5 Good Questions

When you go behind the scenes at Art:21, a PBS series that explores contemporary visual art in the United States, you’ll find associate curator Wesley Miller and series producer Eve Moros Ortega supporting Executive Producer and Curator, Susan Sollins at the helm.

Producing each season “feels a lot like creating a work,” says Moros Ortega. She blogged about the experience earlier this year. Art:21 just wrapped its fifth season on PBS, in which 14 internationally recognized artists were filmed creating new art in their own workspaces.more

We talk about food a lot around here, but being PBS, we also learn about the science and history behind it. This week PBS will air a film based on Michael Pollan’s “The Botany of Desire” that explores four of the most important plants in human history. The film measures their success by their ability to meet our desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control.more

American singer and songwriter John Fogerty may need no introduction.  The Grammy-award winning musician has created countless hit songs for five decades with Creedance Clearwater Revival and as a solo artist, penning hit songs “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” among others. On November 7^th, Fogerty will bring his blues inspired rock tunes to PBS as part of Live by Request, an interactive television show that let’s you, the audience, control the set list.  The legendary artist will take requests via phone, Facebook, Twitter, text message and more.more

Sid the Science Kid debuted on PBS KIDS last year and has since kept us all laughing and learning. Kimberly Brenneman, PhD applies her research on children's scientific learning as an educational consultant to the show. She  joins us this week to answer your questions about helping kids be budding scientists, just like Sid.

Kimberly is an Assistant Research Professor at Rutgers University's Department of Psychology. She has also authored a book titled "Preschool Pathways to Science: Facilitating Scientific Ways of Thinking, Talking, Doing, and Understanding." more

The long-awaited documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” features  many of the noteworthy individuals in the history of our national parks. Among those featured is Shelton Johnson, a park ranger with 20 years of experience in the National Park Service. We invited the incredible Shelton Johnson to take your questions this week, just as “The National Parks” premieres on your PBS stations. (check local listings)more

Journalist and news anchor Paula Zahn has covered her share of current events, Olympic Games, and interviewed a host of world leaders.  She is also an accomplished cellist and has performed at Carnegie Hall.  Zahn’s latest projects include On the Case with Paula Zahn on Investigative Discovery and host of PBS’ Retirement Revolution.  The series offers personal stories of those finding themselves retiring in challenging economic times.   more

Ruff Ruffman is the star and producer of Fetch! and yes, he is a dog. A very charismatic one. From his doghouse, Ruffman produces an entertaining kids show that is part reality TV, part game show, and all-around educational. The show combines animation and live-action to feature six- to ten-year olds as they fulfill assignments that test their drive and smarts.

Talking dogs are always a hit around here so we are honored to welcome Ruffman as our featured guest this week. He will be answering your questions about his show, being a TV star, and hanging out with smart tweenagers. more

The Jim Henson Company’s Dinosaur Train pulls in to the PBS KIDS lineup this week to teach preschoolers about natural science, dinosaurs and their similarities to the animals of today. Following the success of Sid the Science Kid, Lisa Henson joined forces with Craig Bartlett (of Hey Arnold! fame) to produce the animated show that follows a curious Tyrannosaurus Rex named Buddy and his adopted Pteranodon family as they learn about the vast natural world that they live in. Watch Lisa and Craig talk about the series at SXSW.

Executive Producer Lisa Henson is our guest this week, taking questions about the new series. Henson has had an extensive career, developing films for Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, the Weinstein Company, and of course the Jim Henson Company. Her work includes Lethal Weapon, Batman “Muppets’ Wizard of Oz,” and the highly anticipated film Fraggle Rock.more

Miss Marple has packed up her knitting needles and gone back to St. Mary Mead, but Masterpiece Mystery! continues.

On August 30, the duo of Inspector Robbie Lewis and Detective Sergeant Hathaway came back to Masterpiece with Season II of more murder and mayhem. (check local listings) Fans of the series will also be delighted that actors Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox will reprise their roles as Lewis and Hathaway, respectively.

What better way to celebrate their return to PBS than by inviting the actors to be our blog guests? That’s right; Whately and Fox will answer your questions about the new “Inspector Lewis” series here this week. Just leave them below and I’ll choose five for them to answer.

You can also get ready for the new series by watching previously aired episodes online.

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