Nov 24 Watch 5:52 'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda takes on new role as activist for Puerto Rico By PBS News Hour Lin-Manuel Miranda has a new role: as an emerging political activist. The Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, composer and actor is calling on Congress to do more to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria, which… Continue watching
Nov 24 5 books from 2017 that these authors think you should read By Larisa Epatko Memoirs that make you think about judgment and injustice, a funny -- but unexpectedly dark -- novel, and a guide to a happy marriage. These are the books that authors Daniel Pink and Ann Patchett chose as their top picks… Continue reading
Nov 23 Watch Norm Ornstein and E.J. Dionne on the American divide and where we should turn next By Lisa Desjardins With divisions in the American political system deeper than ever, questions of how we got to this point and how we move forward remain. Journalist E.J. Dionne and political scientist Norm Ornstein join Lisa Desjardins to discuss their book, co-authored… Continue watching
Nov 22 Watch 7:21 This author is challenging what we know about Ulysses Grant and the Civil War By PBS News Hour Ulysses S. Grant led the Union’s victory in the civil war before serving two terms as president. Was he a brutal general and incompetent president — or a brilliant strategist who should be praised for his foresight? Ron Chernow, who… Continue watching
Nov 22 A short history of the audiobook, 20 years after the first portable digital audio device By Alison Thoet Twenty years after the first audio player, PBS NewsHour looks at back at the history of audiobooks and where they’re headed next. Continue reading
Nov 21 Watch 7:28 In John Adams' new Gold Rush opera, cultures clash with a tragic ending By Jeffrey Brown, Jaywon Choe, Mike Fritz For contemporary composer John Adams, it was three notes that launched his latest opera: the sound of a pick axe “chipping away at stone.” Premiering at the San Francisco Opera, "Girls of the Golden West," a collaboration with director Peter… Continue watching
Nov 20 Watch 5:16 The art of the Guantanamo Bay detainees By PBS NewsHour, Jaywon Choe, Jon Gerberg A new exhibit in New York shares art from an unlikely place: Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. Current and former detainees have created work that represent their experiences as prisoners -- even episodes of torture -- often using whatever nontraditional materials… Continue watching
Nov 20 In poet John Keats' letters, a man full of life just before he died By Alison Thoet Romantic poet John Keats is best known for his odes, epics and sonnets. But in his short lifetime he also wrote dozens of letters to siblings and friends, which are now surfacing together online for the first time, 200 years… Continue reading
Nov 20 PHOTOS: These gruesome dollhouse death scenes reinvented murder investigations By Alison Thoet 20th century heiress Frances Glessner Lee's parents pushed her toward feminine crafts. She used that to build dollhouse scenes of death that would help future investigators do forensic crime analysis. Continue reading
Nov 19 Watch 4:37 Stereotypes in 'The Simpsons' affected a generation of South Asians, says this comedian By PBS News Hour Throughout his career, comedian Hari Kondabolu has tackled the tough topics of race and inequality in the U.S. His new documentary, “The Problem With Apu,” looks at the character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on “The Simpsons” -- a convenience store owner… Continue watching