Benchmarking Obama

Morning Edition and All Things Considered, April 27 – May 1

Now approaching his 100th day in office, how is President Obama doing? Taking the goals and benchmarks set by the Obama administration, NPR News will gauge the administration's progress in a series of reports beginning Sunday, April 26. From the economy to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to education to health care to energy, tune in throughout the week to Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition to see how the president's accomplishments stack up so far.

Schedule (airdates/stories may change):

Sunday
Weekend Edition: Series Intro

Monday
Morning Edition: Recovery from Recession
All Things Considered: The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Tuesday
Morning Edition: Health Care
All Things Considered: Reregulating the Financial Industry

Wednesday
Morning Edition: Rebranding America
All Things Considered: Abortion/Stem Cells

Thursday
Morning Edition: Education
All Things Considered: Climate Change

Friday
Morning Edition: Changing the Tone in Washington
All Things Considered: The Federal Budget

Remaking Michigan

Morning Edition, April 22 - 24

No matter how the auto industry emerges from its current crisis, it will certainly be smaller and employ far fewer. People in Detroit and throughout Michigan know they have to reset themselves economically. According to Governor Granholm, the state has lost 400,000 jobs since 2000, and will likely shed tens of thousands more in coming months. Michigan "leads the nation in recession!" as one official bitterly joked. But because of this dubious distinction, this region may be able to teach the nation a thing or two about how to redefine an economic identity in hard times and how to adapt - even if slowly - to the demands of a new era.

How can Detroit, in particular, recover the amazing economic diversity that attracted the auto industry in the first place? Automakers got established in Detroit because everything they needed could be made there, and in the early years of the last century there were many competing automakers. Consolidation changed everything, making Detroit more efficient but less adaptable, crushing innovation. So who's trying to bring it back? What does Detroit have to sell the world, and who is out there selling it - whether it's cheap property, high technology, green technology, or a grand vision for the future? Who, in effect, is betting on Detroit?

In a series of reports from Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep and Michigan station reporters, NPR will tell stories about Detroiters and Michiganders who are adapting to change rather than complaining about it; people imagining a city and state that might emerge from this economic crisis stronger and smarter.

Tune in to WGVU AM & FM every weekday, 5 - 9 a.m. for Morning Edition.

Cyberchase Weather Watchers

Cyberchase Season 7 premieres April 20 - 23 with four new episodes!

Matt, Jackie, Inez and Digit take Cyberspace by storm this April in four all-new weather adventures! The Hacker is wreaking havoc across the virtual universe - can the CyberSquad overcome fog, wind, pollution and storms to stop him? Tune in to WGVU TV or WGVU HD weekdays at 5:30 p.m. to find out! NBC meteorologist Janice Huff guest stars as the voice of cyber-weathercaster Stormy Gale. Watch a preview HERE.


GONE WITH THE FOG – MONDAY, APRIL 20

The CyberSquad must figure out the mysteries of dew point to make a daring rescue under the cover of fog. SNEAK PREVIEW

THE EMPEROR HAS SNOW CLOTHES – TUESDAY, APRIL 21
Hacker turns the Emperor of Penguia into an icy statue, and the kids have to track a powerful Storm so they can avoid it and save the Emperor from a frozen fate.

THE X-FACTOR – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22
One tiny, seemingly harmless act multiplied hundreds of times creates a huge problem in perfectamundo, and the CyberSquad must use that same power of multiplication to find a solution.

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND – THURSDAY, APRIL 23
The key to curing Motherboard’s virus may be at the windiest place in the Northern Frontier, and the CyberSquad must measure and compare wind speeds to find it.

DIGIT’S B-DAY SURPRISE – FRIDAY, APRIL 24 (encore episode)
The kids must figure out how evaporative cooling works in order to save a special chocolate b-day sculpture for Digit from melting in a sweltering desert.

We Shall Remain on NPR

We Shall Remain: Language

All Things Considered, Monday, April 13
David White is a member of the Nipmuc tribe in Massachusetts, and one of fewer than ten people who still speak the language. As a young man he took lessons from an elder who had revived the tongue. He now balances his day job as an electrician with his mission to single-handedly save his people's language from extinction.

We Shall Remain: Sovereignty
Morning Edition, Monday, April 27
What does it mean to be a "sovereign nation?" The Chickasaw Nation is designated as one, but how sovereign is it? Reporter Arun Rath explores this question by looking at the Oklahoma tribe's foreign policy – it’s based on trade (gambling) with its largest neighbor, Texas. The nation's domestic policy boasts something that President Obama can’t - universal health care. Rath also examines how economic success has translated to a truer notion of independence and nationhood.

We Shall Remain: Icons
All Things Considered, Monday, May 4
Most of the cultural icons Native Americans have are the ones forced on them by Hollywood – whooping savages or new-age shamans. But comedian Charlie Hill is one of a few native artists trying to bust out of these stereotypes. Reporter Brian Bull visits with Hill and other artists who try to portray Native Americans as three-dimensional people.

We Shall Remain: Identity
Morning Edition, Monday, May 11
What does it mean to be an Indian? In many tribes, it's a matter of blood, as in "one-quarter Indian." But what does that mean for a tribe member married to an outsider whose son or daughter is thus ineligible? Some tribes are opening their doors to more members to avoid dying out, while others flush with casino cash are restricting their membership. Still other Native Americans have to rely on the U.S. government for their identity by seeking official recognition as a tribe. Reporter Brian Bull, himself a member of the Nez Perce tribe, explores the issue.

Hear the stories every day on WGVU Radio, and tune in Monday nights at 9 for We Shall Remain: American Experience on WGVU TV & WGVU HD.

The Movie They Didn't Want You to See

By Stacy Peralta, filmmaker of Crips and Bloods: Made in America

It seemed so obvious to me, a slam-dunk, a downright compelling true life American story. The story of how the Crips and Bloods - two of the world's most 'iconic' gangs - have been allowed to wage a virtual war within one of the richest cities in the world for 4 decades, a war that has taken over 15,000 lives in that time.

Yet I couldn't find any studio or production company interested in financing my documentary. I went door to door, pitching my project to all of the 'right' people in Hollywood. All of them said it was a great idea and needed to be done - but no one would write a check.


Read the complete story from The Huffington Post.

Crips and Bloods: Made in America screened April 7 as part of WGVU's Indepenent Cinema series. It airs Tuesday, May 12 at 10 p.m. on WGVU HD

Israel's Barrier

All Things Considered, April 6 - 9
A massive 450-mile-long wall and barrier separates the West Bank from Israel. Many Palestinians say this structure is the primary obstacle to their economic progress. Israelis, however, credit the barrier for helping to dramatically reduce suicide bombings and other militant attacks inside their country. In a four-part series on All Things Considered, NPR's Eric Westervelt travels the length of the barrier to explore how the fence has affected the lives of the people on both sides.

Hear All Things Considered weekdays, 4 - 6:30 p.m. on WGVU AM & FM.

PBS & NPR Receive Peabody Awards!

Public Broadcasting made us proud at the 2008 Peabody Awards, with many PBS and NPR programs among the honorees. Congratulations to all of the winners!

This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money (Public Radio International/NPR)
Chicago Public Radio's This American Life, National Public Radio, News Division
The first-ever collaboration of "This American Life" and NPR's news division, this report was impressive for the arresting clarity of its explanation of the financial crisis we're in, and even more so for its having aired so early - May 2008.

China: The Earthquake of Chengdu (National Public Radio)
NPR
On assignment in China when earthquakes devastated Sichuan province, members of an NPR team were on the air in Chengdu when the tremors began, and they provided riveting, first-hand accounts from around the region for days.

36 Years in Solitary: Murder, Death and Justice on Angola (NPR/All Things Considered)
NPR
Laura Sullivan's gripping three-part report raised questions about the guilt of two Louisiana prison farm inmates who have been kept in solitary confinement for more than three decades.

Depression: Out of the Shadows (PBS)
Twin Cities Public Television and WGBH Boston
The documentary explored the many forms of depression and an expanding range of treatment strategies as it dispelled the stigma that often inhibits action and fostered hope.

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill (PBS & pbs.org/washingtonweek)
WETA-TV, Washington, DC
Thoughtful, informed and timely, the political talk show that sets the standard for the genre supplemented its contribution to the national discourse in 2008 with a series of live events far outside the Beltway.

Ape Genius (PBS)
NOVA, National Geographic Television, John Rubin Productions, Inc.
A synthesis of the latest research on the intelligence and creative capacity of gorillas and other great apes, this stimulating documentary also explored what it means to be human.

Independent Lens: King Corn (PBS)
Mosaic Films, Independent Television Service (ITVS), Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
Starting off like a post-grad goof - two college buddies plant one acre of corn and follow it to market - the documentary ended up raising questions about everything from crop subsidies to animal cruelty to our obesity epidemic: What's in your gullet?

Independent Lens: Mapping Stem Cell Research - Terra Incognita (PBS)
Kartemquin Educational Films, Independent Television Service (ITVS)
Neither scientific facts nor ethical complexity nor emotional drama was sacrificed in this documentary about a neurologist who took up stem-cell research after his beloved daughter suffered a spinal injury.

P.O.V.: Campaign (PBS)
Laboratory X Inc., American Documentary Inc., P.O.V., Center for Asian American Media
Soda Kazuhiro's revealing, sometimes painfully funny documentary observed the ragged political campaign of a average man handpicked and backed by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.


These last three films were featured at WGVU's Independent Cinema series at the UICA. Click Here for other upcoming films!