What Killed the Mega Beasts?

This is the true-crime story of the multimillion-dollar yuppie drug ring run by a then, twenty-six year old Larry Lavin and two of his classmates. In the high-flying 1980's, Larry Lavin was a clean-cut, Ivy-League-educated dentist living the good life in suburban Philadelphia. But, what his upper crust neighbors didn't know was that Lavin led a double life - one that would finally be exposed by a shocking narcotics investigation. Awash in sex, drugs and money, Lavin oversaw a cocaine conglomerate, buying and selling enough white powder to anesthetize thirteen Eastern seaboard states ... until the FBI cracked the ring. How was he able to create such a well-oiled network? And what brought about his untimely downfall?

American architect Cesar Pelli and his team use innovative technology to overcome obstacles and build the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Navigating the Indian Ocean in a reconstruction of a 1,200-year-old Arab ship, held together by 100km of rope and 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. The Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – but for sailors it can spell danger and even death. It took a year to build: the Jewel of Muscat – a reconstruction of a 1200 year old Arab ship, based on an ancient shipwreck. Built from more than 18 tonnes of wood, the ship is held together entirely by 100 km of rope in over 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. Now the Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – the mighty rain soaked wind that turns the arid land it touches green. But for sailors it can spell danger and even death.

This film shows the ship’s construction and launch. It tells the story of how she was sewn together without a single screw, nail or bolt and the mighty struggle to launch her.

The "war to end all wars" was over, but a new one was just beginning - on the streets of America. In one big city alone - Chicago - an estimated 1,300 gangs had spread like a deadly virus by the mid-1920s. By 1926, more than 12,000 murders were taking place every year across America. With the bootlegging and speakeasies the "Roaring Twenties" also saw bank robbery, kidnapping, auto theft, gambling, and drug trafficking become increasingly common crimes. Some gangsters, perhaps most notably Al Capone, have become infamous. 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Al Capone. Capone went on to leave a lasting impression on western culture - the American Gangster.