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 Sunday, 9-11pm. Ph 9565 5522.
Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31, covers industrial, environmental and community actions throughout Victoria. Access News broadcasts every Monday at 8pm. The December 13 show features Fire in the eyes, about the use of pepper spray by police against non-violent forest protesters in the United States. Ph 9633 6976.
Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet (part 1) — Explains the internet and examines how computers around the world were wired to create it. ABC TV, Saturday, December 11, noon.
Cutting Edge: The Face of Debt — Investigates the devastating effects of Niger's US$1.4 billion foreign debt on the people of that West African country. One effect is the prevalence of a disease called noma, which affects only children suffering from poor hygiene and malnutrition. It can be prevented by a $5 mouthwash. SBS, Tuesday, December 14, 8.30pm.
The Survivors of Y2K — Depicts the mood of hysterical fear building in the United States about the arrival of the "new millennium". It examines the predictions of various doomsday sects, the US military's preparations for riots and the boom in "survival" products sales. Might be good for a laugh. SBS, Saturday, December 18, 8.30pm.
Blood on the Carpet: Nightmare on Wall Street — In April 1994, Joseph Jeff, the golden-boy bond trader for one of Wall Street's most established banks, was accused of a $350 million fraud. Was Jeff — an African-American — a victim of a racist, blue-blooded stock market establishment, or was he a consummate huckster? ABC TV, Tuesday, December 14, 9.30pm.
Australia Has No Winter — Follows a refugee family from Belgrade to Melbourne and tells their story of struggling to adjust to a new life. ABC TV, Wednesday, December 22, 11.40pm
David Suzuki's Nature of Things: The Friendly Atom: An Industrial History — Part 9 of this series looks at how the nuclear industry continues to reinvent itself despite no nuclear reactors having been built in North America since the 1970s. The program presents the establishment's arguments for nuclear power. SBS, Wednesday, December 22, 8.30pm. Part 10, The Trouble with Malaria, focuses on the increasing incidence of malaria (which now kills one child every 30 seconds), and efforts to find a cure. Wednesday, December 29, 8.30pm.
Silent Legacy — Through the film-maker's eyes we see her father's experience as one of the "stolen generation". ABC TV, Thursday, December 23, 8.30pm.