"As isolationism and realism become the dominant values of a previously interconnected world, the logic that motivated international relations and global trade must be reevaluated. Zeihan uses a mixture of geographical knowledge, political history, and sharp analysis to predict the shape of the next twenty years on the world stage"--

Almost half the world gets its drinking water from rivers that cross national boundaries. Analysts predict that more wars will be fought over water than oil. This program surveys a number of active or potential hot spots: Israel and the river Jordan; the Southeastern Anatolia Project in Turkey and its effects on Syria and Iraq; Egypt's Toshka Canal and the Nile Basin Initiative; and the Tehri dam in India. The program also looks at the effects of...

Containing nearly a sixth of the world's population, India is home to almost a billion people, more than half of whom live in rural villages. This program provides an overview of topics such as the caste system as it exists in the holy Hindu town of Varanasi and the massive pilgrimages to Allahabad, where millions of Hindus come to ritually bathe at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers. Also discussed are arranged marriages; local trades...

"The twenty-first century has brought a powerful tide of geopolitical, economic, and democratic shocks. Their fallout has led central banks to create over $25 trillion of new money, brought about a new age of geopolitical competition, destabilized the Middle East, ruptured the European Union, and exposed old political fault lines in the United States. Disorder: hard times in the 21st century is a long history of this present political moment. It recounts...

Evoking the spirit of 19th-century abolitionism, this program enters the lives of three anti-slavery activists in today's developing world. Symphorienne Kessouagni works to protect vulnerable children in rural Togo, keeping them away from traffickers and helping young slaves escape. Sunitha Krishnan is a former Hindu nun in Hyderabad, India, who runs 17 schools for former brothel workers and lobbies officials to enforce anti-slavery laws. Ansar Burney...

Democratic political principles have finally reached the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Tanim-"to change" or "to turn"-is the story of how the Apulin people, the ruling tribe of Enga province, are struggling to balance this alien electoral system, with all its implicit values and practices, with the secure familiarity of their traditional approaches to rule, land ownership, and systems of compensation. Change has come, and the Apulins must now turn...

Although dreams of a socialist utopia in Cuba have all but vanished, decades of U.S. trade sanctions have not had the expected effect, either. This program looks at the legacy of Cuba's Communist revolution and the Castro regime, examining political, social, and economic conditions prevailing in the island nation today. Positive and negative aspects alike are discussed-from Cuba's high literacy rate and world-class healthcare system to its authoritarian...

From medicinal shamans to taxi drivers in rusty death traps, this program plunges further into the depth and breadth of life in South America-following American adventurer Karin Muller as she travels the ancient Incan highway. Muller joins Peruvian fishermen plying their trade in handmade reed boats; watches herds of vicuna penned and sheared of their precious wool; absorbs the spectacle of Machu Picchu and its sophisticated stonework; and encounters...

Tokyo is one of the most technologically advanced cities on the planet, but Japan's low birth rate and the diversifying interests of its young people are causing Tokyo to rely increasingly on skilled immigrant labor. This program examines the implications of that change, gathering insightful commentary from a wide range of Japanese society about multiculturalism, racism, and interracial marriage. While the program cites one statistic saying 80 percent...

As current sources of fresh water become increasingly inadequate to support the needs of North America below the Canadian border, the U.S. and Mexico are looking toward their northern neighbor for relief. This program examines the political and commercial ramifications of NAFTA on the bulk export of water, as well as initiatives to conserve and recycle fresh water in the Sun Belt and in northern Mexico. Former senator Paul Simon, environmentalist...