This weekend is jammin'...

We start off with Patti Smith: Dream of Life. Shot over 11 years, the film explores her many art forms and the friends and poets who inspired her -- William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Robert Mapplethorpe and Michael Stipe. The film featurs rare performance clips and is narrated by the artist herself. Friday at 8pm

Steve Earle pays tribute to his mentor, legendary Texas troubadour Townes Van Zandt. Kris Kristofferson follows with tunes from his latest album on ACL, Saturday at 10pm

Memphis blues veteran Bobby "Blue" Bland jams with 17-year-old guitar wizard Will Tucker. The elder statesman schools the young Tucker in the finer points of the blues, before a scorching performance at the B.B. King nightclub on Memphis's famous Beale Street. We visit Sun Studios, where Elvis made his first recordings, and discover the Bluff City Backsliders, the band of the studio's current sound engineer. Young singer-songwriter Amy Lavere demonstrates the diversity of the contemporary Memphis music scene, and up-and-coming hip-hop stars Freesol, recently signed to Memphis-native Justin Timberlake's label, discuss the local urban sound. It's a packed Music Voyager on Sunday at 4pm

And tonight he brings it to Texas...

Deepak Chopra travels the world to share his message about mind-body connections, exploring the relationships between physical, emotional, social, spiritual and mental wellness. He has earned enormous popularity working as a physician, a bestselling author of more than 64 books, a columnist, a radio host and a sought-after lecturer who routinely makes lists of the world's most engaging public speakers...Overheard with Evan Smith...8pm

After the CRASH, behavioral economics to the rescue...

NOVA presents Mind Over Money...We'll see how the brains and bodies of Wall Street traders respond as they buy and sell stocks. We'll watch as an ingenious experiment reveals how too many spending choices and the way they're framed can overwhelm consumers' ability to make rational decisions. By delivering insights from leading analysts and powerful experiments, NOVA exposes the mysterious and surprising nature of the two most powerful forces on our planet: the human mind and money...8pm

Ain't no mountain high enough...

Among the challenges awaiting the Globe Trekkers include the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, Mount Rainier in Washington and the Sangre de Cristo mountains in Colorado...7pm.

A whole year after the disaster, FRONTLINE correspondent Miles O'Brien examines the implications of the Fukushima accident for U.S. nuclear safety, and asks how this disaster will affect the future of nuclear energy around the world. In particular, he visits one emerging battleground: The controversial re-licensing of the Indian Point nuclear plant, located only 38 miles from Manhattan. What lessons can be learned from the disaster in Japan?...tonight at 9pm.

It's been almost a year...

The facts and figures are astonishing...Japan's March 11th earthquake was the world's fourth largest earthquake since record keeping began in 1900 and the worst ever in that country.
The seismic shock wave released over 4,000 times the energy of the largest nuclear test ever conducted; it shifted the earth's axis by 6 inches and shortened the day by a few millionths of a second. The tsunami slammed Japan's coast with 30 feet-high waves that traveled 6 miles inland, obliterating entire towns in a matter of minutes. NOVA revisits the disaster tonight in JAPAN'S KILLER QUAKE with compelling eyewitness videos, explanatory graphics and exclusive helicopter footage...not to be missed...9pm

Singing Hi-Dee-Hi-Dee-Ho...

Friday night we feature the fascinating documentary on Cab Calloway and his popularity during the jazz/swing era...and his resurgence in the 80's...American Experience at 8pm.
Then Nathan Lane is master of ceremonies for a review of hit show tunes from some of Broadway's most beloved musicals...many Tony award nominees and winners, including Idina Menzel (Wicked, Glee)Audra McDonald, and Elaine Stritch performing numbers from Broadway's most popular and successful shows...In Performance at the White House at 9pm

The documentary series POV follows three young racers as they compete in the World Karting Association's National Pavement Series. Clocking speeds of up to 70 mph, these kids chase the National Championship title and dream of NASCAR...Racing Dreams, Saturday at 11pm

Two Feet from the Audience is a documentary that looks at the movement which brings
classical music to non-traditional venues, such as nightclubs and bars, in order to boost audiences...Sunday night at 10pm

His characters are often described as "morally complex"...

Russell Banks is an award winning and best selling writer of novels, poetry and short stories...including Continental Drift, Rule of the Bone, and Cloudsplitter. His work has been translated into twenty different languages, and two of his novels -- Affliction and The Sweet Hereafter -- have been made into feature films. Banks is known for writing with empathy about characters many might avoid...he talks about that in a discussion of his newest novel, Lost Memory of Skin, with Evan Smith...8pm