Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir is back! The Grammy and Emmy® Award-winning Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells at Temple Square join Tony Award®-winning star Kelli O’Hara and renowned actor Richard Thomas (pictured) to celebrate the holidays with a nostalgic program (filmed pre-pandemic) that exudes the warmth and peace that the season can bring. December 24 at 9pm.
Birthdays
12/15 - Steve Nelson
12/17 - Lori Smeigh
12/20 - Lindsey Fenton
12/20 - Mickey Klein
12/23 - Tyler Wilkinson
12/24 - Cole Cullen
12/26 - Emily Reddy
12/27 - Jeff Hughes
12/29 - Scott Erdenberger
12/31- Rick Humber
WPSU Radio Highlights
A complete listing of holiday specials on WPSU can be found here.
The Big Tiny Desk Holiday Special – Sunday, December 20 at 9:00 p.m.
Celebrate the season with amazing holiday performances from The Tiny Desk Concert series including Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Steve Martin, Hanson, The Polyphonic Spree and more! Hosted by NPR Music frenemies Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson.
Winterfest: Our Gift In Song- Thursday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m. (rebroacast December 25 at 2:00 p.m.)
The Penn State gospel choir, Essence of Joy, joins with the community choir, Essence Two, in a concert of holiday choral music from the African and African American traditions, directed by Tony Leach. (Recorded by WPSU in 2011.)
How We Survive: Adapting to Climate Change – Thursday, December 31 at 7:00 p.m.
This one-hour special from Marketplace, led by Molly Wood, explores the role of technology in helping humanity weather the impacts of climate change. The time of complete prevention has passed, and we must turn towards adaptation. This special will focus on how practical, tangible tools can help solve this crisis — and the pandemic’s impact on how quickly that technology can be deployed. In this solutions-based reporting, Wood and team talk to Big Tech, startups and researchers in an attempt to answer what comes next.
In Case You Missed It . . .
Take Note: Dr. Shirley Moody-Turner & Denise Burgher On Black Women's Role In Political Organizing WPSU’s Cheraine Stanford talks with Shirley Moody-Turner, an associate professor of English and African American studies and co-director of the Center for Black Digital Research at Penn State, and Denise Burgher, a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Delaware and project coordinator for The Colored Conventions project. They talked with us about about the contributions of black women to the suffrage movement and the role of black women in political organizing.
How Penn State's COVID-19 Numbers Compared To Other Universities This Fall WPSU Andrew Destin reports on how different universities handled testing and their COVID-19 numbers relative to Penn State.
Take Note: Wynton Marsalis On The Intersection Of Jazz And Democracy
What does jazz music have to do with democracy? Find that out from guest, jazz great Wynton Marsalis, who spoke with Jenna Spinelle. The conversation explores power, struggle, finding common ground and how those factor into his new album, "The Ever Fonky Lowdown.”
WPSU Television Highlights
Conversations Live! Ask a Veterinarian - Thursday, December 17 at 8:00 pm
Local veterinarians answer questions about your pets, from proper diet and exercise to the physical and mental benefits of adding a pet to your family.
Midsomer Murders “The Christmas Haunting” - Thursday, December 17 at 9:00 pm
It's Christmas and new detective Charlie Nelson moves into Midsomer. He's thrown straight into an intriguing mystery in the village of Morton Shallows. A man is fatally stabbed with an antique sword during a ghost-hunting party at a 'haunted' manor house.
Call the Midwife Holiday Specials (2018 and 2019) - Tuesday, December 22 at 8:00 pm and 9:30 pm
Celebrate the holidays on WPSU with Call the Midwife Holiday Specials. Follow the nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House, who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Ghosts of Christmas Eve - Wednesday, December 23 at 10:00 pm
Narrated by the late Ossie Davis, this a fantasy trip through the magic of Christmas featuring various musical performances by singers Jewel, Michael Crawford and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Holiday Handbells: The Raleigh Ringers - Thursday, December 24 at 8:00 pm
The acclaimed community handbell choir based in Raleigh, North Carolina perform holiday favorites.
Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir: Christmas Day in the Morning - Thursday, December 24 at 9:00 pm
Tony Award winner Kelli O'Hara and renowned actor Richard Thomas join The Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square and Bells at Temple Square for an Americana-themed Christmas special that exudes the warmth and peace of the season.
Call the Midwife Holiday Special (2020) - Friday, December 25 at 9:00 pm
Everyone at Nonnatus House looks forward to a traditional holiday, but nothing goes quite to plan. Meanwhile, the Circus arrives in Poplar, bringing new friendships, new experiences and an exciting adventure for Nurse Crane.
Scotland’s Scenic Railways - Mondays at 9:00 pm beginning December 28
]The three part mini-series travels the length and breadth of Scotland’s dramatic landscapes to meet the train crews, the engineers and the volunteers who keep the modern and classic steam railways running
American Masters “Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page” - Tuesday, December 29 at 8:00 pm
Follow the journey of the award-winning author of the best-selling "Little House" series in this exploration of her life and legacy and her little- known, secret collaboration with her daughter on the books that shaped American ideas of the frontier.
United in Song: Celebrating the Resilience of America - Thursday, December 31 at 8:00 pm
Say goodbye to 2020 with a concert celebrating the irrepressible strength of Americans. From the enormity of COVID-19 to the presence of social injustice, this special evening brings us together in the pursuit of our uniting as one America.
Governmental Relations
Federal
Last week the House and Senate passed a one-week extension of the current Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the government until December 18, 2020 and setting this deadline to finalize the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills.
Meanwhile, Congressional leadership and the Administration were locked in negotiations last week on additional COVID-19 relief and the finalization of FY 2021 funding.
America's Public Television Stations (APTS) continue to advocate for our FY 2021 funding requests which were included in the House Appropriations bills: $515 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in FY 2023, $20 million for Interconnection, $30 million for Ready To Learn and $20 million for the new Next Generation Warning System to fund public media infrastructure used for alert and warning.
Whether a COVID-19 relief package is passed this year or not, APTS expects President-elect Biden to push for a much broader package once he is in office, and are continuing to advocate for public media funding to be a part of any package moving forward.
Industry News
In PBS’ 50th Year, Paula Kerger Sets Course To ‘Speak To The Moment Of What Is Happening Now’
PBS had big plans to mark its 50th anniversary this fall, but 2020 turned out to be a year to focus on the present, not the past. As the country went into lockdown in March during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, PBS looked for ways to “double down on public service,” President Paula Kerger told Current in a recent interview. One immediate priority was creating daytime broadcast schedules and curated LearningMedia content that support at-home learning of K–12 students. Kerger also described how veteran programmer Sylvia Bugg rose above all other candidates in PBS’ search for a new chief program executive and discussed PBS’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion within its own workforce. Read an edited transcript of the conversation among Kerger, Current Reporter Julian Wyllie and Managing Editor Karen Everhart.
When a News Anchor Does The Government’s Job
What can we learn from Anne McCloy, the local news anchor who has helped thousands of Americans get unemployment benefits? The Atlantic magazine has a great story on an Albany, NY news anchor has helped thousands of unemployed New Yorkers get answers about unemployment benefits.
Bright Idea (Not!)
A Washington State Patrol officer pulled over a motorist on I-90 near North Bend on Nov. 30 after noticing the vehicle's "super dim" headlights, patrol spokesman Rick Johnson told CNN. Closer inspection revealed the unnamed driver had duct-taped flashlights to the front of his vehicle to replace the headlights, which had been damaged in a crash. Flashlights-as-headlights are illegal in Washington because they don't provide enough brightness, Johnson said, adding that the driver also had a suspended license. [CNN, 12/3/2020]
Quotables
”I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” — Maya Angelou
Resources and Tips
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