"Now With Bill Moyers" (PBS, 8-9 p.m. E/P check local listings) This is a documentary about the latest efforts to deal with global warming. The program takes you to a UN meeting in Milan for a behind-the-scenes look at the organized lobbying effort aimed at stopping the Kyoto Protocol. Is America's policy on climate change being unduly influenced by a powerful lobby of energy companies? Environmentalists contend that the energy industry has fueled a stealth campaign to confuse the public about the hard science linking greenhouse gases to global warming. Host Bill Moyers examines the powerful forces at work to prevent the U.S. from ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty limiting the production of greenhouse gases most mainstream scientists believe is behind an acceleration in global warming.

"Gold Star Racing: Episode 2" (Discovery Channel, 8-9 p.m. E/P) If you didn't get enough of a rush at the beginning of this week on Sunday watching 8-year-olds racing go-karts at 70 mph, while Moms and Dads handle pit stops by turning wrenches and changing tires -- here's some more excitement. It's interesting to see who is more competitive and technologically savvy about this activity, kids or parents. TV rated TV-PG.

Saturday, January 23

"Nerd Nation: Kid Nerd" (Techtv Channel, 7-8 p.m. ET 4-5 p.m. PT) This is a documentary about adults who once were 'kid nerds' and now have carved out their own successful niches. For these nerds, adolescence was not about fun. It was about fear and loneliness, pain and humiliation. But nerds can overcome. The program takes a look back at the nerdhood of adults who have come to terms with their nerdiness. The cast features magician Penn Jillette ("Penn and Teller"), screenwriter Steve deSouza ("48 Hours," "Die Hard"), and "The Simpsons" Executive Producer Josh Weinstein, along with teachers, architects, cartoonists and editors. What made them nerds? How did they cope? Did their nerdiness provide the foundation for their success and happiness today? There's a website about these people at http://www.techtv.com/nerdnation/shownotes/story/0,24330,3590465,00.html which contains streaming video in which successful nerds recount painful childhood social experiences.

Sunday, January 25

"MythBusters: Breakstep Bridge" (Discovery Channel, 8-9 p.m. E/P) In this series, special-effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman take on three urban myths and use modern-day science to show you what's real and what's fiction. They re-create these myths in order to decide whether or not they deserve a place in urban lore. They do more than explain how something may or may not be scientifically possible: they demonstrate it. Through trial and error they actually demonstrate it. In this episode, they stride across a bridge to see if the rhythm of soldiers marching together can cause a bridge to collapse. Next, athletes of Stanford university's rowing team attempt to pull Jamie up on water skis behind their rowboat. Lastly, Jamie and Adam determine whether or not bacteria from the bathroom toilet bowl will settle in their toothbrushes. There's a website about this series at http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/about/about.html.

Monday, January 25

"John Brown's Holy War" (PBS, 9-10:30 p.m. E/P) John Brown remains one of history's most controversial and misunderstood figures. In the 1850s, he and his guerrilla group embarked on a righteous crusade against slavery that was based on religious faith -- yet carried out with violence. His execution set off a chain of events that led to the American Civil War. Born in Connecticut and raised in Ohio, John Brown was the child of devout Christians who believed that life on earth was an ongoing test, and that the true believer had to adhere to a strict code of right and wrong or else answer to God. His formative years were also defined by an image: When he was twelve years old, Brown witnessed the brutal beating of a slave boy, an event that would forever haunt him. Details at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/brown/.

Tuesday, January 26

"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central Channel, 7-8 p.m. E/P) This is a talk show about what's in the news. You might already be a fan of this program because the host is famously funny. In fact, this may be the only place you go for news on TV, like a huge number of Americans. This episode has an interview with reporter Ken Auletta -- who is also famously funny when he talks about his specialty which is criticizing the media. For instance, his book about the major broadcast networks news operations is entitled "Three Blind Mice". His big thing is exposing things the media don't want us to know. "The Daily Show" has a website which features video clips of Jon Stewart's current and past interview guests. http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/thedailyshowwithjonstewart/

Wednesday, January 28

"African Queen" (Turner Classic Movie Channel, 8-10 p.m. ET, 5-7 p.m. PT) This stellar movie is "Survivor Africa" done with a better, smaller cast. Oscar Winner Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn are an unlikely pair who end up together on a boat in a jungle in Africa. It's based on C.S. Forester's classic adventure novel "The African Queen". Bogart plays Charlie, a tough-guy Canadian boat-owner/captain faced with the challenge of getting Hepburn's character, an ultra-conservative and almost prudish Rose, out of the jungle to escape the Germans in the beginning of WWI. Rose and Charlie are total opposites, and thus have trouble getting along in the first part of their journey. But as it progresses, they begin to change. The gin-addict Charlie becomes a hero, with gentlemanly qualities. Rose, on the other hand, forgets her strict ethics and lets her hair down. They fall deeply in love. Available on video.

Thursday, January 29

"Frontline: Chasing The Sleeper Cell" (PBS, 9-10 p.m. E/P) This program's reporters got remarkable access to top U.S. government officials and counter-terrorism investigators -- and also got an exclusive interview with a member of the alleged terrorist cell. They viewers inside a secret national security investigation to witness how America's intelligence agencies pursued an alleged Al Qaeda cell operating in the United States

Friday, January 30

"Modern Marvels: Cemeteries" (History Channel, 7-8 p.m. E/P) Don't read any more of this description if the subject of the funeral industry turns you off. Otherwise, take into account that more than 2 million people die in the U.S. each year. That works out to about 5,500 burials a day, with roughly 80 percent being buried in a casket, and the remaining 20 percent electing to be cremated or finding another alternative. This program looks at dealing with the dead throughout the centuries, and at today's $20 billion funeral industry. Funeral executives, including operators of the famous Forest Lawn Memorial Park are interviewed. And historians explain how cultural attitudes about death have evolved over time, and how economics has long been integrated into these views -- the ancient Greeks, for example, put coins on the eyes of the deceased to pay the tolls required to pass into the afterlife. Today's arrangements, like putting ashes into orbit, are far more expensive. Program rated TV-G.