Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick about the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, is published by Harper & Brothers in New York, on Nov. 14, 1851. While Moby-Dick is now considered America’s greatest epic, the book about Captain Ahab and the white whale, was initially considered a flop.
Chicago filmmaker Joanna Rudnick tested positive for the “breast cancer gene” at age 27. She then set out to make a film about the science behind the gene, and the impact of this new medical knowledge has on women’s lives. Watch the 90-minute documentary online until Dec. 22, 2008.
Cranes dominate our skylines, yet few people ever notice them, nor do they notice the men and women who operate them. City of Cranes takes the viewer hundreds of feet above the ground to hear the insights of crane drivers, and see a glimpse of the poetic, mesmerizing world of cranes. Watch the 14-minute short.
Each veteran’s experience is an important part of history that should be passed on to future generations. There is an urgent need to record their personal accounts while they are still among us. Read more about the project, or contribute a story or interview a veteran in your community.
The Antiques Roadshow crew visits Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where people brought some outstanding finds in to the appraisers, including a 1952 Fender Esquire Guitar. Watch the appraisals.
On Nov. 10, 1969, Sesame Street, with its cast of puppets teaching kids the alphabet and how to count, made its broadcast debut (here is the rundown of that very first show). Today, it is one of the most widely-viewed children’s programs in the world, airing in more than 120 countries.
Studs Terkel passed away recently, and it prompted us to unearth one of his more unusual segments from the archives: ‘Talkin’ With Terkel’ has Terkel sitting around jawing with a passel of regular Chicago folks–and smoking and drinking. From 1971, the first season of Great American Dream Machine.
The MoMa was founded in 1929, and moved into, and out of, temporary locations, but in 1939 finally opened the doors of the building it still occupies in midtown Manhattan. The most stunning reinvention of the museum — the ‘New MoMa’ — opened to the public on November 20, 2004. Read more about the building’s [...]
In Washington State, there are 26 Native American tribes–all of them trading in fireworks. ‘Boomtown’ follows the Suquamish Tribe during the hectic firework season, while exploring the politics of Indian Sovereignty in the US. Watch online through January 5, 2009.
