The Australian outback is the driest place on the driest inhabited continent on the planet.

Once every 10 years, rains flood into dried-up river beds and head inland to create the largest lake in Australia, and 100,000 pelicans -- a third of all the pelicans in Australia -- arrive for the event. Leaving their homes on coasts and harbors, they come to feed on fish washed in on the floods and on billions of brine shrimp and other crustaceans which hatch and grow to adulthood in a few days in water twice as salty as the Dead Sea. The pelicans have come home to court and raise as many families as possible before the water and the food disappear once more...and NATURE shows us why...7pm

 

High school football has never had a higher profile...

...with nationally televised games, corporate sponsorships and minute-by-minute coverage on sports websites. In northwest Arkansas, FRONTLINE examines one ambitious high school team working its way towards national renown. With a superstar quarterback at the helm, tiny Shiloh Christian is striving to join the ranks of the country's best high school teams -- teams whose workout schedules, practices and styles of play increasingly imitate the pros. But as high school players grow bigger,faster and stronger, there are growing concerns about the health and safety of these young players -- with rising rates of concussions, career-ending injuries, even death.
FRONTLINE: FOOTBALL HIGH...9PM

It costs approximately $88,000 per year to send a kid to juvenile incarceration and nearly 70% of them are re-arrested after being released. Could there be an alternative to this broken system of kids cycling in and out of the grasp of the juvenile justice system? Now in an experiment, a group of innovators in Baltimore, on a quest to fix the broken system, turn to an island on the other side of the world for a possible solution. Could the restorative justice principles of the Maori people in New Zealand be applied to the mean streets of the United States? FIXING JUVIE JUSTICE...8pm

Is darkness becoming extinct?

When filmmaker Ian Cheney moves from rural Maine to New York City and discovers streets awash in light and skies devoid of stars, he embarks on a journey to America's brightest and darkest corners, asking astronomers, cancer researchers and ecologists what is lost in the glare of city lights. "The City Dark" provides a fascinating introduction to the science of the dark and an exploration of our relationship to the stars...on POV at 9pm

The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd...

It's the final weekend of our August Membership Drive...highlights coming up:

Why has the Broadway musical proven to be such fertile territory for Jewish artists of all kinds? Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, the Gershwin's, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim...the list goes on and on. A look at Jewish Genius on GREAT PERFORMANCES: BROADWAY MUSICALS - A JEWISH LEGACY...Friday 8pm

Saturday features CLASSIC GOSPEL SPECIAL - A TENT REVIVAL HOMECOMING...as well as the Irish Lawrence Welk DANIEL O'DONNELL: FROM THE HEARTLAND...beginning at 5pm

Sunday we repeat GREAT PERFORMANCES ANDREA BOCELLI:LOVE IN PORTOFINO...on of the most beautiful productions PBS has ever done...6pm

Sunday also brings more DOWNTON ABBEY REVISITED...8pm

How to "light" an entire Italian coastal village...

GREAT PERFORMANCES teams up international superstar Andrea Bocelli and trumpeter Chris Botti for a new concert special of classical favorites, pop standards and Brazilian jazz, this time from the breathtaking coastal setting of Portofino, Italy.
ANDREA BOCELLI: LOVE IN PORTOFINO...7pm 

What's New Pussycat? Find out tonight on PBS...

This first-time ever archival PBS special includes all the original artists performing Bacharach's hits with rare archival footage and clips from the 1960s-1970s. Bacharach teamed with lyricist Hal David for a stunning run of classic songs, many in tandem with songstress Dionne Warwick ("Walk On By," "Anyone Who Had A Heart," "I Say A Little Prayer," "I'll Never Fall In Love Again"). British-born Dusty Springfield enjoyed Bacharach hits with the wistful "Wishin' & Hopin'" and the seductive "The Look Of Love" while Tom Jones popularized the playful "What's New Pussycat?" The smashes continued in the seventies when The Carpenters reached #1 with "(They Long To Be) Close To You," following another chart-topper, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," the Oscar-winning tune sung by B.J. Thomas in the film Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.It's quite a stroll down memory lane...BURT BACHARACH'S BEST...8:30pm

More Downton Abbey topped off with 3 Italian teens with major vocal talent...

Continuing our August Membership Drive featuring the greatest moments from "Downton Abbey," Seasons 1, 2 and 3, along with behind-the-scenes interviews with the producers and your favorite cast members - both above and below stairs. Angela Lansbury hosts...7pm

The three young Italian tenors, Piero Barone (19), Ignazio Boschetto(18) and Gianluca Ginoble (17) of Il Volo return with their second PBS special. Il Volo We Are Love, filmed in Miami last March,  allows the boys to show off their multilingual prowess, as they sing in English, Spanish, French and Italian. The entire production is a stunner! IL VOLO: WE ARE LOVE...8:30

We packed up the entire station and moved it to Wellington...

Tonight's August Membership Drive features KACV's latest production - "A Night at the Ritz Featuring Atteberry Station"...a rockin' show combining music and history shot live at the historical Ritz Theatre in Wellington. Back in April, we packed up the entire station, set it up in the Ritz Theatre, and recorded a live concert with a crew of 30 and a total of 12 HD cameras.
This is the kind of stuff public television does...bringing the story of our communities to life, and sharing with all the Panhandle...A NIGHT at the RITZ featuring ATTEBERRY STATION 7pm

The music specials continute...join us for Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center, a centennial celebration of American's greatest folk musician, Woody Guthrie. This concert brings John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Tom Morello, Ry Cooder, Ani DiFranco, Rosanne Cash, The Old Crow Medicine Show, and others together to honor the music and the man. It's a celebration like no other, recorded live at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
8:30pm

If you've never heard "Lost In My Mind"...

Fresh and seasoned indie rock hits the AUSTIN CITY LIMITS stage with the Head and the Heart and Gomez. Seattle's the Head and the Heart performs tunes from its self-titled debut LP. British veterans Gomez follow with their eclectic modern rock.  AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...7pm

Larry Wilmore is "Senior Black Correspondent" for The Daily Show, and a television writer. His work has appeared on In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and The Office. You'vew seen him on Seinfeld...now see him with Evan Smith on OVERHEARD...8pm

Leopards are the ultimate cat...

They are the most feline, the most intelligent, the most dangerous, and, until recently, one of the least understood. Leopards hunt from South Africa to Siberia, from Arabia to Sri Lanka, and are the most widespread predator of their size on land. A leopard is a cat that walks by itself, unseen, secretively. They are the beautiful killers that live in the shadows. This film accumulates the evidence and puts together a psychological profile of this extraordinarily cunning cat. We learn how these cats rarely move without a completely premeditated strategy.  NATURE...7pm

 

Remembering the quest for the elusive brass ring...

Long before the days of giant theme parks, the United States had many,many amusement parks where families gathered for a cool escape on a hot summer day. This program celebrates these pre-Disney parks, visiting Playland in Rye, New York; Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana; and California's Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, where vacationers can still reach for the brass ring on the merry-go-round. The special also checks out some old wooden roller coasters and other classic rides.
Rick Sebak narrated GREAT OLD AMUSEMENT PARKS...8pm 

A new way to look at autism...and ourselves.

"Neurotypical" is an exploration of autism from the point of view of autistic people themselves. Four-year-old Violet, teenaged Nicholas and adult Paula occupy different positions on the autism spectrum, but they are all at pivotal moments in their lives. How they and the people around them work out their perceptual and behavioral differences becomes a remarkable reflection of the "neurotypical" world -- the world of the non-autistic -- revealing inventive adaptations on each side and an emerging critique of both what it means to be normal and what it means to be human.
POV: NEUROTYPICAL...9pm

This show is a modern day Indiana Jones story: a tale of deception, treasure, intrepid adventurers and international realpolitik.

Did a 19th-century British landowner really discover gold, jewels and the charred bones of the Lord Buddha in an underground chamber on his estate? When Colonial estate manager, Willie Peppe, set his workers digging at a mysterious hill in Northern India in 1898, he had no idea what they'd find. Just over 20 feet down, they made an amazing discovery: a huge stone coffer, containing five reliquary jars, over 1000 separate jewels, and some ash and bone. One of the jars had an inscription that appeared to say that these were the remains of the Buddha himself. This seemed to be the most extraordinary find in Indian archaeology. But doubt and scandal have hung over this amazing find for over 100 years. For some, the whole thing is an elaborate hoax. For others, it is no less than the final resting place of the leader of one of the world's great religions, who died nearly 2,500 years ago. On the heels of PBS' series chronicling the life of Buddha, don't miss the final piece...SECRETS OF THE DEAD: BONES OF THE BUDDHA...9pm 

What's it really like in China? These bloggers get the word out...

"High Tech, Low Life" follows two of China's first citizen-reporters as they document the underside of the country's rapid economic development. A search for truth and fame inspires young vegetable seller "Zola" to report on censored news stories from the cities, while retired businessman "Tiger Temple" makes sense of the past by chronicling the struggles of rural villagers. Land grabs, pollution, rising poverty, local corruption and the growing willingness of ordinary people to speak out are grist for these two bloggers who navigate China's evolving censorship regulations and challenge the boundaries of free speech.POV: HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE...9pm

The weekend begins with the Shaw Festival: Behind the Curtain...

This documentary provides unprecedented access and a behind-the-scenes look at the Shaw Festival, one of North America's longest running, most distinctive and exciting theater experiences. In following the process of getting the play from the page to the stage, we get insights into every aspect of theater production. SHAW FESTIVAL: BEHIND THE CURTAIN...Friday at 8pm

Saturday nights POV presents "Only the Young", about three unconventional Christian teenagers coming of age in a small Southern California town. Skateboarders Garrison and Kevin, and Garrison's on-and-off girlfriend, Skye, wrestle with the eternal questions of youth: friendship, true love and the promise of the future. With sun-drenched visuals, lyrical storytelling and a soul-music soundtrack, this film embodies the innocence and candor of its youthful subjects -- and of adolescence itself. POV: ONLY THE YOUNG...Saturday night at 10pm 

And it wouldn't be Sunday on PBS without a program from Britain. Highclere Castle might be famous for being the backdrop to the world's most successful costume drama, but behind the doors of this fairy tale castle still lives a real Lord and lady. This is the behind the scenes story of one of  England's most spectacular country houses. SECRETS OF HIGHCLERE CASTLE...Sunday at 7pm

Austin City Limits is bringing you some southern twang, pink guitars...

shotgun mic stands and serious country with this encore episode featuring Miranda Lambert and Jeff Bridges. Grammy winner Miranda Lambert has become a household name since her appearance on Nashville Star back in 2003 and is now, undoubtedly, one of country music’s biggest names.
The highly acclaimed actor/singer Jeff Bridges also appears in this episode, singing hits from the Grammy-winning Crazy Heart soundtrack as well as songs from his 2011 self-titled debut.AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...7pm

Did you know that the Titanic had 2 nearly identical sister ships?

NOVA searches for great stories from the past...a B-29, on a secret reconnaissance mission over Russia, makes an emergency landing in Greenland. Pilot Darryl and his team rush to refurbish the plane before the harsh winter sets in. The second half of NOVA focuses on the Titanic's 2 sister ships, the Brittanic. Few people realize that the Titanic had two nearly identical sister ships, the Olympic and the Britannic. The Olympic had a successful career as a liner until she broke up in 1935, but the Britannic met a fate almost as unlucky as the Titanic's. Serving as a hospital ship in the Aegean, it was either torpedoed or struck a mine on November 21, 1916, and sank within an hour, yet only thirty of the crew of 1,100 died. Nova joins the search for the wreck of the Britannic and explores the evidence of its dramatic end. NOVA: B-29 FROZEN IN TIME...9pm

 

William Clark climbed a hill and saw what no white man had ever seen from the Northwest...

As Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery passed the Missouri River and approached the Bitterroot Mountain Range, they grew desperate for horses and provisions to get through the seemingly endless, snow-covered peaks. Sacagawea and the Shoshone Indians--her native culture--came to the rescue and provided them with horses for their journey. Finally, on November 18, 1805, William Clark set out from their campsite in the Columbia River Gorge, climbed a hill and saw what no white man had ever seen from the Northwest: the Pacific Ocean. Their exploration of the West opened a new world to Americans and signaled the beginning of the end for Native Americans. This program, the second of a two-part series, recounts how this historic journey was really the discovery of the American future.  LEWIS & CLARK: THE JOURNEY OF THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY...7pm

From the courtroom to the living room (thanks to the hit television series CSI), forensic science is king. Expertise on fingerprints, ballistics and bite mark analysis is routinely called on to solve the most difficult criminal cases - and to put the guilty behind bars. But how reliable is the science behind forensics? A FRONTLINE investigation finds serious flaws in some of the best-known tools of forensic science and wide inconsistencies in how forensic evidence is presented in the courtroom. From the sensational murder trial of Casey Anthony and the FBI's botched investigation of the Madrid terrorist bombing to capital cases in rural Mississippi, FRONTLINE documents how a field with few uniform standards and unproven science can undermine the search for justice...9pm

Ninety years ago in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, the greatest archaeological find in history was made:

It made Tutankhamen the most famous name in ancient Egyptian history. But the real story has become shrouded in myth -- with many mysteries around the tomb unsolved to this day. This two-hour special combines the latest evidence from a team of archaeologists, anatomists, geologists and Egyptologists to build the ultimate picture of Tutankhamen. Blending 3D graphics, stylized reconstruction and action-adventure forensic investigation, the programs take a 21st-century approach to ancient history, following new scientific research and presenting fresh insights into how Tutankhamen was buried, why his tomb was the only one to remain intact and the enduring enigma around how he died.SECRETS OF THE DEAD: ULTIMATE TUT...Wednesday at 8pm

A documentary that took 20 years to make, looks at 2 American Families...

Since 1992, Bill Moyers and FRONTLINE have been following the story of two ordinary, hard-working families in Milwaukee - one black, one white - as they spent two decades in an extraordinary battle to keep from sliding into poverty. Two American Families chronicles the struggles of the Neumanns and the Stanleys as they try to hold onto their homes, their jobs, their health insurance, and a future for their children. A remarkable portrait of perseverance, the film raises unsettling questions about the changing nature of the U.S. economy and the fate of a declining middle class. FRONTLINE: TWO AMERICAN FAMILIES...9pm

Herman Wallace may be the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement in the United States...

He's spent more than 40 years in a 6-by-9-foot cell in Louisiana since 1967, for committing a robbery he admits. And he was subsequently sentenced to life for a killing he vehemently denies. "Herman's House" is an account of the remarkable expression his struggle found in an unusual project proposed by artist Jackie Sumell. Imagining Wallace's "dream home" began as a game and became an interrogation of justice and punishment in America.The film takes us inside the duo's unlikely 12-year friendship, revealing the transformative power of art.
INDEPENDENT LENS: HERMAN'S HOUSE...9pm

They've got a globe used for hundreds of years to teach geography...

and it shows California as a squiggle in the Pacific. That's the kind of historical perspective we are privy to in SECRETS OF ALTHORP - THE SPENCERS. Nineteen generations of Spencers, one of Britain's most eminent aristocratic dynasties, have lived for over 500 years at Althorp -- childhood home to the much beloved Diana, Princess of Wales, whose life is celebrated in an exhibition featuring some of her famous outfits. Her final resting place is a simple island in the middle of the lake marked by a memorial urn. The house has witnessed joys and tragedies and the estate is now in the hands of Diana's brother Charles the 9th Earl Spencer. He gives us a personal tour around this magnificent manor that is still very much a family home. For a fascinating look at royal life beyond the pond, catch SECRETS OF ALTHORP - THE SPENCERS...Sunday night at 7pm.

The story of Mount Rushmore's creation is as bizarre and wonderful as the monument itself.

High on a granite cliff in South Dakota tower the huge carved faces of four American presidents. Together they constitute the world's largest sculpture. The massive tableau inspires awe and bemusement. How, and when, was it carved? Who possessed the audacity to create such a gargantuan work? The story of Mount Rushmore's creation is as bizarre and wonderful as the monument itself. It is the story of hucksterism and hyperbole, of a massive public works project in the midst of an economic depression. And it is the story of dozens of ordinary Americans who suddenly found themselves suspended high on a cliff face with drills and hammers as a sculptor they considered insane directed them in the creation of what some would call a monstrosity and others a masterpiece. Narrated by Michael Murphy. Tuesday...8pm

 

"A woman without a man, is like a fish without a bicycle"

So says Gloria Steinem, the most famous feminist in the world: a pioneering activist and best-selling author who co-founded Ms. magazine 40 years ago and is no less enthusiastic about or energized by the fight for gender equality today. Tonight she finds time to sit down with Evan Smith...I wonder if he'll be up to the challenge? OVERHEARD WITH EVAN SMITH...8pm

Ford's automobile forever changed the way we work, where we live, and our ideas about individuality, freedom, and possibility.

Henry Ford's car transformed the lives of millions, and redrew the grid of the United States and much of the world. His assembly line changed the character of modern industry, and his Five Dollar Day laid the foundation for the creation of the American middle class. A bundle of contradictions, Ford was at once forward and backward-looking, innovative and close-minded, generous and mean-spirited. The same man who helped liberate millions from social isolation with his Model T also trapped thousands in a workplace prison where they were forbidden to sit or talk. The same Ford who welcomed African Americans and disabled people into his factories was a bigot who broadcast to the world his vitriolic hatred of Jews and exhibited devastating cruelty to his own son. This biography draws upon a rich archival record and recent scholarship to provide a revealing portrait of a complex, pivotal and ultimately flawed figure. HENRY FORD: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE...7pm

POV begins it's 26th season on PBS...

Through the eyes of funeral director Isaiah Owens, the beauty and grace of African American funerals are brought to life. Filmed at Owens Funeral Home in New York City's historic Harlem neighborhood, "Homegoings" takes an up-close look at the rarely seen world of undertaking in the black community, where funeral rites draw on a rich palette of tradition, history and celebration. Combining cinema verite with intimate interviews and archival photographs, the film paints a portrait of the dearly departed, their grieving families and a man who sends loved ones "home." POV: HOMEGOINGS...tonight at 9pm

From Angels in America to Lincoln...

Tonight Evan Smith sits down with Tony Kushner, an award-winning American playwright and screenwriter,most recently nominated for an Oscar for his work on the screenplay of Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. He and Spielberg have a long history together, having coauthored the screenplay for Spielberg's film Munich.Kushner won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for the play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. He has also won an Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards. OVERHEARD WITH EVAN SMITH...8pm

When you no longer want your baby python...

do not dump it in the Everglades! Florida's Everglades National Park is one of the last great wildlife refuges in the United States, home to numerous unique and endangered mammals, trees, plants, birds and turtles, as well as half a million alligators. Add to the mix tens of thousands of giant pythons... snakes that can grow to 20 feet and weigh nearly 300 pounds, some released into the wild by irresponsible pet owners, some escapees from wildlife facilities destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. This makes for a dangerous situation, examined closely tonight on NATURE: INVASION OF THE GIANT PYTHONS...7pm

FRONTLINE raises troubling questions about how America's financial institutions protect our savings.

Ten trillion dollars in Americans' retirement savings are invested in large and small accounts managed by banks, brokerages, mutual funds, and insurance companies. But whether your IRA or 401K will assure a safe retirement is largely a gamble. Building off reporting from the special "Money, Power and Wall Street," "The Retirement Gamble" reveals how fees, self-dealing, and kickbacks bring great profits to Wall Street while imperiling the prospects of a secure future for individuals. The film questions who has the consumer's best interests in mind and whether there is a better way to manage our retirements. FRONTLINE tonight at 9pm

Children in the slums of Calcutta are starting a revolution...

Filmed over the course of three and a half years, The Revolutionary Optimists follows visionary former attorney Amlan Ganguly and three of the children he works with through adolescence as they  set their sights on bringing clean water to a community that has long been denied it, and enabling the migrant children working in the brick fields on Calcutta’s outskirts to receive an education. You'll have a whole new perspective on optimism. INDEPENDENT LENS: THE REVOLUTIONARY OPTIMISTS...9pm

This just in...CHARLIE ROSE sits with President Obama in an interview that took place yesterday just before the President and First Family were to depart for Belfast for the G-8 Summit...current issues including the outcome of the Iranian elections, the civil war in Syria, China and cyber attacks, the NSA controversy, Guantanamo, and the drone policy were addressed.  Way to go, Charlie...CHARLIE ROSE tonight...10pm

Lake Wobegon - where the women are strong, the men are good looking...

and all the children are above average - has become America's collective hometown, visited weekly for the past 40 years on a fictional radio program that creates bona fide nostalgia. With his "Prairie Home Companion," Keillor became our national philosopher, filling the empty shoes of Will Rogers and Mark Twain, through his running commentary about the human condition and the social politic. With biting wit, a quirky perspective and an uncanny ability to home in on the pulse of America, Keillor's themes and characters are somehow familiar to us all. For more than a year, AMERICAN MASTERS followed this great raconteur - and his motley crew of actors, musicians and technical staff - as he criss-crossed the country, broadcasting, recording and revealing himself. GARRISON KEILLOR: THE MAN ON THE RADIO IN THE RED SHOES...Friday night at 8pm

We've followed Inspector Lewis for 20 years...and the time has come for him to retire. Don't miss the series finale of what many consider the PBS' highest caliber detective drama with the first of five episodes on MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! and INSPECTOR LEWIS SERIES VI: DOWN AMONG THE FEARFUL...Sunday night at 8pm 

The harder they come, the harder they fall, mon...

Jimmy Cliff, the iconic rock and roll hall of fame member brings his classic reggae music sound to Austin on tonight's AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...7pm

"My favorite animal is steak..."

Another memorable quote from Fran Lebowitz - author, humorist and social critic. She's the perfect New Yorker whose long-ago collections, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies, continue to be must-reads for aspiring writers of all stripes. More gems include "success didn't spoil me, I've always been insufferable" and "ask your child what he wants for dinner...only if he's buying". See what she says next as Evan Smith sits across from her on OVERHEARD...tonight at 8pm

Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world.

Cutting across the Zambezi River, bridging the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe,  this awesome force of nature divides two natural worlds -- the tranquil meandering river above the cascade, and the raging abyss of the gorge below. The upper river is idyllic, running shallow through sandstone hills and meandering around islands and reed-beds where elephants, hippos, and crocodiles thrive. Between the two worlds are treacherous cliffs and thick, mossy rainforests fed by river mists, home to baboons whose lives change with the seasons. When the rains fall, the rivers swell and the falls thunder.  Tonight, NATURE takes us to see Victoria Falls...7pm

He wore a bullet proof vest to his consecration...

Gene Robinson is the first openly gay Bishop, and his flock is in the New Hampshire Episcopal Church...A man whose two primary passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. His consecration by the Episcopal Church in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir. He becomes the focal point as American churches debate whether or not lesbian and gay people are equal to heterosexuals in the eyes of God, while the United States at large struggles with legal equality for gays and lesbians. INDEPENDENT LENS: LOVE FREE OR DIE...9pm

 

The first woman to receive the honor...

This year's Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song was given to Carole King -- the first lady of pop music songwriting -- whose career has crossed six decades. The President and Mrs. Obama welcome a collection of stars to celebrate with performances from Billy Joel, James Taylor, Trish Yearwood, Emili Sande, Jesse McCartney and Carole King herself, all from the East Room of the White House. CAROLE KING: THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE...Sunday evening at 7pm

KACV's latest local production is a new episode of ARTZONE, featuring local favorite Devlon Jones and friends, singing in concert at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Amarillo...9:30pm

I'll take Kyrgyzstan for 1,000 Alex...

The annual National Geographic Bee returns for the 25th consecutive year with host and moderator Alex Trebek. The 2013 National Geographic Bee will feature fourth- to eighth-graders vying for the Bee crown and the top prize of a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. The finalists have triumphed over a field of nearly 5 million students to earn a place in the national championships. They represent the 50 states, District of Columbia, Atlantic Territories, Pacific Territories and Department of Defense Dependents Schools.
THE 2013 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE...7pm

NOVA investigates Disaster in Boston and Oklahoma...

On May 20th 2013, a ferocious F5 tornado over a mile wide tore through Moore, Oklahoma, inflicting 24 deaths and obliterating entire neighborhoods. It was the third time an exceptionally violent tornado had struck the city in 14 years. Yet predicting when and where these killer storms will hit still poses a huge challenge. Why was 2011--the worst ever recorded tornado season that left 158 dead in Joplin, Missouri--followed by the quietest ever year of activity prior to the Moore disaster? Can improved radar and warning technology explain why so many fewer died in Moore than in Joplin? In this NOVA special, we meet scientists in the front ranks of the battle to understand these extreme weather events. We also meet storm survivors whose lives have been upended, and learn how we can protect ourselves and our communities for the uncertain future. 

“These things lead to a chain of murders.”

When a Pakistani teenager accuses four men of gang rape, her true suffering was just beginning.
This unforgettable documentary premiered at Sundance, and chronicled five years of her odyssey through Pakistan's broken justice system-and her alleged rapists' quest to clear their names. The result is a powerful and nuanced profile of courage in a society where rape victims and their families are often considered dishonorable and subjected to humiliation, poverty, and mortal danger. FRONTLINE: OUTLAWED IN PAKISTAN...9pm

Once you go RADIOHEAD, you'll never go back...

KACV presents some interesting viewing options this Memorial Day Weekend..."Rebel" is the story of Loreta Velazquez, Confederate soldier turned Union spy...all in disguise as a man. A Cuban immigrant from New Orleans, she was one of an estimated 1000 secret women soldiers of the American Civil War.  VOCES ON PBS: REBEL...Friday at 9pm


Thom Yorke and Alt rock icon Radiohead take the ACL stage performing songs from their
Grammy-nominated LP The King of Limbs. AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...Saturday at 10pm 

Sunday we're proud to present The NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT, broadcasting live from the West Lawn of the US Capitol before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, to millions more at home and on the American Forces Network to troops serving around the world. The broadcast is co-hosted by Emmy Award winner Gary Sinise and Tony Award winner Joe Mantegna, and features an all-star line-up in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra.
SUNDAY at 7pm & 8:30

A new documentary takes a hard look at a city on the brink. Detroit was the birthplace of the middle-class; a great city that came with the guarantee of the American dream. Today, the Motor City is suffering from a bad case of post-industrialism. Hit with the deadly combination of myopic executives, corrupt politicians, severe racial tensions and a lack of innovation, Detroit now stands as a shell of its former self. And according to an increasingly loud chorus in the media, Detroit is "dead." But look a little closer and find that Detroit just may be the ultimate incubator for fresh ideas -- a Petri dish of creativity borne out of frustration and unwillingness to give up. With quintessential American pluck and grit,this city just may rise from the ashes thanks to a dynamic cluster of innovators, entrepreneurs and proud, self-proclaimed "hustlers."
INDEPENDENT LENS: DETROPIA...Monday 9pm

 

A man who has been in the belly of the beast...repeatedly.

Evan Smith sits down with Sebastian Junger - an award-winning journalist and author of such books as The Perfect Storm, and WAR. Both on the New York Times Best Seller list. Junger is also a documentary filmmaker...his 2011 film Restrepo was nominated for an Oscar, and his newest film Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington recently aired on HBO. The subject of the ravages of war rarely gets more real than on tonight's OVERHEARD WITH EVAN SMITH...8pm

“If they can fog a mirror, we’ll give ‘em a loan.”

These are the words of an unidentified mortgage lender specializing in packaging home loans into securities, then selling them to investors around the world....amassing enormous fortunes for the big banks.  Are the CEOs of mega-banks too big to jail? Though fraudulent practices at banks contributed to America's financial meltdown, to date no Wall Street titan has been convicted of a crime connected to the crisis. FRONTLINE investigates why Wall Street's leaders have escaped prosecution.  FRONTLINE: THE UNTOUCHABLES...9PM

The most shameful and best-kept secret in the U.S. military?

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year's Oscars, THE INVISIBLE WAR investigates the epidemic of rape within our armed forces. The film paints a startling picture of the extent of the problem -- today, a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. Among all active-duty female soldiers, 20 percent are sexually assaulted...half of which are females 18 to 21...INDEPENDENT LENS: THE INVISIBLE WAR...9pm

They wander along our highways, reminders of the wilderness we have paved our way through.

From coast to coast some 30 million white-tailed deer make their home in the United States. But once they retreat from our view, where do they go? What secrets do they carry back into the forest, away from our prying eyes? Deer are among the most highly-studied mammals in the world; but does any typical homeowner with deer in the yard know how long a deer can live?When they sleep? How many babies a doe can have each year? Working with scientists, special camera equipment, and deer experts and devotees of every kind, NATURE reveals the hidden world of white-tailed deer in a whole new light. NATURE: THE PRIVATE LIFE OF DEER...7pm

 

America's own Robin Hood, robbing from the poor as well as the rich, keeping it all for himself...

Jesse James, so the legend goes, was a Western outlaw, though he never went west; and a gunfighter whose victims,in reality, were almost always unarmed. Less heroic than brutal, James was in fact a product, from first to last, of the American Civil War; a Confederate partisan of expansive ambition, unbending politics and surprising cunning, who gladly helped invent his own valiant legend. In a life steeped in prolific violence and bloodshed, he met what was perhaps the most fitting end; like so many of his own victims, James himself was an unarmed man, shot in the back.  JESSE JAMES: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE...7pm

Love at first sight...via the internet.

Two strangers -- Steven is an aging white man obsessed with marrying an Asian woman, dreaming of a devoted young wife. Sandy is the young, feisty, ambitious Chinese woman he finds online. This engaging documentary follows their tumultuous love story. INDEPENDENT LENS: SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE...9pm

Paul Taylor is the last of the geniuses who created modern dance..

GREAT PERFORMANCES presents two of Taylor's enduring masterworks...Brandenburgs, first performed in '88 to music from Bach's Brandenburg concertos, and his 2008 ballet Beloved Renegade set to music of Francis Poulenc.GREAT PERFORMANCES: PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY IN PARIS...FRIDAY AT 8PM

Yankee Doodle Dandy and You're a Grand Old Flag, Saturday on LAWRENCE WELK - 7pm

Norah Jones on AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...Saturday at 10pm


DUST BOWL wraps up Sunday afternoon at 2pm, and the Brits have full control of our programming Sunday night beginning at 7pm with CALL THE MIDWIFE, MASTERPIECE CLASSIC: MR SELFRIDGE, and BLETCHLEY CIRCLE...I SAY - TALLY HO!!!

We have ways of making you talk...

Spied upon by MI19 in a bugging operation of unprecedented scale and cunning, 4,000 German POW's revealed their inner thoughts about the Third Reich and let slip military secrets that helped the Allies win WWII. Based on groundbreaking research conducted by a team of leading German historians and scientists, the film will tell the story of how those confessions were stolen, how they changed the outcome of the war and how they can now reveal, in more shocking detail than ever before, the hearts and minds of the German fighter. SECRETS OF THE DEAD: BUGGING HITLER'S SOLDIERS...9PM

Could our water supply be the next disaster?

In the second episode of Ken Burns's DUST BOWL, experience the gradual relief as the families of the plains seek new lives in California and government conservation efforts - and a break in the drought in 1939 - eventually stabilize the soil and bring the farms back to life, but with dangers of another Dust Bowl facing future generations...DUST BOWL: REAPING THE WHIRLWIND...7pm

The most powerful raptor in the world lives in the jungle - and eats monkeys!

Harpy eagles are barely ever seen, let alone filmed. In this extraordinary documentary, our team of cameramen travel to the jungles of South America and into the world of this monkey-eating eagle and even risks injury to obtain intimate pictures of them bringing back large monkeys to the nest. The tables soon turn, however, as one of these massive birds starts following the team.  NATURE: JUNGLE EAGLE...7pm

"The Retirement Gamble" may open your eyes...

Ten trillion dollars in Americans' retirement savings are invested in large and small accounts managed by banks, brokerages, mutual funds, and insurance companies. But whether your IRA or 401K will assure a safe retirement is largely a gamble. Building off reporting from the special "Money, Power and Wall Street," FRONTLINE raises troubling questions about how America's financial institutions protect our savings. "The Retirement Gamble" reveals how fees, self-dealing, and kickbacks bring great profits to Wall Street while imperiling the prospects of a secure future for individuals. The film questions who has the consumer's best interests in mind and whether there is a better way to manage our retirements.FRONTLINE...9pm

A rise of 3 feet in sea level would make the Maldives uninhabitable...

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives is a man with a bigger problem than any other world leader has ever faced -- the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives, he must now ensure that his tiny country doesn't disappear under rising sea levels. That means capturing the attention of global superpowers, forging alliances, persuading the skeptical, and learning the ropes of international political horse-trading.INDEPENDENT LENS: THE ISLAND PRESIDENT...9pm

and, he can turn it up to eleven...

Actor Michael McKean was introduced to TV audiences when he played Lenny on Laverne & Shirley. He went on to join the cast of Saturday Night Live. McKean is probably best known for his role in the classic This is Spinal Tap, as well as Best of Show and Waiting for Guffman. He recently starred in The Best Man on Broadway, a role he had to give up when he was hit by a car in New York City last year. Mr. McKean sits down and discusses his career tonight on OVERHEARD WITH EVAN SMITH...8pm

Something about a girl in uniform...

This program traces the evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, this film looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society's anxieties about women's liberation...and how truly inspiring role models can be. INDEPENDENT LENS: WONDER WOMEN! THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN SUPERHEROINES...9pm

 

From "Der Bingle" to Black Sunday...remembering the Dirty Thirties...

The Golden Age of Radio is explored with Michael Feinstein and archival clips of Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway, Kate Smith and others. He conducts one of the last interviews with TV and stage star Rose Marie ("Sally Rodgers" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") and learns about her career as a child radio star. On his own radio program, Feinstein showcases virtuoso classical superstars, including violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk. Finally, he discovers a lost radio program that featured Rosemary Clooney, and through digital magic performs a "new" duet with her.  MICHAEL FEINSTEIN'S AMERICAN SONGBOOK: ON THE AIR...Friday at 9pm

This weekend marks 78 years since "Black Sunday". Listen to survivors of the dust bowl era remember where they were, and what they thought when they saw that gigantic wall of dirt spanning the horizon and barreling across the high plains. MEMORIES OF BLACK SUNDAY...Sunday at 3:30pm

The youngest host of a prime-time show on any of the country’s major cable news channels...

Chris Hayes is  the latest in a long line of tragically hip young guns prowling the sets at MSNBC and appears to be incredibly busy. His show ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES has moved to prime time, he's Editor at Large for The Nation, and  his writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine and The New Republic, among others. Somehow he found the time to sit down with Evan Smith, to catch his breath and chat...OVERHEARD WITH EVAN SMITH...tonight at 8pm

The grizzly and the wolf -- they couldn't be more different...

What happens when two great predators come face to face in Yellowstone? The bear is a loner, ranging far and wide in search of a rich variety of resources. The wolf hunts to survive and finds its strength in speed and teamwork. Their strategies have taken them to the very top of the Yellowstone hierarchy, and it's no simple matter when they meet face to face...NATURE...7pm

War on Drugs...more than 40 years, and 45 million arrests...

And has made America the world's largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever before. This program captures heart-wrenching stories at all levels of America's drug war -- from the dealer to the grieving mother; the narcotics officer to the senator; and the inmate to the federal judge.INDEPENDENT LENS: THE HOUSE I LIVE IN...9pm

If you love the slide guitar...

Nine time Grammy winner Bonnie Raitt brings her blues & slide guitar skills back to the ACL stage, along with her new band performing songs from her latest album Slipstream...and on the same show gospel giant Mavis Staples performs songs from You Are Not Alone and Staple Singers classics.
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...7pm

I always think they're talking about me...

This program integrates hard-core science with a light-hearted look at how plants behave, revealing a world where plants are as busy, responsive and complex as we are. From the stunning heights of the Great Basin Desert to the lush coastal rainforests of west coast Canada, scientist J.C. Cahill takes us on a journey into the "secret world of plants," revealing an astonishing landscape where plants eavesdrop on each other, talk to their allies, call in insect mercenaries and nurture their young. It is a world of pulsing activity, where plants communicate, co-operate and sometimes, wage all-out war.
NATURE...7PM

Kit Carson, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, and the Kind Hearted Woman...

The History Detectives investigate stories from the American West. Did a biography of legendary frontiersman Kit Carson once belong to members of his family? Then, from the rodeo to Hollywood, a saddle tells the story of Yakima Canutt, who made life safer for movie stunt artists. What is the meaning behind the mysterious inscription on sheet music of the popular western song "Tumbling Tumbleweeds"? HISTORY DETECTIVES...7pm

Followed by part 2 of the FRONTLINE/INDEPENDENT LENS documentary of the troubles faced by women on an Indian reservation...KIND HEARTED WOMAN...8PM

She's a divorced mother raising her kids...on a reservation.

Filmmaker David Sutherland profiles Robin Charboneau, a divorced mother and Oglala Sioux woman living on North Dakota's Spirit Lake Reservation. Sutherland follows Charboneau over three years as she struggles to raise her children, further her education, heal the wounds of sexual abuse and battle alcoholism. She fights in tribal court with her ex-husband for custody of the children, even after he's convicted of sexually molesting his daughter and another child. Charboneau's quest to heal her family, earn a degree and return to the reservation to help prevent abuse of women and children leads her on a journey of discovery, heartbreak and, ultimately, redemption...FRONTLINE AND INDEPENDENT LENS presents Part One of KIND HEARTED WOMAN...8pm

High school is much, much harder these days...

Tavis Smiley travels to Washington state, Louisiana, Missouri and California, meeting the educators, law enforcement, judges, youth advocates and the at-risk teens themselves who are working together to get kids out of the juvenile justice system, back into high school and through to graduation.
TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS: EDUCATION UNDER ARREST...7pm

 

180 DAYS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL...A uniquely intimate journey through a year in the lives of students, teachers and school leaders in one Washington, DC public high school. The series is framed by volatile national and local politics aimed at reforming this most fundamental of public institutions, but the lives at the center of "180 Days," most especially those of the five students whose stories take the viewer from the day 1 to day 180, seem at once deeply impacted by and yet profoundly separate from the "Race to the Top."

Fogerty's still getting it done...

FROM DUST TO DREAMS: OPENING NIGHT AT THE SMITH CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS...a typically long PBS title for a music show that seems too short...featuring everyone from Willie Nelson, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, violinist Joshua Bell, gospel great Mavis Staples, and a cookin' John Fogerty still doing Fortunate Son. 8pm

Watch From Dust To Dreams - Fortunate Son on PBS. See more from From Dust to Dreams.

The Civil Wars have been having problems lately, but they were in fine form on AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...Saturday at 10pm




And Sunday, don't miss an inside look at the modeling industry on a new POV - GIRL MODEL.
This film strips away the facade of the modeling industry and follows a young girl who searches for glamour and an escape from poverty, confronting the harsh realities of a culture that worships youth -- and an industry that makes perpetual childhood a globally traded commodity. Sunday at 9pm 

The colonists at Jamestown went looking for gold and silver.

Instead, they found fertile soil, tough conditions and the beginnings of the world's most powerful nation. In the first hour of this special two-hour presentation, Time Team takes viewers on an expedition to Jamestown, where a British company's commercial enterprise planted the seeds of the United States. There have been nearly a million finds from the site's trenches, but this anniversary special is far more than just an excavation. The team retrieves piles of perfectly preserved 17th-century pieces, traces the names and life stories of the early American pioneers and learns why a third of them died within months of arrival...TIME TEAM SPECIAL EDITION...7pm



FRONTLINE continues its investigation of nuclear safety with an unprecedented account of the crisis inside the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011. With exclusive eyewitness testimony from key figures in the drama -- including the Japanese Prime Minister and senior executives at the power company Tepco -- FRONTLINE tells the story of the workers struggling frantically to reconnect power inside the plant's pitch-dark and highly radioactive reactor buildings; the nuclear experts and officials in the Prime Minister's office fighting to get information as the crisis spiraled out of control; and the plant manager who disobeyed his executives' orders when he thought it would save the lives of his workers. The story profiles the Japanese soldiers and firefighters drafted to cool the reactors, who were wounded when the reactor housings exploded; and the families living near the nuclear plant, who unknowingly fled in the same direction as the radioactive plume, exposing themselves to dangerously high radiation levels...9pm

True genius on display...

In the aftermath of the death of probably the most inspirational computer designer and innovator of the 21st century, this film takes an in-depth look at the life and work of Apple boss, Steve Jobs to examine how and why he revolutionized our world...
STEVE JOBS: ONE LAST THING...Wednesday night at 9pm

If you like Modern Family and Arrested Development, you'll recognize actor, comedian and writer David Cross immediately. He sits down with Evan Smith and disses on his career as a comedian, aging, marriage, time machines and why acting is like a vacation. Sure to be
entertaining...OVERHEARD WITH EVAN SMITH...THURSDAY at 8pm 

Essentially every American who has listened to the radio or gone to summer camp knows Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." The nation's signature folk singer/song-writer, Guthrie has had his music recorded by everyone from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to the Irish rock band U2. Originally blowing out of the Dust Bowl in 1930s Depression Era America, he blended vernacular, rural music and populism to give voice to millions of downtrodden citizens. AMERICAN MASTERS: WOODY GUTHRIE - AIN'T GOT NO HOME...FRIDAY at 8pm

And in anticipation of the new season, we're running a CALL THE MIDWIFE MARATHON on SUNDAY beginning at 2pm. This moving, intimate, funny and true-to-life series, based on the best-selling memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth, tells colorful stories of midwifery and families in London's East End in the 1950s. Jenny Lee, a young woman raised in the wealthy English countryside, has chosen to become a nurse and now, as a newly qualified midwife, has gone to work in the poorest area of the city. Be ready for the new season beginning on the 31st...

So that's why we have all those wind turbines...

POWERING THE PLANET presents 8 fast-paced case studies and stories about nations and communities transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable or low-carbon sources of energy. Taped in High Definition in Brazil, China, New Zealand, Scotland, Denmark, Spain, Morocco and across the United States, including the wind farms in West Texas...9pm

What good is farm land without...water?

In the second episode of Ken Burns's DUST BOWL, experience the gradual relief as the families of the plains seek new lives in California and government conservation efforts - and a break in the drought in 1939 - eventually stabilize the soil and bring the farms back to life, but with dangers of another Dust Bowl facing future generations. DUST BOWL: REAPING THE WHIRLWIND...8pm

They're like the 3 tenors, but add one and they're dreamy...

Our March Membership Drive is wrapping up...tonight featuring operatic pop group Il Divo perform their hits and new material at an intimate concert in the beautiful surroundings of the London Coliseum...8pm

After over eighty years in show business Jerry Lewis, one of the most beloved entertainers of our time makes a big splash on PBS. It's Jerry Lewis in performance - telling stories through narrative, musical performances and TV and Film montages including rare and never-before-seen film clips from his personal and private film vaults....Saturday at 7pm

Sunday it's a replay of GREAT PERFORMANCES: ANDREA BOCELLI LOVE IN PORTOFINO...the charm of the outdoor concert in the Italian port alone is worth a look...6pm