Wednesday, Jan. 16
9-11 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: US History

Middle and High School

"The Jewish Americans: The Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times"

This is a broadcast of the middle two episodes of a six-hour documentary miniseries which follows 350 years of Jewish-American history, from the first settlement in the 17th century to the present, and explores the experience of immigration and assimilation. Liev Schreiber narrates. As Jewish Americans tried to enter the mainstream of American life, they were frustrated by anti-Semitism even as they developed their own resources, often succeeding in businesses on the margins of American life. Irving Berlin, an immigrant from Russia, began writing tunes just as Tin Pan Alley was taking off, transforming himself into one of America's greatest songwriters with iconic songs such as "White Christmas" and "God Bless America." But in 1918, the year "God Bless America" was composed, America was closing its doors to foreigners and anti-Semitism was on the rise. Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, faced anti-Semitism in his confirmation hearings and then on the court itself. Leo Frank, a Jewish American living in Atlanta, was unjustly convicted by a Georgia court of murdering a 13-year-old girl and lynched. Henry Ford, one of the most powerful men in the country, published strident attacks on Jewish Americans. America's elite colleges and universities limited the number of Jewish students they would admit. Facing a wave of worldwide anti-Semitism and shut out from much of American life, Jewish Americans developed a parallel universe all their own - establishing Jewish fraternities and sororities, summer camps and community centers, hospitals and schools, neighborhoods and vacation resorts - and venturing into new businesses. The Catskills resorts provided an opportunity for Jewish comedians such as Sid Caesar to hone their skills, which they would use one day to reach Americans throughout the country. In the 1920s, Jewish immigrants came to dominate Hollywood, creating the Hollywood studio system and enacting their version of the American dream. Jewish Americans found opportunities in radio, too, with shows such as "The Goldbergs," created by Gertrude Berg, which appealed to Americans all over the country, Jews and gentiles alike. For Jewish Americans, the Depression in the 1930s was a dual misery. Not only did tens of thousands face unemployment, other Americans - from Father Coughlin to Charles Lindbergh - blamed them for the country's problems while Jewish Americans struggled desperately to rescue Jews from fascism in Europe. "The Best of Times, the Worst of Times" also describes the Jewish response to Hitler and the Holocaust, focusing on the relationship between Jewish leaders - in particular Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. - and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It details the reaction of Jewish Americans to the stories of the death camps that emerged after the war. Nearly all of European Jewry had been destroyed, and American Jews suddenly found themselves the largest and most powerful Jewish community in the world. TV-PG

Thursday, Jan. 17
7-9 p.m. E/P

Discovery Science Channel

Subjects: Science

Middle and High School

"Galapagos - Beyond Darwin"

This documentary takes viewers 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean near the Galapagos Islands. Located off the Ecuadorian coast of South America, this area was first visited by British biologist Charles Darwin in 1835. His discovery of many new species and organisms thriving on the islands brought this area international acclaim. Unfortunately, since sophisticated submersibles didn't exist in Darwin's day, he was prevented from journeying far beneath the surrounding waters. As this program indicates, today's submersibles allow scientists to spend extended time periods beneath the ocean's surface. The deep ocean journey featured during this program turned up dozens of new species.

Friday, Jan. 18
10-11 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: US History

Middle and High School

"Slavery And The Making Of America: Liberty In The Air"

Spanning the 1740s through the 1830s, this documentary explores the expansion of slavery in the colonies, the evolution of a distinct African-American culture and the roots of the emancipation movement. The episode reveals the many ways the enslaved resisted their oppression, their role on both sides of the Revolutionary War, and the strength and inspiration many of them found in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, despite the inherent contradictions that lay in what the documents expressed and what the country practiced. Further emphasizing these inherent contradictions is the profile of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson - the man who wrote so eloquently about liberty - and his life-long servant Jupiter, one of 90 slaves on the Jefferson family plantation. Also featured is the story of Titus. Enslaved in central New Jersey, he fled his cruel master at the onset of the American Revolution and later returned to the area as "Colonel Tye," the leader of a band of black and white guerrillas fighting for the British. In fact, far more black people fought for the British than for the colonists, believing they would be freed if the British proved victorious in the Revolution. The second hour introduces Mum Bett, whose successful lawsuit against her owner helped pave the way for the 1783 abolition of slavery in Massachusetts, and David Walker, whose landmark missive An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World marked the first expression of black nationalism and terrified slave owners by urging black people to empower themselves. TV-PG, V

Log on http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery

Saturday, Jan. 19
8-9 p.m. E/P

History Channel

Subjects: Science

Elementary, Middle and High School

"Modern Marvels - Carbon"

Carbon is the chemical basis of all known life and yet this simple element is also the foundation of modern technology. Carbon burns hotter, cuts deeper, insulates more thoroughly and absorbs more fully than any other material. This documentary explains why carbon is the key both in heavy-duty industries, as well as in tools like the graphite pencil, the charcoal water filter, and the diamond saw blade. Watch how carbon fiber, a material stronger than steel and lighter than fiberglass, is made into the fuselage of a new Boeing 787. Discover why "activated charcoal" is the material of choice for absorbing everything from toxic heavy metals in your drinking water to funky odors in your shoes.

Sunday, Jan. 20
7-8 p.m. E/P

CBS

Subjects: Science

Elementary, Middle and High School

"CBS News Presents: The Age Of Warming"

Nowhere is the evidence of global warming as striking than near the earth's poles. In this documentary CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley goes to the top and the bottom of the world, where scientists point out the effects of the warming trend. He also speaks to NASA's top scientist studying climate, who says the Bush administration has restricted what he can say about global warming.

Monday, Jan. 21
9-11 p.m. E/P

History Channel

Subjects: Science

Middle and High School

"Life After People"

This documentary explores the question of whether all the remnants of mankind will eventually disappear from our planet. What would happen to the earth if humans ceased to exist? Would ocean life flourish, the buffalo return to the Great Plains and our skyscrapers yield to the wear and tear of time. Visit the ghostly villages surrounding Chernobyl, which were abandoned by humans after the nuclear disaster in 1986 and then travel to the remote islands off the coast of Maine to search for traces of abandoned towns that have vanished from view in only a few decades. Learn from experts in the fields of engineering, botany, ecology, biology, geology, climatology and archeology as they provide answers for many thought provoking questions.

Tuesday, Jan. 22
9-10 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: Science and US History

Middle and High School

"Frontline: Growing Up Online"

This documentary looks inside the world of the cyber-savvy generation through the eyes of teens and their parents, who often find themselves on opposite sides of a new digital divide. A generation with a radically different notion of privacy and personal space, today's adolescents are grappling with issues their parents never had to deal with: from cyber bullying to instant "Internet fame" to the threat of online sexual predators.

Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/