Media Menu for March 21, 2012

Here are home viewing suggestions for the week, selected from online advanced TV program listings and aligned with the state and national K-12 academic standards available online. Please consult local listings also, since actual broadcast times may vary.   The Websites cited in the “Log on“  box  below the TV listing provide further details about the show’s  topic and may contain links to video clips from the show or a complete streaming video version of the show.

Wednesday,  March  21, 2012,
10-11 p.m. E/P
PBS
U.S. History and Technology
Middle and High School

Steve Jobs - One Last Thing

There has been near-universal agreement that the late Apple founder was a great innovator in business and technology, but why was he great? What were the influences that shaped his character and drove him to such success from humble beginnings? With colleagues who worked closely with him and those who have chronicled his life,  this documentary takes an unflinching look at the mercurial, brilliant man and review his many talents and achievements. And , in a never-before-broadcast interview from 1994, Jobs expounds on his philosophy of life: “You tend to get told that the world is the way it is, but life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact; and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people no smarter than you … Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
Log on http://www.biography.com/people/steve-jobs-9354805

Thursday,  March  22 , 2012,
10-11  p.m. E/P
PBS
Science
Middle and High School

FRONTLINE: The Vaccine War

Public health scientists and clinicians tout vaccines as one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine. But for many ordinary Americans vaccines have become controversial. Young parents are concerned at the sheer number of shots — some 26 inoculations for 14 different diseases by age six — and follow alternative vaccination schedules advocated by gurus like Dr. Robert Sears. Other parents go further. In communities like Ashland, Oregon, up to one-third of parents are choosing not to vaccinate their kids at all. And some advocacy groups, like Generation Rescue, argue that vaccines are no longer a public health miracle but a scourge; they view vaccines as responsible for alarming rises in certain disorders, including ADHD and autism. This documentary explains the vaccine war: On one side sits scientific medicine and the public health establishment; on the other a populist coalition of parents, celebrities, politicians and activists. It's a war that increasingly takes place on the Internet with both sides using the latest social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter, to win the hearts and minds of the public.
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines

Friday,  March  23 , 2012,
10-11  p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
U.S. History
High School

Only For God: Inside Hasidism

With unprecedented access,  this National Geographic  documentary introduces you to the passionately orthodox community of Hasidic Judaism. Some of the people who share their stories include a revered Hasidic rabbi challenging what it means to be spiritual in the modern world, a young man raised Catholic now attending a Hasidic yeshiva in Brooklyn, and a young Hasidic woman taking her first steps to leave this tightly knit community and live a secular life in Manhattan.
Log on  http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/national-geographic-channel/all-videos/ngc-the-newly-hasidic-life/?source=email_channel

Saturday,  March  24 , 2012,
8-10  p.m. E/P
CNN
Science and Economics
Middle and High School

Global Lessons: A GPS Roadmap to Saving Health Care

This documentary is an examination of rising costs in health care draws attention to efforts to address the challenges around the globe.  What can Britain, Taiwan and Switzerland teach America about health care?
Log on  http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/category/health/

Sunday,  March  25, 2012,
8-10  p.m. E/P
PBS
U.S. History
Middle and High School

FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR

This is a broadcast of the initial two episodes of a10-part series, with renowned cultural critic and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who journeys deep into the ancestry of a group of remarkable individuals and provides new understanding of personal identity and American history.  Episode One: Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis. Trace the turbulent and contradictory history of New Orleans through the family stories of two men. Their European immigrant ancestors blazed unconventional trails in America, from capturing British ships for the American Revolution to crossing racial barriers in slave-era Louisiana. Generations later, as children growing up in New Orleans, Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis found a deep and abiding friendship through their common love of jazz and of the city itself.  Episode Two: Cory Booker and John Lewis. Discover the family histories of two African-American politicians from different generations and opposite backgrounds. This program features two African-American politicians from different generations and opposite backgrounds. John Lewis grew up in a sharecropping family in rural Georgia, while Cory Booker was raised in an affluent, all-white New Jersey suburb. Although both men have devoted their lives to the betterment of African-American people, neither knows much about his own ancestors. In this episode, Booker is introduced to his white great-grandfather, a man he never knew, and Lewis is moved to tears over the extraordinary ambitions and accomplishments of his slave ancestors. TV-PG
Log on  http://pressroom.pbs.org/Programs/f/Finding-Your-Roots.aspx

Monday,  March  26, 2012,
4-5 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science and Technology
Middle and High School

Modern Marvels: Corrosion & Decomposition

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the aging U.S. infrastructure is in danger of collapse. Learn about a company in Missouri that uses a trench-less technology to rebuild corroded sewer pipes from the inside out while engineers at General Motors Proving Grounds lead the battle against corrosive road de-icing salts. See how a bioreactor in Florida turns mountains of garbage methane gas. Finally, this documentary shows  how the tiny termite is teaching us how to turn agricultural waste into ethanol at a fraction of the current cost. TV-PG
Log on  http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/

Tuesday,  March  27, 2012,
9-10 p.m. E/P
PBS
U.S. History
Middle and High School

TRIANGLE FIRE: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

As shown in this historical documentary, on March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York’s Greenwich Village. The blaze ripped through the congested loft; huge piles of trimmings fed the flames. Petrified workers desperately tried to make their way downstairs, but the factory owners kept the doors on the ninth floor locked and the woefully inadequate fire escape soon crumpled. Hundreds of horrified on-lookers arrived just in time to see young men and women jumping from the windows. By the time the fire had burned itself out, 146 people were dead. Less than two years earlier, the workers of the factory had been leaders in an industry-wide strike to protest dismal wages and dangerous working conditions. Despite unlikely support from some of the wealthiest women in the city, including Anne Morgan, most of the workers returned to their shops without having their demands met. It took the tragedy of the fire and the ensuing public outrage to force government action. The landmark legislation that followed gave New Yorkers the most comprehensive workplace safety laws in the country.  TV-14
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/triangle/

Wednesday,  March  28, 2012,
9-10 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science
Middle and High School

NOVA: Cracking Your Genetic Code

What will it mean when most of us can afford to have the information in our DNA—all six billion chemical letters of it—read, stored and available for analysis? This documentary   reveals that we stand on the verge of such a revolution. Meet cancer a cancer patient who appears to have cheated death and a cystic fibrosis sufferer breathing easily because scientists have been able to pinpoint and neutralize the genetic abnormalities underlying their conditions. But what are the moral dilemmas raised by this new technology? Will it help or hurt us to know the diseases that may lie in our future? What if such information falls into the hands of insurance companies, employers or prospective mates? One thing is for certain: the new era of personalized, gene-based medicine is relevant to everyone, and soon you will be choosing whether to join the ranks of the DNA generation. TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/cracking-your-genetic-code.html
Book TV Schedule

Saturday, March 24th

8am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 20 min.
"A Single Roll of the Dice" 
Trita Parsi

9:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction" 
Linda Greenhouse

10:30am (ET)
Approx. 35 min.
Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health Care Law 
Alec MacGillis

11am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 6 min.
"Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works" 
Jonathan Gruber

12pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
"The Pipes Plan: The Top Ten Ways To Dismantle And Replace Obamacare" 
Sally Pipes

1:15pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 16 min.
"The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care" 
Eric Topol

2:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 22 min.
"Bending History: Barack Obama's Foreign Policy" 
Martin Indyk; Kenneth Lieberthal; Michael O'Hanlon

4pm (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Ronald Reagan: Our 40th President" 
Winston Groom

5pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
2012 Tucson Festival of Books: Jeffrey Rosen, "The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America" 
Jeffrey Rosen

6pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
Encore Booknotes: John Morris, "Get the Picture: A Personal History of Photojournalism" 
John Morris

7pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 20 min.
"A Single Roll of the Dice" 
Trita Parsi

8:30pm (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"No Way Out: A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan" 
Kevin Maurer; Mitch Weiss

10pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Craig Timberg & Daniel Halperin, "Tinderbox: How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It," hosted by Scott Evertz, Former Office of National AIDS Policy Director

11pm (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Ronald Reagan: Our 40th President" 
Winston Groom

Sunday, March 25th

12am (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
"Juliette Gordon Low: The Remarkable Founder of the Girl Scouts" 
Stacy Cordery

1am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction" 
Linda Greenhouse

2am (ET)
Approx. 35 min.
Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health Care Law 
Alec MacGillis

2:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 6 min.
"Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works" 
Jonathan Gruber

3:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
"The Pipes Plan: The Top Ten Ways To Dismantle And Replace Obamacare" 
Sally Pipes

5am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 16 min.
"The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care" 
Eric Topol

6am (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
2012 Tucson Festival of Books: Jeffrey Rosen, "The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America" 
Jeffrey Rosen

7am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 24 min.
"A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and A Few Good Women" 
Lee Stout

8:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 22 min.
"Bending History: Barack Obama's Foreign Policy" 
Martin Indyk; Kenneth Lieberthal; Michael O'Hanlon

10am (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"No Way Out: A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan" 
Kevin Maurer; Mitch Weiss

11am (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"The Obama Hate Machine: The Lies, Distortions, and Personal Attacks on the President - And Who Is Behind Them" 
Bill Press

12pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Linda Killian, "The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents," hosted by Michael Tomasky, Daily Beast

1pm (ET)
Approx. 30 min.
Book TV at Georgetown University: Michael Kazin, “American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation” 
Michael Kazin

1:30pm (ET)
Approx. 27 min.
Book TV at Georgetown University: Thomas Farr, “World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Liberty Is Vital to American National Security” 
Thomas Farr

2pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 24 min.
"A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and A Few Good Women" 
Lee Stout

3:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2012 Tucson Festival of Books: "Emerging from the Shadows: Women in the Lives of Wilson, Jefferson, and Twain" 
Kristie Miller; Virginia Scharff; Laura Skandera Trombley

5pm (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
"God's Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God A Republican and Baptized the American Right" 
Michael Sean Winters

6pm (ET)
Approx. 48 min.
Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 
Riki Ott

7pm (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Ronald Reagan: Our 40th President" 
Winston Groom

8pm (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"The Obama Hate Machine: The Lies, Distortions, and Personal Attacks on the President - And Who Is Behind Them" 
Bill Press

9pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Craig Timberg & Daniel Halperin, "Tinderbox: How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It," hosted by Scott Evertz, Former Office of National AIDS Policy Director

10pm (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
"God's Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God A Republican and Baptized the American Right" 
Michael Sean Winters

11pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
"Juliette Gordon Low: The Remarkable Founder of the Girl Scouts" 
Stacy Cordery

Monday, March 26th

12am (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Craig Timberg & Daniel Halperin, "Tinderbox: How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It," hosted by Scott Evertz, Former Office of National AIDS Policy Director

1am (ET)
Approx. 30 min.
Book TV at Georgetown University: Michael Kazin, “American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation” 
Michael Kazin

1:30am (ET)
Approx. 27 min.
Book TV at Georgetown University: Thomas Farr, “World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Liberty Is Vital to American National Security” 
Thomas Farr

2am (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
"God's Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God A Republican and Baptized the American Right" 
Michael Sean Winters

3am (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Craig Timberg & Daniel Halperin, "Tinderbox: How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It," hosted by Scott Evertz, Former Office of National AIDS Policy Director

4am (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"No Way Out: A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan" 
Kevin Maurer; Mitch Weiss

5am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction" 
Linda Greenhouse

6am (ET)
Approx. 39 min.
"Ronald Reagan: Our 40th President" 
Winston Groom

6:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 16 min.
"The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care" 
Eric Topol