Highlights Archive

Our Turn to Talk On-Demand

A digital-first documentary about the mission to end stigma around mental health challenges, starting with the next generation. In this character-driven film, we go behind the scenes of a podcast production bringing together teens from all walks of life to use storytelling to bravely share their mental health journey without fear, shame or stigma. Join these youths as they step into their voice and learn to create space to share the impact on their mental health of social media, sexual identity, gender identity, racism, and the pandemic.

If you are struggling, you are not alone. You deserve love, understanding and support. If you or someone you love needs help, please use the resources below:

• Dial 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• The National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: 1-800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741-741
• The RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
• For free 24/7 support from a trained counselor, contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741 or visit crisistextline.org
• If you are a young person in the LGBTQ+ community, call the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678 for immediate help

The Letter: A Message for Our Earth

This film tells the story about the Pope’s call to care for our planet. In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’, a letter to the world confronting the looming calamity of human impact on Earth and ourselves. It is one of the most ambitious and revolutionary papal statements in history and outlines the most critical environmental and social issues that we collectively face. The Letter: A Message for Our Earth airs Sunday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Educator Webinar On-Demand: Revolutionary Voices: Student Media-Making and THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Bring The American Revolution Youth Media Challenge to your classroom. Discover how your students can connect the foundational principles of the American Revolution to their lives today by amplifying their knowledge through media-making. Intended for Educators & Professionals working with students in grades 6-12.

When: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 7:00-9:00 PM EST

Watch The Archive

Description
In this interactive workshop for middle and high school teachers, we’ll explore the extensive, curriculum-aligned, multimedia resources from The American Revolution classroom collection on PBS LearningMedia, created with educators and drawing on content from the film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. Workshop participants will learn how to use the resources in the collection to inspire students to create a media project for The American Revolution Youth Media Challenge, focusing specifically on audio production, a media format that can be made accessible to all learners. Participants will learn how to create a podcast in the classroom setting — no special studio or equipment required – and they will leave with a pathway to empower and share student voice beyond the classroom.

What you’ll do:

Learn about PBS LearningMedia’s free, curriculum-aligned resources from The American Revolution classroom collection and The American Revolution Youth Media Challenge
Get hands-on experience with the basics of audio production and start your own short podcast
Discover how to guide the creation of audio projects in your classroom setting

What you’ll get:

A pathway to empower and share student voice beyond the classroom
Modifiable resources in English and Spanish
No-cost access to web-based audio tools
A copy of the presentation deck to modify and use when implementing the project in your classroom
A PDF letter of attendance–verifying two hours of attendance–to submit to your district or administration for approval towards professional development credit. (Requirements for professional development credits vary, so check with your district and/or state.)
Ongoing facilitator support for technical and classroom implementation questions, as needed

Designed by educators for educators, KQED’s well-paced workshops provide ready-to-use resources, instructional strategies, and genuine interaction with experienced and dynamic facilitators.

Speakers

PBS LearningMedia
KQED Education

KQED is a nonprofit, public media station and NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco. As a leader in media innovation, KQED provides free standards-aligned classroom content and professional development that educators can trust. Our workshops and courses help educators in all roles, subjects and grades strengthen their media literacy skills, empower youth voices, and encourage civil discourse.

PBS LearningMedia, a partnership of PBS and GBH, is an online destination that offers free access to thousands of resources from PBS stations and partners. These digital tools are designed to complement classroom instruction — from videos, images, and interactives to lesson plans, articles, and primary sources. Available for free to all educators PreK through 12th grade, PBS LearningMedia offers classroom-ready content aligned to state and national standards, compatible with the tools teachers use most, such as Google Classroom, and contextualized with supporting materials. Learn more at pbslearningmedia.org.

Questions about the event? Email education@kqed.org

Great Performances at the Met: The Hours

Premieres Friday, March 17 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Rochester’s own Renée Fleming makes her return to the Met in this new opera by from Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Kevin Puts, adapted from Michael Cunningham’s novel, inspired by Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.” Also inspired by the 2002 Oscar-winning film, the opera follows three women from different eras who each grapple with inner demons and their roles in society. The opera also stars Tony winner Kelli O’Hara and opera star Joyce DiDonato. Phelim McDermott directs with Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting. Christine Baranski hosts.

A Good Life • On-Demand

Life is full of joys and challenges for us all — but the experiences of individuals living with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) is something that not everyone understands or appreciates.

A Good Life, a WXXI production, takes an intimate look into the lives of six adults living with I/DD and their families. The film shares the challenges and opportunities they face, while leading national experts and historians in the field offer insight.

The film’s producers were able to imbed themselves with these adults and their families, filming moments from their everyday lives. A Good Life provides the unique opportunity to share their stories from a first-person perspective. Viewers will see each family dealing with aging in a unique way that is specific to the time period and constructs they were born into.

The film also offers professional perspective and historical context from local and national experts including Dan Meyers, Al Sigl Community President Emeritus; Jeiri Flores, an advocacy specialist with the Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities; Professor Tamar Heller of the Insitute on Disability and Human Development; Dr. Allison Carey, Disability Activism Sociologist, Professor, and Author; Nicole VanGorder of Upstate Special Needs Planning; Professor Jorge Matos of City University of New York Center for the Humanities; and Dr. Stephen Sulkes of Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities.

Photo: Roomates Amy and Katie
Credit: WXXI

Produced by WXXI. A Good Life was produced in conjunction with Move to Include, a partnership between WXXI and the Golisano Foundation designed to build a more inclusive community by inspiring and motivating people to embrace different abilities and include all people in every aspect of community life. Move to Include grew out of WXXI and Al Sigl Community of Agencies initiative, Dialogue on Disability, which is an annual week-long programming event that encourages community dialogue about the lives and abilities of people with disabilities.

Watch The Trailer:

The U.S. and the Holocaust Educational Resources:

PBS LearningMedia Collection: U.S. & The Holocaust Video Clips and Lessons

PBS Website for U.S. & the Holocaust (See Extras and Specials)

THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST: Combining the first-person accounts of Holocaust witnesses and survivors and interviews with leading historians and writers, THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST dispels competing myths that Americans either were ignorant of the unspeakable persecution that Jews and other targeted minorities faced in Europe or that they looked on with callous indifference. The film tackles a range of questions that remain essential to our society today, including how racism influences policies related to immigration and refugees as well as how governments and people respond to the rise of authoritarian states that manipulate history and facts to consolidate power.

Local News Coverage and Survivor Stories from WXXI News

Educational Resources for Teaching with “Safe Haven”

Echoes and Reflections Teaching Projec t

Photo Essays: Local Survivors from MCC Holocaust, Genocide, & Human Rights Center

Center for Holocaust Awareness and Information from the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester

Specials: The Holocaust and Authoritarianism Today

Specials: The Holocaust and Refugees: Lessons for Today

Prelude: The Legacy of Garth Fagan Dance On-Demand

Explore the life and career of Tony award winning choreographer Garth Fagan and meet three of his long-time disciples, who are now tasked with bringing his technique and legacy to the next generation.

PRELUDE l The Legacy of Garth Fagan Dance takes you on a journey through the twists and turns of the Tony award-winning choreographer’s storied, collaborative, and prolific career. The WXXI production also looks at three of Mr. Fagan’s long-time disciples – William J. Ferguson II, Natalie Rogers-Cropper, and Norwood Pennewell – who are now tasked with bringing his technique and legacy to the next generation. Through an immersive, cutting-edge documentary film style, PRELUDE reveals the many facets of Garth Fagan.

In celebration of 50 years of Garth Fagan Dance, the hour-long documentary explores the experiences that make up this Jamaican-American dance treasure and his work. Through Mr. Fagan’s own words, PRELUDE sheds light on how he was able to build a multi-cultural dance company that incorporates African-American, Jamaican, and American dance styles into a whole new dance technique.

Mr. Fagan’s choreography was launched into the spotlight in 1997 in Julie Taymor’s Broadway production of The Lion King, and PRELUDE reflects on what that experience meant to the choreographer and his close collaborators. Using archival video of rehearsals, performances, and interviews shot throughout the last 50 years, the film looks at the evolution of the virtuoso and his company of dancers who shared his vision and mastered his technique.

Interviews with The Lion King director Julie Taymor, Kennedy Center award-winning dancer Judith Jameson, SUNY Brockport Dancer Professor Emeritus Jacquie Davis, and many others provide a multifaceted view of all stages of Fagan’s illustrious career and a look at the next generation of Garth Fagan Dance.

Produced by WXXI and distributed by American Public Television