Dr. Sanders passed away this week at the age of 82. In 1993, Dr. Sanders’ work in the Mayan ruins of Copan, Honduras was the focus of an 8-part series for PBS. Called Out of the Past, it examined the processes and goals of archaeology — you can watch the whole series online.

Embedded with the Marines in Afghanistan: Can we defeat a resurgent Taliban?
America thought it had won the war in Afghanistan six years ago, but a recent escalation in violence and instability—including the death of nine U.S. soldiers this past weekend—has given rise to the question: Have we allowed the Taliban to come back?
Nora Bensahel, an [...]

The 29th Annual Emmy Awards for News & Documentary were announced July 15, 2008. Among the nominees, many productions from WNET/Thirteen and PBS. Watch some (a lot!) of the nominees online.

Last week’s Reel 13 shorts meditated on loneliness, the afterlife, and obsessive compulsion. You voted for your favorite. Now find out which film won.

Running up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics (August 8-24), Thirteen will be airing a number of documentaries about contemporary China (and a few about the Olympics). Some of them are also watchable online. See the listings and links here.

Possibly the most kitsch assembled at Christie’s in a long time (save any given Jeff Koons collection), The James Brown Collection auction, taking place today (July 17), is estimated to earn his estate (which is still plagued by disputes among his relatives and business managers) approximately $2M.

Mayor Bloomberg’s administration came forth this week to open discussions that may make it possible for more then 181 venues (the number currently licensed under the current cabaret laws) to be able to host public dancing events. Read more…

Earlier this week, President Bush held a press conference about the global energy crisis. He said, “To help address the pressure on gasoline prices, my administration took action this week to clear the way for off shore exploration on the outer continental shelf.”

By the standards of the classical-music world, Lang Lang is a superstar. He’s appeared in just about all the major media outlets, he has the backing of a major record label, and has managed to stay in the spotlight by ruffling a few feathers with his unorthodox demeanor and sometimes overheated, bombastic interpretations of music. [...]

WIDE ANGLE explores the often misunderstood role of midwives in the U.S. We learn about who they are, what they do and where they practice. While midwives attend births in most of the world, physician-attended births are the norm in the U.S. Watch story…