Whales and dolphins remain a constant source of fascination. But how much do we really know about them? Whales and dolphins, known as cetaceans, may appear to be totally alien to us — but with their mental ability, group communication and the recent discovery that dolphins have individual names, they are closer to us than we ever imagined. Nature: Ocean Giants provides new insights into the lives of whales and dolphins in a visually powerful, engaging and entertaining format. The three part series premieres Wednesday, February 22 at 8:00pm on WPBT2.
In the first of three hours, Giant Lives, we examine the world of great whales, such as the blue whale and the bowhead, the largest animals that have ever lived on our planet. To these mighty leviathans, size matters. In the Arctic, giant bowhead whales survive the freezing cold wrapped in fifty tons of insulating blubber two feet thick, making them the fattest animals on the planet. And in addition to being the fattest, they may live the longest.
The second hour, Deep Thinkers, explores the cognitive and emotional lives of dolphins and whales, which have the largest brains of any animal. Like us, cetaceans have special brain cells called spindle cells that are associated with communication, emotion, and heightened social sensitivity. These cells were once thought to be unique to humans, yet research is showing that whales and dolphins have may have three times more spindle cells than we do, leading scientists to believe that their mental abilities and emotional awareness could be far greater than we imagined.
In the final hour, Voices of the Sea, the extra sensory perceptions and communication skills of these extraordinary creatures are considered. Whales and dolphins use sound to hunt, to communicate with one another, and also to “see” and experience the world around them. Sending out loud clicks, they use the echoes to form a mental picture of the world around them. They use ultrasound to see inside other creatures, clicks and whistles to speak, echolocation to navigate and hunt in the depths where the light cannot guide them.
From draft dodging to the Dayton Accords, from Monica Lewinsky to a balanced budget, the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton veered between sordid scandal and grand achievement. In Clinton, the latest installment in the critically acclaimed and successful collection of presidential biographies, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE explores the fascinating story of an American president who rose from a turbulent childhood in Arkansas to become one of the most successful politicians in modern American history and one of the most complex and conflicted characters ever to stride across the public stage.
It recounts a career full of accomplishment and rife with scandal, a marriage that would make history and create controversy, and a presidency that would define the crucial and transformative period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11. It follows Clinton across his two terms as he confronted some of the key forces that would shape the future, including partisan political warfare and domestic and international terrorism, and struggled, with uneven success, to define the role of American power in a post-Cold War world. Most memorably, it explores how Clinton’s conflicted character made history, even as it enraged his enemies and confounded his friends.
From Emmy and Peabody Award-winning director Barak Goodman (My Lai), the four-hour Clinton will premiere in two parts on WPBT2 . Part 1 premieres on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 20, 2012 at 9:00pm and Part 2 premieres on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 8:00pm.
WPBT2 celebrates Black History Month with special programming beginning Thursday, February 2.
Thursday, February 2 at 11:00 p.m.
Independent Lens: Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock As a black woman who was a feminist before the term was invented, Daisy Bates refused to accept her assigned place in society. This program tells the story of her life and public support of nine black students who registered to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, which culminated in a constitutional crisis — pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself. Unconventional, revolutionary and egotistical, Bates reaped the rewards of instant fame, but paid dearly for it.
Friday, February 3 at 10:00 p.m. & Monday, February 13 at 10:30 p.m. Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music Ten years after their Independence, Jamaica was gripped by unemployment, crime and violence, and as so many of the emerging generation of Jamaicans, who had grown up with Independence, were victims of this, they reacted with the most potent weapon at their disposal – music. As the 1970s unfolded, subject matter changed to give voice to the protests the people wanted to express against the government, while urging their fellow youth to stick to the path of righteousness. Reggae music became a way to combine the two ideals.
Monday, February 6 at 10:00 p.m. Underground Railroad: The William Still Story Extraordinary people risked their lives to help fugitive slaves escape via the clandestine Underground Railroad. Among them was William Still of Philadelphia, a free black man who accepted delivery of transported crates containing human “cargo.” This documentary reveals some of the dramatic, lesser-known stories behind this humanitarian enterprise, and explores key Canadian connections, including the surprising fate of former slaves who crossed the border to “Freedom’s Land.”
Tuesday, February 7 at 8:00 p.m. American Experience: Freedom Riders In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students, decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation.
Thursday, February 9 at 11:00 p.m.
Independent Lens: The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 Combining startlingly fresh and candid 16mm footage that had lain undiscovered in the cellar of Swedish Television for the past 30 years, with contemporary audio interviews from leading African-American artists, activists, musicians and scholars, ”Mixtape” looks at the people, society, culture and style that fueled an era of convulsive change, 1967-1975. Utilizing an innovative format that riffs on the popular 1970s mixtape format, this is a cinematic and musical journey into the black communities of America.
Monday, February 13 at 9:00 p.m. Slavery By Another Name A Sundance Film Festival selection for 2012, this new documentary explores the little-known story of the post-Emancipation era and the labor practices and laws that effectively created a new form of slavery in the South that persisted well into the 20th century. Blackmon examines the concept of “neo slavery,” which sentenced African-Americans to forced labor for violating an array of laws that criminalized their everyday behavior. Actor Laurence Fishburne (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” Thurgood) narrates.
Monday, February 16 at 11:00 p.m. Independent Lens: More Than a Month Shukree Hassan Tilghman, a 29-year-old African-American filmmaker, is on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. Through this tongue-in-cheek journey, “More Than a Month” investigates what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in a “post-racial” America.
Friday, February 24 at 9:00 p.m. Great Performances: Memphis Winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best New Musical, “Memphis” turns the radio dial back to the 1950s to tell the story of a white DJ, named Huey Calhoun (Chad Kimball), whose love of music transcends race lines and airwaves. His romantic interest is Felicia Farrell (Montego Glover), a young black singer whose career is on the rise. When the two collaborate, her soulful music reaches radio audiences everywhere, and the golden era of early rock ‘n’ roll takes flight. But as things heat up, whether the world is really ready for their music — or their love — is put to a test.
Wednesday, February 27 at 10:00 p.m. American Masters: Cab Calloway: Sketches “Minnie the Moocher,” with its popular refrain “Hi de hi de hi de ho,” was Cab Calloway’s signature song, and Harlem’s famous Cotton Club was his home stage. A singer, dancer and band leader, he was an exceptional figure in the history of jazz: a consummate musician, he charmed audiences around the world with boundless energy, bravado and elegant showmanship. His back glide dance step is the precursor to Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, and his scatting lyrics find their legacy in today’s hip-hop and rap. An ambassador for his race, Calloway was one of the first black musicians to tour the segregationist South, as early as 1932.
WPBT2 will host two dinners with Jim Lehrer, PBS NewsHour Anchor and also moderator of eleven Presidential Debates, on Wednesday, February 22 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach and Thursday, February 23 at the Coral Gables Country Club. Ticket information for the dinners is available at wpbt2.org/lehrer.
Jim Lehrercame to PBS in 1972, teaming with Robert MacNeil in 1973 to cover the Senate Watergate hearings. They began in 1975 what became The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, and, in 1983, the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, the first 60-minute evening news program on television. When MacNeil retired in 1995, the program was renamed The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
In the last six presidential elections, Lehrer moderated eleven of the nationally televised candidate debates. His latest book, a non-fiction work about the presidential debates, titled Tension City,was published in September 2011. At the WPBT2 dinners, Lehrer will discuss his latest book and give attendees a ringside seat for some of the epic political battles or our time, shedding light on some of the critical turning points and theoretical faux pas that helped determine the outcome of America's presidential elections. He will provide antedotes from his experiences as "the man in the middle seat."
During the Evenings with Jim Lehrer, WPBT2 will also present Lifetime Service Awards to William F. Koch, Jr. and Herbert A. Tobin for their commitment to public television WPBT2.
WPBT2 and FIU's Women's Studies Center will screen the new PBS series, Women, War & Peace on Tuesday, September 27 at 9:30am-10:30am at the Graham Center (Room 243) on FIU's Modesto Maidique Campus.
A co-production of THIRTEEN and Fork Films, Women, War & Peace challenges the conventional wisdom that war and peace are men’s domain andplaces women at the center of an urgent dialogue about conflict and security. Featuring narrators Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard, the series reveals that the majority of today’s conflicts are not fought by nations and their armies, but rather by gangs, insurgent groups, and warlords armed with small arms and improvised weapons. Women have become primary targets in these conflicts and though they are suffering unprecedented casualties they are simultaneously emerging as critical partners in brokering peace and as leaders in forging new international laws governing conflict. With depth and complexity, Women, War & Peace spotlights the stories of women in conflict zones from Bosnia to Afghanistan, and Colombia to Liberia.
Craft in America: Messages, looks at the ways many craft artists go beyond skill to personal and political expression. They use craft to tell a story, prove a point, or bring attention to issues. Often their work is passionate and provocative. The artists selected for Messages express many different interests and points of view, but they have one thing in common: their skill and creativity are of the highest level.
Wisconsin glass artist Beth Lipman explores the symbolism of 17th century still life paintings to express the fragility that exists in a world of excess. New Mexico santero Charles M. Carrillo uses authentic materials to combine historic religious subject matter with contemporary culture. Baltimore bead artist Joyce J. Scott learned quilting and beading from her mother and draws from references as wide-ranging as Africa and comic books to focus on issues such as race and stereotyping. New Orleans jewelry artist and sculptor Thomas Mann is famous for his “Techno-Romantic” designs. He created Storm Cycle, a series of wall panels that document the untold stories in his beloved city after Hurricane Katrina.
For more than two decades, PBS has been proud to honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home and all those who have given their lives for our country with the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT. The evening, that has become an American tradition, offers viewers a time to remember, to heal and bring our country together.
The multi award-winning event, broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, will be co-hosted for the sixth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (CSI:NEW YORK) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (CRIMINAL MINDS), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veteran’s causes and supporting our troops in active service. Joining co-hosts Sinise and Mantegna will be an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly. The U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff will also participate in the event along with the Armed Forces Color Guard and Service Color Teams provided by the Military District of Washington, D.C.
The 22nd annual broadcast of THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT will air live in HD before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Network.
The royal tomb of Pharaoh Psusennes I is one of the most spectacular of all the ancient Egyptian treasures - even more remarkable than that of Tutankhamen. So why hasn’t the world heard about it? What mysteries does it contain? And what does it reveal about ancient Egypt? The tomb was discovered filled with lavish jewels and treasure almost by accident in 1939 by the French archaeologist Pierre Montet while he was excavating in northern Egypt. The royal burial chamber came as a complete surprise, no Egyptologist had anticipated a tomb of such grandeur in this area. Unfortunately, the tomb was found on the eve of World War II in Europe and attracted little attention. One of the most startling discoveries inside the tomb was the sarcophagus in which the body was held: It was made of silver with exquisite detail and craftsmanship. No other silver sarcophagus has ever been found and it is now recognized by many Egyptologists as one of the most exquisite artifacts of ancient Egypt ever to be found. The elaborate tribute within the tomb suggested it was the burial site of someone very important but as archaeologists, using the hieroglyphs inside the tomb, pieced together the identity of the pharaoh, they were left to wonder who Psuesennes I was and why he received such grand treatment. The investigation reveals political intrigue, a lost city and a leader who united a country in turmoil and became the Silver Pharaoh.
In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students, many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university, decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation.
These Freedom Riders experienced many trials and tribulations along the road. At many bus stops there would be gangs of people waiting there to beat them up or harass them Through their no violent protest the Freedom Riders were finally able to get the attention the Civil Rights Movement needed. The film goes into details as the Freedom Riders make their stops along the road to the Deep South. Witness the different ambushes the Riders faced and the jail time they received. The most uplifting part is when more and more people joined the Ride. It was a time when Americans began to realize that every man was equal, no matter what color they were.
