Media Edge

"The Deadly Legacy of Cluster Bombs" (11.5 minutes)

The destruction of war doesn't stop when the fighting is over. During the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah War in 2006, an estimated four million cluster submunitions were dropped on Lebanon, killing indiscriminately. The danger remains, as many bomblets failed to explode and lay dormant, waiting to maim or kill anyone who encounters them. In this TED Talk, photographer Laura Boushnak shares haunting photos of cluster bomb survivors and asks those who still produce and condone the use of these weapons, including the United States, to abandon them.

"The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz" (1 hour, 45 minutes)

This feature film follows the story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz. From Swartz's help in the development of the basic internet protocol RSS to his co-founding of Reddit, his fingerprints are all over the internet. But it was Swartz's groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two-year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26. 

Aaron's story touched a nerve with people far beyond the online communities in which he was a celebrity. This film is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties.