The Human Behaviour Experiments on The Big Picture with Avi Lewis Sept 13 on CBC Newsworld

The new doc & debate show kicks off September 13 with The Human Behaviour Experiments, a film that looks at the famous psychological studies from our past to understand some of the most troubling events of today. Riveting and thought-provoking, the film challenges the notion of "a few bad apples" and whether anyone can emerge from a rotten barrel untainted.

Says Avi: "When the infamous Abu Ghraib photos first came out, I had a wicked case of déjà vu. We had seen gruesome trophy photos of soldiers posing with tortured corpses before: Canadian soldiers in the Somalia Affair of 1993. Watching Alex Gibney's latest film, I realized that this pattern keeps repeating. We put ordinary people in what are called "atrocity-producing situations" and they are capable of things they would never have thought possible. But there is also a fierce debate about just how much the situation - or the system - determines our actions, and how much individual personalities are to blame."

Watch a short video clip of the film at: www.cbc.ca/bigpicture

Meet The Guests
Alex Gibney is an Emmy and Grammy award-winning writer, director and producer whose work includes the critically acclaimed Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and The Trials of Henry Kissinger .
Barbara Coloroso is the author of four bestsellers and is an internationally recognized speaker in the areas of parenting, teaching, school discipline, non-violent conflict resolution and reconciliatory justice. Her new book is Extraordinary Evil: A brief study of Genocide and Why It Matters.
Chris Hedges is the author of War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. He is a former New York Times reporter and veteran war correspondent.
Janis Karpinski is the former Brigadier General in charge of Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq when the torture scandal broke.
Aidan Delgado is a former Abu Ghraib mechanic and conscientious objector.
Chris Corrigan is a retired Colonel who trained senior officers leading the mission in Afghanistan including Brigadier General David Fraser.
Deepak Obhrai is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Sherene Razack is the author of Dark Threats and White Knights: The Somalia Affair, Peacekeeping, and the New Imperialism.

About The Big Picture with Avi Lewis
Each 2-hour show will kick off with a large studio audience gathered to watch a documentary. Then the action will really get going as audience members get up close and personal with the filmmakers, people featured in the documentary, and others knowledgeable and passionate about the issues. Drawing on his experience in film, television and activism, Avi will hone in on the Canadian connections and feature people from across the country and across the political divide.

WEDNESDAYS · SEPT 13-OCT 4 · 10pm ET/PT
Repeating Sundays at 7pm ET. Check local listings.

Join Our Big Picture Campaign
Please visit our cool Big Picture Campaign page and use our Mass Email tool to forward this email and add your own message. Or help spread the word by sending an e-card to 3 friends and downloading an e-flyer for postering.
Check out our new online poll to let us know what issues you would like to see the discussion get into. For all you bloggers out there, let us know if you're talking about The Big Picture and we can get you linked to the CBC's Blog Trakker. Let's get the debate revving now!

Get involved in The Big Picture with Avi Lewis Campaign at www.HelloCoolWorld.com/BigPicture
For more info about the campaign, email: bigpicture@hellocoolworld.com

About The Films

SEPT 13 · The Human Behaviour Experiments

In 1962, Dr. Stanley Milgram conducts an experiment at Yale University. Subjects are ordered by a scientist to deliver increasingly harmful electric shocks to a pleading and protesting victim. The majority go all the way to the top...

In 2004, an anonymous caller claiming to be a police officer convinces the Management of a Kentucky McDonald's to strip-search an employee. The incident culminates in physical and sexual abuse...

In 1971, in the basement of Stanford University, a mock prison is created. After only six days, the experiment is deemed out of control and shut down...

In 2004, photos of torture from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal are released...

The Human Behaviour Experiments revisits famous psychology studies to explore why human beings commit unethical acts under particular conditions. If you find this interesting, check out The Torture Question airing Sunday, Sept 17 at 10pm ET/PT on the Passionate Eye on CBC Newsworld.

SEPT 20 · The Root of All Evil?
"Religious faith discourages independent thought, it's divisive and it's dangerous." Famed evolutionary theorist Richard Dawkins puts religion on trial. Let's put his ideas on trial.

SEPT 27 · The Truth About Global Warming: Can We Save Planet Earth?
Legendary UK broadcaster Sir David Attenborough explores the terrifying consequences of global warming. What must we do now to prevent catastrophic climate change? Part 1 of this two-part series - The Truth about Global Warming: Are We Changing This Planet? - airs Sunday, Sept 24 at 10pm ET/PT on the Passionate Eye on CBC Newsworld.

OCT 4 · HotHouse
Go behind the walls of Israel's maximum-security prisons, where Palestinian leaders are being democratically elected from behind bars. If you find this interesting, check out Impact of Terror a doc special airing Thursday, Oct 5 at 10pm ET/PT.

Find out about related docs: visit the Passionate Eye website
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