Biography & Profiles
Tavis Smiley
In part one of this two-night conversation, the two-time Oscar winner reflects on his body of work and the moment he fully committed to becoming a thespian and discloses the one thing he feels people would envy of him. Continue
Tavis Smiley
The singer-songwriter reflects on the life experiences that inspired his text My Cross to Bear and the Allman Brothers’ contribution to music. Continue
Tavis Smiley
The online journalism pioneer shares why he chose to write about San Francisco in his book Seasons of the Witch, how the city’s inhabitants pushed social progress and relates its 1960s values to current social issues. Continue
Tavis Smiley
The Paralympic medalist and best-selling author discusses what she and her daughter learned while writing her text How Great Women Lead: A Mother-Daughter Adventure into the Lives of Women Shaping the World. Continue
Washington Week
Is it just my imagination, or have politics and politicians grown smaller? I've been flirting with this conclusion after diving into two enjoyable presidential history books by night while covering 2012 politics by day. The books, Robert Caro's "The Passage of Power" and "The President's Club" by Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs, take us inside the West Wing in a way screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s... Continue
Need To Know
This week we take a look at the life and work of Juliano Mer Khamis, the Israeli Palestinian actor and the director of the Jenin Freedom Theatre. He was killed earlier this week in the Jenin refugee camp by unknown gunmen. He was a controversial figure who believed that art and theatre could be used for social change and justice. Continue
PBS NewsHour
Carlos Fuentes was a prolific writer -- penning novels, essays, newspaper articles, even an opera. Recognized as one of Latin America's greatest literary figures, Fuentes brought stories from Mexico to the world stage. He died Tuesday at age 83. Ray Suarez and Ilan Stavans of Amherst College discuss the impact of Fuentes' work. Continue
Tavis Smiley
The prolific singer-songwriter reflects on her past songs and the inspiration for her art, as described in her memoir, A Natural Woman. Continue
To The Contrary
TIME Magazine sparks controversy over its cover featuring a woman breastfeeding her 3-year-old son. Continue
To The Contrary
Author Kate Lombardi shares the problems with the "Mama's Boy Myth." Continue
Washington Week
Looking for some good summer reading? Check out the books Gwen and the Washington Week panelists recommend for the beach, the car, the plane or the pool. From fiction to politics, history to biography, there is something for everybody. The smartest reporters in Washington, D.C. bring you their suggestions for the summer's best reads. Continue
PBS NewsHour
German opera singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who died Friday at age 86, was a master of the Lieder, a form of German song that he helped make popular in the 20th century. Jeffrey Brown speaks with Anne Midgette, a classical music critic for The Washington Post, about Fischer-Dieskau's legacy. Continue
Tavis Smiley
One of the TV and film’s most successful writer-director-producers discusses his battle with cancer and what it takes to be a successful producer, as detailed in his new memoir, My Happy Days in Hollywood. Continue
PBS NewsHour
Singer Donna Summer became known as the "Queen of Disco," defining the genre with her sultry vocals and pulsing rhythms. She used to say she grew up listening to rock 'n' roll and was raised on gospel music. But it was her dance hits that won her Grammys. Summers died Thursday at age 63. Continue
The Open Mind
Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York David Nasaw discusses Andrew Carnegie. Continue
Wide Angle
At the Havana Boxing Academy, boys live and train with a single purpose: to bring home Olympic gold. Victory Is Your Duty follows the young boxers as they build up to the biggest event of their lives: the annual National Boxing Championships. After the film, WIDE ANGLE's Aaron Brown reports from Miami to tell what happens when Academy boxers grow up: and defect to the United States. Continue
PBS NewsHour
Carlos Fuentes had aged so beautifully you might have subconsciously assumed he would live forever, like a character in a Latin American novel. Ray Suarez recalls the life of the Mexican writer. Continue
Tavis Smiley
The Oscar-nominated actor discusses media scrutiny of his parenting skills, his battle with different types of cancer and why he wrote his memoir, Both of Us: My Life with Farrah. Continue
American Experience
Explore the history of an American president who rose from a broken childhood to become one of the most successful politicians in modern American history. 5/15/2012 Continue
To The Contrary
Author and philanthropist Jill Iscol tells To the Contrary about her book, "Hearts on Fire," and the people who inspired it. Continue
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1. Earth: The Biography 2PK DVD
Satellite imagery and state-of-the-art computer graphics give this visual "biography" of Earth a rare feeling of immediacy and accessibility, from its boiling volcanoes to icy glacier waterfalls.
Buy Now
- 2. Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and The Presidency DVD
- 3. American Experience: RFK DVD
- 4. American Experience: John and Abigail Adams DVD
- 5. American Experience: George H.W. Bush DVD
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