ROBERT EARL KEEN/HAYES CARLL

SATURDAY, MARCH 9 @ 9:00PM

Texas has more than its fair share of music of every stripe, but one of its most (in)famous strains is the Lone Star singer/songwriter. This week we have two of the best: Robert Earl Keen and Hayes Carll.

The Houston-born Keen is an old ACL pal – this episode is his fifth appearance on our stage. Supporting his album Rose Hotel, Keen runs through a set of his humorous and poignant slices of life, from the statement of purpose “Throwin’ Rocks” to the spoken-word fantasia “The Great Hank” to the Levon Helm tribute “Man Behind the Drums.” Backed by his longtime band, plus guests Lloyd Maines, Danny Barnes and Bukka Allen, Keen reminds us why he’s considered the premier Texas songwriter of our age.

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THE BEATLES’ MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

FRIDAY, MARCH 8 @ 11:00PM

By the end of that year, The Beatles had achieved a creativity unprecedented in popular music. Their triumphant summer release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Bandwas both avant-garde and an instant hit. It went straight to No.1 in June and remained there for the rest of the year. They immersed themselves in the fiercely radical art of the new counter culture and decided to make a film on their own terms, not as pop stars but as artists. However, was their adoring public ready for the move?

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SPERM WHALE

SATURDAY, MARCH 9 @ 9:00PM

The team exposes the organs of a sperm whale that became stranded and died on Pegwell Bay in Kent, England to reveal the secrets of the 45-foot deep-sea giant. Despite its enormous size, very little is known about the sperm whale because it normally lives hidden deep beneath the waves. The program examines how the whales can survive diving down thousands of feet for more than an hour on one gulp of air in conditions that would freeze our blood and crush our bones. Evans and Reidenberg also discover how sperm whales use the largest nose in creation to hunt giant squid in the dark.

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BRAVING IRAQ

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6 @ 6:00PM & 11:00PM

Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, news about the fate and future of this Middle Eastern country has been at the forefront of our national consciousness, making an impact on our daily lives, appearing in every newspaper and news program, the subject of endless numbers of personal and political discussions. But if you think you’ve heard every imaginable story about life within Iraqi borders, think again. There is at least one major element in this geopolitical drama that the American media has mostly overlooked, and it lies at the cross section of regional politics and the natural environment. NATURE’s Braving Iraq unravels this tale about what was once one of the richest and most important wetlands in the world – from its virtual destruction by a ruthless dictator to its exciting, new prospects for a miraculous recovery.

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SATURDAY, JUNE 15 @ 11:00PM

Battle for the Elephants explores the brutal slaughter of African elephants for their tusks, fueled largely by China’s demand for ivory.

The film tells the ultimate wildlife story — how the Earth’s most charismatic and majestic land animal today faces market forces driving the value of its tusks to levels once reserved for precious metals. Journalists Bryan Christy and Aidan Hartley take viewers undercover as they investigate the criminal network behind ivory’s supply and demand. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, one of the world’s main ports for smuggled ivory, Hartley attempts to buy large quantities of tusks from poachers. In China, Christy explores the thriving industry of luxury goods made from ivory and the ancient cultural tradition of ivory carving.

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WOMEN WHO MAKE AMERICA

SUNDAY, MARCH 3 @ 6:00PM  & 11:00PM

MAKERS: Women Who Make America tells the remarkable story of the most sweeping social revolution in American history, as women have asserted their rights to a full and fair share of political power, economic opportunity, and personal autonomy. It’s a revolution that has unfolded in public and private, in courts and Congress, in the boardroom and the bedroom, changing not only what the world expects from women, but what women expect from themselves. MAKERS brings this story to life with priceless archival treasures and poignant, often funny interviews with those who led the fight, those who opposed it, and those first generations to benefit from its success. (3 HOURS)

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WOMEN WHO MAKE AMERICA

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 @ 6:00PM & 12:00AM

MAKERS: Women Who Make America tells the remarkable story of the most sweeping social revolution in American history, as women have asserted their rights to a full and fair share of political power, economic opportunity, and personal autonomy. It’s a revolution that has unfolded in public and private, in courts and Congress, in the boardroom and the bedroom, changing not only what the world expects from women, but what women expect from themselves. MAKERS brings this story to life with priceless archival treasures and poignant, often funny interviews with those who led the fight, those who opposed it, and those first generations to benefit from its success. (3 HOURS)

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AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25 @ 11:00PM

China’s most internationally well-known artist is also its most famous dissident. Ai Weiwei uses his conceptual art to challenge the government. Chinese authorities have responded by beating him up, bulldozing his newly built studio, holding him in secret detention for 81 days, and trying to mute his enormous presence in social media.

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PAGE EIGHT

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24 @ 7:00PM

What happens when spies grow older in a post-9/11 world? Sixty-something MI-5 agent Johnny Worricker has amassed an impressive art collection, an amicable collection of ex-wives, and a droll, unflappable relationship with the work he enjoys alongside his boss and best friend, MI5 chief Benedict Baron. But when Benedict brings to light damning evidence of British complicity with illegal American torture operations, it falls to Johnny to do the right thing. And the right thing, in this morally ambiguous new era, is unclear — as unclear as the motives of Johnny’s neighbor, Nancy, who draws Johnny in with her sad beauty and a secret of her own.

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SISTER ROSETTA THARPE

THE GODMOTHER OF ROCK & ROLL

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24 @ 5:00PM

Southern-born, Chicago-raised and New York-made. She could play the guitar like nobody else… nobody.

Discover the life, music and influence of African-American gospel singer and guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe from writer, producer and director Mick Csaky. During the 1940s-60s, Tharpe introduced the spiritual passion of her gospel music into the secular world of rock ’n’ roll, inspiring some of its greatest stars, including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard.

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