Morocco, 1968: Two siblings, unusual for their biracial parentage--their father is Moroccan, their mother French--search for their place in a world not made to fit them. Aicha, strong-willed and studious, dreams of leaving Morocco to study medicine in her mother's homeland. Her younger brother, Selim, the family's errant misfit, will forge a path of rebellion among the European hippies descending en masse to practice drugs and free love. Children...

Lists of passengers departing England for the American Plantations, via Barbados, in the 17th century.

"This capstone novel, set in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, introduces Press, a stockbroker going blind. Press has lost his job and his wife and is trying to figure out his next move, holed up in his Vermont cabin surrounded by a hippie commune, drug runners, farmers-gone-bust, blood-thirsty auctioneer, and general ne'er-do-wells. Solace and purpose come from the unlikeliest sources as he learnsto navigate his new landscape without sight. Through...

"Capturing the lyricism of lives without a future in southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and New York City, Things to Do When You're Goth in the Countryintroduces us to Chavisa Woods's people. They are smart and poor, lost and hoping not to be found, and of high hopes but few if any expectations--inhabitants, mostly young, of a hidden country without a name that exists within America. The eight stories inThings to Do When You're Goth in the Countrybring...

Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life. In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother's sudden disappearance. In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal. In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together. And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother but isn't sure she ever will be. Then, one day, Willa receives a startling phone call from a stranger. Without fully understanding...

"On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner, a childhood friend who, along with Briony's sister, has recently graduated from Cambridge. By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have...

This six part series examines the plight and welfare of Australians and compares us to other nations. Shot in the UK, USA, Sweden, Russia, Uruguay and Peru, this ambitious project examines the fair go for all. The series asks the question, why does one of the richest western countries still have one in five children living in poverty? Australia was once the leader in social welfare but can we still afford it? At the time of high national debt we spend...

Dating back to Sputnik in the 1950s, education culture has been driven by anxiety. Learn about the history of “crisis” in U.S. education before investigating how America’s educational system compares with schools and students in other countries. Focus on TIMSS in particular, which tracks mathematics and science achievement in about 70 countries..

Formerly known as Siam, the Kingdom of Thailand is a newly industrialized country and tourism contributes significantly to its economy. Over 90% of Thai citizens practice Buddhism, its national religion, and it is a country that offers a wide range of festivals. In this episode we visit some of the most well-known, including the Kite Festival, and the New Year Festival, where locals spray each other with water to keep cool in the hot sun. Our Globetrotter...

"Anything Is Possible explores the whole range of human emotion through the intimate dramas of people struggling to understand themselves and others. Here are two sisters: One trades self-respect for a wealthy husband while the other finds in the pages of a book a kindred spirit who changes her life. The janitor at the local school has his faith tested in an encounter with an isolated man he has come to help; a grown daughter longs for mother love...