Thursday, April 30, 2015

95 Years of Denial - the Armenian Genocide and the Memorial Monument in RI

Armenian Martyrs’ Memorial Monument, Providence

Released in 2010, 95 Years of Denial describes events that took place at the beginning of the 20th century that led to the Armenian Genocide, and the persistent denial to date by the Turkish officials. The film also offers survivors’ stories and perseverance, and highlights the history of the Armenian Martyrs’ Memorial Monument in Providence, RI. Commemorating the 100th anniversary (April 24), Rhode Island PBS airs the film on Thursday, April 30 at 9:30 p.m.

The Armenian Genocide - the first genocide of the 20th Century - occurred when two million Armenians living in Turkey were forced from their historic homeland through deportation and massacres. Despite all the documented facts and pressure from many foreign officials, Turkey denies the Armenian genocide.

The film takes viewers from the events at the beginning of the 20th century to modern days, when Armenians in Rhode Island erected the Armenian Martyrs’ Memorial Monument.


Monday, April 27, 2015

Remembering Those Who Served - Memorial Day 2015

Remembering Those Who Served 

Every day, 1,500 World War II veterans die. In just 10 years, very few will be left to tell their stories. 
  
Award-winning Rhode Island filmmaker Tim Gray and The World War II Foundation, have undertaken the task to capture and share as many of the stories and experiences of World War II veterans as possible, before the sources of this remarkable history have passed forever. 
To commemorate Memorial Day, Rhode Island PBS presents a collection of documentaries, including the television premiere of Omaha Beach: Honor and Sacrifice, by Gray and cinematic artist Jim Karpeichik. Many of these stories prominently feature Rhode Islanders telling their stories, some for the first time since the war.

Escape in the Pacific 1943 - May 4 at 10 pm 
Eagles of Mercy - May 11 at 10 pm 
Navy Heroes of Normandy - May 18 at 10 pm 
Above and Beyond - May 24 at 6 pm 

Omaha Beach Trailer

For more information, visit World War II Foundation site.


The annual PBS favorite National Memorial Day Concert will air live on Sunday, 5/24 at 8 p.m.; Tuesday, 5/26 at 12:30 a.m.; and Saturday, 5/30 at noon.
updated: May 22, 2015

Saturday, April 25, 2015

We Took the Ferry (premieres May 17, 2015)

'We Took the Ferry' Chronicles Bygone Era of Local School Transportation

The first to admit he is an unlikely filmmaker, Bob Sutton, town administrator for Jamestown in the 1970s and '80s, nevertheless completed a documentary that chronicles a unique era in the history of Jamestown.

We Took the Ferry: Ferry Boat Students of Narragansett Bay focuses on the 31 years between 1938 and 1969, a period of time when Jamestown students who attended Newport high schools had only one transportation option: the ferry.

The film premieres on Rhode Island PBS on Sunday, May 17 at 6 p.m. as part of the ongoing Rhode Island PBS series Rhode Island Stories, and will encore the following Saturday, May 23, at 11:25 p.m. and on Learn (36.2, Cox 808, Verizon/FiOS 478) on Tuesday, May 19, at 8 p.m.

Sutton says he would hear people reminiscing about taking the ferry to school. He found it interesting, and the idea stayed with him over the years.

The idea for a film began a couple of years ago when Sutton was driving behind a local school bus. He observed the bus stop, watched the monitor get out to detect traffic, then saw a student emerge from the bus and cross the street. The youngster then hopped into a waiting car, which drove up a nearby driveway to home. Sutton thought that was a whole lot different from how kids used to go to school.

To read more about Sutton and We Took the Ferry: Ferry Boat Students of Narragansett Bay, please visit the source of this story here or this Newport Daily News story.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) content over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable services: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable services: Comcast 819HD, Verizon 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36 / 3128HD, Dish Network 36. WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; on cable: Cox 808, Verizon 478, Full Channel 89, Comcast 294 or 312.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Mia, A Dancer's Journey Travels to WSBE Learn May 7

Of interest to local ballerinas and dance aficionados everywhere, Rhode Island PBS presents Mia, A Dancer's Journey on WSBE Learn on Thursday, May 7 at 10 p.m.

Mia Slavenska was one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the 20th century, Croatia’s greatest dancer, and a pioneer in American ballet. Caught in the maelstrom of 20th century political events, she was forced to leave her native Croatia at age twenty in order to continue to dance; at age twenty-one, she was celebrated in Western Europe as the likely successor to prima Ballerina Anna Pavlova; and, at age twenty-three, she was emigrating to the United States with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo to escape a looming world war.

Photograph by Maurice Seymour
When Mia arrived in the late 1930s, she found an America where outside of major cities ballet was known as “fancy dancing” and “toe dancing” and was most often performed as variety acts in music reviews and movie halls. She was one of a small band of famous European émigré ballerinas who changed the face of American culture by introducing audiences across the country to ballet as an art form. Without Mia and her émigré colleagues, choreographer George Balanchine’s American revolution in ballet would never have made it past the borders of New York City.

.
Photograph by Maurice Seymour
Mia was a modernist, one of the few ballerinas to form her own company. She moved freely between modern and ballet idioms. In 1952, she convinced Tennessee Williams to allow her ballet company to produce a ballet version of A Streetcar Named Desire. It was the first time a modern play was turned into a ballet. With her portrayal of Blanche Dubois, Mia Slavenska became a truly American artist.

Photograph by Marcus Blechman
But her daughter, Maria, remembers her mother’s halcyon days of dancing only vaguely. Slavenska retired from the stage in the early 1960s when Maria was still a young girl. Mostly, Maria remembers her mother’s preoccupation with her lost fame. At the end of her life, Slavenska was haunted by the fear of obscurity and spent over twenty years of her life writing and rewriting her memoirs. When Slavenska died in 2002, her memoirs remained unpublished and she believed that she had been completely forgotten, not only in the United States but also in her native land of Croatia. Before Slavenska died, Maria promised that she would tell her mother’s story. This film is the keeping of that promise. As Maria retraces her mother’s life journey, she unearths the story of a maverick ballerina and a lost time in American dance. And, Maria makes a most surprising discovery: Mia Slavenska hasn’t been forgotten after all.

Photograph by Marcus Blechman
Mia, A Dancer's Journey was co-produced for public broadcasting by Slavenska Dance Preservation, Inc., and PBS SoCaL. Writer, Producer, Director: Maria Ramas, Producer, Director, Editor: Kate Johnson, Producer: Brenda Brkusic, Producer: Ted Sprague, with Mia Slavenska’s voice by Emmy® Award-winning actress Blythe Danner.

The Newport Effect: Newport Folk Festival


The Newport Effect: Newport Folk Festival covers the incredible history of the Newport Folk Festival and its profound impact on the world of folk music. Infamous as the place where Bob Dylan went electric in 1965, the festival reach goes far beyond that iconic moment. The Newport Effect: Newport Folk Festival airs on Rhode Island PBS Thursday, May 7 at 8 p.m.

Started in 1959 by jazz impresario George Wein, the effect of the Newport Folk Festival is far reaching. It laid the foundation for music festivals of today, rediscovered blues musicians (Mississippi John Hurt, Son House & Skip James), was instrumental in the resurrection of the dying art of Cajun music, and introduced new artists (Joan Baez, Alison Krauss, James Taylor and The Avett Brothers).

The film features a unique narrative approach. Artists with strong connections to the festival share their Newport experiences in their own words and narrate segments on specifics genres/topics. It offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the grandfather of folk music festivals.

The film features interviews with Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Odetta, Arlo Guthrie, Peter Yarrow, Judy Collins, the Indigo Girls, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Theo Bikel, Dom Flemons, Geoff Muldaur, George and Joyce Wein, Jean Ritchie and more.

It also includes film footage from Bob Dylan's performance in 1964 and performance footage from the 1960's and from 2001–2011.

The Newport Folk Festival is still going strong. One of the hottest festival tickets in the country, the annual event sells out each year and continues its magical influence on the world of folk music.


Thursday, April 23, 2015

Reinventing Medicaid in Rhode Island: This Week on A Lively Experiment April 24, 2015



Panel
Dyana Koelsch – moderator
Kristin Gourlay - health reporter, Rhode Island Public Radio
Barbara Morse Silva - health reporter, WJAR NBC10
Elizabeth Roberts - Rhode Island secretary of Health and Human Services
Pablo Rodriguez - Latino Public Radio

Topics
  • Reinventing Medicaid in Rhode Island

A Lively Experiment airs on WSBE Rhode Island PBS (36.1) Fridays at 7 p.m., with rebroadcasts on Saturdays at 7 P.M. on WSBE Learn (36.2), and Sundays at noon on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) programming over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable: Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36 / 3128HD, Dish Network 36 / 7776.

WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; in Rhode Island on Cox 808; Verizon FiOS 478; Full Channel 89; and in Massachusetts on Comcast 294 or 312.

Can't get to the TV? Watch the episode online anytime and anywhere on our YouTube channel. Episodes of A Lively Experiment are generally available to watch on the next business day. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and YouTube will notify you when a new episode is uploaded.

On Facebook? So are we! "Like" A Lively Experiment on Facebook.

Monday, April 20, 2015

A Lively Experiment, week of April 17, 2015



Panel
Dyana Koelsch – moderator
Ed Fitzpatrick, Political Columnist, The Providence Journal
Phil Eil, Freelance Writer, Contributor to WPRO630.com
Pablo Rodriguez, President, Latino Public Radio
Rob Horowitz, Political Strategist, Rob Horowitz Associates

Topics
  • Newcomers to the Race for the White House 
  • Critique of first 100 days in office – Gov. Raimondo, Mayor Elorza
  • Ethics Bills
  • Boston Bombing/Hernandez verdict

A Lively Experiment airs on WSBE Rhode Island PBS (36.1) Fridays at 7 p.m., with rebroadcasts on Saturdays at 7 P.M. on WSBE Learn (36.2), and Sundays at noon on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) programming over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable: Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36 / 3128HD, Dish Network 36 / 7776.

WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; in Rhode Island on Cox 808; Verizon FiOS 478; Full Channel 89; and in Massachusetts on Comcast 294 or 312.

Can't get to the TV? Watch the episode online anytime and anywhere on our YouTube channel. Episodes of A Lively Experiment are generally available to watch on the next business day. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and YouTube will notify you when a new episode is uploaded.

On Facebook? So are we! "Like" A Lively Experiment on Facebook.
Updated April 25, 2015

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Join Us in Studio Audience for Lung Cancer | A Community Conversation - Live Broadcast


Rhode Island PBS, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, presents LUNG CANCER | a community conversation, a panel discussion televised live on Thursday, April 23 at 8 p.m. at the Rhode Island PBS studios, 50 Park Lane, Providence, RI. 

The television program will start with screening selected relevant segments from the Ken Burns film Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies. Local experts then take a deeper look and connect this world issue to our local community in a panel discussion that includes tobacco use, smoking cessation, lung cancer, and the rising costs of health care. We'll also take questions from the audience.


Jutta Becker 
Patient Advocate 
 Diagnosed with Lung Cancer 

 Lisa Bisaccia 
Chief Human Resources Officer 
 CVS Health

 Thomas DiPetrillo, MD 
Clinical Director of Radiation Oncology 
 Rhode Island Hospital

 Debborah Smith 
 Senior Director Community Engagement, New England Division 
 American Cancer Society

 Karina Holyoak Wood 
 Director of Public Policy 
 American Lung Association, Rhode Island
You are invited to be in the studio audience from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Arrive at 7 p.m. for light refreshments and light conversation with our panelists and show host, Margie O'Brien. At 7:30, we move into the studio to prepare for live broadcast from 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public, but audience seating in the studio is limited. Advance registration is required.

We will be live-tweeting from the event and invite you to join us. Use the hashtag #ScreeningsRI to connect with us from anywhere you may be at the time of the broadcast. Have a question for our panel? Please send it by email to events(at)ripbs.org.

For more information about other special cancer programs on Rhode Island PBS, see our earlier blog.


The television special LUNG CANCER | a community conversation is part of  


SCREENINGS | community conversations about cancer
an initiative of Rhode Island PBS, American Cancer Society, and made possible by CVS Health.



Join Us in the Studio Audience for "Inside the Author's Studio" with Kate DiCamillo


Teachers, librarians, and children's book enthusiasts are invited to be part of the live studio audience for the taping of Inside the Author's Studio, a new Rhode Island PBS production featuring stories of local talent.

In this first episode, Rhode Island PBS host and producer Margie O'Brien Reed will interview Newbery Medal winner, Kate DiCamillo, the 2014-15 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. DiCamillo is the author of Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, the 2015 Kids Reading Across Rhode Island selection.


Friday, May 8th at 7 p.m.
Rhode Island PBS Studios
50 Park Lane, Providence, RI

Light refreshments will be served. $10 includes a copy of the 2015 Kids Reading Across Rhode Island selection, Flora and Ulysses. Inside the Author's Studio with Kate DiCamillo is underwritten by a grant from TD Charitable Foundation to the RI Center for the Book at RI Council for the Humanities in support of Kids Reading Across Rhode Island.



CLICK HERE to get your tickets for this special event.





Monday, April 13, 2015

Central Falls Comeback Story, Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab


At 1.3 square miles, Central Falls is the smallest city in Rhode Island. In 2010, the smallest city made big headlines nationally when the Central Falls school district fired all of the high school's teachers in a dramatic and bold move to reverse the persistent low scholastic achievement and years of failed attempts at remediation.  

Five years later, the 2014 documentary Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab follows the lives of three high school students who witnessed first hand the scrutiny and negativity brought upon their community. Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab is the comeback story.

 Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab chronicles the once-troubled Central Falls School District’s collaboration with Rhode Island College to overcome barriers to success. Rhode Island PBS will air on WSBE Rhode Island PBS (channel 36.1) on April 26 at 6 p.m., April 28 at 4 a.m. and May 2 at 11 p.m., and on WBSE Learn (channel 36.2) on April 28 at 8 p.m., April 29 at 3 p.m. and April 30 at 12 a.m.

"With this film, we hope the public will understand that making change comes from getting in there on a daily basis and trying to meet needs," said Rhode Island College (RIC) Assistant Professor of Communication Anthony Galvez, who led RIC students to produce the film during the Spring 2014 semester. Galvez and his students created the documentary as part of the Central Falls/RIC Innovation Lab, a holistic, integrated and permanent partnership between the entire RIC community and the entire Central Falls School District. The mission of the Lab is to develop and pilot sustainable and replicable programs in urban education, community development and healthy communities.

Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab partially chronicles the daily life of Lenira Monteiro, a 2014 Central High School graduate. Monteiro immigrated to the United States from Cape Verde just a few years ago and struggled to balance academics and domestic duties while in high school. Monteiro is now a RIC student who recently was initiated into The 3.5 Society, an honor society for freshmen.

Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab also features interviews with Central Falls School Superintendent Dr. Frances Gallo, RIC President Nancy Carriuolo and other administrators and educators who have had integral roles in developing the Innovation Lab.

Of the Innovation Lab, Carriuolo said, “Rhode Island College believes deeply in innovation and community engagement. Through our Innovation lab, our students and faculty will be able to supplement and research the effectiveness of cutting-edge learning and programs designed to meet the diverse needs of the residents of Central Falls.”

David W. Piccerelli, president of WSBE Rhode Island PBS, said Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab is an important story to tell. “Central Falls made national headlines when it took bold steps to improve its schools,” he said. “Now, it’s important to follow-up, to tell the story of the school district’s successes, and share the innovative solutions and partnerships that came of it. Rhode Island PBS is glad to bring attention to this local community story and its enduring, far-reaching lessons.”

Transformation 360: Building an Innovation Lab was partially funded through a Nellie Mae Educational Foundation grant secured by the Central Falls School District.

Click for more information about the Central Falls/Rhode Island College Innovation Lab.

updated April 25, 2015


Friday, April 10, 2015

A Lively Experiment, week of April 10, 2015



Panel
Dyana Koelsch – moderator
Ian Donnis - political reporter, Rhode Island Public Radio
Sheila Mullowney - news editor, Newport Daily News
Robert Walsh, Jr. - executive director, NEARI
J. Michael Downey - president, Rhode Island Council 94

Topics
  • Lincoln Chafee for President in 2016? 
  • Pension settlement case 
  • Ethics/Campaign finance legislation
  • Search for new Education Commissioner

A Lively Experiment airs on WSBE Rhode Island PBS (36.1) Fridays at 7 p.m., with rebroadcasts on Saturdays at 7 P.M. on WSBE Learn (36.2), and Sundays at noon on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) programming over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable: Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36 / 3128HD, Dish Network 36 / 7776.

WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; in Rhode Island on Cox 808; Verizon FiOS 478; Full Channel 89; and in Massachusetts on Comcast 294 or 312.

Can't get to the TV? Watch the episode online anytime and anywhere on our YouTube channel. Episodes of A Lively Experiment are generally available to watch on the next business day. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and YouTube will notify you when a new episode is uploaded.

On Facebook? So are we! "Like" A Lively Experiment on Facebook.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Rhode Island Classroom Features Innovative Ways to Reach and Teach



Rhode Island Classroom is the Rhode Island PBS quarterly production that spotlights the technology, lessons, and people that are making the grade in Rhode Island K-12 classrooms. 

The April 9 episode of Rhode Island Classroom, produced in connection with the 180 Days: Hartsville community engagement project, will present three stories of innovative ways to reach and teach children.

One segment is about the use of therapy dogs in classrooms in a 4-week program called TailstoTeach.  In the program, dogs help children practice non-violent solutions to conflict, focus on the benefits of positive behavior, enhance the human-animal bond and encourage responsible pet ownership. Children also practice proven dog-bite prevention techniques.

In another segment, host Margie O'Brien visits the one-room schoolhouse for all of six students on the small Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay. 

The third segment explores how one local musician is changing students’ lives through song.

The full episode of Rhode Island Classroom will air on Thursday, April 9 at 8 p.m.

*UPDATE* Full episode is viewable online:



Updated: April 10, 2015 Episode #105

Thursday, April 2, 2015

The Bar, the Ban, the Ballpark, and the Bombing Trial - It's A Lively Experiment week of April 3, 2015



Panel
Dyana Koelsch – moderator
Russell Moore - columnist, GoLocalProv.com
Scott MacKay - political reporter, Rhode Island Public Radio
Jim Hummel - lead investigator, The Hummel Report
Hon. James Sheehan - (D) RI State Senate District 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown

Topics
  • An apparent settlement in the pension case 
  • Gordon Fox disbarred 
  • Legislation banning tobacco sales in RI pharmacies 
  • Paw Sox plans for Providence ballpark 
  • Media’s coverage of Hernandez/Boston Bombing trials
A Lively Experiment airs on WSBE Rhode Island PBS (36.1) Fridays at 7 p.m., with rebroadcasts on Saturdays at 7 P.M. on WSBE Learn (36.2), and Sundays at noon on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) programming over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable: Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36 / 3128HD, Dish Network 36 / 7776.

WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; in Rhode Island on Cox 808; Verizon FiOS 478; Full Channel 89; and in Massachusetts on Comcast 294 or 312.

Can't get to the TV? Watch the episode online anytime and anywhere on our YouTube channel. Episodes of A Lively Experiment are generally available to watch on the next business day. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and YouTube will notify you when a new episode is uploaded.

On Facebook? So are we! "Like" A Lively Experiment on Facebook.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Gefilte Fish Chronicles - Annual Favorite Returns to WSBE

(Re-post of an earlier blog about this annual favorite among WSBE viewers)



With all the wonderful chaos of preparing for a large gathering of extended family, The Gefilte Fish Chronicles honors the rich tradition of Pesach (Passover) with an intimate and candid look at the Dubroff family preparing for Seder.

But don't be misled - no matter what your heritage is, you will find your own family members among these charming and feisty storytellers.

The story began in 1904, when Abe and Minnie Dubroff emigrated from Russia to Brooklyn where they raised seven daughters and a son. For a century, the family has gathered at Passover and celebrated the Seder together, first in Brooklyn, then in Boonton, New Jersey. For the last four decades, Passover has been celebrated in Newburgh, New York.
"Don't Just Stand There… Cook!"
Led by the three surviving sisters, Sophie Patasnik, Peppy Barer, and Rosie Groman, traditional preparations are made for the Seder at Peppy's home in Newburgh. Six weeks before the Seder they shop and chop, taste and season. Using recipes nearly a century old, they begin to put together the gefilte fish, cholent, horse radish, and sponge cake.
"Don't Just Sit There… Eat!"
The Gefilte Fish Chronicles is a funny, touching, and universally familiar story of love, of tradition, and of generational family unity - and it's reality television the way it should be. This is a loving, living photo album.
"I've heard it said many times, and it's the truth:
The family that sits around the table together,
stays together. And we have many tables."

- Peppy Barer

The Gefilte Fish Chronicles returns to WSBE Rhode Island PBS on Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 8 P.M. on digital 36.1; on Cox 1008HD / 08, Verizon 508HD / 08, Full Channel 08, Comcast 819HD; on DirecTV 36, and Dish Network 7776.