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NOVA  Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors
7 p.m. Tuesday, November 3, 2009 (Part 1)
7 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (Part 2)
7 p.m. Tuesday, November 17, 2009 (Part 3)

NOVA presents a comprehensive three-part, three-hour special — investigating explosive new discoveries that are transforming the picture of how we became human. The first program 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. The second program 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 final program, NOVA probes a wave of dramatic new evidence, based partly on cutting-edge DNA analysis, that reveals new insights into how we became today’s creative and “behaviorally modern” humans and what really happened to the enigmatic Neanderthals who faded into extinction. Shot “in the trenches” as discoveries were unearthed throughout Africa and Europe, each hour of “Becoming Human” unfolds with a forensic investigation into the life and death of a specific hominid ancestor, such as Lucy’s Child. Dry bones spring back to vivid life with stunning animation, the product of a unique NOVA collaboration between

In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina airing tonight (10/15) at 7 p.m. on KRLU is a concert hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House that celebrates Hispanic musical heritage. The program includes Marc Anthony, Jimmy Smits, Pete Escovedo, Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, George Lopez, Thalía, Tito “El Bambino”, the Bachata music group Aventura, and the Chicano rock band Los Lobos, with Sheila E. leading the house band.

Reading Rainbow will no longer be provided by PBS to stations for broadcast starting on Aug. 28. No new episodes of the children’s program have been produced for several years and PBS removed the series from its daily lineup last fall to make room for new programs with reading and science/math content. After nearly a after a quarter century on public television, the series will no long be broadcast over the air. Producers of the series are working to continue the show online and DVDs of episodes will be available through Shop PBS.

Editor’s Note: Reading Rainbow has been an influential part of the learning expereince for many children.  Please share your story about the show’s impact by leaving a comment below.

Program: Austin City Limits with Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel
Time: 7 p.m.
Date: Sunday, August 2

Viewers in Austin will get an early look at a very special new episode of AUSTIN CITY LIMITS featuring Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel, which was taped earlier this year for ACL’s 35th anniversary season. The new episode marks the first time the two recording legends have shared the ACL stage, though both have performed many times separately in the show’s 35-year history. The sneak peek event will air on KLRU-TV in Austin on August 2 at 7:00 pm as part of the PBS channel’s summer pledge drive. It’s the only chance to see the broadcast until it airs nationally on November 14.

Longtime fans of the show might recall that Willie Nelson appeared on the original pilot episode for AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, recorded in October 1974, and Asleep at the Wheel appeared on the first episode of the first official season in 1976. This new episode finds Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel performing songs from their recently released Willie and The Wheel (**** Rolling Stone) as well as classics like “On the Road Again” and “Always on my Mind.”

Viewers making a pledge during the special August 2 broadcast between 7:00 and 9:30 pm will receive Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel thank you gifts, including a limited number of ticket packages to see Asleep at the Wheel at the famed Lukenbach Dance Hall on August 8th.

Additionally KLRU-TV is giving away 100 pairs of tickets to a special simulcast of the August 10 AUSTIN CITY LIMITS taping featuring the Dave Matthews Band. Anyone pledging a gift of $100 or more during the first weekend of the pledge drive will be automatically entered for a chance to receive two tickets.

The 35th anniversary season of AUSTIN CITY LIMITS premieres nationally on October 3 with Dave Matthews Band. Other performers in the new season include Kenny Chesney, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Ben Harper and Relentless7 and more.

Program: Dr. Wayne Dyer: Excuses Begone!
Date: Monday, June 1
Time: 7 p.m.
Additional air times: Friday, June 5, at 9 p.m.; Sunday, June 7, at 5 p.m.

PBS has given us a sneak peek at Dr. Wayne Dyer’s new PBS special Dr. Wayne Dyer: Excuses Begone! On the 10th anniversary of his first public television special, Dyer presents a program based on his newest book, “Excuses Begone!” After identifying the 18 most commonly used, self-defeating excuses, Dr. Dyer teaches viewers a method they can immediately use to change damaging habits and move into new realms of possibility.

Here’s the 8 minute preview of the new program:

Program: iNCONTEXT.TV Special  Ballet Austin’s Hamlet
Date: Thursday, May 14
Time: 8 p.m.
Additional air date:  Sunday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m.; June 4th, Thursday, at 8 p.m.; June 10th, Wednesday, at 7 p.m.

KLRU continues the station’s commitment to presenting the arts to Central Texas with a special presentation of the Ballet Austin’s Hamlet. Taped earlier this year, iNCONTEXT.TV will showcase this interpretation of Shakespeare’s iconic story at 8 p.m. on May 14 with a repeat on May 24 at 4:30 p.m.

In 2000, Ballet Austin premiered Stephen Mills’ contemporary and distinctive interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, hailed by The Dallas Morning News as “dance theater at its best”.  Since its debut, five other companies around the country (BalletMet in Columbus, Dayton Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet) have performed it to rave reviews.  Nine years after delighting Central Texas audiences, Mill’s production of Hamlet was again performed in Austin and recorded by KLRU. (more…)

Program: 09.13.08 Hurricane Ike
Date:  Thursday, April 23
Time: 8 p.m.

KLRU features an hour-long documentary on Hurricane Ike, one of this country’s most destructive storms. 09.13.08, Hurricane Ike begins with the storm’s formation.  The program features more than two dozen city, county and state officials as well as home and business owners, engineers and meteorologists who examined the destruction and question what it will take to recover.

Hurricane Ike struck Galveston in the early hours of Saturday, September 13, 2008.  The  storm had winds gusting to 110 miles per hour, but it produced a storm surge that sent 15 to 20 foot waves over areas in Galveston and Chambers Counties.  The result was total devastation for  thousands of home and business owners. This documentary shows the magnitude of the storm and how a city and its coastal communities have tried to rebuild their homes and lives.

Program: Now on PBS
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Date: Friday, April 17

Seventy-five percent of the world’s fresh water is stored in glaciers, but scientists predict climate change will cause some of the world’s largest glaciers to completely melt by 2030. What effect will this have on our daily lives? With global warming falling low on a national list of American concerns, it’s time to take a deeper look at what could be a global calamity in the making.

Watch the entire episode online:

WE SHALL REMAIN: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Part 1 airs tonight at 8pm

I’ve always been interested in the story of Thanksgiving. It seemed as though that was such a perfect story of the hope of friendship between pilgrims and Native Americans, that just never fit in with what the rest of history told us. First they’re the good guys, next we’re at war for centuries.

In this first episode of We Shall Remain, American Experiences’ sponsored history of American Indians from Thanksgiving to today, producer Sharon Grimberg delves into that first feast – exploring the friendship that began and what went wrong.

The episode, “After the Mayflower,” uses great cinematographic reenactments along with expert interviews to explain to viewers how it all began, giving, as it says in the beginning of the episode, an epic history of America through native eyes.

What I loved about it, though, was the fact that it gave background information not only for American Indians, but also the Pilgrims and other Europeans, clearly defining the motives behind decisions that ultimately lead to a war between the two peoples.

The main focus of this episode is Wampanoag sachem Massasoit and his tribe, advocates of the English until the 1670s. Grimberg really tells the story of Massasoit well, revealing documents about his struggle to compromise with the English as they populated his land by the thousand, as well as examples of his faithfulness to them until his death.

I can only anticipate what the next four episodes will be like, but I’m sure that they will be shot beautifully and supported wonderfully by interviews, documents and rare footage, and by the amazing reenactments that tell the story without distracting from it.

This film completely represents what PBS documentaries are about – truth, teaching and a great story, and I am excited to see how it progresses.

– Maggi Davis

Maggi Davis is a University of Texas student, who has worked at KLRU for three years primarily in the communications department. She will graduate in May.

Conspirare: A Company of Voices
Wednesday, March 11
7 p.m.
Additional air times: Sunday, March 13, at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Watch a preview of this inspiring concert:

“What If” by Conspirare from KLRU / Conspirare on Vimeo.

Austin Chronicle review of Conspirare: A Company of Voices
Austin American Statesman article about the TV special