Culture

WETA Digital Extras

Online-only WETA Digital Extras highlight the local personalities and stories, which make Greater Washington a unique and interesting place to live.

The Cost of Unaffordability

6m 3s

Carmen Romero of the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing discusses the worsening housing crisis in the Washington Metropolitan area: the causes of runaway housing costs, who is most affected by them, and what happens to our area when a large swath of D.C.-area residents can no longer afford a roof over their head.

Episodes

  • The Cost of Unaffordability: asset-original

    The Cost of Unaffordability

    6m 3s

    Carmen Romero of the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing discusses the worsening housing crisis in the Washington Metropolitan area: the causes of runaway housing costs, who is most affected by them, and what happens to our area when a large swath of D.C.-area residents can no longer afford a roof over their head.

  • The Legacy of Dance: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Legacy of Dance

    3m 7s

    How does dance survive as an art form? As Susan Shields puts it, "In today's technology, you could always throw on the DVD and learn the dance.... But the soul of a piece? That has to be passed down." For Shields and George Mason University dancer Lauren Stucko, the process of passing down the role of "Pink Girl" in Lar Lubovitch's A Brahms Symphony has been a powerful experience.

  • Life's Second Chances: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Life's Second Chances

    3m 32s

    George Jones III joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 and volunteered to be a combat medic in Vietnam. After returning from his tour, he became disillusioned with his treatment at home and re-enlisted. A few years later, he developed cancer but he credits luck for his recovery. Today, his work as a wood turner reminds him of the many second chances he’s received throughout his life.

  • Providing a Touch of Home in Vietnam: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Providing a Touch of Home in Vietnam

    3m 32s

    Holley Watts' friends used to say, "You're not a guy. You don't have to go." "That's right!" she responded. In 1966-1967 Watts served in the American Red Cross Supplemental Recreation Overseas Activities program. She and other women, who were dubbed "Donut Dollys," provided outreach and a touch of home to American soldiers stationed in Vietnam. 50 years later, Holley reflects on the experience.

  • Finding My Mother, Finding Myself: Kim and Huong O'Connell: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Finding My Mother, Finding Myself: Kim and Huong O'Connell

    4m 12s

    Local writer Kim O'Connell discusses her unique family history as the daughter of an American serviceman father and a Vietnamese mother. After coming to the United States in the 1970s, Kim's mother, Huong, was intent on becoming Americanized and raising her children as Americans. As an adult, Kim has felt a pull to connect with her Vietnamese heritage, but that connection has been elusive.

  • Alexander Robey Shepherd: Man Who Built the Nation's Capital: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Alexander Robey Shepherd: Man Who Built the Nation's Capital

    3m 31s

    John Richardson, author of a new biography of Alexander Robey Shepherd discusses Shepherd's controversial work as the czar of public works in Washington during the 1870s. Shepherd spearheaded an effort to modernize infrastructure in the District of Columbia and transform the scraggly city into a true national capital. However, his efforts led to charges of cronyism and corruption.

  • World War I Hero: Arlington's John Lyon: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    World War I Hero: Arlington's John Lyon

    3m 33s

    When World War I broke out in Europe, Arlington's John Lyon jumped into action, traveling to France to serve as an ambulance driver. Later, when the United States entered the war, he served in the 29th Infantry Division during the bloody Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Just three weeks before the Armistice that ended the war, Lyon was killed while aiding a wounded comrade on the battlefield.

  • Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.

    3m 58s

    "The Good Gray Poet" Walt Whitman first came to Washington, D.C. in 1862 after the battle of Fredericksburg during the Civil War. He spent the rest of the war serving convalescing soldiers in the city's many military hospitals and remained in Washington until 1873, working as a Federal clerk. This decade was a formative period of the poet's career during which he gained international attention.

  • Arlington Police Department: 75 Years Serving the Community: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Arlington Police Department: 75 Years Serving the Community

    3m 58s

    The Arlington County Police Department was established on February 1, 1940 as the country was in the midst of an unprecedented population boom. Captain Michelle Nuneville looks back on the history of the department and how it has developed over the last 75 years.

  • Lost Civil War History: Northern Virginia Contraband Camps: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Lost Civil War History: Northern Virginia Contraband Camps

    3m 41s

    During the Civil War, thousands of slaves made their way to Washington, D.C. As the city became overcrowded, the federal government created camps on abandoned secessionist lands in northern Virginia. There "contrabands" were paid to farm crops for the Union army and given access to education -- an important step in the transition from bondage to freedom.

  • Origins of the George Washington Memorial Parkway: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Origins of the George Washington Memorial Parkway

    3m 44s

    While most people don't realize it the George Washington Memorial Parkway is much more than a busy artery into Washington, D.C. The roadway is actually a national park and was built in the 1920s as part of the nation's celebration of President George Washington's 200th birthday.

  • Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal

    3m 44s

    Sue Eisenfeld, author of Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal discusses the creation of Shenandoah National Park, which involved displacing thousands of longtime residents from Virginia's Blue Ridge mountains.

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