PBS Videos

Banned Books and the Librarians Caught in the Political Battle | Full Documentary | Independent Lens - February 9, 2026 - PBS
Official website: https://to.pbs.org/4kzeGEk | #IndieLensPBS
When lawmakers seek to review a list of books, librarians find themselves on the frontlines of a national battle. Across the U.S., librarians face the impact of uniting against library collection standards that include restrictions on race-related and LGBTQIA+ content. Drawing on historical context, The Librarians, directed by Kim A. Snyder, explores the broader implications for education and public life.
The Librarians | Independent Lens
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Chapters
00:00 — Intro
00:11 — Librarians on the Front Lines
02:25 — The List: 850 Books Targeted in Texas
06:39 — First Day, First Ban: A Superintendent Draws the Line
10:52 — The Librarian’s Code: Ethics Under Fire
13:27 — The Books They Tried to Erase
15:55 — Inside the Banned Book Club
19:44 — Moms for Liberty vs. the Librarians
23:14 — From Texas to Florida: A Movement Spreads
26:01 — High School Librarians in the Crosshairs
28:51 — Erasing Black History
35:31 — Board of Education v. Pico: A Legal Turning Point
37:00 — Librarian of the Year: Amanda Jones
41:22 — An Organized Campaign to Ban Books
47:28 — Students Push Back
52:56 — Who’s Funding the Bans?
57:42 — Parents vs. the School Board
1:07:25 — When the Bans Hit Home
1:13:10 — Librarians as the Last Line of Defense
1:18:07 — The Freedom to Read Act & the Threat of Library Closures
1:21:21 — Librarians Are the Heroes
1:24:17 — Credits
ABOUT INDEPENDENT LENS
@independentlens is an Emmy® Award-winning PBS documentary series. With founding executive producer Lois Vossen, the series has been honored with 10 Academy Award nominations and features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Funding is provided by the Action Circle for Independent Lens with major funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Acton Family Giving, Ford Foundation, and Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, with additional support from Artemis Rising Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Park Foundation, the deNovo Initiative, and RandomGood Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Mom and Newborn Monkey Escape Wild Dogs | Parenthood | NATURE - February 5, 2026 - PBS
Watch more: https://to.pbs.org/4r00Gpx
Shortly after giving birth away from her troop, a new mother langur and her newborn face a dangerous threat: wild dogs, searching for an easy meal. Explore the extraordinary strategies and adaptability of animal parents raising their young in "Parenthood: A Nature Miniseries", narrated by David Attenborough.
Find more from Parenthood in this playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxs_j5q540YlVFFjPz3P7GwfJWYgwCKo&si=0NMYvOwHFpgV_F9t
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@naturepbs is a production of The WNET Group for PBS. Throughout its history, Nature has brought the natural world to millions of viewers. The PBS series has been consistently among the most-watched primetime series on public television.
The Quest for Camelot | Full Episode | Secrets of the Dead | PBS - February 4, 2026 - PBS
Watch more: https://to.pbs.org/3mHxfbj | #SecretsDeadPBS
Can the stories about King Arthur be proven true? Was the legendary court of Camelot a real place? Join Prof. Mark Horton on his journey across Britain to prove real events and places inspired the chivalric myths. Horton scours medieval texts and archaeological sites for a new understanding of the Arthurian legends and what Britain was like after the Romans left in the fifth century.
The Quest for Camelot | Secrets of the Dead
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Secrets of the Dead on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@secretsofthedead
#SecretsoftheDead #Camelot #history #archeology #mythology
Secrets of the Dead
Part detective story, part true-life drama, @secretsofthedead unearths evidence from around the world, challenging prevailing ideas and throwing fresh light on unexplained events.
Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History | Full Episode 1 | Let My People Go | PBS - February 3, 2026 - PBS
More from this series: https://to.pbs.org/4k5U6ed
From intersecting histories of persecution to diverging fates on American shores, episode one of BLACK AND JEWISH AMERICA: AN INTERWOVEN HISTORY traces the early forces that shaped the Black and Jewish connection in the U.S. Journeys of exile, faith, resilience, terror, migration, early civil rights partnerships, and tests of solidarity define the relationship by the early 20th century. (Part 1 of 4-part series)
Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History | Let My People Go
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FOLLOW HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.
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Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History with Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a four-part series tracing the rich, complex relationship between Black and Jewish Americans — defined by solidarity and strained by division. Drawn together by racism and antisemitism, they forged civic and cultural bonds, especially during the civil rights era. The series explores both the challenges and enduring promise of that alliance.
Patriot Victory at the Battle of Saratoga | American Revolution | PBS - February 2, 2026 - PBS
Official website: https://to.pbs.org/amrevpbs | #AmericanRevolutionPBS
The Continental Army at Saratoga swells to 17,000 as it once again clashes with the British, led by General John Burgoyne. Benedict Arnold is seriously wounded while leading the troops, but the Patriots are successful in pushing back the British. Completely surrounded with dwindling supplies, Burgoyne has little choice but to surrender to Horatio Gates in a major victory for the Patriots.
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#americanhistory #revolutionarywar #history #ushistory #warhistory #saratoga
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION | A Film By Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt
An expansive look at the virtues and contradictions of the war and the birth of the United States of America, the film follows dozens of figures from a wide variety of backgrounds. Through their individual stories, viewers experience the war through the memories of the men and women who experienced it: the rank-and-file Continental soldiers and American militiamen (some of them teenagers), Patriot political and military leaders, British Army officers, American Loyalists, Native soldiers and civilians, enslaved and free African Americans, German soldiers in the British service, French and Spanish allies, and various civilians living in North America, Loyalist as well as Patriot, including many made refugees by the war.
The Revolution began a movement for people around the world to imagine new and better futures for themselves, their nations, and for humanity. It declared American independence with promises that we continue to strive for. The American Revolution opened the door to advance civil liberties and human rights, and it asked questions that we are still trying to answer today.
The film, narrated by Peter Coyote, includes the first-person voices of nearly 200 individual historic figures, read by a cast of actors, including Adam Arkin, Jeremiah Bitsui, Corbin Bleu, Kenneth Branagh, Josh Brolin, Bill Camp, Tantoo Cardinal, Josh Charles, Hugh Dancy, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Keith David, Hope Davis, Marcus Davis-Orrom, Bruce Davison, Leon Dische Becker, Alden Ehrenreich, Craig Ferguson, Morgan Freeman, Christian Friedel, Paul Giamatti, Domhnall Gleeson, Amanda Gorman, Michael Greyeyes, Jonathan Groff, Charlotte Hacke, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Lucas Hedges, Josh Hutcherson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gene Jones, Michael Keaton, Joe Keery, Joel Kinnaman, Tracy Letts, Damian Lewis, Laura Linney, Josh Lucas, Michael Mando, Carolyn McCormick, Lindsay Mendez, Tobias Menzies, Joe Morton, Edward Norton, David Oyelowo, Mandy Patinkin, Wendell Pierce, Jon Proudstar, Matthew Rhys, LaTanya Richardson, Liev Schreiber, Chaske Spencer, Dan Stevens, Meryl Streep, and Yul Vazquez, among others.
Thurgood Marshall: America’s Social Architect | Full Documentary | PBS - February 1, 2026 - PBS
Explore the life and legacy of the nation’s first African American Supreme Court justice. The film follows Justice Marshall, known as “Mr. Civil Rights,” from his legal career with the NAACP to his 1967 appointment to the nation’s highest court.
Follow Justice Marshall’s journey from his birth in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1908 through his years at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Lincoln University and Howard University School of Law, and his groundbreaking career as a lawyer championing civil rights and dismantling school segregation. Marshall won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, invalidating the separate but equal doctrine and ending racial segregation in public schools. In 1967, Marshall became the first African American appointed to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect
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Records Reveal Delroy Lindo's Ancestors in Jamaica | Finding Your Roots | PBS - January 29, 2026 - PBS
Watch more: https://to.pbs.org/4pH4zhG | #FindingYourRoots
Delroy Lindo dives deeper into his mother's ancestry, discovering some records that confirm family stories, and the family name dating back to the days of slavery in Jamaica.
Delroy Lindo has had memorable roles in film, TV and Broadway. Lindo's film roles include appearances in The Cider House Rules; Heist; and critical acclaim in a trio of films with director, Spike Lee: Clockers; Crooklyn and Malcolm X. Other notable films include Wondrous Oblivion; The Core; The One; Gone in 60 Seconds; Ransom; Get Shorty; Romeo Must Die; This Christmas (also as executive producer).
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Finding Your Roots
For more than a decade, renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom, and compassion. Professor Gates has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.
Trees Are Smart. Are We Smarter? | Climate California | Full Episode | PBS - January 27, 2026 - PBS
Watch more of this series: https://to.pbs.org/4jTV25v
Plants are smart. We climb 230 feet up, into one of the world’s most vibrant canopies, to see for ourselves. We learn what plants and trees are really about - intelligent beings making life possible by reaching for starlight.
Second Language | Climate California
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#trees #forestry #botany
About Climate California
Climate change demands new solutions - and new stories. Climate California, a series from @NorthernCaliforniaPublicMedia, is an invitation: to a story that reminds us of the beauty of the world. And the power we already have.
The British Capture Philadelphia & The Battle of Germantown | The American Revolution | PBS - January 26, 2026 - PBS
Official website: https://to.pbs.org/amrevpbs | #AmericanRevolutionPBS
Following the loss of the Battle of the Brandywine, Continental Congress flees Philadelphia and the approaching British army. Washington sends men ahead to defend the city, but they are ambushed at the Paoli Massacre, and Philadelphia is occupied by the British. Washington devises an ambitious plan to engage the British at their headquarters in Germantown.
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#americanhistory #revolutionarywar #history #ushistory #warhistory #philadelphia
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION | A Film By Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt
An expansive look at the virtues and contradictions of the war and the birth of the United States of America, the film follows dozens of figures from a wide variety of backgrounds. Through their individual stories, viewers experience the war through the memories of the men and women who experienced it: the rank-and-file Continental soldiers and American militiamen (some of them teenagers), Patriot political and military leaders, British Army officers, American Loyalists, Native soldiers and civilians, enslaved and free African Americans, German soldiers in the British service, French and Spanish allies, and various civilians living in North America, Loyalist as well as Patriot, including many made refugees by the war.
The Revolution began a movement for people around the world to imagine new and better futures for themselves, their nations, and for humanity. It declared American independence with promises that we continue to strive for. The American Revolution opened the door to advance civil liberties and human rights, and it asked questions that we are still trying to answer today.
The film, narrated by Peter Coyote, includes the first-person voices of nearly 200 individual historic figures, read by a cast of actors, including Adam Arkin, Jeremiah Bitsui, Corbin Bleu, Kenneth Branagh, Josh Brolin, Bill Camp, Tantoo Cardinal, Josh Charles, Hugh Dancy, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Keith David, Hope Davis, Marcus Davis-Orrom, Bruce Davison, Leon Dische Becker, Alden Ehrenreich, Craig Ferguson, Morgan Freeman, Christian Friedel, Paul Giamatti, Domhnall Gleeson, Amanda Gorman, Michael Greyeyes, Jonathan Groff, Charlotte Hacke, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Lucas Hedges, Josh Hutcherson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gene Jones, Michael Keaton, Joe Keery, Joel Kinnaman, Tracy Letts, Damian Lewis, Laura Linney, Josh Lucas, Michael Mando, Carolyn McCormick, Lindsay Mendez, Tobias Menzies, Joe Morton, Edward Norton, David Oyelowo, Mandy Patinkin, Wendell Pierce, Jon Proudstar, Matthew Rhys, LaTanya Richardson, Liev Schreiber, Chaske Spencer, Dan Stevens, Meryl Streep, and Yul Vazquez, among others.
Liza Colón-Zayas Emotional Over Discoveries in Family Tree | Finding Your Roots | PBS - January 22, 2026 - PBS
Watch more: https://to.pbs.org/4pH4zhG | #FindingYourRoots
Liza Colón-Zayas learns about her grandfather's hard job as Merchant Marine, the circumstances of her great-grandfather's birth and the name of an enslaved ancestor.
Emmy Award winner Liza Colón Zayas stars as Tina Marrero in the critically acclaimed series The Bear. For her role, she received the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, making history as the first Latina to be awarded an Emmy in this category. Colón Zayas has also been nominated for a Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG Award for the show's third season, and had previously received a SAG Award and two Imagen Awards for the role, as well.
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#findingyourroots #ancestry #genealogy #familyhistory
Finding Your Roots
For more than a decade, renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom, and compassion. Professor Gates has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.
Freedom vs. Government & the Right to Choose | Full Episode | Breaking the Deadlock | PBS - January 20, 2026 - PBS
Official website: https://to.pbs.org/3ZsIPN5 | #DeadlockPBS
What does “freedom” mean - and what is the role of government - when people face life and death choices? As with many other complex issues, Americans are divided in their views regarding the limits of personal autonomy. In this hour long special, moderator Aaron Tang and a panel of experts with very different views, take on a hypothetical scenario that raises questions about reproductive rights, as well as our right to die at a time of our choosing.
Breaking the Deadlock: A Matter of Life and Death, encourages dialogue, and the possibility of common ground.
This program was recorded live at The New York Historical, collecting birthday wishes for the USA as it prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday. Learn more at www.nyhistory.org
Funding for BREAKING the DEADLOCK was made possible in part by PBS viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate
For bios of the panelists, please visit: https://www.pbs.org/show/deadlock/
Panelists: Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Faculty Director, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law; Steve Bullock, Former Governor of Montana; Dr. Jen Gunter, OB/GYN and Author; Scott Jennings, CNN Senior Political Contributor; Molly Jong-Fast, NYT Bestselling Author and Cultural Critic; Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Impact Strategist and Founder, Love & Power Works; Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, Director, The Conscience Project; Roger Severino, VP Domestic Policy, The Heritage Foundation; Matthew Wynia, MD, MPH, FACP, Dir. University of Colorado Ctr. For Bioethics and Humanities
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction: Your Body: Whose Choice?
01:55 Abortion Across State Lines: A Parent’s Dilemma
10:32 Abortion Pills at Home: Privacy vs. Parental Rights
18:38 Two Teens, One Traffic Stop and a Plot Twist
29:21 Should You Help End a Life? A Father’s Final Request
35:07 Law vs. Life: The Abortion Debate Gets Personal
42:13 When Pregnancy Turns Perilous: Inside the Toughest Pregnancy Decisions
47:17 The Ultimate Question: Who Counts—and Who Decides
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