with Gwen Ifell and National Journal

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 @ 6:00PM

The snow has stopped and the sun finally came out in Washington DC where more than two feet of snow has blanketed the area after back-to-back storms hit the region. While federal agencies were shutdown and the House and Senate canceled all votes and hearings, politics continued to make headlines.

A just-released Washington Post/ABC Poll reveals a majority of Americans are dissatisfied or angry about the way the federal government is working. President Obama’s job approval rating is holding steady, but support for Democrats has slipped and Republicans are gaining some political ground. And while the “tea party” has attracted lots of attention– especially after former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin addressed the group’s gathering last week–few Americans know much about the movement. We’ll get analysis from Dan Balz of The Washington Post about an electorate that appears restless.
Find out more »

SEAL

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 @ 8:00PM

Seal’s one-of-a-kind soaring, husky baritone is perfect for any genre. He’s delighted fans and earned critical acclaim while staying true to classic, honest songwriting in his remarkable two-decade career. And now, he’s done it again with the release of his exceptional sixth studio album Soul. Together with legendary music producer David Foster, Seal adds his signature touch to some of the best soul songs ever created.

In a stunning performance, Seal evokes an era when music vividly captured emotion and romance. Joined by Foster, as well as a choir and string section, Seal takes on Ann Pebbles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.”

Find out more »

Beyond the Motor City

Monday, February 8 @ 8:00pm & 11:00pm

Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City examines how Detroit, a symbol of America’s diminishing status in the world, may come to represent the future of transportation and progress in America. The film debuts nationally on PBS on February 8 at 10 pm (check local listings).

Detroit is the crucible in which the nation’s ability to move toward a modern 21st century transportation infrastructure is put to the test. The documentary shows how investments in the past — beginning with the construction of canals in the 18th century — profoundly shaped Detroit’s physical layout, population growth and economic development. Before being dubbed the Motor City, Detroit was once home to the nation’s most extensive streetcar system. In fact, it was that vast network of streetcars that carried workers to the area’s many car factories. And it was the cars made in those factories that would soon displace the streetcars in Detroit — and in every major American city.

Detroit’s engineers went on to design the nation’s first urban freeways and inspired much of America’s 20th century transportation infrastructure system — from traffic signals to gas stations — that became the envy of the word.

But over the last 30 years, much of the world has moved on, choosing faster, cleaner, more modern transportation and leaving America — and Detroit — behind. Viewers are taken on a journey beyond Detroit’s blighted urban landscape to Spain, home to one of the world’s most modern and extensive transit systems; to California, where voters recently said yes to America’s first high speed rail system; and to Washington, where Congress will soon decide whether to finally push America’s transportation into the 21st century.
Find out more »

Ghosts of Machu Picchu

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

Perched atop a mountain crest, mysteriously abandoned more than four centuries ago, Machu Picchu is the most famous archeological ruin in the Western Hemisphere and an iconic symbol of the power and engineering prowess of the Inca. In the years since Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, there have been countless theories about this “Lost City of the Incas,” yet it remains an enigma. Why did the Incas build it on such an inaccessible site, clinging to the steep face of a mountain? Who lived among its stone buildings, farmed its emerald green terraces, and drank from its sophisticated aqueduct system? NOVA joins a new generation of archeologists as they probe areas of Machu Picchu that haven’t been touched since the time of the Incas and unearth burials of the people who built the sacred site. “Ghosts of Machu Picchu” explores the extraordinary trail of clues that began on that fateful day in 1911 and continues to the present.

Find out more»

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 @ 8:00PM & 11:00PM

In 1788 a slave-ship set sail from West Africa, its berth laden with a profitable but fragile cargo: hundreds of men, women and children bound in chains and headed for American shores. Eight months later the survivors were sold in Natchez, Mississippi. Among them was the 26-year-old Abdul Rahman Sori, heir to the throne of one of the largest kingdoms in Africa.

Captured in an ambush, he was sold to English slavers for a few muskets and some rum. After enduring the brutal Middle Passage to America, packed below decks and in filthy conditions, he was purchased by a struggling Mississippi farmer named Thomas Foster. Foster hoped that the strong African would help establish his farm.
Find out more »

3 GIRLS AND THEIR BUDDY

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4 @ 8:00PM & 11:00PM

This episode of Soundstage highlights Americana music at its absolute best. Billed as “Three Girls and Their Buddy,” Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller present a versatile in-the-round set. The group’s stage banter and genial rapport clearly translates their passion for performing together on songs like “Get Ready Marie,” “Gasoline and Matches,” “Poison Love” and “Shelter Me.” All legends in their own right, collectively they deliver an unbeatable and spellbinding night not to be missed!
Find out more »

DIGITAL NATION

TUESDAY, JUNE 19 @ 8:00PM & 11:00PM

Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from the way we learn and work to the ways in which we socialize and even conduct war. But is the technology moving faster than we can adapt to it? And is our 24/7 wired world causing us to lose as much as we’ve gained?7RONTLINE presents an in-depth exploration of what it means to be human in a 21st-century digital world. Continuing a line of investigation she began with the 2008 FRONTLINE report Growing Up Online, award-winning producer Rachel Dretzin embarks on a journey to understand the implications of living in a world consumed by technology and the impact that this constant connectivity may have on future generations. “I’m amazed at the things my kids are able to do online, but I’m also a little bit panicked when I realize that no one seems to know where all this technology is taking us, or its long-term effects,” says Dretzin.
Find out more»

THE DONNER PARTY

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1 @ 7:00PM & 10:00PM

At the start of spring in the year 1846 an appealing advertisement appeared in the Springfield, Illinois, Gazette. “Westward ho,” it declared. “Who wants to go to California without costing them anything? As many as eight young men of good character who can drive an ox team will be accommodated. Come, boys, you can have as much land as you want without costing you anything.” The notice was signed G. Donner, George Donner, leader of what was to become the most famous of all the hundreds of wagon trains to start for the far west, the tragic, now nearly mythic Donner Party.

If ever there was a moment when America seemed in the grip of some great, out-of-the-ordinary pull, it was in 1846. The whole mood was for movement, expansion, and the whole direction was westward. It was in 1846 that the Mormons set out on their trek to the Great Salt Lake. It was in 1846 that the Mexican War began and effectively all of Texas, Mexico and California were added to the United States.
Find out more »