Hawking – airs 2/26 at 10 p.m. – This is the intimate and revealing story of Stephen Hawking’s life. Told for the first time in Hawking’s own words and with unique access to his home and public life, this is a personal journey through Hawking’s world. The audience joins him at home, under the care of his nursing team; in San Jose as he “wows” a packed theatre audience; in Silicon Valley as he meets a team of technicians who hope to speed up his communication system; and as he throws a party for family and friends. HAWKING also carefully tells Hawking’s life journey, from boyhood under-achiever to PhD genius, and from a healthy cox on the Oxford rowing team to diagnosis of motor neuron disease, given just two years to live yet surviving several close brushes with death. The film also highlights his greatest scientific discoveries and plots his rise to fame and superstardom.
Monthly Archives: February 2020
58 posts
Independent Lens –
#2111 “Always in Season” airs 2/24 at 10 p.m. – In 2014, African American teenager Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a swing set. His mother believes he was lynched. Stark inconsistencies and few answers from officials drive her to lead efforts in what has become an ongoing fight for the truth.
Tomorrow is Annual Library Advocacy Day! Each year library advocates from across NYS convene in Albany to voice support for funding and policies that benefit libraries. We know that if you’re not already scheduled to go, you probably can’t get out to go to Albany tomorrow. BUT there are things you can do from home!
- Call your legislator’s office
- Tell him or her how important your library is to the community and its voting citizens
- Tell him or her that increased funding for libraries and School Library Systems is ESSENTIAL and CRITICAL
- Use NYLA’s advocacy tools to help you shape your personal message
- Join in virtually! Post to your Facebook wall, Tweet about Library Aid, or add a button to your library’s website.
See NYLA’s Advocacy Day Website: https://www.nyla.org/library-advocacy-day/?menukey=advocacy
Frontline –
- #3812 “Amazon Empire: The Rise of Jeff Bezos” – Airs 2/18 at 9 p.m. – Examining Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ ascent to power and the global impact of the empire he built. The film also investigates the darker side of the company’s rapid growth, and the challenge of trying to rein in the power of the richest man in the world.
In 1961, an amazing discovery of ancient Clovis points (a projectile point similar to an arrowhead, knapped from flint or a similar mineral) was uncovered on the Bill Simon farm in Fairfield, Idaho. Twin Falls residents Jim Paxton, Al Frost and Jim Woods team up with producer Mark Bork for a documentary about what is known today as the Simon Collection. Estimated to be 12,000 years old, this cache of more than 30 Clovis points is now on display at the Herrett Center for Arts and Science at the College of Southern Idaho. Northwest archeologists come together in the film to demonstrate the art, science and skill of flint knapping, which created these exquisite ancient artifacts.
Airs 2/18 at 4 a.m.
Our Kids: Narrowing the Opportunity Gap (4/60 minute programs) airs Mondays at 2 a.m. beginning 2/3 – Host Dr. Robert Putnam (Harvard Professor and author of BOWLING ALONE) spotlights innovative leaders and children, working together in nine communities, who struggle to create and inspire solutions that help to narrow the widening opportunity gap between rich and poor for some 30 million young people denied access to the American Dream. We hope viewers will try to build similar solutions in their neighborhoods.
- 2/24 – #104 – “A Breath of Hope” – Seattle, WA & Columbus, OH. Giving hope to the hopeless dominates the stories in Seattle, WA and Columbus, OH. Among those spotlighted are: a program to reform the foster care system, and an organization reuniting children with parents who were incarcerated. Too many poor youth end up in the juvenile justice system. The Echo Glen facility hopes to heal, rather than punish young incarcerated teens.
Unchained: Generational Trauma and Healing – examines the lingering trauma handed down from the American slavery system. Men and women describe how they broke the emotional chains passed down from their slave ancestors. Others demonstrate the moral courage needed to face their own racial attitudes. In this film, all viewers face the roots of American racism and the processes that usher lasting reconciliation.
airs 2/12 at 3 a.m.
1964: The Fight for a Right airs 2/12 at 2 a.m. – By the mid twentieth century, Mississippi’s African Americans had suffered from nearly 75 years of slavery by another name – Jim Crow discrimination. In 1964 in Mississippi, people died in an effort to force the state to allow African Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Although, the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer has passed, the struggle for voting rights is still pertinent. According to the NAACP, states have recently passed the most laws limiting voter participation since Jim Crow. Moreover, these laws also disenfranchise other people of color, the elderly, poor, and disabled. With the 2015 anniversary of the Voting Rights Act as well as the upcoming presidential primaries and general election, voting rights will remain at the forefront of a national debate. With historical footage and interview with Freedom Summer architects and volunteers, as well as present day activists, 1964: THE FIGHT FOR A RIGHT uses Mississippi to explain American voting issues in the last 150 years. For instance, why are red states red?
“Backs Against The Wall: The Howard Thurman Story” explores the extraordinary life and legacy of one of the most important religious figures of the 20th century, Howard Thurman. Born the grandson of slaves, Thurman became a “spiritual foundation” for the Civil Rights Movement, inspiring many of its leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr, Jesse Jackson and Congressman John Lewis.
No Passport Required – Join Chef Marcus Samuelsson on an inspiring journey across the U.S. to explore and celebrate the wide-ranging diversity of immigrant traditions and cuisine woven into American food and culture.
- #206 – “Boston” – airs 2/17 at 9 p.m. – Explore Las Vegas and its deep-rooted Chinese community, from the Strip’s neon-lit casinos to modest shopping malls. Chef Marcus Samuelsson learns about diverse food traditions and meets a new wave of chefs transforming their parents’ cuisine.