The Brain Creates Religion

46:07

The early years of Bin Laden, from timid Saudi schoolboy to revered freedom fighter. The first episode begins with Osama Bin Laden's schooldays in Saudi Arabia. He grew up in a wealthy family, loved westerns and soccer, and avoided fights in the schoolyard. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980, like many Arab men, he joined the resistance to liberate the country from the occupying forces. In Peshawar, Pakistan, just across the Afghan border, he sets up a "service bureau" and uses his connections to organize money for the fight. He keeps promising his mother not to go into battle himself, but then joins the mujahideen commander Sayed Wahidyar, who is only called "Fearless". According to Wahidyar, bin Laden is initially a burden because he has no idea about fighting. The wealth he inherited and the family's connections to the construction industry come in handy when he begins to build much-needed infrastructure such as roads, warehouses and clinics on his own. In the Battle of Jaji, the Soviet troops were finally repulsed with the help of the experienced Afghan mujahideen - a decisive victory for bin Laden, which resulted in the superpower's final withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988. It is the beginning of a myth fueled in part by Bin Laden himself. His supposed military success gives him enormous prestige. In the same year, Bin Laden founded Al-Qaeda. The die is cast.

S1E1 • Bin Laden: The Road to 9.11 • 2021 • People

43:59

In the third episode "Revenge," President Kennedy's body arrives back in Washington, and a grieving Jackie Kennedy leads the funeral march to honor him. In Dallas, Lee Harvey Oswald is charged with JFK's murder. But the world is shocked again when Oswald himself is shot dead while still in police custody by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. With Oswald dead, there is no reckoning and America will never be the same.

S1E3 • JFK: One Day in America • 2023 • People

92:42

Captivating documentary profiling Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. The film follows Bolt as he prepares to go for gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Competing in the 100m and 200m races, he attempts to make history by winning these events for a record third time. In addition to following his training, the documentary features archival footage of his life and phenomenal accomplishments. With a career that has already rewritten the record books, Bolt stakes his claim as one of the greatest athletes of all time.

2016 • People

43:03

When Eliot Ness aims his sights on Al Capone, he orders a hit on the young Prohibition Bureau agent. However, Ness narrowly escapes and it becomes personal; he will do everything he can to take Capone and his kingpin empire down. Officer Ness is hot on Al Capone's heels and his team of "Untouchables" execute a series of high-profile raids on Capone's breweries. But the tax investigation also wants to hunt down the gangster. Tax investigator Frank Wilson finally finds evidence of Al Capone's illegal dealings. Capone has to go to jail. When he is transferred to a maximum security prison, he fears for his power. With all his power stripped away, Capone looks to his top lieutenants to take the reins of his criminal empire he built. And if they can't handle the job, he will lose everything.

S1E5 • The Making of the Mob: Chicago • 2016 • People

56:28

I, Pastafari is a documentary film about the world's fastest-growing religion: The Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster. R'Amen.

2019 • People

58:40

Professor Marcus du Sautoy goes in search of answers to one of science's greatest mysteries: how do we know who we are? While the thoughts that make us feel as though we know ourselves are easy to experience, they are notoriously difficult to explain. So, in order to find out where they come from, Marcus subjects himself to a series of probing experiments.

People