Brand New Super WHY Coming to WGVU TV!

This November, tune in to WGVU TV weekdays at 9 a.m.
for new episodes of Super WHY!

November 9: Hansel and Gretel: A Healthy Adventure
Red and her friends are having a picnic in the park, but she has no energy to join in the fun. Could it have something to do with her unhealthy snack choices? Super Why and his friends head into the story of Hansel and Gretel to meet the equally tired and grouchy witch.

November 10: Cinderella: The Prince's Side of the Story
Red and Little Boy Blue are playing some music together when Little Boy Blue suddenly disappears! This is just like when Cinderella left the ball without finishing her dance. To solve the mystery, Super Why and his friends soar into Cinderella's fairytale once again, and this time they talk to the prince!

November 11: The Prince and the Pauper
Whyatt thinks his house is too loud while Princess Pea believes her home is too quiet! Would the friends be better-off if they switched places? To look for a solution, Super Why and his friends encounter two friends just as they are about to switch houses.

November 12: The Ugly Duckling: Becoming a Swan

Pig is too big for his bed and his sneakers are pinching his feet - what is going on? The superhero readers zoom into the story of The Ugly Duckling: Becoming a Swan, and meet a little guy who is experiencing growing pains of his own.

November 25*: The Nutcracker

Princess Pea doesn't know what to do about her friend Sleeping Beauty who is very, very grumpy! Super Why and his friends dance their way into the story of The Nutcracker, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's memorable music, to find out why the Mouse King is so cranky and give an innovative twist to the holiday classic.

*repeats throughout the holiday season!

The Botany of Desire

Tune in to WGVU TV
Wednesday, October 28 at 8 p.m.

Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: to make their honey, the bees collect nectar, and in the process spread pollen, which contains the flowers' genes. The Botany of Desire proposes that people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. "We don't give nearly enough credit to plants," says best-selling author Michael Pollan, whose book of the same name is the inspiration for the program. "They've been working on us - they've been using us - for their own purposes."

The Botany of Desire examines this unique relationship through the stories of four familiar species, telling how each evolved to satisfy one of our most basic yearnings. Linking our fundamental desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control with the plants that gratify them - the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato - The Botany of Desire shows that we humans are intricately woven into the web of nature, not standing outside it.

"The Botany of Desire is a perfect story for television," says producer/director Michael Schwarz. "It takes a world we thought we knew, and allows us to see it in an entirely new way." Shot in stunning high definition photography, the program begins with Michael Pollan in a California garden and sets off to roam the world: from the potato fields of Idaho and Peru to the apple orchards of New England; from a medical marijuana hot house to the tulip mecca of Amsterdam, where in 1637, one Dutchman, crazed with "tulip mania," paid as much for a single tulip bulb as the going price for a town house. How could flowers, with no real practical value to humans, become so desperately desired that they drove many to financial ruin?

The Botany of Desire argues that the answer lies in the powerful but often overlooked relationship between people and plants. With Pollan as our on-screen guide to this frankly sensuous natural world, The Botany of Desire explores the dance of domestication between humans and plants. Through the history of these four familiar plants, the film seeks to answer the question: Who has really been domesticating whom?

Sid the Science Kid Gets a Flu Shot!

Everyone’s favorite preschool scientist, Sid, star of Sid the Science Kid, is hearing a lot of talk this fall about how to stay healthy, which leads him to ask lots of questions about what can make a person sick and what he can do to keep from getting sick. In the new special episode “Getting a Shot: You Can Do It!” from the Emmy®-nominated series, Sid and his friends will learn the basic science behind germs, viruses and vaccines using age-appropriate vocabulary and scientific concepts that have become a hallmark of the series.

The episode premieres on WGVU TV on Monday, October 26 at 8:30 a.m.

It’s vaccination day at Sid’s school, and Sid and his friends are a little apprehensive about getting a shot. Thankfully, a very special nurse will be giving the kids their vaccination—Sid’s Grandma! Throughout the special episode, Grandma, Teacher Susie, Mom and Dad all do their part to make vaccination day a fun learning experience filled with music, games and lots of laughs.

“Sid the Science Kid explores the science behind the everyday experiences of a preschooler and we know that getting a shot can be scary for many children,” said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. “This special episode is an opportunity for us to help kids understand why they are getting a shot while providing parents and caregivers with helpful resources to handle this important issue.”

The special episode is supported by online games, activities and resources for kids, parents and educators. At PBSKIDS.org/sid, kids can learn about germs, illness and getting shots through age-appropriate activities and videos. For parents and caregivers, PBS Parents (PBSPARENTS.org) features resources to help children cope with illness and overcome fears they may face about going to the doctor. PBS Teachers (PBSTEACHERS.org) will host a PBS Teachers live Webinar for educators about this episode and how teachers can help children stay healthy at school.

In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina

Here's a clip from last night's Fiesta Latina performance, from CNN:

VIDEO

The President, the First Lady and even the Obama daughters reveled in the polyglot pop of Gloria Estefan, the tender balladry of guitarist José Feliciano and the alchemical rock of Los Lobos. Percussionist Sheila E. held it all together, as the program's musical director and leader of the house band. With the illuminated South Facade at her back, she joined Estefan for the opening number, "No Llores" ("Don't Cry"), whacking her bedazzled timbales while Feliciano strummed along.

See the entire program Sunday, October 18 at 12:30 p.m. on WGVU TV.

PBS' Nightly Business Report and Kiplinger's Personal Finance Partner for Series on Investor Psychology

"Your Mind & Your Money"

Begins October 19 at 6:30 p.m. on WGVU TV

Why is it that people often make major financial decisions on the basis of "gut feelings" rather than logic? And why do investors recklessly buy into market bubbles-even when they know that prices are far out of line? PBS' Nightly Business Report and Kiplinger's Personal Finance will examine investor psychology in the upcoming series "Your Mind & Your Money" beginning Monday, October 19.

The series, airing twice monthly on NBR, with companion articles in Kiplinger's Personal Finance and at www.Kiplinger.com, will look at findings from recent studies in the fields of behavioral finance and neuroeconomics. Special series reporter Dan Grech will interview leading researchers and experts.

The first report in the series will feature Daniel Kahneman, the psychologist and winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics (among other things, Kahneman showed that the psychological pain of losing money far outweighs the joy that results from financial gains). The series will also feature Jonathan Cohen, a neuroscientist at Princeton University who believes that the tendency of many people to spend for today rather than save for tomorrow is actually "hard-wired" into their brains.

On the following Monday, October 26, the series will continue with an interview with behavioral finance pioneer Richard Thaler. A professor at the University of Chicago, Thaler was the first to connect Kahneman's findings to financial decision-making processes.

Other segments in the series will delve into how investors may be influenced by such matters as "herding" (the tendency to follow the crowd), fear of the unknown, and perceptions of patterns that don't exist. Additional information and resources for each of the subjects covered will be available on the "Your Mind & Your Money" section of NBR's website (www.pbs.org/nbr).

""Your Mind & Your Money" will do more than just report the findings of academic studies," said NBR Executive Editor Rodney Ward. "This series will show investors how to apply the lessons of behavioral finance to better understand their own impulses and to improve their own decision-making."

"At Kiplinger's Personal Finance, we have been helping our readers invest to reach their financial goals for more than 60 years," said Kiplinger's Editorial Director Kevin McCormally. "We are pleased to join Nightly Business Report to help Americans understand and embrace their emotions and predilections - and the important roles they play in investment decisions."

50 Great Voices: Send In Your Nominations

In January 2010, NPR will launch a year-long exploration of 50 of the great voices in recorded history. With the series, they're hoping to discover and re-discover awe-inspiring vocalists from around the world and across time. Through archival material, interviews and music, NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered will spend the year delving into the lives and legacies of these voices. But whose voices will they be?

Now through October 16, tell NPR who in the whole world possesses the most beautiful, singular voice you have ever heard. Leave your picks, along with a sentence defending each choice and a link to an audio clip if possible, HERE, or email GreatVoices@npr.org.

Read more HERE.

Share a Play Date with Sid!

October 12 - 16 at 8:30 a.m. on WGVU TV, Sid the Science Kid brings a special week of programming to PBS KIDS, focusing on play dates. Each day's episode will feature Sid and his friend Gabriela getting together at Sid's house for a super schmooper science play date.



Visit pbskids.org/sidthesciencekid for activities that parents and caregivers can do to introduce science concepts during their own play dates.

WGVU 2 to Air H1N1 Programs on October 12

On Monday, October 12 at 8 p.m., Second Opinion offers a special edition on the H1N1 flu virus. The program will be a town meeting style format, with a panel of national experts who will address issues such as symptoms, prevention,vaccinations, public health, available resources, and local and national response. A live studio audience as well as videotaped questions from around the country provide viewer interaction with the panel.

This program will be followed by a WGVU Newsmakers special on H1N1, previously recorded.

Both programs will repeat on WGVU 2 that night, starting at 1 a.m.

Arthur Returns with New Episodes and a Special Guest - Lance Armstrong!

For twelve years, Arthur has helped children and families talk about important issues—from asthma, to dyslexia, to the death of a pet. Now, in its 13th Season, the series once again takes on a difficult topic that impacts kids and their parents in a profound way—cancer. Lance Armstrong returns to Elwood City for the two-part episode “The Great MacGrady,” about an illness that affects the lives of so many children. The special story is part of five new episodes premiering Monday, October 12 on PBS KIDS GO!

When Lakewood Elementary’s beloved lunch lady Mrs. MacGrady is diagnosed with cancer, Arthur and his friends all react differently to the news—Arthur and D.W. rush to her side with heaps of chicken soup and stuffed animals, Muffy tries to pretend that nothing in her life has changed, and Francine is so upset she can’t even bring herself to visit Mrs. MacGrady. In this moving episode, both parents and kids learn how they can come together to support Mrs. MacGrady and each other—and Lance Armstrong makes a special appearance to show Francine and the Elwood City residents how they can take a stand, or ride a bike, for cancer survivors.

“Cancer affects nearly everyone in some way,” said Executive Producer Jacqui Deegan. “We hope that this two-part episode will empower kids, families and caregivers to talk about all the feelings that can come up when a loved one has cancer, and how they can work together and remain positive and hopeful through difficult times.”

Kicking off the season, Academy Award-winning actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman lends his voice as director Will Toffman, in “No Acting Please,” a unique premiere episode about theater and the joy of the performing arts. When Fern lands a role in the Elwood City community production of “It Began With a Whistle,” she fears she’s not talented enough to be a star actress. But Will Toffman teaches Fern how to have fun, be herself and truly shine.

Additional episodes premiering this fall include “Prunella and the Disappointing Ending;” Prunella and Marina are thrilled that the latest volume of the Henry Screever series, The Knights of the Boillabiasse, is finally out. The two friends immediately begin competing to see who can finish the book the fastest, but quickly learn that speed-reading doesn’t always pay off. Then, in “MacFrensky,” when Francine and Brain are locked in a stiff competition to win student of the month, Muffy talks Francine into “borrowing” Buster’s toy and letting Brain take the blame for it. As the lies grow and the prize gets closer, however, Francine's guilt increases. Can she come clean and wash her hands of this dastardly deed? Finally, in “Brain Gets Hooked,” Brain is hooked on the latest tween reality show “Junior Island.” When he starts to ignore his friends and his schoolwork, he knows he’s got a problem. But what can he do to break the addiction?

Tune-in for these episodes and more when the all-new Season of Arthur premieres Monday, October 12 at 7 a.m. & 4 p.m. on WGVU TV!

Catch Austin City Limits Online!

Season 35 of Austin City Limits will be available for online streaming at http://video.pbs.org. Each episode will be available the day after its national broadcast premiere on PBS, according to the schedule on the homepage of the ACL website.


Dave Matthews Band is live now, and Ben Harper and Relentless 7 follow next week! Catch the series Saturday nights at 9 p.m. on WGVU 2 and at 11 p.m. on WGVU HD.