SNOWBOUND: ANIMALS OF WINTER

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23 @ 6:00PM & 10:00PM

The coldest and snowiest places on earth pose a challenge to anyone visiting such locations as the Arctic Circle or Antarctica, but what about the year-round animal population? How do they cope for many months with life in these frozen wonderlands where temperatures can plummet to as low as minus 50 degrees? Gordon Buchanan, a wildlife cameraman used to filming in frigid lands around the globe, explains how creatures like the wolf, Arctic fox, bison, reindeer, lynx, weasel, polar bear, penguin, Weddell seal, and woolly bear caterpillar adapt to their surroundings or employ clever tactics to survive.

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THE NUCLEAR OPTION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11 @10:00PM

Five years after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the unprecedented trio of meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, scientists and engineers are struggling to control an ongoing crisis. What’s next for Fukushima? What’s next for Japan? And what’s next for a world that seems determined to jettison one of our most important carbon-free sources of energy?

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THE EAGLE’S NEST

THURSDAY, MAY 15 @ 5:00PM

Nazi Mega Weapons and WWII Mega Weapons uncover the engineering feats that sparked a technological revolution and changed warfare forever, exploring the engineering secrets of iconic megastructures, and telling the stories of the engineers who designed them.

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AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

A chilling nightmare plays out at a Titan II missile complex in Arkansas in September, 1980. A worker accidentally drops a socket, puncturing the fuel tank of an intercontinental ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead in our arsenal, an incident which ignites a series of feverish efforts to avoid a deadly disaster. Directed by Robert Kenner (FOOD, INC.) and based on the critically acclaimed book by Eric Schlosser (FAST FOOD NATION), COMMAND AND CONTROL is a minute-by-minute account of this long-hidden story. Putting a camera where there was no camera that night, Kenner brings this nonfiction thriller to life with stunning original footage shot in a decommissioned Titan II missile silo. Eyewitness accounts — from the man who dropped the socket, to the man who designed the warhead, to the Secretary of Defense— chronicle nine hours of terror that prevented an explosion 600 times more powerful than Hiroshima.

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CONTAINMENT/EXCERPT FROM URANIUM DRIVE-IN

MONDAY, JANUARY 9 @ 8:00PM

Explore our attempts to plan for our radioactive future and the startling failure to manage waste in the present. Left over from the Cold War are a hundred million gallons of radioactive sludge, covering a vast amount of land.

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SEASON 4 ON MASTERPIECE

THE LYING DETECTIVE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8 @ 7:00PM, 10:36PM & 11:00PM

In episode two Sherlock, Season 4, Sherlock faces perhaps the most chilling enemy of his long career: the powerful and seemingly unassailable Culverton Smith, a man with a very dark secret indeed. 

“The Lying Detective” is written by Steven Moffat. Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Sherlock Holmes, with Martin Freeman as John Watson, Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes, Rupert Graves as Inspector Lestrade, Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson, Amanda Abbington as Mary Watson, Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper and Toby Jones as Culverton Smith. (1 hour, 33 minutes)

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 6 @ 9:00PM

This Week on Washington Week: As Congress returns, fights brew over Obamacare, election-related hacking and Trump’s nominees.

Before taking office, Republicans reversed course on a plan to weaken the powers of an independent Congressional watchdog. The representatives backed down after widespread criticism and a disapproving tweet from the incoming president.

Republican lawmakers have also started plans to fulfill their key campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Democrats have vowed to fight any changes to Obamacare and Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood in the repeal bill.

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