Chithra Jeyaram’s award winning short documentary titled Mijo (My Son) will be featured in an episode of Arts In Context airing on February 28th. The episode, Hold My Hand, follows Sharon Marroquin, an Award-winning dancer and choreographer whose life drastically changed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In this episode of Arts In Context, Marroquín explores the relation between the choreographer and the dancer as she uses her art as an expression of her personal struggle.

Jeyaram’s film will be featured after the documentary on Marroquin. Mijo (My Son) is an immensely personal documentary about the relationship between a young mother who is a professional dancer and her 6-year old son, as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.

Jeyaram is an award winning documentary filmmaker, passionate about communicating the realities of life as it unfolds, focusing on nuances that cannot be dwelled upon or deliberated in mass media.  Chithra’s first exposure to filmmaking began in 2004 with a failed attempt to fund a film about an explosive water-sharing dispute between two southern states in India. Deeply affected by that experience, she quit a decade-long career as Physical Therapist and enrolled in film school (at the University of Texas, Austin) and earned her M.F.A in Film Production. Through her films she hopes to break societal barriers, build bridges, change  attitudes and take risks. You can learn more about her work at realtalkies.com. A few of her upcoming projects include:

Foreign Puzzle is a feature length documentary featuring Sharon Marroquin and her poignant dance – “The Materiality of Impermanence” (anticipated completion, fall 2013). Confronted with her mortality, angered and frustrated over her inability to prevent the disintegration of her body, Sharon Marroquin, a modern dancer begins to consciously deal with it through art. The creative process allows Sharon to escape to another realm that is not confined by physical limitation, disease, child-rearing, teaching and running a home. For 18 months, Foreign Puzzle document’s Sharon’s struggles as a choreographer and as a mother with breast cancer, highlighting her relationship with her son Dali and the transcending power of dance. Get updates about this project on the film’s Facebook page

1001 Breast Cancer Nights is a breast cancer web-interactive project that is similar to the tales in “Arabian Nights” – a colorful, interactive mosaic of breast cancer stories from Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America, that are varied and vibrant tales of medicine, myth, history, stigma, survivorship, romance, drama, tragedy, comedy, artistry, burlesque and even erotica. The stories will be co-authored, consumed and shared by the protagonists (the breast cancer survivor/family/caregiver). The presence of a single unified interactive web-based portal where global stories of breast cancer are shared, discussed and experienced will be immensely powerful, empathetic and healing

Men We Cherish: is an interactive documentary project.  After the brutal gang rape in India, there was an unprecedented global outcry against gender violence. Chithra became seriously concerned at the chronic male bashing. Some men may be the problem but all men are part of the solution. Gender violence against women won’t end unless men are active participants. Through “Men We Cherish” she hopes to create & share stories of positive male role models in order to promote gender equality & reduce gender-based violence. Get updates about this documentary on the project’s Facebook page

As part of PBS’s After Newtown initiative, we asked our viewers how KLRU should respond to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. An overwhelming number of you wanted us to focus on access to mental health care. KLRU will also feature this video during Need To Know on Feb. 22.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is dedicated to education, early detection and advocacy for people who suffer from mental illness. According to the group’s numbers, “one in 10 children struggles with mental illness severe enough to cause significant impairment to their day-to-day lives,” and only half of those children receive treatment. NAMI aims to diagnose these cases early, by working with teachers and parents to teach them how to identify and deal with symptoms.

NAMI Austin President Adrienne Kennedy joined us in studio for a conversation about what her organization does, and what sorts of resources are available to people living in Central Texas.

NAMI is hosting a Capitol Day on February 28 at the Texas State Capitol. Lawmakers will speak, lunch will be served, and an afternoon rally will take place on the South Steps. You can find more information about Capitol Day on their website namiaustin.org.

Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with Mayor Kasim Reed

Date: February 26
Time: 10:15am (Doors open at 9:45am)
Location: in KLRU’s Studio 6A (map)
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

Kasim Reed is Mayor of Atlanta and a rising star in the Democratic Party. He was elected in 2009 to his first term, and was a key surrogate for the Obama Administration during the 2012 presidential election. Prior to becoming mayor, Reed served in the Georgia General Assembly for 11 years. He is in town for the Texas Legislative Black Caucus Summit.

We hope you’ll be there as Overheard with Evan Smith continues its third season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS viewers from California to Florida. We’d love to see you in the studio for the interview, and for a chance to join the audience Q&A after the interview.

Join KLRU for a Civic Summit taping on how best to voice your opinion to elected officials.

Date: Tuesday, January 29
Time:  taping begins promptly at 7:30pm (doors open at 7 pm)
Location: KLRU’s Studio 6A 2504-B Whitis
RSVP Now: Civic Summit: Your State Legislature, Your Voice

When was the last time you reached out to your elected lawmaker? Are you even sure how?

On January 29th, KLRU continues the civic engagement series “Why Bother? Engaging Texans in Democracy Today” with a Civic Summit taping in KLRU studio 6A. The conversation will revolve around the challenges and obstacles (for both the public and lawmakers) with putting an issue in front of the people that need to hear. Do we have a suitable system for public engagement? What could we do better?

We’ll hear from elected lawmakers along with folks involved in grassroots lobbying organizations about their experiences. Audience members are encouraged to tell their stories of success, or failures. Confirmed panelists include Senator Wendy Davis and State Representative Larry Gonzales. RSVP now to be part of the studio audience.

Why Bother? Engaging Texans in Democracy Today is a news and public dialogue series intended to provoke a conversation among regular people – the skeptics and the true believers – about why they participate and why they don’t. Developed jointly by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, KLRU, and KUT.

DATE: Monday, October 29
TIME: 5:15 p.m. (Doors open at 4:45 p.m.)
LOCATION: KLRU’s Studio 6A (map).
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

Author and journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the author of the bestselling and widely praised book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, an account of American reconstruction in Iraq. That book makes the most of Chandrasekaran’s time as Washington Post bureau chief in Baghdad in 2003 and 2004. He has a similar understanding of Afghanistan, which is the subject of his new book. Chandrasekaran covered events in that country for The Post from 2009 to 2001 and has just published Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan.

We hope you’ll be there as Overheard with Evan Smith continues a third season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS viewers from California to Florida. We’d love to see you in the studio for the interview, and for a chance to join the audience Q&A after the interview.

SWSW Flashback will air on KLRU on Tuesday, October 23rd, at 10:30 p.m.

The Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is the standard-bearer for excellence in the television industry and the gatekeeper of the prestigious regional Emmy Awards in Texas. The Lone Star Emmy Chapter represents the best and brightest television and media professionals from all disciplines of the industry and from all of Texas’ 19 television markets.

Below is the list of KLRU nominees. Winners will be announced Nov. 10th.

COMMUNITY SERVICE
KLRU: Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project 2012
Sara Robertson, Producer
Betsy Gerdeman, Executive Producer
Maury Sullivan, Community Engagement
Karen Bernstein , Producer
Cookie Ruiz, Project Supervisor

AUDIO
Sharon Cullen Sound Engineer

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT – PROGRAM FEATURE / SEGMENT
KLRU Collective: Asian Occasion
Eve Tarlo, Producer/Editor

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT – PROGRAM / SPECIAL
Arts In Context: Trouble Puppet
Lauren Burton, Producer
Mario Troncoso, Producer

MILITARY – PROGRAM/SPECIAL / FEATURE/SEGMENT
Operation Appreciation
Pat Kondelis, Producer/Editor/Videographer

TEXAS HERITAGE – PROGRAM/SPECIAL
The Daytripper: Goliad, TX
Hogaboom Road, Inc.
Andrew Ramsammy, Producer
Chet Garner, Producer
Richard Lozano, Producer
Kellie Baldwin, Sound
Lindsay DeMoss, Associate Editor
Mary Adolph , Field Producer

INFORMATIONAL / INSTRUCTIONAL – PROGRAM / SPECIAL / FEATURE / SEGMENT
Central Texas Gardener
Linda Lehmusvirta, Producer
Ed Fuentes, Director

INTERVIEW/DISCUSSION – PROGRAM/SPECIAL/SERIES
Overheard With Evan Smith “Chris Isaak”
Paul Sweeney, Editor
Lynn Boswell, Producer
Evan Smith, Host

MAGAZINE PROGRAM – PROGRAM / SPECIAL
SXSW Flashback 2011
Pat Kondelis, Producer/Editor/Videographer
JJ Weber, Executive Producer/ Videographer

MAGAZINE PROGRAM – SERIES
The Daytripper: Marfa, TX
Hogaboom Road, Inc.
Andrew Ramsammy, Producer
Chet Garner, Producer
Richard Lozano, Producer

ON-CAMERA TALENT – PROGRAM HOST / MODERATOR / REPORTER – PROGRAMMING
Chet Garner, Host Of The Daytripper
Hogaboom Road, Inc.
Chet Garner, Program Host

Evan Smith- Skilled Interviewer

Watch Williams’ 2010 interview with Evan. They discuss Williams’ politics, his interest in Kay Bailey Hutchison’s U.S. Senate seat, healthcare reform, climate change, being both African American and a conservative Republican, and growing up in Midland with parents who taught school and coached high school football.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams from Texas Monthly Talks on Vimeo.

For more about Williams and his new role, you can read a press release from
the Governor’s office , an article from The Texas Tribune and an article from the Austin American-Statesman

Michael Morton: Q & A with the Audience from KLRU-TV on Vimeo.

Next, Smith interviewed Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Leonard Pitts. According to Pitts, he has both the best (writing novels) and second best (writing columns) jobs in American Literature today. He discussed his latest novel, Freeman. This work of historical fiction follows a former slave and Union soldier in the months following the Civil War. Beyond historical fiction, Pitts writes columns for the Miami Herald where he challenges readers to think critically about race in America. Smith asked Pitts about the challenges of writing historical fiction, the public’s reaction to the killing of Trayvon Martin, racism in the age of Obama, and the newspaper business. The show will air on July 12th and will be available for viewing online and on the PBS App after that date. Watch the entire audience q&a now:

Leonard Pitts: Q & A with the Audience from KLRU-TV on Vimeo.

About the blogger: Rhiannon Goad is LBJ Public Affairs and Gender Studies graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. She’s spending her summer interning for KLRU, cooking out, and anticipating Shirley Maclaine’s debut on Downton Abbey.

We hope you’ll be there as Overheard with Evan Smith continues a second season of great conversation
with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-
depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and
more, and reaches PBS viewers from California to Florida. We’d love to see you in the studio for the
interview, and for a chance to join the audience Q&A after the interview.