The FRONTLINE Planner is our monthly newsletter designed specifically for educators, with information about upcoming films and timely resources from the archives.

One of our recent bulletins is posted below. If you like what you read and want to have the FRONTLINE Planner delivered to your e-mail box each week we broadcast a new program, just enter your e-mail address in the box to the right. And if you’re interested in FRONTLINE’s regular e-mail newsletter, which offers previews of upcoming programs, web highlights, and occasional behind-the-scenes dispatches from our producers and correspondents, click here.

 

the frontline planner January 2009

NOW AVAILABLE: “From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians”

Original Airdate April 1998
[240 minutes]

“From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians”

Watch Online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/

FRONTLINE’S popular “From Jesus to Christ” is now streaming online for the first time since its PBS broadcast more than 10 years ago. It is the epic story of Jesus’ early followers and how these men and women became a movement that spread throughout the Roman Empire. Drawing on historical evidence and interviews with the nation’s leading New Testament scholars, the series transports the viewer back 2,000 years to the time and place where Jesus once lived and preached, challenging familiar assumptions and conventional notions about the origins of Christianity. In addition to streaming video of the complete four-hour documentary, FRONTLINE’s Web site offers a vast archive of material pertaining to the life of Jesus and the early Christians. Read testimony of New Testament theologians, archaeologists and historians who address dozens of key issues, disagreements and critical problems relating to Jesus’ life and the evolution of Christianity. Also throughout the site, find maps, charts, ancient texts, pictures of the archaeological discoveries, and ancient imagery.

With the Teacher’s Guide to “From Jesus to Christ, ” students will study the history of Christianity and the Roman Empire, what it takes to be a “founder,” the nature of oral versus written storytelling, and role of religion in society.

Now Available: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/teach/

Now Available Online: “Dreams of Obama”:

Airdate Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 9 P.M. (check local listings)

“Dreams of Obama”

Watch Now Online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dreamsofobama/

On the night of Barack Obama’s historic inauguration, FRONTLINE examines the rich personal and political biography of the 44th president of the United States. Through interviews with insiders and observers who’ve tracked Obama from his days at Harvard Law School, through his rise in Chicago politics, to his emergence onto the national scene after the 2004 Democratic National Convention, FRONTLINE chronicles Obama’s meteoric rise, pushing beyond the headlines to reveal how he won one of the most memorable, and important, presidential elections of our time.

Though the broadcast premiere of “Dreams of Obama” isn’t until Jan. 20, streaming video of the full film -- along with interviews and observations from Obama’s friends, advisers and close observers -- is available NOW at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dreamsofobama/

Coming Soon: A Personal Exploration of Parkinson’s Disease

Airdate Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 9 P.M. (check local listings)
[60 minutes]

“My Father, My Brother, and Me”

Coming soon: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/parkinsons/

Coming in February, FRONTLINE will broadcast “My Father, My Brother, and Me,” journalist Dave Iverson’s personal journey to explore the scientific, ethical and political debates surrounding Parkinson’s Disease, which affects more than 1 million Americans. (Learn more about the film below.) In the months leading up to the broadcast, Iverson has been blogging and posting video excerpts from the documentary. Students can follow along at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/parkinsons/

Also, immediately following the broadcast at 10 P.M. ET, Iverson will host a live discussion on his blog. Students are welcome to ask questions and share their reactions to the film.

Digital Archive: Web-exclusive Resources

 

Among the new Web-exclusive resources highlighted at the FRONTLINE Teacher Center: an annotated video timeline of the Iraq War, streaming video of “From Jesus to Christ” and a resource guide for parents and professionals involved with children with behavioral and emotional problems.

Available now: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/

January 2009 Listings

Airdate Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9 P.M. (check local listings)
[60 minutes]

“The Old Man and the Storm”

Watch Now Online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/katrina/

Six months after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, producer June Cross came across 82-year-old Herbert Gettridge working alone on his home in the lower Ninth Ward, a neighborhood devastated when the levees broke in August 2005. Over the next two years, Cross would document the story of the extended Gettridge clan -- an African-American family with deep roots in New Orleans -- as they struggled to rebuild their homes and their lives. Their efforts would be deeply impacted by larger decisions about urban planning, public health, and the insurance industry, by the decisions of policymakers about federal funding for rebuilding the Gulf, and state and city plans for dispersing those monies. The moving personal story of Mr. Gettridge and his family reveals the human cost of this tragedy, the continued inadequacies of government’s response in the aftermath of Katrina, and how race, class and politics have affected the attempts to rebuild this American city.

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Airdate Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 9 P.M. (check local listings)

“Dreams of Obama”

Watch Now Online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dreamsofobama/

On the night of Barack Obama’s historic inauguration, FRONTLINE examines the rich personal and political biography of the 44th president of the United States. Through interviews with insiders and observers who’ve tracked Obama from his days at Harvard Law School, through his rise in Chicago politics, to his emergence onto the national scene after the 2004 Democratic National Convention, FRONTLINE chronicles Obama’s meteoric rise, pushing beyond the headlines to reveal how he won one of the most memorable, and important, presidential elections of our time.

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Airdate Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 9 p.m. (check local listings)
FRONTLINE/WORLD

“TAKING ON THE MAFIA”

Coming Soon: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld

PBS’s premier international newsmagazine returns with three more “stories from a small planet,” starting with the inside story of a group of shop owners and young activists who stood up to the powerful Sicilian mafia. In “Taking on the Mafia,” FRONTLINE/World correspondent Carola Mamberto explores the story of a restaurant owner—backed by an upstart anti-mafia movement of young people and an elite law enforcement team— who refused to pay the mafia’s monthly “tax,” taking a stand against mob bosses who’ve kept Italy in their grip for decades. Also in this hour: the odyssey of several dozen men from their homes in rural China to years of detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the story of a Brazilian politician who took the name “Barack Obama” for his historic bid to become the first black mayor of his town.

Coming in February

Airdate Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 9 P.M. (check local listings)
[60 minutes]

“My Father, My Brother, and Me”

Watch a Preview: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/parkinsons/

In 2004, journalist Dave Iverson received the same news that had been delivered to his father and older brother years earlier: He had Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder that affects about 1 million Americans. In a FRONTLINE and ITVS joint production, Iverson sets off on a personal journey to explore the scientific, ethical, and political debate that surrounds Parkinson’s, a disease at the center of the ongoing controversy over embryonic stem cell research. Iverson talks to scientists on the cutting edge of new cures and therapies for Parkinson’s as well as a number of other major neurological conditions. And he has intimate conversations with fellow Parkinson’s sufferers like actor Michael J. Fox and writer Michael Kinsley. Join the discussion online with Dave Iverson at 10 P.M. ET following the broadcast.

USING FRONTLINE IN THE CLASSROOM

 

FRONTLINE films can be taped and used as a classroom resource for up to one year after the original broadcast. Teacher Center materials featured on the FRONTLINE Web site can be photocopied for educational purposes. All other rights reserved.