The week of current affairs and documentaries on CBC’s THE NATURE OF THINGS, DOC ZONE, the fifth estate, MARKETPLACE, THE PASSIONATE EYE, and documentary Channel
Thursday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Hendrik Poinar is a bit of a mystery man - as in, he likes to solve them. And he’s part time traveler - as in, he likes to dig up the past. Think Doctor Who meets Indiana Jones. Secrets in the Bones follows Poinar on an epic journey to Italy, Germany, Britain and across the Unites States. His mission: solve one of the great mysteries of science, a mystery that has eluded researchers for more than six centuries: unlock the secrets of the fourteenth century killer disease that caused the Black Death and wiped out more than 50 million people. To help him, Poinar assembles an international team of experts. There’s a lot at stake here: If they’re successful, they’ll gain knowledge that could help us fight deadly infectious diseases today and, potentially, save millions of lives.
Thursday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
The search and rescue system in Canada is an emergency in the making. Ironically, the very system that should be ready to help us when we’re lost or injured in the great Canadian wilderness is sending out its own SOS call. Stretched to its limits by the combination of an increasing number of outdoor adventurers and shrinking budgets, the SAR system relies to a massive extent on volunteers. Our cameras take viewers for a jaw-dropping ride, as we watch perilous rescue operations unfold. Whether clinging to a rocky outcrop to save an injured climber or airlifting a lost hiker to safety from a helicopter’s long line, the skill and daring of the rescue teams is on full display. And with every call, these volunteers are putting their l own lives on the line. But who will come to the rescue of Canada’s haphazard search and rescue system?
Detox Challenge
Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Juicing, leeches, ionic foot baths, detox cleanses - all are promoted ways to reinvigorate the body and rid it of toxins. But do these treatments really work? MARKETPLACE‘s Tom Harrington tests these detox claims and challenges sorority sisters at the University of Western Ontario to try out one of the most popular cleanses, the Dr. Oz 48 Hour Weekend Cleanse.
The Man Who Hears Voices
Friday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
The federal government has made it a priority: to toughen laws that allow people who commit violent acts - even murder - to be found ‘not criminally responsible’ due to mental illness. That’s what happened to Jeffrey Arenberg, who was deemed NCR after he killed a popular Ottawa sportscaster in 1995, in what he says was an attempt to stop the voices he was hearing. Instead of facing time in prison, he went to a psychiatric facility for rehabilitation, and after nine years, he was allowed to live in the community once again, with no conditions for ongoing treatment. After several other well-known incidents where killers were found not criminally responsible for their acts, the government wants to designate ‘high-risk’ NCR cases where the accused person would face longer mandatory treatment. The question: Is it for reasons of public safety or public opinion? In the fifth estate‘s The Man Who Hears Voices, host Bob McKeown interviews Arenberg for the first time since his arrest almost 20 years ago, and speaks to victims, lawyers and psychiatrists on the debate around NCR.
Saturday, Jan. 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBC News Network
Why was the South African President Jacob Zuma booed at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service? Nelson Mandela promised a South Africa based on freedom and equality when he was elected in 1994, but twenty years on has his dream been lost? As the country mourns its heroic leader, the nation Mandela fought so hard to create is slowly disintegrating. Violence is commonplace, unemployment is out of control (estimated at 25%) and the ruling ANC Government, in particular President Zuma is accused of rampant corruption. Reporter Matthew Carney travels to South Africa to try and understand the forces that threaten to pull the “rainbow nation” apart.
Sunday, Jan. 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
An intimate portrait of Ethel Kennedy by her youngest daughter Rory, an award-winning filmmaker who was born after her father Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Featuring candid interviews with Ethel Kennedy - her first extended interview in more than two decades - and her children Kathleen, Joe, Bobby, Courtney, Kerry, Chris and Max, spans her political awakening, the life she shared with Robert Kennedy and the years following his death, when she raised their 11 children. Ethel & the Kennedys is the first film made about the Kennedys from within the family.
We Are Here (documentary Channel Original) Encore
Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT on documentary Channel
We Are Here is about how a country, a people, a community and individual families are impacted by the events of World War II. This ground breaking new film excavates the fragile, shaky rebirth of Polish Jewish life in the shadow of the Holocaust. From the lens of veteran filmmaker Francine Zuckerman, whose own father fled to Canada from Poland in 1939, this film is the story of five Jews in post-Communist Poland, each working to build their lives in a new, democratic, multi-cultural Poland.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC’s publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity.
For further information, or to request interviews, contact:
Corey Black, News and Current Affairs publicist, CBC
416.205.8710 (office)/647.221.4133 (mobile)
