Not Intent on Arriving

This past couple of days has given some great clips from TV. Here are four of my favorite. You should take some time and watch them.

1) Fault Lines: Fast Food, Fat Profits (Al Jazeera): You probably don’t think of Al Jazeera first when you think of great news documentaries, but maybe you should. This short 20-minute documentary talks to all players in the food wars, and does a great job of explaining the problem briefly.

2) Paul Allen on Gates, Microsoft (60 Minutes): The co-founder of Microsoft has a new book out called Idea Man that offers an inside look into the founding of the world’s most important tech company. Allen seems to have an ax to grind, but you can make up your own mind. He rarely does interviews so this is a rare look.

3) China’s Ghost Cities (Dateline Australia): This short clip looks at the property bubble that’s forming in China and how many of their cities lie unoccupied. It raises bigger questions, like how long can China sustain its current rate of growth? Fascinating perspective from all sorts of people.

4) Three Cups of Tea Controversy (60 Minutes): One of the more inspiring tales of charity work in the past couple of decades may be a hoax. Greg Mortenson says that when he descended from K2 (the second highest mountain in the world), people in a small town nursed him back to health. In response, he promised to build them a school. A successful book and charity followed. It may all be false though. Incredible report and brilliant reporting.

Tags: 60 Minutes, Al Jazeera, Bill Gates, BUilding Boom, China, Chinese Housing Crisis, Fast Food, ghost cities, Greg Mortenson, Idea Man, Microsoft, Mortenson Hoax, obesity, Paul Allen, Seattle, Three Cups of Tea