BOMBING HITLER’S DAMS

SUNDAY, MAY 25 @ 5:00PM

In 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in military history: destroying two gigantic dams in Germany’s industrial heartland and cutting the water supply to arms factories. Their secret weapon? A revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis. Wallis and the pilots of 617 Squadron—a lively mix of Britons, Australians, Americans, and Canadians—were hailed as heroes who dealt a mighty blow to the German war machine. Now, NOVA recreates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 14 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

This powerful film is told by four of the main survivors Thomas ‘Toivi’ Blatt, Philip Bialowitz, Selma Engel-Wijnberg and former Russian POW Semjon Rozenfled, through their compelling firsthand accounts we discover the true horror of life in Sobibor. Unlike Auschwitz and Dauchau, Sobibor was created purely for extermination. In the space of 17 months a quarter of a million people arrived at the camp and put to death almost immediately.

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MOVING FORWARD

THURSDAY, MAY 29 @ 7:00PM

Explore the notion of identity, how it’s altered during deployment and altered again on return home. Wes explores the experience of coming back fundamentally changed by the experience of war, and the difficulty of fitting back in. Can you create a new life in your old world?

The three episode series tells the story of Wes Moore’s search for answers to some of the most difficult questions related to returning from war. Moore’s journey takes him into the personal lives of different soldiers as they attempt to reintegrate back into society, establish new identities, and – for many – find a new mission.

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GOD LOVES UGANDA

MONDAY, JUNE 8 @ 10:00PM

Inspired by his own African American Baptist roots, director Roger Ross Williams explores a place where religion and African culture intersect, as Ugandan and American pastors spread evangelical values to millions desperate for a better life.

(90 Minutes)

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SEASON 3 EPISODE 8

SUNDAY, MAY 18 @ 9:00PM

As preparations are made for Chummy to care for her dying mother at home, Jenny feels drawn to help. While Shelagh and Dr. Turner await news from the Adoption Society, Shelagh pulls out all the stops when she enters her choir into a competition.

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MR. SELFRIDGE

SEASON 2, EPISODE 8

SUNDAY, MARCH 22 @ 7:00PM & 11:00PM

Tempers flare as Harry and Loxley face off, Miss Mardle gives Mr. Grove a tongue-lashing, Victor and Henri clash, Kitty tells Frank to shape up, and Delphine finds her influence wavering. Meanwhile, an American journalist searches for the happy side of Selfridges, the store promotes “the comforts of home,” Agnes gets her fifteen minutes of fame, Mr. Grove gets a long-sought heir, and Lady Mae manages to save the day.

The season ends with an American-style Thanksgiving feast at the Selfridge mansion, where there is much to be thankful for—and challenges still to face. (2 hours)

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PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF

FRIDAY,  JUNE 17 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

In 1982 The Paris Review was the first magazine to publish a short story by Jay McInerney. “It’s Six A.M. Do You Know Where You Are?” shared the fiction pages with works by Michael Cunningham, Lamar Herrin, Norman Mailer, Barbara Milton and Craig Nova.

In this film outtake from Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, McInerney recalls getting a phone call from The Paris Review editor George Plimpton, “out of the blue,” in 1981. McInerney had sent a story to The Paris Review, and George asked if there was other writing he could look at. Overnight, McInerney wrote “It’s Six A.M. Do You Know Where You Are?,” which sparked Bright Lights, Big City, his iconic novel about a young man adrift the drug-fueled haze of New York City’s nightlife.

McInerney says that Plimpton “liked to tell people that he had saved me from becoming a pharmacist.”

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WITH GWEN IFILL

FRIDAY, MAY 16 @ 9:00PM

THIS WEEK: VA HOSPITAL PROBE, IMMIGRATION REFORM, MIDTERM POLITICS, AND 2016 RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said he is “mad as hell” over allegations that veterans did not receive timely medical care at Veterans Administration hospitals around the country. The retired four-star general testified on Capitol Hill on Thursday about alleged ‘secret’ wait-lists, cover-ups and possible deaths linked to lengthy wait times for treatment. Martha Raddatz of ABC News will have the latest on the investigation into the VA as well as whether Secretary Shinseki’s job might be in jeopardy.

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LEAVE IT TO BEAVERS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28  @ 9:00PM

Busy beavers work tirelessly to build dams of stone, logs and mud – and are born equipped and ready for the job. Beavers are capable of felling hundreds of trees if damming a river is necessary. Once a safe haven of deep water has been secured, dedicated beavers set up lodges to raise and protect their families. Browse the gallery of beavers at work to discover the resourcefulness and persistence involved in building a quality dam.

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ESCAPE FROM NAZI ALCATRAZ

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22 @ 10:00PM

Colditz Castle, a notorious prisoner of war camp in Nazi Germany, was supposed to be escape-proof. But in the dark days at the end of World War II, a group of British officers dreamt up the ultimate escape plan: in a secret attic workshop, they constructed a two-man glider out of bed sheets and floorboards. Their plan was to fly to freedom from the roof of the castle, but the war ended before they could put it to the test. Now a crack team of aero engineers and carpenters rebuild the glider in the same attic using the same materials, and they’ll do something the prisoners never got a chance to try: use a bathtub full of concrete to catapult the glider off the roof of the castle.

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