Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 10pm and Saturday, 7pm. Phone 9565 5522.
Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31, has excellent coverage of industrial, environmental and community actions throughout Victoria. Access News broadcasts every Monday at 8pm. Phone 9663 6976 to contact the producers or make a donation.
Sealing Fate — The Canadian fishermen featured in this documentary claim that seals have decimated their fish stocks, and are calling for increased culling of the seal herds; ecologists are opposed to such violent intervention. The program examines both positions, the science and politics of wildlife management and the complexities of the food web. SBS, Friday, May 15, 12.30pm.
Sugar Slaves — Few people know of the traffic in human beings which Australia practised between 1863 and 1904. Sugar Slaves tells the story of that shameful trade, known a "blackbirding". ABC-TV, Friday, May 15, 1pm.
Spirits of the Jaguar: Forests of the Maya — Shrouded in mist, hidden deep in the rainforests of southern Mexico and Guatemala are the temples of the Americas' greatest civilisation, the Maya. The documentary traces the growth of the Maya from simple hunters and farmers to their peak and demise 1100 years later. ABC-TV, Sunday, May 17, 6pm.
Pius XII: The Pope, the Jews and the Nazis — Pope Pius XII presided over the Roman Catholic Church during the rise of fascism. This program explores claims that he was anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi and did nothing to prevent the Holocaust. ABC-TV, Sunday, May 17, 10pm.
Palestine: Story of a Land — First of a three-part history of Palestine, from the end of the 19th century until 1991. Using rare archival footage that dates as far back as 1880. SBS, Monday, May 18, 8pm.
Emile Habibi: I Stayed in Haifa — Documents the last weeks in the life of the Palestinian writer, one of the most prominent in Arab literature. Habibi was one of the leaders of the Palestinian Communist Party, which operated underground during the British mandate occupation in the 1940s. He later became one of the most notable leaders of the Israeli Communist Party and represented the party in the Knesset for 19 years. SBS, Wednesday, May 20, 8pm.