notions about otherness. Original title: Conversation.