Season 1
Avoiding Armageddon is an American documentary series produced by Ted Turner Documentaries and hosted by Walter Cronkite which examines the threats posed by nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and brings viewers face-to-face with the people racing to use them.
The series aired in the USA on PBS in 2003. There are eight one-hour episodes in the series.
Avoiding Armageddon premiered in South Africa on SABC3 on Sunday 23 May 2010, at 18h00. New episodes air weekly.
Synopsis
Avoiding Armageddon, the inaugural production from Ted Turner Documentaries, examines the threats posed by nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and brings viewers face-to-face with the people racing to use them.
It looks at the explosive connection between terrorism and these weapons and asks whether the world has the ability and the will to control the weapons that ironically came from the best of mankind’s ingenuity, but have been perverted to advance the worst of mankind’s instincts.
The series is hosted by renowned journalist Walter Cronkite and each episode concludes with a discussion on the provocative issues raised, moderated by veteran journalist Frank Sesno.
Capturing stories that convey these issues in compelling human terms, series producers have travelled to some of the most dangerous places in the world, such as Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kashmir and throughout the Middle East.
Avoiding Armageddon not only offers extensive coverage about the clear and present dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction and those seeking to use them, but also highlights hopeful solutions shown through compelling human portraits.
Practical solutions will also be highlighted at the conclusion of each episode when seasoned journalist Frank Sesno hosts dynamic up-to-the-minute segments with international experts, scholars and legislative leaders.
Avoiding Armageddon is composed of eight one-hour episodes, each focusing on a particular aspect of the threat. Silent Killers: Poisons and Plagues, is about chemical and biological weapons; Nuclear Nightmares: Losing Control tells of past and immediate nuclear dangers; The New Face of Terror: Upping the Ante explores the dangerous intersection between global terrorism and these weapons and Confronting Terrorism: Turning the Tide asks how mankind can create a safer world while being preparing to combat the worst.
Throughout the series, viewers get an historic inside view of these issues from respected world leaders and policy makers, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former President Jimmy Carter, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
These complex issues will also be made understandable as viewers meet average citizens whose lives have become enmeshed in both propagating as well as fighting these threats. Among them:
Essam al-Ridi, an Egyptian-American who fought alongside Osama bin Laden during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but who subsequently denounced terrorism.
Ehab Yusef, a 17-year-old Palestinian who struggles between his desire to embrace life and the attraction of a martyr’s death.
Leonid Smirnov, a mid-level Russian nuclear plant worker who stole radioactive material in an attempt to augment his income.
Leroy Richmond, a survivor of a biological attack who contracted inhalation anthrax from contaminated letters at a Washington, D.C. post office.
Omeed, a 12-year-old, who spends his days on the rubble-strewn streets of Kabul; helping support his family but longing for the better life that schooling would bring.
This documentary is the centerpiece of an extensive effort to raise awareness about weapons of mass destruction and terrorism and engage citizens in a dialogue about choices about the future.