Oct 11 Watch 6:14 How a composer’s joke melodies became his unexpected legacy By PBS News Hour Composer Camille Saint-Saëns would have celebrated his 181st birthday on Sunday. During his lifetime, he was one of the world’s most famous composers. Today he is best known for his “Carnival of the Animals,” a legacy he would have found… Continue watching
Oct 11 Turning the life of Matthew Shepard into song By Brad Turner, Colorado Public Radio Matthew Shepard is the subject of a new choral piece, a 100-minute oratorio called that explores his life, death and legacy. Continue reading
Oct 10 Watch 7:30 Ruth Bader Ginsburg on becoming ‘Notorious’ By PBS News Hour For the latest NewsHour Bookshelf, Gwen Ifill sits down with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to discuss her new book, “In My Own Words" -- her first since she was appointed to the court. Ginsburg reflects on the origins… Continue watching
Oct 10 Column: The failed Broadway musical I wish every medical student could see By Dr. Howard Markel On Oct. 10, 1947, this “medical musical” opened on the Great White Way. Alas, the production costs were so high and, once the bad reviews came in, the ticket sales so low that the play closed after 314 unprofitable performances. Continue reading
Oct 10 When a hurricane turns a familiar place into ‘familiar debris’ By Mary Jo Brooks Alison Pelegrin, a poet and native of New Orleans, has lived through many hurricanes, but says Katrina forever changed her. "I wear the scars, but I’m able to go on."… Continue reading
Oct 08 An intimate portrait of black fatherhood in East New York By Corinne Segal A photographer documented stories of fatherhood from East New York, Brooklyn, where about one-third of residents live below the poverty line. Continue reading
Oct 07 Watch 4:30 Rejected FARC deal earns Colombian president the Nobel Peace Prize By PBS News Hour On Friday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to negotiate a treaty with the guerrilla group FARC and put an end to the longest-running war in the Western Hemisphere. The honor was… Continue watching
Oct 06 Watch 7:10 Stephen King wants to reach out and grab you — with his writing By PBS News Hour Novelist Stephen King is best known for his works of horror, but he says what scares him the most is not being able to write. Jeffrey Brown spoke with him at the Library of Congress National Book Festival about his… Continue watching
Oct 06 Watch 3:22 In facing death, this doctor sees a way to live well By PBS News Hour Dr. BJ Miller does not work to heal patients, but to ensure quality of life amid advanced or serious illness. Sometimes people suggest his job is depressing, but Miller doesn’t see it that way. When people are dying it changes… Continue watching
Oct 06 The rising opera star who traded layups for librettos By Claudia Escobar and Chloe Veltman, KQED When J’Nai Bridges’ pro sports ambitions suddenly fell apart, she started focusing intently on developing her voice. Now, at the age of 29, the American mezzo-soprano is performing major roles for some of the world’s most renowned opera companies. Continue reading