The Botany of Desire
Premieres Sunday, November 1 at 9 p.m.
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Parrot Tulip in Keukenhoff Gardens, Netherlands
Credit: Ruth Dundas
Flowers. Trees. Plants. We’ve always thought that we controlled them. But what if, in fact, they have been shaping us? Best-selling author Michael Pollan takes you on an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world — seen from the plants’ point of view. Through the stories of four familiar species — the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato, The Botany of Desire explains how these plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control. Shot in stunning high-definition, Pollan roams the world studying the historical, scientific and economic impact each plant has contributed to our world. Actress Frances McDormand narrates.
Join Pollan as he traces the apple’s journey from its origin in the ancient forests of Central Asia, across the Silk Road to Europe and eventually to America, where it found the ultimate promoter — an eccentric character named John Chapman, a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed. Vilified at first as the source of national drunkenness, the apple later was praised as the ultimate health food. Discover the impact of the tulip: flowers with no real practical value to humans, yet so desperately desired that they drove many to financial ruin. Dive into the history and physiology of cannabis, a.k.a. marijuana, the lowly weed that made itself so desirable that nearly 15 million Americans risk arrest each month by smoking it. From underground grow houses to university labs, the documentary visits with scientists who hope to tap into cannabis’ brain-altering chemical power to help sufferers of post-traumatic stress syndrome and other ailments. Finally, follow our 8,000-year relationship with the potato — a plant that helped change the course of history and, with today’s new technology in genetic engineering, marks a quantum leap in our relationship to plants.
Preview video.
NOVA “Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors”
Three-Part Special Premieres Wednesdays at 9 p.m. beginning November 4
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Representations of human ancestors by paleoartist Viktor Deak, displayed in his New York City studio
Credit: Anastasia Cronin
NOVA presents a comprehensive three-part series of one-hour specials investigating explosive new discoveries that are transforming the picture of how we became human. Shot “in the trenches” as discoveries were unearthed throughout Africa and Europe, each hour of “Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors” unfolds with a forensic investigation into the life and death of a specific hominid ancestor. Dry bones spring back to vivid life with stunning animation, the product of a unique NOVA collaboration between top anthropologists and a talented team of movie animators. The first program (11/4) explores fresh clues about our earliest ancestors in Africa, including the stunningly complete fossil nicknamed “Lucy’s Child.” These three-million-year-old bones from Ethiopia reveal humanity’s oldest and most telltale trait — upright walking, rather than a big brain. Part two (11/11) tackles the mysteries of how our ancestors managed to survive in a savannah teeming with vicious predators, and when and why we first left our African cradle to colonize every corner of the earth. In the series conclusion (11/18), NOVA probes a wave of dramatic new evidence, based partly on cutting-edge DNA analysis, that reveals how we became today’s creative and “behaviorally modern” humans, and offers new insights into what really happened to the enigmatic Neanderthals who faded into extinction.
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Live By Request: John Fogerty
Premieres Saturday, November 7 at 9 p.m.
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John Fogerty
Credit: Nela Koenig, www.nelakoenig.com
Public Television Rocks! with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty performing live from Los Angeles in a two-hour interactive broadcast experience. Co-hosted by WLIW21’s Laura Savini, this original music event invites viewers across the country to create Fogerty’s set list via live interactive video requests, call-in requests and text, email and social network requests. Tune in November 7 or visit wliw.org the week of the premiere for request details.
For more than four decades, John Fogerty has been an American treasure: one of the most revered and influential artists to emerge in the 60s, and still a vital part of the musical landscape. As lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a Grammy-winning, chart-topping solo artist, Fogerty’s sound has encompassed everything from blues to country and southern swamp rock and roll. A member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he is the author of such iconic tunes as “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Born on the Bayou,” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain.”
Based on a creative concept by the legendary Tony Bennett, the Emmy Award-winning Live By Request redefines the music television experience by giving fans control. Creating a unique connection between artists and fans, the series is the only television program where viewers actually create the artist’s set list and have the chance to personally talk to their music idol.
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Donate now for John Fogerty’s latest CD and DVD.
Sesame Street
40th Anniversary Season Premieres Weekdays at 9 a.m.
beginning Tuesday, November 10
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First Lady Michelle Obama visits Sesame Street to talk with her pal Elmo about eating right, exercising regularly and being a healthy and positive role model for children. ©2009 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.
Credit: Richard Termine
This November, Sesame Street celebrates its 40th birthday with new episodes brought to you by the letter N. The new season of the world’s largest informal children’s educator features a new show format, new show open, new nature curriculum, new Abby Cadabby CGI animation, and our new First Lady Michelle Obama!
While maintaining an emphasis on the importance of literacy and numeracy, the 40th-anniversary season kicks off “My World is Green & Growing,” a two-year science initiative designed to increase positive attitudes towards nature, deepen children’s knowledge about the natural world and encourage behavior that shows respect and care for the environment. First Lady Michelle Obama appears in the season premiere and teaches “the street’s” residents about the many benefits of planting a garden and healthy eating as part of Sesame Street’s ongoing “Healthy Habits for Life” initiative. The “new” continues with the introduction of “Abby’s Flying Fairy School,” which marks the first time a Sesame Street character has been transformed into CGI animation, with adventures that continue online at sesameworkshop.org.
Original songs, storylines and animations such as “Murray had a Little Lamb,” “Word on the Street” and “Elmo’s World” will continue to stimulate the preschool viewers’ awareness and excitement about the environment. Through a series of 26 celebrity segments, Sesame Street will introduce words like “habitat,” “metamorphosis,” “hibernate,” and more to enhance children’s vocabulary and appreciation of nature. You’re sure to laugh along with the kids when you see guest spots from Hugh Jackman, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ricky Gervais, Adam Sandler, Ziggy Marley, Tiki Barber, Kobe Bryant, and others.
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Visit 21 Kids for WLIW21’s children’s programming schedule, video, games, and more.
National Geographic Spotlights the Himalayan Kingdom of Mustang
Secrets of Shangri-La
Premieres Thursday, November 19 at 10 p.m.
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Lost Cave Temples of the Himalaya
Premieres Saturday, November 21 at 9 p.m.
Encore Wednesday, November 25 at 10 p.m.
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Upper Mustang Valley in Nepal
Credit: Kris Erickson ©2009 National Geographic
High in the Himalaya, in the most remote kingdom in the world, explorers have found thousands of mysterious caves that beckon with the promise of a glimpse into a lost world. Now, in two new National Geographic Television specials produced exclusively for PBS, a team of climbers and scholars sets out to reach the forbidden Kingdom of Mustang — off-limits to Westerners for 50 years — and the unseen treasures these lost caves contain.
In Secrets of Shangri-La (11/19), seven-time Everest summiter Pete Athans and internationally renowned climbers and explorers journey to Mustang, joining forces with archaeologists, anthropologists and art historians to rescue rare Tibetan texts from crumbling, long-hidden caves before looters reach them. When a political group from a nearby village tries to stop them, an intriguing set of events ensues involving the King of Mustang, the highest lama of the land, and even the local divinities believed to inhabit the area.
In Lost Cave Temples of the Himalaya (11/21), follow Pete Athans and big-wall climber Renan Ozturk as they take on the dangerous job of climbing into the crumbling caves for the first time in modern history. Their goals are to get inside the inaccessible cave cities, unoccupied for hundreds — if not thousands — of years, to document what’s inside and to search for nine legendary cave temples called “kabum.” What they find goes far beyond their expectations, rocking the Himalayan world and rewriting the history of this remote and mystical region. The treasures include a 55-panel painted mural and piles of old Tibetan manuscript folios, some printed in silver and gold. Each vertical move into a cave opening is a step into the unknown.
Preview video.
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Events Spotlight
For a full list of upcoming WLIW21 events, visit wliw.org/events or call Georgia Viras at 212.560.8846. |
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Sponsor Spotlight
Sponsorship Benefits
- A commercial-free television environment
- Association with PBS, one of the most highly regarded media brands
- Tax deductibility of sponsorship dollars
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Donor Discounts Spotlight
Electric City Trolley Museum
Scranton, PA
2 for 1 admission; 10% discount on gift shop purchases $25 or more.
Restrictions apply.
ectma.org or 570.963.6590
For a complete list of donor discounts, visit http://www.wliw.org/about/donor-discounts.
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Special Announcements
WLIW21 Community Advisory Board Meeting
Wednesday, November 11 at 4:30 p.m.
Location TBA
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Visit wliw.org/about/boards or call 212.560.8822 for details.
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WLIW21 Viewer Services Department: 212.560.8021 or programming@wliw.org
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Editor: Natasha Padilla; Writer: Margaret Bilardello; Graphics: Ricardo Gálvez.
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