Thursday, June 30, 2011

The college thesis that is changing the world...

Would top college students choose teaching over more lucrative careers if there were a solid, prominent "teacher's corp" in place to effect real change? Wendy Kopp thinks so...
As founder and leader of Teach For America, she's devoting herself to bringing education to all corners of the world by involving the "cream of the crop' of students coming out of college ...
and she's starting with Evan Smith on the set of Overheard...8pm

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

I dreamed I was a sleepwalking cat...

What are dreams and why do we have them? Are they a window into a hidden realm within us? Science is only just beginning to understand. NOVA joins the leading dream researchers investigating the world of sleep. From human narcoleptics to sleepwalking cats, from recurrent nightmares to those who can't dream, each sequence contains a vital clue to the question these scientists are pursuing: why do we dream? NOVA...8pm

And as a coda to last nights Frontline story about wrongful convictions, meet a man convicted of poisoning and brutally dismembering his wife, and the analysis done 100 years later proving that not only was the body not his wife, it wasn't even a woman...Secrets of the Dead 7pm

Watch the full episode. See more Secrets of the Dead.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

With this bunch, your secrets will never be safe...

Wes Cowan decodes the message and the strategy behind a U.S. World War II propaganda leaflet. Then, Gwen Wright traces a cherished family heirloom, a watercolor, to the world of Tiffany stained glass. How did Tiffany open a window of opportunity for early 20th century women? Find out in the new season of History Detectives, tonight at 7pm

Watch the full episode. See more History Detectives.

Monday, June 27, 2011

He abolished slavery...she was the daughter of a slave owner from Kentucky...

Elected president only to see the nation fracture in two, Abraham Lincoln led a confused and frightened people through the most terrible war in their history. His wife Mary Todd Lincoln was an aristocratic southerner whom he met when he was still a backwoods politician lacking in experience and sophistication.Although she remained fiercely loyal to her husband and the Union cause, two of her brothers fought for the South. Their marriage was long and turbulent, and knew many trials, including the loss of two children. Abraham & Mary Lincoln: A House Divided...9pm

Friday, June 24, 2011

Described as the culinary Hurt Locker...

"Kings of Pastry" is the acclaimed new documentary by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus...you might remember Penney's work for the last 50 years like...Dylan's tour of England in the 60's chronicled in "Don't Look Back", the movie "Monterrey Pop", and Clinton's presidential campaign doc "The War Room". He knows what he's doing, and he lets the subjects of his films tell the story as no one else can do. This time he takes on a cooking competition in France and has the audience sitting on the edge of their seats...forget "Iron Chefs", watch P.O.V. Saturday at 11pm

Friday we feature Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan originally recorded for the Canadian television program In Session in 1983, a historic meeting of the blues...11pm

And speaking of Dylan, Saturday on "Live From The Artists Den" Jakob Dylan performs with his new band and promises to do "One Headlight" just for me...8pm

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The ride of his life...

In 1999 KACV sent a camera crew to follow Rick Husband as he trained for a 10 day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery. The documentary follows Rick's trajectory from grade school where he expressed an interest in being in space, all the way through his college and military careers as he prepares for his ultimate dream...pilot on the space shuttle for the ride of his life.
There's something about his wholesome enthusiasm that makes this original production permanently watchable. Rick Husband: Man With a Mission...8pm

At 11 we re-broadcast the American Masters special Troubadours: Carole King and James Taylor and the Rise of the Singer-Songwriter. Priceless footage of early performances and interviews by the likes of Taylor, King, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne...along with others. Must see TV.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

I remember watching for the streak in the sky…

On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas just 16 minutes before it was due to land. All seven astronauts aboard perished, including Amarillo’s own Rick Husband, and the implications for the future of the space shuttle program were enormous. What caused the Columbia tragedy? Through interviews with astronauts and their families, as well as with members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, "Space Shuttle Disaster" gives viewers a new look at the Columbia tragedy - and at NASA itself.
NOVA 8pm

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

On December 11, 2008, he admitted it was all "one big lie."

Since the mid-1960s, Bernard Madoff tapped money from Jewish businessmen at exclusive country clubs with the promise of steady guaranteed returns on their investments...over the next 40 years channeling billions of dollars to his investment firm and becoming fabulously wealthy.
The competition wondered how he could produce such steady returns, and he was investigated by the SEC several times over the last two decades. FRONTLINE producers Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria unravel the story behind the world's first truly global Ponzi scheme-a deception that lasted longer, reached wider, and cut deeper than any other business scandal in history...9pm

Season 9 of History Detectives premiers tonight with mysteries covering Pearl Harbor, the Civil War, and Hollywood Westerns...7pm

Monday, June 20, 2011

A dirt-farmer's son and a wealthy Southern slave-owner's daughter...

From award-winning film-maker David Grubin, this miniseries tells a remarkable story as only American Experience can. Together, Abraham and Mary Lincoln ascended to the pinnacle of power at the most difficult time in the nation's history, the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln's legacy as the Great Emancipator reshaped the nation while his tragic death left Mary reclusive and forgotten.

Presented in six parts, Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided begins with the story of the Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln's childhoods - his in a remote backwoods log cabin, hers in a wealthy Kentucky home - and describes their courtship. Mary sets her heart on the raw, socially awkward Lincoln, saying later: "He'll be President of the United States one day. If I had not thought so I never would have married him." Mondays at 9pm

Friday, June 17, 2011

With a handheld camera and available light...

for years Frederick Wiseman has brilliantly captured real life moments as they've happened...films such as La Dance: The Paris Opera Ballet. Now he's lugged his hand held to an Austin, Texas institution, Lord's Gym, founded by Richard Lord, a former professional boxer. A wide variety of people train at the gym: men, women, children, doctors, lawyers, judges, business men and women, immigrants, pro boxers and, well you get the point. The gym is an example of the American "melting pot" where people meet, talk, train...and hit each other. Frederick is right there, recording the golden moments...my pick of the week - Boxing Gym, Sunday 10pm.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Texas Horned Lizards? Oh, you mean Horny Toads...

Tonight on Texas Parks and Wildlife we look at them up close and personal, and try to figure out where they've gone and more importantly, when they're coming back...8:30pm

And the soundstage at Austin City Limits features a songwriters supergroup, with Lyle Lovett & Friends...including John Hiatt, Guy Clark, and Joe Ely...that's a lot of talent in one place, and a lot of music and stories to hear...ya'll come. 7pm

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

What if they studied the effects of Lady Ga Ga....

NOVA investigates the extraordinary impact music can have on the human brain, through the case studies from neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks' latest book Musicophilia. We travel around the globe to meet people like Tony Cicoria, who was struck by lightning and was suddenly inspired to become a pianist; and Matt Giordano, who uses drumming to alleviate his severe Tourettes. NOVA answers some interesting questions in a rare glimpse of what makes minds musical...8pm

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The smartest guys in the room...not.

Tonight FRONTLINE sifts the ashes for clues about the early warnings of the recent devastating economic crash, reveals an intense battle among high-ranking members of the Clinton administration and uncovers a concerted effort not to regulate the emerging, highly complex and lucrative derivatives markets...the ticking time bomb that exploded the financial underpinnings of the nation...9pm



"Doping for Gold" digs deep into the secretive Cold War world of East German athletes, examining what drugs were used, how they were distributed and what damage they did to many of the athletes who were forced to take them in order to reap gold at the Olympic level...and considering the performance enhancing drug problem in today's sports, the lesson still hasn't been learned. Secrets of the Dead...7pm

Monday, June 13, 2011

Still big trouble in the Big Easy...

Five years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana's recovery is far from over. In this new program, a follow-up to 2006's "Washing Away: Losing Louisiana," which revealed the causes and consequences of coastal land lost through the eyes of six individuals living through it, the same six reveal both successes and setbacks as their coastline and culture continue to give way to the Gulf.
To get an update on their progress, it's "Washing Away: After the Storms"...9:30

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW glides into airplane industry hub Wichita, Kansas, where we look at glamorous vintage air travel posters at the Air Museum. Then it's a 1949 payroll check made out to professional baseball rookie Mickey Mantle which scores a high-flying value of $30, 000 to $50,000...7pm

Friday, June 10, 2011

Music and Mayhem...and more Music...

It's way too hot for Woodstock, but this weekend is jam packed with performances that equal or surpass...and in the comfort of your own home. Carole King, one of the great songwriters of the '60s, started playing piano in James Taylor's band, creating a bond that they still share today...along with friends Randy Newman, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and so many others, they tell the story of singer-songwriters and their place in music.
American Masters: Troubadours tonight at 11pm.

Speaking of songwriters, Lyle Lovett and his friends John Hiatt, Guy Clark and Joe Ely pool their talents for a special episode of AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...Saturday at 10pm

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.



In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, 7,000 pages of top-secret documents, to The New York Times, a daring act of conscience that led to Watergate, President Nixon's resignation and the end of the Vietnam War. "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers"...Saturday night at 11pm

And finally, Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago featuring performances by Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Johnny Lang, John Mayer, Steve Winwood, Ron Wood and more; Bill Murray is the host...Sunday afternoon at 2pm. You're welcome.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind?

Texas leads in the country in wind energy production, and with this new energy source there are new questions. What will wind farms do to the already fragmented habitat here in Texas, and how will they affect the birds that live and migrate through our state? This week's Texas Parks and Wildlife looks at the Panhandle wind farms and their effects on the threatened lesser prairie chicken...9pm

Calvin Trillin has written countless words for The New Yorker, The Nation, Time and more than two dozen books. His latest project is a book-length collection of things he's written about Texas - a state he somehow seems to understand even better than the locals do. We'll see.
Overheard with Evan Smith...8pm

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Where the wild things roam...

Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska, is Jurassic Park -- in real time. Its dense rainforests hide more grizzlies per square mile than any other place on Earth. Follow veteran tracker Vern Beier, as he meets Chichagof's brown bears on their own turf -- in the deep, dark forests of Bear Island...
and please, don't feed the animals! 7pm

Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E, is the lead singer of U.S. cult band the EELS. What most of his fans don't know is that Mark's father, Hugh Everett III, was one of America's top quantum physicists.In 1957, Hugh Everett came up with a revolutionary theory that predicted the existence of parallel universes. The film follows the wry and charismatic Mark as he travels across America to learn about the father he never knew...as well as a little quantum mechanics...NOVA 8pm

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

And you thought K2 was hard...

The Globe Trekker crew stays in the states for some local hiking...among the challenges awaiting them include the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, Mount Rainier in Washington and the Sangre de Cristo mountains in Colorado...8pm


His debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1971, at the ripe old age of 28, was the beginning of 40 years of artistic leadership and amazing performances. Conductor James Levine's life and current work are the subject of a documentary that captures the essence of his unparalleled musicianship and his singular teaching and performance style, while looking back at creative milestones in his career. Included in the film are intimate scenes between the maestro and longtime collaborator Placido Domingo as they rehearse Verdi's Simon Boccanegra; intense rehearsals with the Met Orchestra as they prepare for their first performance of Beethoven's 5th Symphony at Carnegie Hall; and Levine's poignant coaching sessions with aspiring young singers preparing to launch their careers. The film provides a revealing portrait of one of classical music's giants,exploring how Levine transformed the Met's orchestra into one of the great ensembles, elicited legendary performances from leading singers,and nurtured new generations of artists...special American Masters re-broadcast from June 1...7pm

Monday, June 6, 2011

Blistering summer day in Chicago with 27,000 of your closest friends...

or watching on tv in glorious HD and AC (air conditioning dude)...The ultimate Clapton collaboration took place last June at Chicago's Toyota Park. For one day only, Clapton gathered the past, present, and future of guitar music onto one stage for an incredible all-day musical event in front of a crowd of over 27,000. The third Crossroads Guitar Festival was a sold out, 11-hour tour de force featuring performances by Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Johnny Lang, John Mayer, Steve Winwood, Ron Wood and more; Bill Murray is the host...8pm

Friday, June 3, 2011

Mr. Rogers, then Yo-Yo Ma, then Esparanza..

Bass playing jazz singer Esparanza Spaulding has Mr. Rogers to thank for inspiring her to get into music...after watching Yo-Yo Ma perform on the PBS show when she was five years old, she convinced her mother to enroll her in a community band program in Portland Oregon...after learning multiple instruments and stints with orchestras and street bands, she became the first solo jazz artist to win the Grammy for best new artist. See what all the buzz is about Saturday on Austin City Limits...10pm

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sure, he can play the banjo...but can he juggle?

Way back in the 70's in his stand-up routine, Steve Martin would cap off a night of happy feet and low-key hilarity with that very question...and then proceed to juggle away. But the contradiction of his rather serious stage manner with the clear exuberance for Foggy Mountain Breakdown made him that much funnier...and loveable. 40 years later on Austin City Limits, bluegrass is the order of the night as Martin picks and grins with the Steep Canyon Rangers for new tunes in the old tradition...along with young Texan Sarah Jarosz who rewrites the bluegrass rules with her own original songs and style...7pm

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Happy Anniversary to the Maestro at the Met...

Welcome to June everybody...somebody with better math skills can tell you there are just ??? shopping days until Christmas...in the meantime, to celebrate his 40th anniversary at the Metropolitan Opera, conductor James Levine's life and current work are the subject of a documentary that captures the essence of his unparalleled musicianship and his singular teaching and performance style, while looking back at creative milestones since his Met debut in 1971 at the age of 28. The film provides a revealing portrait of one of classical music's giants,exploring how Levine transformed the Met's orchestra into one of the great ensembles, elicited legendary performances from leading singers,and nurtured new generations of artists...7pm

Then Great Performances provides a performance of an opera with the unlikely name of "Nixon in China"...8pm