Drawing upon his own past as well as the history of Latin America, Chilean novelist and journalist Jorge Edwards shares unique perspectives forged at the crossroads of literature and social commentary. Edwards describes his secretive and book-filled childhood, his overbearing father, his admiration for the Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno, and his equal reverence for Pablo Neruda-while rejecting the latter's fondness for Stalinist thought and dismissing...

Within two years of the Cultural Revolution, armed factions battled each other in Mao's name. To avoid civil war, Mao essentially banished his zealots to the countryside. This program chronicles the Cultural Revolution, its disastrous aftermath, and the role of Mao's wife, Jiang Qing. Scholars, diplomats, and survivors discuss the forced labor camps known as "Schools of May 7th"; the attacks on foreign consulates in Hong Kong and Beijing; China's...

A poetic and authentic look at the bullfighter and his bull-the importance of bullfighting in Spanish society; the breeding, rearing, and training of the bull; the human side of the matador; and the countryside and people who have provided a home for bullfighting for countless centuries. The program culminates at a bullfight at the Feria de Abril in Seville. Also available in English.

From Amboise to Blois to Chenonceaux to Chambord, this tour of the chateaux of the Loire serves up a fascinating mix of political and architectural history, scandal, poetry, and local color. The program shows how French architecture made superb use of Italian Renaissance style while maintaining a distinctly French character. As well as examining the buildings themselves, the program offers an overview of the times in which these chateaux were being...

In this spirited program, one of Mexico's most beloved actors, Ignacio Lopez Tarso, tells in song of the struggles and triumphs of the Mexican Revolution. The songs tell the stories of battles fought and lives lost, and of the men who changed the course of Mexican history.

Tokyo is one of the most technologically advanced cities on the planet, but Japan's low birth rate and the diversifying interests of its young people are causing Tokyo to rely increasingly on skilled immigrant labor. This program examines the implications of that change, gathering insightful commentary from a wide range of Japanese society about multiculturalism, racism, and interracial marriage. While the program cites one statistic saying 80 percent...

Dixieland, swing, bebop, modal, free, avant-garde, these were some of the terms critics used during the 1960s to categorize the diverse manifestations of jazz music. As for the artists themselves, many were desperate for work and headed for Europe, including bebop saxophone master Dexter Gordon. At home, jazz sought relevance. During the Civil Rights struggle it became a voice of protest, while avant-garde explorer John Coltrane reached for a higher...

Articulating his profound and compelling worldview, Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano imbues this program with a poetic sensibility and an unconstrained intellectual curiosity. Ruminations on prehistoric gender roles, global warming, and the twilight of socialism underscore Galeano's notion of disabled memory-his term for the reshaping of history according to one's fears and prejudices-as well as his thoughts on humanity's chances for survival. The...

Nolusindiso "Titie" Plaatjie knows that soccer can help kids "stay away from things that could destroy their lives" because that's just what it did for her. In A Game for Life, we are taken to the soccer fields in the poor neighborhood of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where provincial soccer star, "Titie," works with an innovative soccer program to educate local youth about HIV/AIDS prevention.

Education has powered South Korea's stunning economic success. A country once shackled by mass illiteracy now tops academic league tables. But as North Asia Correspondent Matthew Carney reports, its stressed out students also rank as the unhappiest in the developed world.