Created and written by Mark Brotherhood and starring Dawn French, The Trouble With Maggie Cole delves into what happens when idle gossip escalates out of control and starts to affect people’s lives. Premieres Sunday, October 18 at 8pm.
Birthdays
10/17 - Mel DeYoung
10/18 - Chris Younken
10/23 - Will Price
10/23 - Joe Savino
WPSU Radio Highlights
In Case You Missed It . . .
Dr. Deborah Birx Warns Of “Silent Spread” In Northeastern States During Visit To State College WPSU’s Min Xian reports on the visit to Penn State by Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. She attended a roundtable discussion with Penn State leaders, students and local officials in State College Wednesday. Birx told reporters after the roundtable, which was closed to the media, that the university and the local community have successfully created messaging around the importance of masks, physical distancing and personal hygiene. She commended college students who have made sacrifices in their personal lives to keep the larger community safe.
Democracy Works: The Perfect Storm For Election Disaster
Our guest is Lawrence Douglas, the James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought at Amherst College. He is the author of seven books and a regular contributor to The Guardian. He’s the author of "Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Electoral Meltdown in 2020.” Listen here.
Penn State Faculty Senate Passes Resolution For More COVID-19 Tests, University Park Cases Top 3,100 WPSU’s Min Xian reports on the number of positive COVID-19 tests at Penn State University Park increasing by 196 Friday, since Tuesday’s dashboard update. That brings the total so far for the week of Oct. 2-8 to 287 positive cases, with 653 tests still awaiting results for the time period. The total positives at University Park are now 3,166.
WPSU Television Highlights
The Vicar of Dibley (Returning to WPSU) - Saturday nights at 7:30 pm starting October 17
The Dibley Parish Council don’t know what has hit them when the new vicar arrives in the village. Not only is the Reverend Geraldine Granger a female, but she is young, trendy and bubbly – and she tells saucy jokes about nuns. Dawn French, one of Britain’s favourite comediennes, won the British Comedy Best Actress Award for her vivacious vicar in this very popular sitcom set in a beautiful village in the English countryside.
The Trouble with Maggie Cole (Series Premiere) - Sunday, October 18 at 8:00 pm
See what happens when idle gossip escalates out of control and starts to affect people’s lives. Set in a picturesque fishing village, the series centers on Maggie Cole, the self-appointed oracle of this close-knit community.
Line of Separation (Season 2 Premiere) - Sunday, October 18 at 11:00 pm
After the fall of the Third Reich, the small town of Tannbach is cruelly divided between East and West regimes and the town’s inhabitants suffer the consequences. This historical drama explores the devastating effects decades of conflict had on communities from the end of World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Independent Lens “Feels Good Man” - Monday, October 19 at 10:00 pm
Follow artist Matt Furie, creator of the comic character Pepe the Frog, as he begins an uphill battle to take back his iconic cartoon image from those who use it for their own purposes.
American Masters “Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip”- Tuesday, October 20 at 9:00 pm
Meet the newspaper columnist, radio commentator and television personality who pioneered the fast-paced, gossip driven, politically charged journalism that dominates today. At his peak, his audience was 50 million. Stanley Tucci stars as Winchell.
Nature “Pandas: Born to be Wild” - Wednesday, October 21 at 8:00 pm
Unlock the mysteries of wild pandas whose counterparts in captivity are known for their gentle image. Journey through the steep Qinling Mountains with filmmakers, scientists and rangers to witness pandas' startling courtship and aggression behaviors.
NOVA “Touching the Asteroid” - Wednesday, October 21 at 9:00 pm
If spacecraft OSIRIS-REx can grab a piece of an asteroid and bring it back to Earth, scientists could gain great insight into our planet's origins, and even how to defend against rogue asteroids. But NASA only gets three shots at collecting a sample.
Conversations Live! Election 2020 - Thursday, October 22 at 8:00 pm
We'll talk with the Director of the Franklin and Marshall College Poll, Terry Madonna, and Penn State Political Scientist Candis Watts Smith about the 2020 election. How will the use of mail-in voting and drop boxes affect the election? How are opinions being influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic? And, what issues are important to Pennsylvania voters?
Nature “Australian Bushfire Rescue” - Wednesday, October 28 at 8:00 pm
Meet the people rescuing and caring for the animal survivors of Australia's devastating bushfires. Iconic species like koalas, kangaroos and wombats face a series of hurdles to recover from their trauma.
NOVA “Can We Cool the Planet?” - Wednesday, October 28 at 9:00 pm
As global temperatures rise, scientists are exploring geoengineering solutions, from planting trees to sucking carbon out of the air to physically blocking out sunlight. But would it work? And what are the risks of engineering Earth's climate?
Exhumed: The History of Zombies - Friday, October 30 at 10:00 pm
Unearth some of the most significant moment of zombie pop culture over the last two centuries. Host Dr. Emily Zarka explores how zombie folklore arose before it became mainstream and how the monster changes in tandem with a changing world.
Secrets of the Royal Kitchens - Saturday, October 31 at 6:00 pm
If you've ever wondered what is in the Royal refrigerator, this documentary dishes out the truth - and more! SECRETS OF THE ROYAL KITCHENS is a deliciously entertaining romp through the kitchens of the world's most famous family.
Industry News
KVCR Licensee Weighs Plan To Drop NPR And PBS Programs, End Role With FNX
The licensee of California’s KVCR is proposing to end the stations’ affiliation with NPR and PBS and cease broadcasting First Nations Experience, a television channel of Native American and Indigenous programming that KVCR distributes nationally to public television stations. If the plan is approved, the San Bernardino Community College District will transfer the stations’ facilities and equipment to San Bernardino Valley College and convert KVCR into a lab for its media training program by the end of June 2023. This arrangement could lead to job cuts and staff restructuring, according to Jose Torres, the district’s interim chancellor.
Ready To Learn Grants To CPB, TPT Back Four New Children’s TV Series
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education has awarded $28.9 million to new public television content initiatives supporting early childhood education. The grants, the first to be approved under a new five-year cycle of the department’s Ready To Learn Television program, provide $24.3 million to CPB and $4.6 million to TPT in St. Paul, Minn. The funds support development of television and multimedia programs addressing “functional literacy, critical thinking and collaboration” for preschool and early elementary-school children and their families.
Boy! That Was A Ride!
Convicted drug smuggler Mike Gielen, 24, hired a helicopter at Deurne airport near Antwerp, Belgium, on Sept. 25, then hijacked the aircraft in mid-flight and forced the pilot to fly to Berkendaal women's prison south of Brussels to free his wife, Kristel Appelt, 27, who is being held there on suspicion of murdering an ex-boyfriend, The Guardian reported. As inmates cheered and waved below, the pilot circled the prison yard, trying unsuccessfully to land, while Gielen put his head out of the chopper to vomit five times, before giving up and flying off. Authorities arrested Gielen and several accomplices within 24 hours when they discovered he had used his real name to hire the helicopter. "It seems the whole thing has been staged quite amateurishly," remarked Tom van Overbeke, Gielen's attorney. [The Guardian, 9/28/2020]
Quotables
"In Germany, they are preparing for the on-going crisis by stocking up with sausage and cheese. Of course, that’s the Wurst Käse scenario.” - #coronavirusjokes
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