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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.
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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.
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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.
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The most important and most dangerous moments of an animal’s life is its birth. Nature at 7 p.m. Sunday follows the birth and first day of various animals ranging from marmoset to moose, to elephant and gorilla.

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.

Charles Mitchell, President of the National City Bank (now Citibank), and a small group of bankers, brokers, and speculators manipulated the stock market, grew wealthy, and helped create the economic boom of the Twenties. Monday at 8 p.m., American Experience: The Crash of 1929 captures the unbounded optimism of an age, at a time when the stock market promised permanent prosperity.
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Nature Sunday at 7 p.m. features the returning saga of Cloud, the wild, white stallion finds us back in the Arrowhead Mountains of Montana.
A nation teeters on the brink of civil war in Masterpiece Contemporary on Sunday at 8 p.m in this real-life political thriller about the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa.
For over four decades, this artist has been one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time, a figure whose body of work achieves greater depths of mystery and meaning as time goes on; see Leonard Cohen Live in London at 8 p.m. Monday.
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One of Earth’s most abundant mammals is now on the brink of extinction. Sunday at 7 p.m., follow a team of experts who are working to protect rhinos from poachers and nurse this species back to a healthy existence on Nature.

Masterpiece Mystery! at 8 p.m. Sunday investigates the murder of a small-time criminal that leads Lewis and Hathaway to a prominent Oxford don-turned-celebrity atheist, who years earlier had been the intended target of a botched murder attempt.

Latin Music USA is a fresh take on our musical history, reaching across five decades and across musical genres to portray the rich mix of sounds created by Latinos and embraced by all. Learn all about the Chicano wave Monday at 8 p.m. Chicanos–Americans of Mexican descent–have always been part of the United States, and their music tells a uniquely American story. The final episode of the series, at 9 p.m., focuses on Latin pop. With an all-American appeal, Latin Pop conquered the music world, while Reggaetón went from an underground Puerto Rican sound to the top of the dance charts.

Hear Bill Cosby, Marc Anthony, Geraldo Rivera, and other family, friends and colleagues pay homage to the late mambo and Latin jazz legend Tito Puente on Voces, Monday at 10 p.m.

Monitor lizards, the largest lizards to walk the planet, are blurring the lines between reptiles and mammals. NOVA follows expert lizard hunter Dr. Eric Pianka as he tracks the elusive creatures through Australia’s heartland with cutting-edge “lizard cam” 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Frontline producer/director Michael Kirk discovers early warnings of the economic crash 8 p.m. Tuesday, revealing an intense battle among high-ranking members of the Clinton administration and uncovering a concerted effort not to regulate the derivatives markets, which would become the ticking time bomb within the American economy.

Immigrants from around the world flocked to work in the mines in Butte, Montana—but what they blasted out of the 10,000 miles of tunnels was more than just copper. It was the rise of unions and multinational corporations, and the seeds of the current debate over the environment 9 p.m. Tuesday on Independent Lens.

The Power of the Poor 10 p.m. Tuesday tells the story of how a small group of economists helped defeat Peru’s Shining Path terrorists, pressured the government into making legal reforms on poverty and, in the process, became repeated targets for bombing and assassinations.

Bursting on to the international scene in 1999 as the 18 year-old wunderkind conductor of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel has taken the classical music world by storm and will become the new music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in fall 2009. Join the opening night festivities on Great Performances 7 p.m. Wednesday.

See how art adapts and changes over time on Art in the Twenty-First Century at 9 p.m. Wednesday. Go into the world of art transformation with filmmaker Paul McCarthy; photographer, filmmaker Cindy Sherman; and painter, sculptor, photographer, and batiker Yinka Shonibare.

Knoxville native Kenny Chesney has parlayed his average-guy/beach bum persona into a long line of hit singles, multi-platinum albums, sell-out arena tours and a staggering number of ACM and CMA awards. See a classic Chesney performance on Austin City Limits Wednesday at 10 p.m. and Friday at 9 p.m.

Artist Julie Speed talks with Evan Smith on Texas Monthly Talks Thursday at 7 p.m. about the stories behind her art, her life in Austin and a book about her work.

Downtown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday follow a group of Austinites as they enjoy downtown Austin on less than $25 a day and journey to the bowels of the Austin History Center and meet the keepers of the past.

Test the best ways to keep your brain in peak condition on Life (Part 2) at 8 p.m. and discover mechanics of aging as you step into “empathy suits” designed to simulate how it feels to be older at 8:30 p.m.

Catch the third episode of Winemakers Thursday at 9 p.m. and see what happens when a diverse group of twelve men and women head into one of the most uniquely challenging and rewarding professions in the world: the business of making wine.

From the well-known landmarks to the completely obscure dives and hideaways, join host Chet Garner on Austin Daytripper at 9:30 p.m. Thursday as he takes you on an adventure throughout Central Texas and then gets you back home before dark.

Evolving at a furious rate, Bird blends rock, pop and electronica in his polyglot stew. His latest album Noble Beast, Bird brings his knockout stage presence to Austin City Limits for his debut performance Saturday at 7 p.m.

On Monday, October 12th, KLRU presents music programming that will make your heart sing. Latin Music USA and The Big Squeeze by Austin’s Hector Galan start it all off. And the week also includes a special visit to the White House for a spectacular performance from a star-studded line-up.

Latin Music USA airs Mondays at 8 pm October 12th & October 19th.
Latin Music USA is a film about American music. Fusions of Latin sounds with jazz, rock, country, rhythm and blues - music with deeper roots and broader reach than most people realize. It’s a fresh take on our musical history, reaching across five decades and across musical genres to portray the rich mix of sounds created by Latinos and embraced by all. The four-part series will be presented over two nights—Oct. 12 & 19.

Latin Music USA episodes:
Episode 1—Bridges: Traces the rise of Latin jazz and the explosion of the mambo and the cha cha cha as they sweep the US from East to West. Featured on October 12th at 8 pm.

Episode 2—Salsa: Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in New York re-invent the Cuban son and the Puerto Rican plena, adding elements from soul and jazz to create Salsa. Featured on October 12th at 9 pm.

Episode 3—The Chicano Wave: Mexican-Americans in California, Texas and across the Southwest create their own musical voices during the second half of the 20th century. Featured on October 19th at 8 pm.

Episode 4—Divas and Superstars: Focuses on the Latin pop explosion of the turn of the century and the success of artists like Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan and Shakira in the English-language market. Featured on October 19th at 9 pm.

The Big Squeeze is a joyful leap into the heart of Texas music. And where there’s music there’s usually some grilling going on. That’s why Herminio Ramirez builds a stage right in the tiny kitchen of their Houston home for his son John. From the urban barrios of Houston to the colonials along the U.S.-Mexican border, legacies fueled by the passion-stirring combination of family, friends and food, is being passed along. In The Big Squeeze, we follow 16 year old John Ramirez and other young musicians as they do battle at the statewide accordion throw down. This film was produced by Hector Galan from Austin. Airs Monday, October 12th at 10:00 pm & Wednesday, October 14th at 8:30 pm.

Voces “Tito Puente:The King of Latin Music” airs Monday, October 19th at 10 pm.
Bill Cosby, Marc Anthony, Geraldo Rivera, Jimmy Smits, Paquito D’Rivera and other family, friends and colleagues pay homage to the late mambo and Latin jazz legend Tito Puente. Archival footage, interviews and excerpts from one of Puente’s last concerts piece together the life of the popular bandleader, percussionist and composer.

American Masters “Joan Baez” airs Wednesdays at 7 pm on October 14th.
Told from her perspective, and supported by a rich performance and historical archive, the centerpiece of this film is Baez’ many years as a musician, her power as an artist, those who influenced her and those she influenced. From her earliest recordings, Baez introduced ever wider audiences to the songs of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Johnny Cash and, of course, Bob Dylan — before she began writing her own music. Follow Baez through her story, to see her as she sees herself: human being — first, pacifist — second, and folk-singer — third.

In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina on Thursday, October 15th at 7 pm.
A star-studded talent roster will perform for President and Mrs. Obama. Performers include: Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Los Lobos, Jose Feliciano, Sheila E (leading the house band), Thalia, Tito “El Bambino” and Aventura. George Lopez and Jimmy Smits will be hosting this very special program.

— Maria Rodriguez, senior vice president of programming

When a young actor is murdered during a student Shakespeare production, Lewis and Hathaway sift through the motives of several suspects on Masterpiece Mystery at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The first two episodes of the four-part Latin Music USA air back-to-back starting at 8 p.m. Monday. Followed by Hector Galan’s documentary about accordian music The Big Squeez at 10 p.m.

Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counter-insurgency plan that builds on the lessons of Iraq on Frontline at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

In “Herb & Dorothy” Independent Lens at 9 p.m. Tuesday looks at a couple whose passion and disciplines defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector.

Told from her perspective, and supported by a rich performance and historical archive, American Masters at 7 p.m. Wednesday presents Joan Baez’ many years as a musician, her power as an artist, those who influenced her and those she influenced.

Art in the 21^st Century at 9 p.m. Wednesday explores how desires and taboos shape our ability to imagine through the work of the artists Jeff Koons, Mary Heilmann, Florian Maier-Aichen, and Cao Fei.

Ben Harper and Rlentless7 perform on Austin City Limits at 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday.

“Fiesta Latina” showcases this White House celebration of Latino musical heritage at 7 p.m. Thursday.

2^nd Half of Life continues with two episodes of Life (Part 2) starting at 8 p.m. Thursday. Tonight focuses on spirituality and aging followed by the science of happiness.

The winemaking competition continues on Winemakers at 9 p.m. Thursday.

Austin Daytripper at 9:30 p.m. Thursday travels to Bastrop.

Kenny Chesney performs his arena-style country in the intamate setting of Austin City Limits at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Discern for yourself where the blurred line between fact and fiction belongs this Sunday at 7 p.m. on Nature as experts sift out the truth from tall tales of giant man-eating crocodiles.

Literary whimsy becomes murderous reality with the death of a Czech barmaid on Masterpiece Mystery! Sunday at 8 p.m. To find the killer, Lewis and Hathaway must uncover the connections between the victim, an Oxford professor, a literary society, and a book by Oxford’s hottest new author. (more…)