The Substance

The nature of modern democracy is examined in this episode and the question "Do we really live in a democratic world any more?" is asked. The erosion of democracy, media control and the use of public money for advertising is looked at.

The modern western family is looked at , as is what really is a family in the west. The gradual decline in the importance placed on families and the disintegration of the idea of a family and people preferring isolation is looked at.

The nature of religion and religion in the West is looked at. The growing number of irreligious people in Western countries is considered and it is asked whether this has any effect on our happiness or morals.

Since the renaissance, the Judeo-Christian West has been the pre-eminent civilisation. History charts the rise and fall of civilisations so, where is the West on the timeline? We have so much luxury that we suffer from affluenza. We’re so cynical we sue each other for profit. We’re all working so much longer and harder to earn more to pay for more that we’re weary of our treadmill material lifestyles. Aggressive secularity has relegated religion to irrelevance and religion is fighting back with fundamentalism. So, after all the triumph and tragedy, the success and anguish, has the West peaked? As China and India revitalise their civilisations using the very systems that made the West the best, are we destined to be “under new management”?

Eons ago, Bor, father of Odin, clashes with the Dark Elf Malekith, who seeks to destroy the universe using a weapon known as the Aether. After conquering Malekith's forces, including enhanced warriors called the Kursed, on their home world of Svartalfheim, Bor safeguards the Aether within a stone column.

Story follows Sophia, who is severely depressed after the deaths of both her parents within six months. Convinced that the Afterlife is mere oblivion, and that this life is meaningless, she retreats within herself, only to be drawn out of her depressive funk by an unexpected romance with a man named Adam. After Adam disappears mysteriously into the depths of a haunted apartment building, Sophia vows to pursue him, even if it means walking over the threshold into the realm of death.

This ifilm is a new documentary that explores the controversial use of marijuana and the evolution of mainstream society. From a dangerous narcotic, listed as a Schedule 1 Drug substance since the 1970s, to the rush to decriminalize it today. …

For billions of years our planet was devoid of life, but something transformed it into a vibrant, living planet. That something was soil. It's a much-misunderstood substance, often dismissed as 'dirt', something to be avoided. Yet the crops we eat, the animals we rely on, the very oxygen we breathe, all depend on the existence of the plant life that bursts from the soil every year.