MARCH/APRIL 2020
A WORD FROM OUR GENERAL MANAGER, TOM KARLO
I’m delighted to announce this year’s KPBS Hall of Fame inductees: Dan and Phyllis Epstein, Pat Finn, and Steve and Sue Hart. These individuals have made a significant impact on KPBS through their work, philanthropy, and leadership.
Visionary honorees Dan and Phyllis Epstein have been members for more than 30 years, providing the fuel for KPBS to pursue its mission. They are passionate about KPBS programs from the arts to news to British dramas.
The Harts take an active interest in KPBS’ news operations, digital communications, and engineering infrastructure. These visionaries are also supporters of The “Masterpiece” Trust, ensuring the series’ future on PBS.
Lifetime Achievement honoree and former KPBS staffer Pat Finn has served as director of programming, public information
director, and producer. Her commitment to excellence has elevated KPBS to one of San Diego’s most treasured public resources.
We are thrilled to induct these special people. I hope you will join us on April 25 for a special Hall of Fame celebration featuring “Morning Edition” host David Greene. Details and ticket information are at kpbs.org/halloffame.
“Call the Midwife”
“Call the Midwife” Returns for Season 9!
Your favorite team of medics and midwives are back on KPBS!
“Call the Midwife” returns on March 29 and promises to once again pull viewers into its dramatic twists and turns. You’ll experience the ups and downs of life at Nonnatus, including the love stories and devastating losses that define the show we’ve all come to love.
Opening with the funeral of Winston Churchill in January of 1965, the new season brings unexpected challenges, changes, and old diseases that come back to haunt them. Alongside the elation of birth, the midwives must cope with devastating cases of disease, death, and hardships.
“Call the Midwife” creator and writer Heidi Thomas says of the new season: “After a magical Christmas experience in the Hebrides featuring wild seas, stormy skies, and some very disobedient sheep, we return to the harsher reality of city life in 1965. Society is changing fast and in season 9 we will see Nonnatus House shaken to its foundations.”
Tune in to “Call the Midwife” season 9 on KPBS-TV. Premieres Sunday, March 29 at 8:00 p.m.
New Series: “World on Fire”
Prepare yourselves, fans of World War II dramas: The gorgeous new series “World on Fire” is coming to KPBS this spring.
Set in Britain, Poland, France, Germany, and the United States, the seven-hour “Masterpiece” series follows the intertwining fates of ordinary people during the first year of the war.
“World on Fire” is an enthralling take on the allies and enemies, the battles and death, the heroism and the tragedy that are associated with the Second World War. It features a stellar cast, including Academy Award-winner Helen Hunt (“As Good As It Gets”), Sean Bean (“Game of Thrones”), Academy Award- nominee Lesley Manville (“Phantom Thread”) and Jonah Hauer-King (“Little Women” on “Masterpiece”).
Premieres Sunday, April 5 at 9 p.m. on KPBS-TV.
“Midsomer Murders”
This month, “Midsomer Murders” returns to KPBS! This season, we’ll see John Barnabay partner with a new face: DS Charlie Nelson (“Bohemian Rhapsody”). Their work together never slows as they investigate the grisly murders that plague a picturesque English county. Premieres Thursday, March 5 at 10 p.m. on KPBS-TV.
“Death in Paradise”
In April, don’t miss brand-new episodes of “Death in Paradise.” This season, DI Jack Mooney may be settled into life on Saint Marie, but the murders keep coming. Joined by their new SD, Madeline, the team solves some of the most confounding crimes they’ve ever seen. Premieres Friday, April 3 at 10 p.m. on KPBS-TV.
“Father Brown”
Also in April, “Father Brown” returns as the charismatic priest who investigates the murder of an eccentric beekeeper, uncovers the hidden motivations behind a deadly art exhibition, steps in when a family reunion is threatened by a fortuneteller’s predictions, and races to save Bunty from the hangman’s noose when she is tried for murder. Premieres Saturday, April 4 at 8 p.m. on KPBS-TV.
“One Child Nation:” China’s Largest Social Experiment
China’s controversial attempts at population control are no secret—especially to award-winning filmmaker Nanfu Wang who, after the birth of her first child, made it her mission to uncover the untold history of China’s one-child policy.
In her film “One Child Nation,” Wang travels to her homeland to expose the history of China’s one-child policy and reveal the horrifying and surprising effects that are surfacing nearly 40 years after the law was enacted.
Wang is joined by filmmaker Jialing Zhang, and together they uncover the consequences of the social experiment through interviews with Communist party officials, journalists, activists, and many others.
“Every person I talked to answered some of my questions but also raised more questions,” said Wang of her project. “What they revealed shaped my perspective in a different way and propelled me to find out more.”
Premieres Monday, March 30 at 11 p.m. on KPBS-TV.
Interested in staying in the know on everything from politics to the arts? “KPBS Midday Edition,” our daily news magazine hosted by Maureen Cavanaugh and Jade Hindmon, is here to keep you up to speed. Recent episodes include coverage of our city’s annual Climate Action Plan, election updates, new laws that affect Californians, and more.
“KPBS Midday Edition” airs weekdays from 12–1 p.m. (and again from 9–10 p.m.) on KPBS Radio. It is also available as a podcast at kpbs.org/podcasts or in your favorite podcast app.
Jade Hindmon
Maureen Cavanaugh
New Episodes of KPBS Local Shows
Coming in April: Look for new episodes of “Ken Kramer’s About San Diego.” This season, Kramer uncovers the stories behind the Pacific Ballroom of the 1940s, a strange collection of trucks, road bumps on Highway 52, spectacular natural rock displays, and much more.
Host Nan Sterman explores carbon farming practices and carbon in the lab on a two- part special looking at how harnessing the power of plants may solve issues of global warming. She also highlights succulents, olives, cultural landscapes, and more on a new season of “A Growing Passion.”
And “Crossing South” is back with new episodes. This season host Jorge Meraz visits Mexico City for the first time in the history of the show, and sees the Teotihuacan pyramids.
Ken Burns’ Latest on KPBS
Viewers can look forward to Ken Burns Presents “The Gene: An Intimate History,” a three-hour documentary executive-produced by Burns in collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD.
This special collaboration will use science, social history, and personal stories to weave together a historical biography of the human genome, while also exploring the stunning breakthroughs in understanding the impact genes play on heredity, disease, and behavior.
Premieres Tuesday, April 7 at 9 p.m. on KPBS-TV.
Ken Burns (at right) with author, Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD.
We are proud to announce that KPBS’ original podcast “Only Here,” received the prestigious PRX Project Catapult grant to further develop, fine-tune, and expand our podcast. “Only Here” explores the lives that have been shaped by the tension reverberating at the U.S.-Mexico border. It tells the story of what happens when two cultures are both separate and intertwined. Listen at kpbs.org/podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen via kpbs.org/podcasts or your favorite podcast app.
Thank you, Las Patronas!
KPBS thanks Las Patronas, a philanthropic organization with a long history of giving locally to San Diego institutions, for a special grant to our station!
The generous grant will allow KPBS to purchase brand-new audiovisual equipment that will enhance KPBS events including One Book, One San Diego, Community Conversations, donor engagement events, and others.
In 2015, Las Patronas also helped KPBS purchase a news truck that has been deployed around the country to help us report critical breaking news.
Sponsor Message
Art Alive at The San Diego Museum of Art returns for its 39th year to provide critical financial support for public programs, education, community outreach, and exhibitions. Garnering national attention and welcoming nearly 12,000 visitors in just one weekend, Art Alive is the museum’s most important annual fundraiser.
Featuring nearly 100 floral designers’ interpretations of some of the museum’s masterpieces, Art Alive takes place April 23–26. The weekend includes a black-tie Premiere Dinner in a museum gallery, followed by a Friday night BLOOM BASH—a high voltage celebration to kick off the weekend exhibition. There’s also a floral wreath workshop and a garden of activities for families.
With the support of generous corporate sponsors, individual donors, charitable foundations, and numerous volunteers, Art Alive helps provide free admission and education programs for 50,000 children each year, as well as cultural offerings for adults.
Join us to celebrate the museum in full creative bloom—and support The San Diego Museum of Art!
For tickets and information visit SDMArt.org.
Your Gift Matters
Every member truly makes a difference, and we appreciate your contribution at any level. To give today, simply send your gift along with the enclosed form.
If you prefer, you can also visit kpbs.org to give online, or call 1-800-576-5727. Thank you.
Vehicle Donation
Imagine a life with less: less stress, less debt, less clutter. If you have an unneeded car, truck, motorcycle, or other vehicle, donate it to KPBS! The process is easy, the pickup is free, and your donation will support your favorite KPBS programs.
Call (877) 572-7227 or visit kpbs.org/car to learn more.
KPBS Audience and Member Services:
(619) 594-6983 or (888) 399-5727 [email protected]
Sign up for email newsletters and alerts:
kpbs.org/alerts
KPBS televison and radio schedules:
kpbs.org/tv/schedule
kpbs.org/radio/schedule
Write to us:
5200 Campanile Drive
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-5400
KPBS channel info—television
KPBS TV—15, Cox 1011, Spectrum 1221
KPBS 2—15.2, Cox 811, Spectrum 1277
KPBS Create—15.3, Cox 816, Spectrum 1275
KPBS Kids—15.4, Cox 809, Spectrum 1276
KPBS channel info—radio
San Diego—89.5 FM, Calexico 97.7 FM