April Highlights and Happenings

April programming on PBS 6 kicks off with a new special from AMERICAN MASTERS. Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story explores the life and career of singer, dancer, actor, and EGOT winner Liza Minnelli, from following in the footsteps of her Hollywood royalty parents, the legendary Judy Garland and the director Vincente Minnelli, to building her own legacy. Featuring archival footage and stills, performance clips, and new interviews, the program is an intimate look at the life of a dynamic and inimitable performer. Premieres Tuesday, April 1 at 9 p.m. on PBS 6.

In the heart of Africa’s Great Rift Valley lies Katavi, a little-known national park spanning more than three thousand square miles in western Tanzania. NATURE’s new 3-part miniseries Katavi: Africa’s Fallen Paradise captures a once-in-a-lifetime event: an unusual climatic cycle that tests the survival skills of the diverse creatures that call Katavi home. The most severe drought in almost a century pushes the animals to the edge of their endurance, and when the drought finally breaks, the return of the rains brings not salvation but further peril. Katavi: Africa’s Fallen Paradise premieres on PBS 6 Wednesday, April 2 at 8 p.m. and continues on the following two Wednesday evenings.

PBS 6’s Drama Sunday continues throughout the month with new episodes of Call the Midwife at 7 p.m., Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light at 8 p.m., and Marie Antoinette at 9 p.m. On Sunday April 6, a new season of The Paris Murders joins the drama lineup at 10 p.m. On Tuesday, April 8 at 8 p.m., INDEPENDENT LENS takes a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spanning from its African, soul, and jazz roots to its rise into public consciousness in We Want the Funk. Stay with PBS 6 for more music with Earth, Wind, and Fire: iHeartRadio Live at 11 p.m.

PBS 6 marks Holocaust Remembrance month with an encore of Ken Burns’ Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War on Tuesday, April 15 at 10 p.m., and the premiere of Simon Schama: The Holocaust 80 Years On Tuesday, April 22 at 9 p.m. Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War recounts the daring rescue mission launched by a Massachusetts Unitarian minister and his wife who left their children in the care of parishioners to help save the lives of scores of imperiled Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi occupation across Europe. In the year marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the last concentration camps, renowned historian Sir Simon Schama confronts the history of the Holocaust as not just a Nazi obsession, but as a European-wide crime. In the most personal and unflinching film of his career, Schama visits mass killing sites in Lithuania, the home of his mother’s family, and travels to the Netherlands, a nation famed for its long history of tolerance and where he lived and worked as a young historian, to answer the question of why fewer Jews survived here than in any other Western occupied country. And despite a lifetime dedicated to documenting Jewish history, this film also captures the emotional toll of Schama’s first ever visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Simon Schama: The Holocaust 80 Years On also features an extraordinary interview with 98-year-old survivor Marian Turski, as well as the voices of younger generations determined to ensure the Holocaust is never forgotten, and asks profound questions about what the Holocaust means now.

NPR 89.1 is home not only to national news programs, but also to AZPM originals that reflect the politics, arts, and culture of Southern Arizona. Arizona Spotlight explores Southern Arizona’s vibrant arts scene, airing Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 p.m. For in-depth, topic-focused public affairs reporting, don’t miss The Buzz Fridays at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. The Press Room brings you a recap of the week’s local and state headlines, with expert commentary from a team of local and regional journalists. On Friday evenings at 7:56 p.m., between the PBS News Hour and The Daily, join Hollywood at Home host Victoria Lucas and AZPM announcer Andrea Kennedy for a lively discussion of classic movies on AZPM’s Hollywood at Home radio feature. Also on Fridays, catch new episodes Arizona Science airing during Science Friday at 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. All AZPM’s original radio programs are also available online so you can listen anywhere, any time.

Classical 90.5 has much to offer every month, but April will feature some special programming for classical music lovers. April 4 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of French conductor Pierre Monteux; his recordings will be highlighted throughout the day. On April 22, Classical 90.5 salutes Earth Day with music about birds from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and musical homages to their forest and woodland habitats from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. On the online Classical Extempore series, host J.D. Smith goes behind the scenes at the Catalina Organ Festival to talk with TikTok sensation Anna Lapwood about her upcoming (and already sold out) concert April 7. Tune in or stream.

The state of federal funding for public media continues to be uncertain. If you are concerned about the future of federal funding, as we are, I encourage you to sign up for alerts at protectmypublicmedia.org to keep informed about the status of federal investment in public media this year and beyond. Funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the form of a Community Service Grant account for about 10% of AZPM’s operating revenue, and are directed toward the production of local, original content, not toward general operating expenses or the purchase of national programming.

I hope you enjoy all that’s in store this month at AZPM. As always, thank you for your continued support.  

Sincerely,

Jack Gibson
AZPM Chief Executive Officer