Maryam Taghavi: Estranged Letters
This short documentary traces the Iranian-American artist Maryam Taghavi's journey toward her first major solo exhibition — a body of work where abstraction, perspective, and Islamic culture converge.
Episodes
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Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
S39 E7 - 1h 36m
Learn about the life and career of 4-time Emmy nominee Marlee Matlin as she shares her story in her native American Sign Language. Known for roles in The West Wing and CODA, at 21 years old, Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Oscar.
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Marcella
S39 E6 - 1h 22m
Discover how celebrated writer Marcella Hazan shaped Italian cuisine in America. After immigrating to New York in the 1950s, she began making authentic dishes from her Italian roots and inspired millions of Americans with her cookbooks.
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Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny
S39 E5 - 1h 23m
Discover Hannah Arendt, one of the most fearless political thinkers of the 20th century, who transformed her time as a political prisoner and refugee during World War II into daring insights about totalitarianism which continue to resonate today.
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Janis Ian: Breaking Silence
S39 E4 - 1h 51m
Discover the life of singer-songwriter Janis Ian and how she rose as a folk icon and gay rights advocate. She broke ground with “Society’s Child” (1966), a bold take on interracial love, and “At Seventeen” (1975), a searing anthem about bullying.
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Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse
S39 E3 - 1h 36m
Explore the work of cartoonist Art Spiegelman and the impact of his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, about his parents’ survival of the Holocaust. A defender of free speech, Spiegelman has spoken out as book bans spread across the country.
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LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
S39 E2 - 1h 42m
Take an intimate look into the life of Liza Minnelli, best known for her Oscar-winning role in Cabaret. Following in the footsteps of her mother Judy Garland, Minnelli used her boundless raw talent to build her own legacy in showbiz.
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The Disappearance of Miss Scott
S39 E1 - 1h 23m
Learn about jazz virtuoso and screen superstar Hazel Scott, the first Black American to have their own television show. An early civil rights pioneer, she faced down the Red Scare at the risk of losing her career and was a champion for equality. The film features interviews with Mickey Guyton, Tracie Thoms, Amanda Seales, and Sheryl Lee Ralph as the voice of Hazel Scott.
Extras + Features
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What sparked Hannah Arendt's ideas behind "The Origins of Totalitarianism"
S39 E5 - 2m 49s
Adolf Hitler projected his own narrative into his campaign speeches, giving his followers a coherent story that the Nazi movement was winning, even when they weren’t. Hannah Arendt began to come up with ideas for “The Origins of Totalitarianism” while observing what Hitler provided his followers: “The Nazis translated the propaganda lies of the movement into a functioning reality.”
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How Hannah Arendt developed the concept of "the banality of evil"
S39 E5 - 3m 39s
Hannah Arendt came up with the concept of “the banality of evil” during her coverage of the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann. During the trial, Eichmann, one of the main organizers of the Holocaust, insisted that he was only obeying the law and following orders. Arendt said: “There’s simply the reluctance ever to imagine what the other person is experiencing. That is the banality of evil.”
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Janis Ian: Breaking Silence
S39 E4 - 2m 30s
Discover the life of singer-songwriter Janis Ian and how she rose as a folk icon and gay rights advocate. She broke ground with “Society’s Child” (1966), a bold take on interracial love, and “At Seventeen” (1975), a searing anthem about bullying.
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Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” as a tribute to her friend
S39 E4 - 3m 1s
Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” with songwriter Kye Fleming, inspired by a restaurant owner they were friends with named Mary, who felt that she had not contributed anything to the world. They presented this song to Mary to show her how she had made an impact.
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How Janis Ian wrote “Society’s Child”
S39 E4 - 1m 9s
Janis Ian was inspired to write “Society’s Child” after observing an interracial couple on her school bus. Ian wrote the song at just 14 years old, imagining the societal pressures the couple may have been under.
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Why Janis Ian’s song “At Seventeen” was so universally beloved
S39 E4 - 2m 4s
Janis Ian wrote “At Seventeen” about the “pain of adolescence” and not fitting in, but the themes of the song spoke to audiences of all kinds and had a universal relevance. The song later won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
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The double meaning behind Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”
S39 E3 - 1m 55s
Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel “Maus” was about both his father Vladek’s experiences in the Holocaust and the difficult relationship they had with each other.
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Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse
S39 E3 - 2m
Explore the work of cartoonist Art Spiegelman and the impact of his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, about his parents’ survival of the Holocaust. A defender of free speech, Spiegelman has spoken out as book bans spread across the country.
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Art Spiegelman wrote this comic about his family’s experiences on 9/11
S39 E3 - 1m 19s
When the Spiegelman family witnessed the towers falling on 9/11, they noticed that the gray of the buildings fell first, leaving bright red beams hanging in the air that slowly disintegrated. Art Spiegelman later depicted this in his comic, “In the Shadow of No Towers.”
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How Art Spiegelman got involved in the world of underground comix
S39 E3 - 1m 39s
Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” was featured in the comic book “Funny Aminals” in 1972, with a cover by Robert Crumb, one of Spiegelman’s comic heroes. Being part of “Funny Aminals” helped Spiegelman feel like he had established himself in the comics scene.
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Art Spiegelman interpreted the Holocaust from a child’s perspective
S39 E3 - 1m 23s
Art Spiegelman’s “Li’l Pitcher” comic depicts a young boy who learns about the horrors of the Holocaust while listening to his parents’ conversation during a car ride.
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One of the most important pages of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”
S39 E3 - 2m 4s
In this segment of “Maus,” Art Spiegelman illustrated four Jewish victims hung by Nazis in Poland that Spiegelman’s parents knew. The page provides details about the victims as people, humanizing them and asking readers to slow down and acknowledge the horrors of the Holocaust.
Schedule
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American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Friday
Dec 12
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
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American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Friday
Dec 12
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Saturday
Dec 13
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Saturday
Dec 13
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Bebop pioneer and virtuoso composer Max Roach's far-reaching ambitions were inspired and challenged by the inequities of the society around him. -
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American Masters
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Sunday
Dec 14
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Bebop pioneer and virtuoso composer Max Roach's far-reaching ambitions were inspired and challenged by the inequities of the society around him. -
Image
American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Sunday
Dec 14
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Sunday
Dec 14
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Monday
Dec 15
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Monday
Dec 15
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Monday
Dec 15
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Monday
Dec 15
2 Hours
Celebrating the life and career of actor Dick Van Dyke on his 100th birthday; featuring never-before-seen footage, photos and home movies that detail his legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
Ten Times Better
Tuesday
Dec 16
30 Minutes
The astonishing and heartwarming story of George Lee, a pioneering Asian dancer who originated a featured role in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker ago as a teenage immigrant from China. -
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American Masters
Ten Times Better
Wednesday
Dec 17
30 Minutes
The astonishing and heartwarming story of George Lee, a pioneering Asian dancer who originated a featured role in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker ago as a teenage immigrant from China. -
Image
American Masters
Ten Times Better
Wednesday
Dec 17
30 Minutes
The astonishing and heartwarming story of George Lee, a pioneering Asian dancer who originated a featured role in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker ago as a teenage immigrant from China. -
Image
American Masters
LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Thursday
Dec 18
2 Hours
An intimate look at the life and career of Liza Minnelli and how she built her own legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Friday
Dec 19
2 Hours
An intimate look at the life and career of Liza Minnelli and how she built her own legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Friday
Dec 19
2 Hours
An intimate look at the life and career of Liza Minnelli and how she built her own legacy in show business. -
Image
American Masters
LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
Saturday
Dec 20
2 Hours
An intimate look at the life and career of Liza Minnelli and how she built her own legacy in show business.
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