Each week, long-form storytelling meets public affairs on Rhode Island PBS. Hosted by Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller, Story in the Public Square features detailed interviews with today’s top storytellers from the world of print, screen, music, and more. Guests have an open forum to discuss topics of interest, share insights from their own personal experience, and provide takeaways that impact public understanding and policy.
Now in its ninth season, Story in the Public Square is a collaboration between the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the Providence Journal. Now, join Rhode Island PBS for a special mini-marathon on February 4, featuring selections and highlights from the landmark series.
The program order as follows:
“Sister Helen Prejean” – February 4 at 9 p.m.
Since 1976, nearly 1,500 Americans have been executed in the name of justice. Sister Helen Prejean cautions about the human cost of the death penalty and the innocent victims wrongfully put to death. (Originally aired September 22, 2018)
“Dr. Mona Hannah-Attisha" – February 4 at 9:30 p.m.
In April 2014, officials in Flint, Michigan, switched the city’s water supply from Detroit to the Flint River. It was a cost-effective move, but it impacted countless lives. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha helped sound the alarm, proving through science and determination that the city’s decision was poisoning their own children. (Originally aired May 27, 2019)
“Daniel Okrent” – February 4 at 10 p.m.
In 1924, new laws ended the steady influx of American immigrants that began in the nineteenth century. Thousands of European immigrants entered the United States each year before the law, but after 1924, those numbers were drastically reduced. Daniel Okrent is the author of a remarkable history of the bigotry and sham science that lay at the heart of the Immigration Act of 1924. (Originally aired October 28, 2019)
“Eve Ewing” – February 4 at 10:30 p.m.
Race in American life remains a powerful force. Eve L. Ewing explores its potency in her scholarship and bears personal witness in her art and poetry. (Originally aired August 5, 2017)
WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits over the air in high definition on digital 36.1; Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD in MA; DirecTV 36, Dish Network 36.
