REVEALS THE LIVES OF LIONS, LEOPARDS, AND CHEETAHS LIKE NEVER BEFORE
Botswana’s Okavango Delta is one of Africa’s last great natural sanctuaries. Among the most dynamic locations on the African continent, the unique inland delta becomes an oasis when 2.5 trillion gallons of water empty into a dusty plain, transforming the vast landscape into a lush refuge for hundreds of wildlife species.
This is the setting for a thrilling six-part documentary series, created for PBS and BBC by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, titled Big Cats 24/7. Here filmmakers have the rare chance to capture scenes that give viewers the opportunity to watch lions, leopards, and cheetahs as they survive dramatic changes within their families and their home.
Viewers will be awed by the footage collected by elite wildlife camera crew Gordon Buchanan, Vianet Djenguet, and Anna Dimitriadis. They were led by Brad Bestelink and his local camera crew as the group tracked individual big cats for six months, over two seasons. From encountering unprecedented wildfires to floods and extreme drought, the African cats and the Big Cats 24/7 filmmakers were taken to their limit.
A revolution in low-light camera technology enabled the filmmakers to capture previously unseen behavior at night. Cutting-edge drones tracked the big cats’ movements like never before. Working together in unforgiving terrain around the clock, the crews kept their cameras rolling as they filmed from the ground, the air, and through the night in an area unvisited by tourists. But these challenges proved worth it, giving viewers intimate access to the lives of top predators as they battled for supremacy in a brutal harsh environment.
“Expect the unexpected and to witness things you’ve never seen before in an African wilderness that’s almost as dynamic as the cats,” says Roger Webb, Executive Producer. “It’s sure to be a rollercoaster of drama and emotion.”
Watch Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. beginning September 18 on WVPB.
VOCES AMERICAN HISTORIA
THE
UNTOLD HISTORY OF LATINOS
In 2018, acclaimed Broadway and film actor John Leguizamo embarked on an exploration of Latino history with his Tony-nominated play Latin History for Morons. Based on his quest to uncover the rich, multifaceted, often-overlooked contributions of Latino and Latina heroes, PBS is airing a new three-part series that brings Leguizamo's passion from the stage to the screen, taking viewers on a captivating journey spanning thousands of years.
VOCES American Historia weaves together accounts of well-known and lesser-known Latinos — from the rise of great empires and civilizations in Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean to young late 20th-century Latino activists fighting for civil liberties and equal education. Each episode features cultural travel segments, with visits to historical sites and conversations with local experts. Leguizamo illuminates key Latino gamechangers across categories: inventors, artists, musicians, activists, intellectuals, and beyond.
VOCES American Historia shines a light on rarely explored narratives and chronologies, revealing how Latino history is American history. Watch Friday, October 4 at 9:00 p.m. on WVPB.
A Note from Eddie Isom
Dear WVPB Member, Is autumn your favorite season? If you’re like me, you are looking forward to bringing the cozy sweaters out of storage and enjoying a cup of tea with an apple cider doughnut. Speaking of cozy, have you heard the phrase cozy murder mysteries? That captures two MASTERPIECE mysteries coming to your home later this month. Moonflower Murders picks up where Magpie Murders left off last year, joined by The Marlow Murder Club starring Downton Abbey ’s Samantha Bond.
Fall is also a great time to try something new. Join our virtual Paint Like Bob Ross event and create a landscape. Or visit the StoryCorps Airstream when this year’s Mobile Tour hits Huntington. You can always find
more information at wvpublic.org.
Be sure to keep reading for more details on these and other fascinating programs. And remember you can always find wonderful things to watch on PBS Passport anytime of day.
View or print program schedules at: www.wvpublic.org
Sincerely,
y,
Eddie Isom Executive Director
THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB
Love a good MASTERPIECE mystery? Then grab your detective hat and get ready for The Marlow Murder Club, a fiendishly puzzling new murder mystery series adapted from Robert Thorogood’s novel of the same name.
Downton Abbey’s Samantha Bond stars as Judith Potts, a retired archaeologist in the town of Marlow. Her peaceful life takes a far-reaching turn when she hears a gunshot from the neighbor’s garden. Initially dismissed by the police, Judith takes
the investigation into her own hands with help from local dog walker Suzie Harris (Jo Martin), unfulfilled vicar’s wife Becks Starling (Cara Horgan), and eventually Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew). As the four-part MASTERPIECE series unfolds, the women must work against the clock to stop a serial killer. Spoiler alert: the cast and crew are already back on set filming season 2! Watch Sundays at 9:00 p.m. beginning October 27 on WVPB.
Two more award winning teachers
Dawnell Leininger, a second grade teacher at Moorefield Elementary School in Hardy County, and Vickie Hensley, a U.S. History teacher at George Washington High School in Kanawha County, earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers. Winners receive a monetary award and a signature Blenko Glass blue apple paperweight. The West Virginia State Treasurers’ Office sponsors the award, presenter of the SMART529 college savings program in the Mountain State.
Leininger was presented the award by WVPB’s Education Director Maggie Holley during the students’ lunch and was surprised to also have her husband in attendance. Leininger has been a teacher for 11 years and was nominated by her daughter Abigail for her compassion, creativity, and hard work in the classroom.
“Mrs. Leininger is constantly looking for new ways to help her students grow,” said her daughter. She mentions her mother’s active involvement in the school’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) days, coordinating holiday programs, creating a new class behavior program, volunteering to deliver meals to children, and creative strategies for supporting the English Language Learners in her classroom.
In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Leininger also volunteers to be a mentor for teachers in training. These student teachers will observe and teach different lessons. Leininger says she enjoys being able to help others find resources, and by sharing some tricks she’s learned that have made classroom management easier over the years. She is also always sure to check in with the newer teachers and long-term substitute teachers in the building.
In addition to holiday programs, STEM days, and mentoring, Leininger also coaches the afterschool book club to encourage readers to be challenged with higher level thinking. “We did escape rooms, compared and contrasted different gingerbread man stories, and then they had to create their own gingerbread house. We wrote stories and redesigned covers of books to name a few things.”
Hensley was presented the award by WVPB’s Education team with a surprise visit to her classroom. Hensley was nominated by several of her students who
expressed their gratitude for her teaching strategies, passion for the subject, and inclusive and stimulating classroom atmosphere. One student nominee, Ameera Mustafa, said, “Another amazing aspect of Mrs. Hensley’s teaching is her use of creativity in assignments. It’s especially easy for History to become a boring subject, but I remember multiple times when I had fun doing classwork or homework. Most of all, knowing it was Mrs. Hensley who was grading it pushed me to try my best. Knowing how much passion she has for teaching encouraged me to improve as a student. She is one of the kindest and most genuine individuals I, and many of my peers, have ever met.”
Hensley has been teaching for 23 years, and she loves engaging the students. She said she creates an environment where the students know they are important. She said, “They are 100% the reason why I am there, and while they are in my classroom, the world really does revolve around them.” She also enjoys when students ask the hard questions and she has to tell them she’ll have to get back to them and model that learning is a lifelong process.
In addition to the classroom, Hensley is also a co-advisor for the George Washington National Honor Society and a teacher with WVLearns, the online platform for students in West Virginia. The National Honor Society students focus on leadership and involvement. “I am very proud of how active our students are in our school chapter.”
Mustafa finished the nomination with, “Mrs. Hensley’s approach to education and community involvement truly makes a positive impact on both students and the community at large.”
Each month, WVPB has an esteemed panel of judges who select one deserving teacher who goes above and beyond for the students in West Virginia. If you know of a deserving teacher who goes “Above and Beyond,” please visit https://wvpublic. org/wvpb-education/above-and-beyond/ to submit your nomination.
MOONFLOWER MURDERS
Since first viewing Magpie Murders in 2022, MASTERPIECE fans have waited with bated breath for more of the devilishly delightful adventures of book editor-turned-sleuth-turned-hotelier Susan Ryeland. Moonflower Murders picks up in the aftermath of Magpie Murders’ riveting finale. Lesley Manville and Timothy McMullan reprise their roles as the shrewd Susan Ryeland and literary detective Atticus Pünd, respectively, along with an ensemble of new and returning characters.
Susan’s pastoral life with longtime boyfriend, Andreas, in Crete is disrupted when she discovers her former author Alan Conway’s connection to a murder that took place in a British country hotel eight years ago. The case proves far from cold with the disappearance of Susan's colleague Cecily Treherne. Danger impending, Susan and her allies must unravel truth from fiction in Conway’s novel before it’s too late. Watch Sundays at 9:00 p.m. beginning September 15 on WVPB.
Sustainers are the key to our success
Your gifts make it possible for us to tell West Virginia’s story and provide the news, educational programming, and entertainment you rely on.
Have you considered becoming a sustaining member? Your ongoing monthly contributions provide a reliable source of income for WVPB. And by having your gift come from your bank account (through an electronic funds transfer, or EFT) or your debit or credit card, lower processing costs are incurred. More of your donation goes toward the programming you support.
As a sustainer, your membership automatically renews annually, so you never have to worry about remembering when your membership expires. For those who make ongoing monthly gifts of at least $5 and are using WVPB Passport, you won’t lose your access to the streaming benefit due to a lapsed account.
You can make a sustaining gift in the amount that best fits your budget, be that $5, $10, or $25 a month. Those monthly contributions add up to annual gifts of $60, $120, and $300. That’s a wonderful opportunity to support WVPB in a way that works for you.
Join the half of our members who decided to support WVPB as sustainers. Become a sustainer today. Easy for you. Better for WVPB. Best for West Virginia.
DEAD LOCK
Tired of “winner-loser” debates in the often-polarizing discourse of today? Would you prefer to engage in an alternative — thoughtful conversation among participants with varying points of view? Then be sure to tune in to Deadlock.
For this one-hour special, GBH Boston brought together a panel of influential figures from legal, political, and cultural spheres to delve into complex, ethical dilemmas based on real-life scenarios. The resulting conversation shows how we can work together to spark open-mindedness and help people consider each other’s ways of thinking.
Filmed in front of a live audience, Deadlock was moderated by UC Davis Professor of Law Aaron Tang at New York City’s historic Federal Hall, the site of America’s first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive branch offices. “We hope it will humanize the conversation on important topics, explore areas of common ground, and facilitate a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives,” said Executive Producer Andrew Lack.
Watch Friday, September 20 at 9:00 p.m. on WVPB.
StoryCorps Returns!
The StoryCorps Mobile Tour is coming back to West Virginia. WVPB will host the airstream in Huntington this year from September 12 through October 4 (subject to change). In 2005, StoryCorps converted an Airstream trailer into a traveling recording studio — its MobileBooth — and launched its first cross-country tour. Each year, StoryCorps visit cities and towns across the country to record the conversations between people who live there. Keep listening for more details and how you can be involved in this year’s Mobile Tour.
Celebrate Bob Ross’ birthday, Tuesday, October 29, with our virtual event Paint Like Bob Ross with Nicholas Hankins
Beginning at 8 p.m., create your own masterpiece with step-by-step instruction from Nicholas Hankins, Bob Ross Certified Instructor and host of The Joy of Painting with Nicholas Hankins: Bob Ross’ Unfinished Season Whether you’re an experienced painter or picking up the brush for the first time, this is your chance to paint like the myth, the legend... Bob Ross! Registration includes everything you need to create your masterpiece. Ticket sales end October 4. Visit wvpublic.org/ paint for more information.
