Program Highlights - July 2008
(Broadcast program schedule dates and times are subject to change).

Focal Point
Standards of Living
Thursday, July 17, at 9:30 PM
In 1960, CBS first aired Edward R. Murrow's landmark documentary "Harvest of Shame," which exposed the poor living conditions of many migrant farmworkers, including many in North Carolina. Forty-five years later, many migrant farmworkers in our state still face overcrowded, unsanitary and unhealthy living conditions. Produced by the documentary unit of Raleigh-based WRAL-TV/Capitol Broadcasting, Focal Point Standards of Living examines those conditions and a battle brewing over new legislation to improve them.

Voces: The Guestworker
Thursday, July 17, at 10 PM
Voces is an innovative series that showcases the best Latino films.  The Voces series journeys deep into the heart and soul of Latino culture to present an eclectic mix of compelling documentaries that celebrate the rich variety of the Latino-American experience.  The Guestworker illuminates the US H2A Guestworker program through the intimate story of Mexican farmer Don Cande.

Chasing Churchill: In Search of My Grandfather
Premieres Monday, July 21, at 10 PM
Winston Churchill's quest for his inner self took two forms: a constant thirst for exotic travel and a passion for the exuberance of painting and the beauty of words. His granddaughter Celia Sandys traveled extensively with Churchill towards the end of his life. Now, in this intimate portrait, she follows in her grandfather's footsteps.

Focal Point
Hot Topic
Thursday, July 24, at 9:30 PM
Most scientists say the debate over global warming is over. They say it’s happening, and humans are speeding it up. In North Carolina, leaders in both government and business seem to be taking the threat seriously and are planning for the future. Just how could global warming affect our state? Produced by the documentary unit of Raleigh-based WRAL-TV/Capitol Broadcasting, Focal Point Hot Topic examines this topic and more.

Great Performances at the Met
Peter Grimes
Tuesday, July 29, at 8 PM
When not performing, international opera sensation Anthony Dean Griffey resides in High Point, where he was born and raised. From the world’s largest chest of drawers to the world’s best stages, Griffey takes on the complex title role in Benjamin Britten’s modern masterpiece Peter Grimes. Featuring what may be 20th-century opera’s most impressive tenor role, this haunting theatrical journey elevates a product of NC public schools to the pinnacle of opera. Griffey, who as a child watched his first opera on UNC-TV on a black and white TV with makeshift coat-hanger antenna, shines in this interpretation.

Focal Point
Trash Talk
Thursday, July 31, at 9:30 PM
Litter is a big problem in North Carolina. It costs the state money to clean up. It harms the environment when it washes into rivers and streams. It could damage the state’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry and hinder efforts to attract new business and industry. Yet the state Highway Patrol issues very few tickets for littering, and the state has no major media campaign to prevent it.  Produced by the documentary unit of Raleigh-based WRAL-TV/Capitol Broadcasting, Focal Point Trash Talk examines North Carolina's litter problem, its impact and what can be done about it.

Corapeake
Thursday, July 31, at 10 PM
In this hour-long documentary, viewers receive a warm welcome to Corapeake through the reminiscences of its elders residents, showing that despite its modest periphery, there awaits a cheery welcome, home-cooked food and heart-warming stories in every visit to this tiny North Carolina town.

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War of the World: The Clash of Empires
Monday, June 30, at 9 PM
World War II was the greatest triumph, the moment when the forces of light -- the Western democracies -- prevailed over the forces of darkness -- the Nazis and the other Axis powers. It was a conflict that began in Europe in September 1939, but became global only with the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. It ended with the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan in August 1945. In the program, Harvard historian Niall Ferguson challenges nearly all our enduring assumptions about what was, without question, the most destructive conflict the planet has ever seen. The three-part series fundamentally transforms the way we think about World War II.