klru blog

Thanks to everyone who attended the KLRU Community Screening for Native American Heritage Month. We featured a screening of Independent Lens “Power Paths” and a panel discussion on energy and Native American issues. Special thanks to our panelists Gerald Torres, Dr. Shannon Speed and Michael Holland. As always, KLRU Community Screenings are made possible with support from Austin Community College and Live Oak Brewery. With additional support from our media sponsors The Austin Chronicle and KUT.

Veteran filmmaker Simon King takes on the role of mother to two cheetah cubs, Toki and Sambu, orphaned when a lion killed their mother. See this two-year emotional rollercoaster on Nature, Sunday at 7 p.m.

Masterpiece Contemporary tells the story of a major road accident and the 10 seemingly disconnected people involved. Beyond the chaotic landscape of corpses and crumpled cars, a series of invisible dramas unfold 8 p.m. Sunday.

In telling the story of Seabiscuit’s unlikely career Monday at 8 p.m., Seabiscuit: American Experience illuminates the precarious economic conditions that defined America in the 1930s and explores the fascinating behind-the-scenes world of thoroughbred racing.
Read the rest of this entry »

Nature showcases the first year of a humpback whale’s life as she learns the lessons of humpback life from her mother 7 p.m. Sunday.

Masterpiece Contemporary’s “Collision - Part 1″ tells the story of a major road accident and the 10 seemingly disconnected people involved 8 p.m. Sunday.

They were called “Black Blizzards,” dark clouds reaching miles into the sky, churning millions of tons of dirt into torrents of destruction. Learn more on Surviving the Dust Bowl: American Experience at 8 p.m. Monday.
Read the rest of this entry »

Each month, KLRU chooses a program for your family to enjoy together.  This month’s Family Choice program is Nature “Fellowship of the Whales” on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. The story of the first year of a humpback whale’s life as she learns the lessons of humpback life from her mother. Together, they make the long journey from her birthplace in the suptropical waters in Hawaii to summer feeding grounds in the cold seas off Alaska’s southeast coast. he youngster will meet dangerous orcas and sharks, and playful dolphins and seals.

November’s KLRU Community Screening is Nov. 17 at 7 p.m at KLRU. We’ll be showing the film “Power Paths” and have a panel discussion on energy issues. RSVP here

Confirmed speakers include:

Michael Holland is General Counsel at PowerFin Partners — a provider of financing for cost-competitive and reliable turnkey solar systems. Prior to joining PowerFin, Holland worked with the UT Humanities Institute and UT Law School’s Rapoport Center for Human Rights.  Holland has extensive experience in Indian law (having worked with tribes and tribal corporations on various legal matters), chairing the Yale NALSA (Native American Law Students’ group), organizing and leading a course on Federal Indian law and co-founding the Longhorn American Indian Council at UT.

Dr. Shannon Speed is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Texas.  She was recently named assistant vice president for community engagement in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE) at The University of Texas at Austin where she is responsible for community partnerships through the Community Engagement Incubator, the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, the Regional Foundation Library, the Institute for Community, University and School Partnerships, the DDCE Faculty Fellows Program, the African American Men and Boys Harvest Foundation, and Art and Social Engagement. Additionally she remains coordinator of the Indigenous Studies Initiative.

Gerald Torres is the Bryant Smith Chair in Law at The University of Texas School of Law and a former president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). A leading figure in critical race theory, Torres is also an expert in agricultural and environmental law. Previously, Torres served as deputy assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and as counsel to then U.S. attorney general Janet Reno. Torres has served on the board of the Environmental Law Institute, the National Petroleum Council and on EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

KLRU Community Screenings made possible with support from Austin Community College

As your PBS station, it is KLRU’s mission to bring people together around important issues. KLRU does this through various educational and outreach initiatives. This fall, KLRU will present 2nd Half of Life, a six-part series airing weekly on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. beginning October 8 and running til November 12. Created for one of the best-educated, healthiest, and most privileged generations in American history — the Boomers — the series aims to help people reinvent life after the age of 50. Additional resources at KLRU’s 2nd Half of Life Web site at klru.org/2ndhalfoflife

2nd Half of Life is made possible thanks to our sponsor Seton Family of Hospitals and in cooperation with the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

This week:
Life (Part 2) – “Ethnicity, Race & Aging”
How do different communities treat their older populations? Dr. Jerry C. Johnson, senior fellow at Penn’s Institute on Aging, Melvin Delgado, professor of social work at Boston University and Giang T. Nguyen, assistant professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania enlighten us about the many ways we age in a diverse society.

Life (Part 2) – “Survive and Thrive”
While some crumble in the face of adversity, others survive and even thrive — what makes them different? Mayo Clinic physician and cancer survivor Stephen Kopecky, Kate Braestrup (Here If You Need Me, the story of surviving Widowhood,) and clinical psychologist Cheryl Gore-Felton explain how survivors bounce back from crisis.

Earlier this year, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum designated Austin City Limits an official rock and roll landmark. University of Texas workers installed the official plaque marking the show as part of music history onto the outside of Communications Building B on the University of Texas campus on November 10.

Tattooed Under Fire airs Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 9 p.m. on KLRU

“Tattooed Under Fire” is a documentary examining the lives of soldiers at Ft. Hood Army Post. Their lives are documented through the lens of a tattoo shop where soldiers get tattoos prior to deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers share their fear and bravado in anticipation and their shock, anger and sorrow upon their return.

Seen through the eyes of a now 60 year old Vietnam era vet, who signed out of the Army at Fort Hood, Texas, the 25th of January, 1972, Tattoos Under Fire was more than poignant … it was heartwarming and chilling at the same time.

The metamorphosis of the soul that is war is both horrifying and mesmerizing to watch.  Similarly, the ripple effect on relationships – positive and negative – is like watching an approaching storm … one can take cover, but the storm will leave its mark.

In the end, for me, 30+ years on, Tattooed Under Fire reminded me of an old adage: The more things change, the more they remain the same.

— Bill Talbott

About the Reviewer: Bill Talbott is a psychologist with more than 25 years experience in forensics and crisis adult mental health. He is currently a free-lance research and training consultant.

Rock legend John Fogerty will star on the Emmy Award-winning live music series, Live By Request at 8 p.m. Saturday. Fogerty will perform music requested by the show’s viewers. It 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.

More than 40 years after the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl, the hunt for the killer resurfaces on Masterpiece Contemporary at 8 p.m. Sunday when high-profile TV journalist, Catherine Heathcote begins to unravel the mystery

Bill Cosby: The Mark Twain Prize honors Bill Cosby with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Sunday at 9 p.m. A notable list of entertainers honor Cosby, a man who has dominated the field of comedy for 40 years.
Read the rest of this entry »