Thursday

Woodturning Workshop
This new series offers a step-by-step look into the world of one of the fastest growing hobbies in the nation. Every week you see a simple block of wood literally ‘turn’ into a unique piece of artwork or a useful household item. From lidded boxes to Christmas ornaments, you see the entire process from start to finish. WTW is not just a ‘how to’ show, it also entertains and makes you feel right at home. Whether you are a beginner, a seasoned wood turner, or just enjoy watching chips fly...Woodturning Workshop is for everyone.
Thursdays at 4:30 pm ET, begins May 1

Ask the Realtors
Area realty pros will visit the Public TV 13 studios to answer phoned-in questions from viewers during this live broadcast. Guests: To be announced. Call in your questions during the broadcast at 800-227-9668.
Thursday, May 1 at 8 pm ET

Carrier
“Get Home-itis/Full Circle”
“Get Home-itis”: The Navy holds seminars to counsel sailors on what to expect when they return home — and how to make the transition smooth. “Full Circle”: As the Nimitz returns to her home port of San Diego, sailors and Marines reflect on the deployment and take stock of what they’ve achieved. Was the mission accomplished? There are tearful, joyful reunions at the pier.
Thursday, May 1 at 9 pm ET

Friday

NOW on PBS
A grim new statistic: One in every hundred Americans is now locked behind bars. But in this explosion of inmates some private companies are seeing opportunity. NOW on PBS investigates the government’s trend to outsource prisons and prisoners to the private sector. While companies like Corrections Corporation of America say they’re doing their part to solve the problem of inmate overflow, critics accuse private prisons of standing in the way of sentencing reform and sacrificing public safety to maximize profits. NOW travels to Colorado, where the controversy is boiling over, to find out. Should incarceration be incorporated?

At NOW's website at www.pbs.org/now, check prison statistics in your state, and see a web-exclusive video about the rising number of immigrant detainees.
Friday, May 2 at 8:30 pm ET
Repeats 5/3 at 11:30 am ET

Bill Moyers Journal
Moyers profiles the fight the California Nurses Association (CNA) has been waging over universal healthcare. “There shouldn't be a double standard,” says Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA. “We, as the public, pay for Dick Cheney's care…why is the government not providing the same type of care to all Americans?”

Also on the program, independent journalist Melody Petersen talks about the dangers of a market-driven pharmaceutical industry and Moyers interviews British law professor Philippe Sands, author of Torture Team, a new book on the approval of coercive interrogation by high-level American officials.
Friday, May 2 at 9 pm ET

Saturday

NMU 2008 Spring Commencement
Live coverage of Northern Michigan University’s spring commencement ceremonies. This year’s speaker is 1975 NMU graduate Jim Shaughnessy, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Orbitz Worldwide. Please note: The large graduating class at this spring’s commencement ceremony may cause this program to run long and pre-emt “The Victory Garden” at 12:30 pm ET.
Saturday, May 3 at 10:30 am ET

Media Meet
“Aging America”
What can baby boomers do now to prepare for their golden years? Elder Law Attorney Paul Sturgul will discuss matters concerning Medicare, Medicaid, and the Look-Back Law.
Saturday, May 3 at 6:30 pm ET
Repeats 5/4 at 1:30 pm ET

Curious
“Mind Brain Machine”
Neuroscientists are studying the “science of consciousness” to discover the networks where conscious thoughts and sensations originate. This program introduces Tony Grobmeier, who was born without a corpus callosum, the structure that connects the two interdependent halves of our brains: language and linear thinking on the left, emotion and visual perception on the right. Neuroscientists are trying to understand the ways this relatively rare congenital condition affects the brain. They’ve observed that people without a corpus callosum have brains wired in completely unique ways. When it comes to human nature, what does “normal” mean, anyway? This is just one of the provocative questions posed in this segment. Pictured: Tony Grobmeier.
Saturday, May 3 at 8 pm ET

Austin City Limits
“Alejandro Escovedo”
Few contemporary artists inspire the degree of rapturous critical praise, without the accompanying fame and fortune, as Alejandro Escovedo. Back in form after a near-death battle with Hepatitis C, Escovedo performs songs from The Boxing Mirror — praised by Billboard as “a masterwork from one of the genuine lights in rock music.”
Saturday, May 3 at 10 pm ET
Repeats 5/4 at Midnight ET

Sierra Center Stage
“Bela Fleck & Flecktones”
This new performance program features live performances and artist interviews, showcasing many Grammy-winning or Grammy-nominated artists of exceptional talent who are diverse, non-mainstream musicians operating just below the radar of the commercial music industry. This week: Bela Fleck is considered one of the world’s premier banjo players. His critically acclaimed music has been nominated in more categories than any other artist in the history of the Grammy Awards - for a total of 22 times! His band includes Victor Wooten (considered by many to be the best bass player alive), Wooten’s brother “Futureman,” who plays an unusual self-made drum set, and Jeff Coffin, a multi-talented woodwind player.
Saturdays at Midnight ET, begins May 3

Sunday

Prayer in America
Based in part on the book “One Nation Under God The History of Prayer in America” by author James P. Moore, Jr., this 2-part multi-faith television special examines the role prayer has played throughout American history. What is prayerand how has prayer contributed to the fabric of American history, culture and everyday life during the past 700 to 1000 years? These and other questions will be explored in an objective, journalistic approach designed to inspire the kind of dialogue that could lead to a greater understanding of America’s diverse communities of faith. (Part 2 airs next Sunday.)
Sunday, May 4 at 5 pm ET

Nature
“Superfish”
They slice through the water’s surface with explosive power — sail, spear and half a ton of muscle flashing in the sun. Their journeys through the open ocean are epic, their life cycle, bizarre. They are the billfish — marlin, sailfish, spearfish and swordfish — largest and most highly prized of all gamefish. Their astonishing story has never been fully told. Emmy award-winning filmmaker and biologist Rick Rosenthal brings a lifetime of experience with these astonishing sea creatures to the screen as he observes tiny billfish nurseries in the wild, dives deep into secret undersea canyons, films incredible color-changing behavior and embarks on a quest for an elusive thousand-pound “grander.”
Sunday, May 4 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/8 at Noon ET

Masterpiece Classic
“Cranford, Part 1”
A sleepy 1840s English village comes to life with gossip, parties, romances, sudden death, bankruptcy, and the drama of an encroaching railway, on this 3-part series based on the beloved Victorian-era writings of Elizabeth Gaskell. Gaskell combines the romantic flair of Jane Austen with the class-consciousness of Charles Dickens. The all-star cast includes Judi Dench (Casino Royale), Eileen Atkins (Cold Mountain), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter), Francesca Annis (“Jane Eyre”), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) and enough other top actors to populate a picturesque hamlet. (Part 1 of 3.) Pictured (l-r): Lisa Dillon as Miss Mary Smith, Eileen Atkins as Miss Deborah Jenkyns, Dame Judi Dench as Miss Matty Jenkyns and Imelda Staunton as Miss Pole.
Sundays, May 4, 11 & 13 at 9 pm

Monday

The Miller Center National Debates
“The Right to Healthcare”
This series of debates, a collaboration between the University of Virginia and MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, examines America’s current role in the world and strives to improve the substance and tone of civil discourse. In this debate, held at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall, four participants argue the proposed resolution: “Americans have a fundamental right to health care and it is the obligation of government to secure that right.”
Monday, May 5 at Noon ET

Global Focus IV: The New Environmentalists
Features intimate portraits of six passionate and dedicated environmental activists from around the globe. These are true environmental heroes who have placed themselves squarely in harm’s way to battle authoritative governments, powerful corporations and other intimidating adversaries. Their goal: safeguarding the Earth’s natural resources from shortsighted exploitation and unbridled pollution. Narrated by Robert Redford.
Monday, May 5 at 5 pm ET

American Experience
“George H.W. Bush, Part 1”
The latest in the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE series of award-winning and critically acclaimed presidential portraits, this two-part biography examines the life and career of the often overlooked 41st president, from his service in World War II and his early career in Texas to his days in the Oval Office, first as vice president to Ronald Reagan, then as the leader who presided over the first Gulf War. (Part 2 airs Tuesday night.)
Monday, May 5 at 9 pm ET

The Short List
This season the American home for International short film features 50 outstanding films from all over the world, capping a 15-year anthology of hundreds of short films showcased on the only series of its kind in the world. Original fiction, documentary, and animation comprise the sparkling lineup of award-winning films from 18 countries. This week, a magical DJ solves problems and spreads goodwill in a Denver park; the new girl struggles against the machine in a German bread factory; and two applicants vie for a job in a Norwegian corporation.
Mondays at 11:30 pm ET, begins May 5

Tuesday

NOVA
“First Flower”
Flowers hold a special place in the plant world, as they do in the human heart. There are between 220,000 to more than 400,000 different flowering species on earth. They dominate gardens and landscapes, and provide many food staples. Yet until recently, almost nothing was known about their origin; Charles Darwin called it “an abominable mystery.” In the search for answers, NOVA takes viewers on a spectacular journey of discovery to a remote mountain region of China, to explore our fascination with flowers and solve the puzzle of their beginnings.
Tuesday, May 6 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/7 at Noon ET

American Experience
“George H.W. Bush, Part 2”
The two-part biography of the often overlooked 41st president continues. Drawing upon Bush’s personal diaries and interviews with his closest advisors and most prominent critics, the film also explores Bush’s role as the patriarch of a political family whose influence is unequaled in modern American life.
Tuesday, May 6 at 9 pm ET

Independent Lens
“Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula”
This program goes beyond deep-rooted stereotypes of “grass skirt girls” and reveals a story of Hawaiian pride through the exploration of male roles in the hula tradition, past and present.
Tuesday, May 6 at 10:30 pm ET

Wednesday

Secrets of the Dead
“Doping for Gold”
In the 1970s, female East German athletes came out of nowhere to dominate international sport. But behind their success lay a secret, state-sponsored doping program that distributed untested steroids and male hormones to athletes as young as 12. Many of these girls had no knowledge that they were being doped, and now, as grown women (and men), their broken bodies and damaged psyches bear witness to the cruelty of a government that pursued international glory and gold at the expense of its most acclaimed citizens. Pictured: Young East German swimmers with Olympic potential at the start of their training.
Wednesday, May 7 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/9 at Noon ET

American Masters
“Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On”
His standing among the most enduring 20th-century American musical artists is without question, yet his story is rarely told beyond the tragic circumstances of his death. Enormously talented and equally complicated, Gaye created an intimate style — full of honesty, integrity, vulnerability — and, essentially, gave the world his autobiography in lyrics and melody. “The Wonderful One,” “The Trouble Man,” “The Prince of Soul” — he was the Motown star who challenged and changed the face of black music, embodying its evolution from roots in gospel, jazz and rhythm and blues to sophisticated pop and sexually, politically charged soul.
Wednesday, May 7 at 9 pm ET

American Masters
“Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul”
This program traces the meteoric rise to fame of the world-famous Queen of Soul. The film focuses on Aretha’s musical development, tracing her progress from her early strengths as a Detroit gospel singer to the wide stylistic and emotional range she comes to command. The moving, emphatic quality of Aretha’s singing is demonstrated in clips from film and television appearances, as well as original footage of one of her recording sessions. An interview with Aretha herself, the first woman to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, reveals her own perspective on her past.
Wednesday, May 7 at 10 pm ET

Tracks Across the Sky
Located in Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania, the Kinzua Viaduct, once the world’s highest and longest railroad bridge, stood 24 feet taller and was completed a year ahead of the famous Brooklyn Bridge in 1882. This special documents a revered national landmark’s collision with one of nature’s most powerful forces and captures its destruction when a devastating F-1 tornado hit the bridge in the midst of 2003 restoration efforts.
Wednesday, May 7 at 11:30 pm ET

Thursday

Ask the Doctors
“The Brain and Stroke”
Area physicians will visit the Public TV 13 studios to answer phoned-in questions from viewers during this live broadcast. This week’s guests are: Roman Politi MD, Neurology; Richard Rovin MD, Neurosurgery; Frederick Maynard MD, Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation. Call in your questions during the broadcast at 800-227-9668.
Thursday, May 8 at 8 pm ET

Live from Lincoln Center
“Camelot”
The New York Philharmonic performs a semi-staged version of the Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot. Based on T.H. White’s novel The Once and Future King, the musical is about the idealized kingdom of Camelot, the love triangle of King Arthur, Queen Guenevere and Sir Lancelot, and the treachery of the king’s illegitimate son, Mordred. The score features such classic songs as “Camelot,” “If Ever I Would Leave You” and “The Lusty Month of May.”
Thursday, May 8 at 9 pm ET

Friday

NOW on PBS
A grim new statistic: One in every hundred Americans is now locked behind bars. But in this explosion of inmates some private companies are seeing opportunity. NOW on PBS investigates the government’s trend to outsource prisons and prisoners to the private sector. While companies like Corrections Corporation of America say they’re doing their part to solve the problem of inmate overflow, critics accuse private prisons of standing in the way of sentencing reform and sacrificing public safety to maximize profits. NOW travels to Colorado, where the controversy is boiling over, to find out. Should incarceration be incorporated?

At NOW's website at www.pbs.org/now, check prison statistics in your state, and see a web-exclusive video about the rising number of immigrant detainees.
Friday, May 9 at 8:30 pm ET
Repeats 5/11 at 11:30 am ET

Bill Moyers Journal
Moyers profiles the fight the California Nurses Association (CNA) has been waging over universal healthcare. “There shouldn't be a double standard,” says Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA. “We, as the public, pay for Dick Cheney's care…why is the government not providing the same type of care to all Americans?”

Also on the program, independent journalist Melody Petersen talks about the dangers of a market-driven pharmaceutical industry and Moyers interviews British law professor Philippe Sands, author of Torture Team, a new book on the approval of coercive interrogation by high-level American officials.
Friday, May 9 at 9 pm ET

Saturday

Media Meet
“Post Secret”
It’s one of the more popular websites worldwide containing some of the deepest and even darkest secrets of humankind. We’ll hear from Frank Warren, the creator of “Post Secret,” a website with roughly 2,500 anonymous post cards.
Saturday, May 10 at 6:30 pm ET
Repeats 5/11 at 1:30 pm ET

Colorblind
Grade-school classmates reunite and discover the profound impact their beloved African-American teacher, Mr. Bell, had on each of their lives in this “Teacher Appreciation Week encore showing of an audience favorite. Escalating violence in Detroit eventually scattered Mr. Bell’s class, sending many families into the suburbs and separating the third-grade class for 35 years. COLORBLIND captures the emotional reunion of the classmates —now in their mid-40s — as they reflect upon the turbulent Civil Rights era and the humble man whose timeless lessons of love and nonviolence touched their hearts and minds and shaped their young spirits.
Saturday, May 10 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/12 at Noon ET

Austin City Limits
“The Decemberists/Explosions in the Sky”
Indie rock stars the Decemberists showcase the distinctive storytelling prog-pop of their latest album, The Crane Wife, with their AUSTIN CITY LIMITS debut. Best known for scoring the film Friday Night Lights, instrumental quartet Explosions in the Sky affirms its power as a live act with tunes from their newest disc, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone.
Saturday, May 10 at 10 pm ET
Repeats 5/11 at Midnight ET

Sierra Center Stage
“Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers”
The dance floor erupts when Rod Piazza and his band, The Mighty Flyers bring their distinctive West Coast boogie-woogie style to Sierra Center Stage. Featuring the always entertaining Honey Piazza on keyboards, this band’s unique and entertaining blend of swing, jive, and R&B has earned them the reputation as one of the best blues bands in the world today - including the honor of “Band of the Year” at the 2006 Blues Foundation Awards gala.
Saturday, May 10 at Midnight ET

Sunday

Nature
“Prince of the Alps”
High in the Austrian Alps, a female red deer, a leader in her herd, gives birth to a calf. Her status makes him a prince among the other calves. The two are at the center of a wilderness story that features not only the wild alpine herds of majestic red deer, but also a variety of other wildlife that lives in the mountains, including roe deer, ibex, fox, chamois and marmots. From the surrounding towns and villages come cars, hunters, skiers, hikers and pet dogs, all of which threaten the survival of the red deer herds. A harsh and icy winter also takes its toll. Will the prince and his mother endure?
Sunday, May 11 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/15 at Noon ET

Masterpiece Classic
“Cranford, Part 2”
The approaching railway and resulting social upheaval spark a crime wave in Cranford, with a mugging and a missing leg of mutton. Local vagrant Job Gregson is blamed, but his son Harry has an incriminating alibi. Meanwhile, Matty has a reunion with Mr. Holbrook, the suitor she spurned decades earlier. Part 2 of 3. Pictured (l-r): Lisa Dillon as Miss Mary Smith, Eileen Atkins as Miss Deborah Jenkyns, Dame Judi Dench as Miss Matty Jenkyns and Imelda Staunton as Miss Pole.
Sunday, May 11 at 9 pm ET

Placing Out: The Orphan Trains
Between 1854 and 1929, an estimated 200,000 orphaned, abandoned and runaway children, primarily from industrialized cities in the East, boarded trains bound for Midwestern farming communities in search of a better life. Experts consider this period of mass relocation, often referred to as the Orphan Train Era, as the precursor to the modern foster care system. PLACING OUT: THE ORPHAN TRAINS bring this seldom-heard story to the forefront. The hopeful, sad and frequently poignant reminiscences from surviving riders, their descendants, historians and local officials put a human face on the Orphan Train Era.
Sunday, May 11 at 10 pm ET

Monday

Colorblind
A group of former grade-school classmates reunite and discover the profound impact their beloved African-American teacher, Mr. Bell, had on each of their lives. Escalating violence in Detroit eventually scattered Mr. Bell’s class, sending many families into the suburbs and separating the third-grade class for 35 years. COLORBLIND captures the emotional reunion of the classmates —now in their mid-40s — as they reflect upon the turbulent Civil Rights era and the humble man whose timeless lessons of love and nonviolence touched their hearts and minds and shaped their young spirits.
Monday, May 12 at Noon ET

Katie Brown Workshop
Katie Brown’s time-saving, inexpensive and imaginative projects have inspired a new generation of homemakers. The lifestyle expert and her crew return for a third season to share more fun and creative cooking, gardening and decorating ideas from Katie’s real-life workshop. This week, Katie creates personalized Mother’s Day gifts and special guest Chris Paulk shares some of his delicious secrets in the kitchen.
Mondays at 5 pm ET, begins May 12

American Experience
“FDR: The Center of the World/Fear Itself”
Radio broadcasts beamed his voice into living rooms around the country; his picture hung on the wall. His wife was the most admired woman in the country. “FDR” goes beyond the familiar words and images to offer an incisive, often startling portrait of one of the most extraordinary personalities ever elected to the presidency. One of the nation’s most popular presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt served three terms—longer than anyone before or since — and led the country through two great crises of this century: the Great Depression and World War II. (Four parts, shown in two evenings. Parts 3 & 4 air next Monday.)
Monday, May 12 at 9 pm ET

Tuesday

NOVA
“A Walk to Beautiful”
This program tells the story of three women in Ethiopia suffering from devastating childbirth injuries. Rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, the women are left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame. NOVA follows each of them on their journey to a special hospital in Addis Ababa where they find solace for the first time in years, and stays with them as their lives begin to change. The trials they endure and their attempts to rebuild their lives tell a universal story of hope, courage and transformation.
Tuesday, May 13 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/14 at Noon ET

Frontline
“Storm Over Everest”
As darkness fell on May 10, 1996, a fast moving storm of unimaginable ferocity trapped three climbing teams high on the slopes of Mount Everest. The climbers, exhausted from their summit climb, were soon lost in darkness, in a fierce blizzard, far from the safety of High Camp at 26,000 feet. World-renowned climber and filmmaker David Breashears returns to Everest to tell the story of the climbers who perished in that storm, marking the worst climbing tragedy in Mount Everest’s history.  But more remarkably, it is the story of eleven climbers caught in the storm and the eyewitness accounts of their astonishing survival in the world’s most unforgiving environment. Pictured: David Breashears outside his tent at Everest Base Camp.
Tuesday, May 13 at 9 pm ET

Wednesday

Secrets of the Dead
“Sinking Atlantis”
Drawing from the archaeological records, new revelations about Minoan language and religion and shocking new geological discoveries, archeologist Sandy MacGillivray connects fact with fiction and reveals the truth behind the reign and fall of the great Minoan civilization. Pictured: Volcanologist Floyd McCoy in Santorini.
Wednesday, May 14 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/16 at Noon ET

The Adirondacks
Through the varied perspectives of several passionate characters, this high-definition program explores the remarkable history, seasonal landscape and current state of New York’s Adirondack Park, the largest park in the lower 48 states and only one in which large human populations live.
Wednesday, May 14 at 9 pm ET

Beijing, Are You Ready?
Find out how Beijing is preparing for the 2008 Olympic Games and how the city and its people are being affected and invigorated by the first-ever Olympic Games held in China. The program incorporates personal stories from taxi drivers to students to celebrities and looks behind-the-scenes to give a sense of Beijing’s diversity and the growing anticipation of the 2008 Olympics.
Wednesdays at 11:30 pm ET, begins May 14

Thursday

Ask the Lawyers
“Judges Special”
Area judges will visit the Public TV 13 studios to answer phoned-in questions from viewers during this live broadcast. This week’s guests are Thomas L. Solka, Circuit Court Judge; Michael J. Anderegg, Probate Court Judge; and Dennis H. Girard, 96th District Court Judge, all from Marquette County. Call in your questions during the broadcast at 800-227-9668.
Thursday, May 15 at 8 pm ET

The Transformation Age: How to Survive a Technology Revolution With Robert X. Cringely
The future is closer than you think. Imagine digitally chronicling every moment of your life, never working from an office again and buying the majority of your clothes for a virtual “you” online. If these sound like far-off dreams of the future, think again. With observations and comments from real world technology and business pioneers, and the wit and wisdom of host Robert X. Cringely, this new program looks at the boundless opportunities and the overwhelming challenges.
Thursday, May 15 at 10 pm ET
Repeats 5/19 at Noon ET

Friday

NOW on PBS
While America’s reputation in the Middle East is hovering at historic lows, the demand for American university-branded education has never been greater. On Friday, May 16 at 8:30 pm, NOW on PBS takes a look at the unprecedented boom of American university campuses in an area where American military and cultural exports are typically viewed with suspicion. In the tiny oil-rich nation of Qatar, American universities like Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, and Virginia Commonwealth are warmly embraced and enthusiastically attended by local residents and students throughout the region. But are some of these schools trading their good name for a big check? NOW travels to Qatar's Education City, the largest collection of American universities in the Middle East to investigate.

At NOW's website at www.pbs.org/now, read a web-exclusive interview with a student attending classes in Qatar, view a slide show of university life, and find out if your alma mater has an overseas campus.
Friday, May 16 at 8:30 pm ET
Repeats 5/18 at 11:30 am ET

Bill Moyers Journal
A Democratic house divided. Bill Moyers interviews Berkeley Law professors Christopher Edley, Jr. and Maria Echaveste - he’s for Obama and she’s for Clinton. They met working in the Clinton administration and now, having been married for nine years, Edley and Echaveste are both advising their respective candidates. Edley serves as dean and professor of law of UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, where Echaveste is a lecturer in residence.

Also on the program, independent journalist Melody Petersen talks about the dangers of a market-driven pharmaceutical industry, and a Bill Moyers essay on recent resignations of executive appointees.
Friday, May 16 at 9 pm ET

Saturday

Media Meet
“Funding Transportation”
With fuel prices already high, raising the gas tax is not a popular option to fix the roads. We’ll hear what alternatives a governor-appointed task force is looking at, including the idea of charging tolls. We’ll also hear from Representative Tom Casperson (R) who sits on the House Transportation Committee.
Saturday, May 17 at 6:30 pm ET
Repeats 5/18 at 1:30 pm ET

Design Squad
Back for a second season, this series plugs a cast of eight high schoolers into the big, wild world of engineering. The teams learn to build fast, think smart and not totally freak out when their stuff falls apart. What they do ranges from constructing cardboard furniture to building hockey net targets to designing underwater prostheses for an amputee dancer. Heeding a few “words of wisdom” from DESIGN SQUAD’s engineer host — 20-something Nate Ball — contestants brainstorm, design, build, test and re-design before putting their products to the (sometimes hilarious, often triumphant) test. Keeping their eyes on the grand prize — a $10,000 college scholarship from the Intel® Foundation — and their cool when things get hot, Design Squad-ers soon discover that engineering can make anything possible!
Saturdays at 8 pm ET, begins May 17

From the Top at Carnegie Hall
This series takes viewers behind the scenes with today’s rising young musicians and captures the excitement of their Carnegie Hall debuts. Intimate backstage and hometown footage of these talented young performers reveals that they bring passion and determination not only to music, but to everything from speed skating and soccer to fashion design and model trains. This week features Alexandra Switala, violin, age 14, and Robert Switala, violin, age 15, from Grapevine, TX; Kiyoe Wellington, double bass, age 15, from Kaneohe, HI; and Patricio Molina, piano, age 18, from West Paterson, NJ. Pictured: Violinist Caeli Smith.
Saturdays at 8:30 pm ET, begins May 17

Austin City Limits
“Damian Marley”
The son of Bob Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley is a multiple Grammy Award winner for his distinctive take on his father’s reggae legacy. With his brothers Stephen and Julian as guests, Marley performs tunes from his best-selling album Welcome to Jamrock.
Saturday, May 17 at 10 pm ET
Repeats 5/18 at Midnight ET

Sierra Center Stage
“Brubeck Brothers With Special Guest Dave Brubeck”
Drummer Danny Brubeck and bass player/trombonist Chris Brubeck - both well known performers and composers in their own rights - are joined on this historic television program by their father, Dave Brubeck, one of the most well-known jazz pianists of all time. The senior Brubeck recorded the first ever million-selling jazz tune (Take Five), has written songs recorded by hundreds of artists, and has scored symphonies performed world wide. His sons now tour with their own award-winning group, which also features pianist Chuck Lamb and guitarist Mike DeMicco.
Saturday, May 17 at Midnight ET

Sunday

Classic Gospel
It’s the long awaited third season of the gospel series from Gaither Music. Each episode visits one of the Gaither Homecoming Gospel Concert cities featuring some of the best singers in this popular American genre of inspirational and uplifting music. This week, an “Atlanta Homecoming” concert features Georgia on my Mind/Daddy Sang Bass, Sweeter as the Days Go By, and many more gospel favorites.
Sundays at 5 pm ET, begins May 18

Nature
“Rhinoceros”
Millions of rhinos once roamed the Earth. There were hundreds of species of all shapes and sizes. But today, the rhinoceros is one of the planet’s rarest animals, with three of its species on the brink of extinction. While there is still a chance to save them, teams of experts work to protect rhinos from poachers, relocate them to better habitats and breed them in captivity.
Sunday, May 18 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/22 at Noon ET

Masterpiece Classic
“Cranford, Part 3”
Through a terrible misunderstanding, Dr. Harrison becomes engaged to three ladies at once, casting him into disgrace. Meanwhile, Mr. Carter discovers with horror that Lady Ludlow has mortgaged her estate. Matty, too, is in hock after her bank fails. Then tragedy strikes on the railway. Can Cranford’s tight-knit community survive all these disasters? Pictured (l-r): Lisa Dillon as Miss Mary Smith, Eileen Atkins as Miss Deborah Jenkyns, Dame Judi Dench as Miss Matty Jenkyns and Imelda Staunton as Miss Pole.
Sunday, May 18 at 9 pm ET

Monday

American Experience
“FDR: The Grandest Job in the World/The Juggler”
The third section of this four-part series focuses on the first two terms of Roosevelt’s presidency and explores the central paradox of his presidency: that a man of privilege came to be a hero to a vast and varied coalition of ordinary Americans and a villain to members of his own social class. The last section is devoted to the wartime years, using FDR’s remarkable correspondence with Winston Churchill to chart the calculated and even devious path by which the American president maneuvered support for England before he led his country through the greatest war in history. This segment also traces FDR’s management of the war, including his growing personal ties to Churchill and his relationship with Stalin and the Soviet Union, and explores Eleanor’s attempt to convince him to maintain the principles of the New Deal, despite the pressures of war.
Monday, May 19 at 9 pm ET

Tuesday

NOVA
“Lord of the Ants”
Every so often a giant emerges on the stage of science, someone who transcends the narrow boundaries of a particular line of research and alters our perspective on the world. E.O. Wilson is such a man. While studying ants, Wilson struggled to comprehend the evolutionary forces that led workers to forage and soldiers to fight; in doing so, he became the architect of a controversial new discipline: sociobiology. His appreciation of the natural world has been a driving force for his worldwide conservation efforts. Wilson is an icon of our times: a lord of the ants who sought to explain nature on earth ... and who now fights for its survival.
Tuesday, May 20 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/21 at Noon ET

Frontline
“Growing Up Online”
FRONTLINE looks at the impact of the Internet on adolescence through the eyes of teens and their parents. The film takes viewers into the private worlds kids are creating online — from kids who are harassed and bullied, to kids who make social connections virtually when they have few friends at school, to those kids who attain instant celebrity on YouTube. FRONTLINE explores the complicated new lines being drawn between the real and virtual worlds for today’s children and teens, and for their parents, who often find themselves on the other side of a new digital divide.
Tuesday, May 20 at 9 pm ET

Independent Lens
“A Dream in Doubt”
It was the first hate-based murder in the wake of September 11, 2001 — one of thousands of reported and unreported hate crimes in the years that followed. The victim: a turbaned Sikh man in Mesa, Arizona, where his family had sought religious freedom. The family is still determined to believe in the American Dream, even as the nightmare continues for many religious and ethnic minorities in a climate of xenophobia and fear. Pictured: Rana Singh Sodhi, his wife, Sukhbir, and their children gathered around a photo of Balbir Singh Sodhi.
Tuesday, May 20 at 10 pm ET

Wednesday

Secrets of the Dead
“The Hunt for Nazi Scientists”
This episode explores the silent race between the Allies to capture Germany’s top scientists during the waning days of World War II. As Hitler’s technologically superior empire crumbled and the Allies marched to victory, each side sent out secret missions with the sole purpose of tracking down and securing the cream of Germany’s scientific crop and capturing their secrets.
Wednesday, May 21 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/23 at Noon ET

Depression: Out of the Shadows
Depression rivals all other diseases in its burden on society, yet the condition is remarkably under-diagnosed and under-treated. This documentary provides a comprehensive portrait of depression, followed by a 30-minute discussion moderated by Jane Pauley, bringing together a panel of experts and community activists to discuss the issue further.
Wednesday, May 21 at 9 pm ET

Thursday

Ask the Doctors
“General Health/Arthritis”
Area physicians will visit the Public TV 13 studios to answer phoned-in questions from viewers during this live broadcast. This week’s guests are: To be announced. Call in your questions during the broadcast at 800-227-9668.
Thursday, May 22 at 8 pm ET

Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice
This program chronicles the story of the Phoenix Mars Lander, which launched in August 2007 and is scheduled to land on the Martian surface on May 25, 2008. The program features interviews with scientists who discuss the spacecraft’s custom instruments and the intricate preparations that preceded the launch. After touchdown, the lander will collect soil and ice samples to search for trace organics and for evidence of how water has changed the subsurface environment. The scientists hope to determine where the water on Mars went.
Thursday, May 22 at 10 pm ET
Repeats 5/26 at Noon ET

Saturday

Media Meet
“The Tiny Warrior”
His achievements include Captain in the U.S. Air Force and consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Author and motivational speaker D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas will talk of his humble beginnings and how he’s helping others turn their lives around.
Saturday, May 24 at 6:30 pm ET
Repeats 5/25 at 1:30 pm ET

Austin City Limits
“R.E.M.”
In their AUSTIN CITY LIMITS debut appearance, influential superstars R.E.M. take the stage in support of their latest acclaimed record, Accelerate. This new performance was recorded at the recent South By Southwest Music Festival. Pictured: Lead singer Michael Stipe performs with influential superstars R.E.M. in their AUSTIN CITY LIMITS debut.
Saturday, May 24 at 10 pm ET
Repeats 5/25 at Midnight ET

Sierra Center Stage
“Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings”
Considered one of the modern masters of slide guitar, Roy is an eight-time Grammy nominee and Grammy winning producer (John Lee Hooker, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott). Roy is joined by special guests Phil Aaberg, Norton Buffalo, Shana Morrison, and Tom Rigney This show features interviews with Bonnie Raitt and Sammy Hagar. “One of the rare guitar heroes who values feeling over flash.” – Rolling Stone.
Saturday, May 24 at Midnight ET

Sunday

National Memorial Day Concert
Annual Memorial Day concert from the National Mall. Hosted by Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna and featuring a mix of dramatic readings, documentary footage and live musical performances, along with an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists. This year, the event will pay special tribute to the veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam and the sacred war memorials built in their honor in Washington, DC. Performers include soprano Sarah Brightman, Gladys Knight, Rodney Atkins, John Schneider, and violin virtuoso Robert McDuffie in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Erich Kunzel.
Sunday, May 25 at 8 pm ET

American Experience
“Truman, Part 1”
He was a farmer, a haberdasher gone bankrupt, an unknown politician from Missouri who suddenly found himself president. Of all the men who had held office, he was the least prepared. Yet Harry S Truman would have to end the war with Germany and Japan, decide whether to use the most terrible weapon ever devised, confront the Soviet Union, and wage war in Korea. (Part 2 airs Monday night at 9 pm.)
Sunday, May 25 at 9:30 pm ET

Monday

The Price of Freedom
This film tells the tale of a different band of brothers — a small group of World War II veterans whose bonds go far beyond surviving combat. The film reveals how these men have joined forces 50 years after the war to conquer a final foe. Despite the brutal ordeal of being a prisoner, many POWs saw their capture as a personal failure and carried their silent burden for decades. For the first time on film, seven of these men tell their unique stories and reveal how they have come together to restore their self-esteem.
Monday, May 26 at 3:30 pm ET

American Experience
“Truman, Part 2”
After Harry Truman’s unlikely rise to the presidency, he would face some of the biggest crises of the century. Truman would end the war with Germany; use the atomic bomb against Japan; confront an expanding Soviet Union; and wage war in Korea — all while the woman he adored, his wife, Bess, refused to stay in the White House and play the role of First Lady. On the home front, Truman was the first president to tackle civil rights issues for blacks — a move that would prove controversial when campaigning for his second term.
Monday, May 26 at 9 pm ET

Tuesday

NOVA
“Master of the Killer Ants”
In the Mandaras Mountains of northern Cameroon lives the Mofu — an ancient tribe that shares its homes and crops with insects in a mutual balance of survival. But a terrible drought has hit the region, and the termites, usually the Mofu’s ally, have left the fields and invaded huts and granaries. NOVA goes underground to gives viewers a terrifying close-up look at a termite’s fortress and the war that rages between the termites and a ferocious army ant emplyed by the Mofu to fight them. Pictured: Jaglavak, a ferocious army ant with the body of a dragon.
Tuesday, May 27 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/28 at Noon ET

Frontline/World
“Crimes at the Border”
In a joint project with The New York Times, FRONTLINE/World correspondent Lowell Bergman investigates the business of human smuggling across the busy ports of entry between Mexico and the United States. In Tijuana, masses of people attempt to cross illegally every day with the help of increasingly organized and expensive smugglers. Bergman explores the region to find that this illicit but lucrative business is expanding, and U.S. border agents are subject to an increased risk of corruption. He follows the dramatic story of one such corrupt U.S. border guard, the risky business he became involved in, and what the U.S. government is doing about the problem.
Tuesday, May 27 at 9 pm ET

Independent Lens
“New Year Baby”
Born in a Thai refugee camp on Cambodian New Year, filmmaker Socheata Poeuv grew up in the United States never knowing that her family had survived the Khmer Rouge genocide. In “New Year Baby,” she embarks on a journey to Cambodia to find out why her family’s history was buried in secrecy for so long. Pictured: Cambodian-American filmmaker Socheata Poeuv with her father Nin Poeuv at Angkor Wat.
Tuesday, May 27 at 10 pm ET

Dissed - Respect: Impact of Bullying
This new program encourages dialogue about the need to reduce the high-risk behavior of bullying. It reveals the relationship between bullying and dysfunctional aspects of diversity, as well as increases the positive development of respect in students. The program combines role-playing scenes with candid interviews of students and authorities in the field, and utilizes poetry, rap and music to appeal to the sensibilities of today’s students.
Tuesday, May 27 at 11:30 pm ET

Wednesday

Secrets of the Dead
“Herculaneum Uncovered”
Just a few miles from fabled Pompeii is Herculaneum, another city buried and frozen in time by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Today, geo-archeologists are chipping away at the soft rock, revealing that this city, unlike Pompeii, was not suffocated by falling ash. Rather, it was engulfed by blistering pyroclastic flows that instantly caused muscles to contract, skin to vaporize and heads to explode.
Wednesday, May 28 at 8 pm ET
Repeats 5/30 at Noon ET

Great Performances
“Maestro: A Portrait of Valery Gergiev”
Valery Gergiev is widely acclaimed as one of the leading conductors of our time. Currently artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theater and principal conductor of the London Symphony, he also holds posts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, in addition to being founder and artistic director of Stars of the White Nights Festival and the Moscow Easter Festival. “Maestro” offers viewers an exclusive look at Gergiev on the go: the film moves back and forth between rehearsal and performance sequences and the maestro’s demanding life as administrator of the enormous Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, along with an almost impossible conducting schedule that takes him to London, New York and other major capitals around the world.
Wednesday, May 28 at 9 pm ET

The 2007 ArtServe Michigan Governor’s Awards for Arts and Culture
ArtServe Michigan Governor’s Awards is a statewide event that showcases and celebrates Michigan artists, arts in education, arts organizations, civic leaders in the arts and business support of the arts. Winners are selected in 8 categories - International Achievement, Arts in Education, Michigan Artist, Arts Educator, Arts Advocacy, Business Honor Roll, Cultural Organization, and Civic Leader. This year’s International Achievement Award went to Sami Raimi, Michigan native and director of the highly successful Spiderman movies. Pictured: International Achievement Award Recipient Sam Raimi.
Wednesday, May 28 at 10 pm ET

Thursday

Ask the DNR
“Free Fishing Weekend, Water Sports, Camping and Recreation”
Personnel from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will visit the Public TV 13 studios to answer phoned-in questions from viewers on this live broadcast. Guests: Conservation Officer Dave Miller, Baraga County; George Madison, Fisheries Biologist, Baraga; Rob Aho, Wildlife Biologist, Baraga; Ron Yesney, Recreation Specialist, Marquette. Call in your questions during the broadcast at 800-227-9668.
Thursday, May 29 at 8 pm ET

The 2008 National Geographic Bee
Each year students from across the country participate in this annual event designed to spark student interest in, and increase public awareness about geography. The Bee returns to public TV for the 20th consecutive year with host/moderator Alex Trebek. Students representing all 50 states first compete in school and state level competitions with ten finalists, grades four through eight, moving onto the final championship. The ten finalists will compete for $50,000 in college scholarship prizes, answering questions on topics spanning meteorology, international affairs, culture and social history.
Thursday, May 29 at 10 pm ET

Saturday

Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting
Marianne & Liz are back for another series showcasing their passion for quilting through in-depth demonstrations on a variety of quilting topics. Beginner or expert, viewers with a love of quilting will be inspired by Fons and Porter’s tips, designs and techniques. This week, pastel florals combine beautifully in and easy quilt for beginners — the cottage square.
Saturdays at 11 am ET, begins May 31

Media Meet
“Constructing the Economy”
Building season is just around the corner, is it going to be harder to find a contractor? We’ll hear from the Executive Director of the U.P. Construction Alliance about the U.P. construction season and the economy.
Saturday, May 31 at 6:30 pm ET
Sunday, June 1 at 1:30 pm ET

Saving Your Treasures
Tucked away in attics and basements, boxes and trunks ... family photographs, quilts and heirlooms are slowly disintegrating. These treasures are under attack by the elements of daily life and what is at stake is nothing less than the future of our past. This new program explores the science and art of conservation while providing practical advice to help viewers preserve and protect their own family heirlooms at home.
Saturday, May 31 at 8 pm ET

My Music: 50s Pops Parade
This program brings back more 1950s pop crooners in a new special featuring performers that defined pop music in the 1940s, 50s and early 60s. Robert Goulet headlines and co-hosts the music and memories with Jerry Vale, Kay Starr, the Mills Brothers, Ed Ames, the Four Lads, the Four Aces, Patti Page, the Ink Spots, Tony Martin, Margaret Whiting and more.
Saturday, May 31 at 9 pm ET

Sierra Center Stage
“Rodney Crowell”
Rodney Crowell is perhaps best known for his string of five straight # 1 hits on the Billboard Country Music charts. However, this program showcases Crowell’s rebirth as a deeply political, satirical, and clever singer/songwriter in the vein of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Featuring songs from his 3 CD Triology, starting with the “Houston Kid,” Crowell rocks the dance floor with a tight band of Nashville virtuosos.
Saturday, May 31 at Midnight ET