In 2012, a thousand once-forgotten burials were excavated under a parking lot at a San Jose hospital. Now anthropologists at California State University, Chico study how the skeletons could offer insight into navigating a future of antibiotic resistance.airs 11/21 at 4-4:30 a.m.
SEA CHANGE uses the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia to exemplify the challenges of Climate Change, sea level rise, rising salinities, weather extremes and other changes that includes local, state, regional and national implications. The effects of Climate Change are far ranging including property and land loss, human health impacts and significant economic and sea life impacts. The impacts examined in this program are not unique to Georgia and South Carolina but reflect the far reaching implications of Climate Change on the entire Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. airs 11/19 at 3-4 a.m.
Inventing America brings our Founding Fathers back to life in a TV talk show before a live audience. In Episode 3, “Liberty for All,” James Madison (John Douglas Hall), Thomas Jefferson (Bill Barker), Alexander Hamilton (Hal Bidlack) and Patrick Henry (Richard Schumann) reveal the conflicts and infighting behind the new U.S. Constitution and how that led to the Bill of Rights. The program features a Q&A with college students in which the Founders apply the Bill of Rights to our own time. It concludes with Henry’s famous “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech that inspired the idea of America in the first place. airs 11/13 at 2-3 a.m.
WALDEN – THE BALLAD OF THOREAU is a combination documentary and theatrical play about the final two days Henry David Thoreau spent in his cabin before leaving Walden Pond. The documentary, which bookends the play, is a look at the life of Henry David Thoreau and filmed at Walden Pond at the actual cabin site in the woods. The two-act, four-character play dramatizes conversations between Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson as Thoreau was packing up to leave Walden Pond. The play, which has already been performed in over 7,100 schools and colleges, also explores the roles we play in the protection of the earth, while challenging the audience to live more simply, and preserve the natural environments of their home communities. Folksinger Michael Johnathon, host of WOODSONGS, wrote the play and is the host of the documentary portions of the program. airs 11/12 at 3-4 a.m.
THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY: A LONG & WINDING ROAD is a historical documentary concerning the most visited segment of the National Park Service. It explores the impact on people along the route and the conflicts inherent in building the 469-mile Parkway. The documentary also makes public, for the first time, a secret deal between FDR and a powerful congressman that was a stunning New Deal political trade off. airs 11/5 at 3-4 a.m.
Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott and loved by generations of women worldwide, “Little Women” is a universal coming-of-age story. Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, the story follows sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother, Marmee — and while their father is away at war — the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from sibling rivalry and first love to loss and marriage. This adaptation is from the award-winning creator of “Call the Midwife,” Heidi Thomas, who also wrote “Cranford” and the latter-day “Upstairs Downstairs” for Masterpiece.
Learn the heartbreaking, inspiring and largely untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. This film relates the stories of Native American warriors from their own points of view –stories of service, pain, courage and fear. airs 11/11 at 9 p.m. (repeats 11/16 at 4 p.m.)
PBS’ premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA programs demystify science and technology and highlight the people involved in scientific pursuits.
This documentary is about Ely S. Parker, a 19th- century Seneca Indian Renaissance man. Parker was an engineer, tribal chief, and Civil War Secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant. Parker was a Cherokee actor Wes Studi hosts this account of Parker’s struggle in two worlds. He was responsible for preventing racial tensions to rise to its peak for both the Indians and the Whites. airs 11/4 at 9 p.m. (repeats 11/16 at 5 p.m.)
This documentary is based on the sensational 1926 novel by World War I aviator Elliott White Springs of South Carolina. When the novel War Birds was published in 1926, its frank depiction of the profligate lifestyle of pilots scandalized America and became the inspiration for movies such as The Dawn Patrol and Wings. It tells the story of three young Southerners who join the British Royal Air Force in 1917 and become known as the Three Musketeers for their high-spirited ways. But the adventure of flying is soon tempered by the realization that they have joined a dangerous profession; in this, the dawn of aviation when airplanes are both flammable and unsafe, a majority of pilots will die. The film contains extensive documentary footage of World War I, images of pilot training in the U.S. and Britain as well as interviews with descendants of Springs and Grider and excerpts from an interview with Larry Callahan in 1968. Airs 11/20 at 1 a.m.