WILHEMINA’S WAR

MONDAY, DECEMBER 3 @ 11:00PM

In much of America, progress in HIV/AIDS treatment and improvement in education may suggest the worst is behind us, but every year 50,000 Americans are still diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS. Astonishingly, nearly half of them live in the South, where the AIDS epidemic has taken root in rural communities, and is one of the leading causes of death among black women.

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OF DOWNTON ABBEY

A MASTERPIECE SPECIAL

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 @ 6:00PM & 10:30PM

Return to the world of manners with Alastair Bruce, Downton Abbey‘s historical advisor. Featuring exclusive interviews with the series’ leading cast members such as Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery, this documentary navigates the social protocol of aristocrats and servants in the 1920s and the age of jazz.

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AMERICAN MASTERS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 @ 11:00PM

Fats Domino was one of the most popular rockers of the 1950s and early 60s. His achievements and record sales during that time were rivaled only by Elvis Presley. With his boogie-woogie piano playing rooted in blues, rhythm & blues, and jazz, he became one of the inventors, along with Presley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard of a revolutionary genre of music, rock ‘n’ roll.

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SMITHSONIAN SALUTES RAY CHARLES

IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

“Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the White House” showcases an evening of celebration with President and Mrs. Obama at the White House in honor of the legacy of iconic singer, songwriter, composer and musician Ray Charles. The evening includes performances by Yolanda Adams, Leon Bridges, Andra Day, Anthony Hamilton, Brittany Howard, Demi Lovato, Sam Moore, Jussie Smollett, The Band Perry and Usher with Rickey Minor as executive music director. The hour-long program, part of the Emmy Award-nominated “In Performance at the White House” series, is the 56th production in the series’ thirty-eight-year history.

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RISE OF THE ROBOTS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6 @ 10:00PM

Machines are everywhere. They run our factory assembly lines and make our coffee. But humanoid robots—machines with human-like capabilities—have long been the stuff of science fiction. Until now. Fueled by an ambitious DARPA challenge, the race is on to design a robot that can replace humans in disaster relief situations. Follow the robots and the engineers that program them as they strive to make their way out of the lab and into the real world. But how capable are they, really? How close are we to a future where humanoid robots are part of our everyday lives? And what will the future look like with robots that can do a human’s job? NOVA investigates the cutting-edge technologies that are advancing robotics—and the enormous challenges that robots still face.

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THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 @ 8:00PM

With the rapid emergence of digital devices, an unstoppable, invisible force is changing human lives in incredible ways. Every two days the human race is now generating as much data as was generated from the dawn of humanity through the year 2003. The massive gathering and analyzing of data in real time is allowing us to address some of humanity’s biggest challenges but as Edward Snowden and the release of NSA documents have shown, the accessibility of all this data comes at a steep price. This film captures the promise and peril of this extraordinary knowledge revolution.

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THE PIONEERS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 @ 9:00PM

Discover how Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Steinem and Sandra Cisneros are connected to pioneers who broke new ground and paved the way for their modern day descendants to continue shaping our culture.

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CHASING HEROIN

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

A searing, two-hour investigation places America’s heroin crisis in a fresh and provocative light — telling the stories of individual addicts, but also illuminating the epidemic’s years-in-the-making social context, deeply examining shifts in U.S. drug policy, and exploring what happens when addiction is treated like a public health issue, not a crime.

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