Member Profile

TOUCHING THE SUN is a multi-platform PBS project about the science and symbolism of our closest star, the Sun. The project channels the universal connection to the Sun’s life force and desire to uncover its secrets to engage more audiences in an understanding and appreciation of science, nature, and culture.

Documentary Description:

TOUCHING THE SUN probes our closest star – its mysterious origins, savage power, and life force energy – and follows the people who uncover its scientific secrets and celebrate its symbolic meaning.  It captures the visually stunning and transformative 2024 total solar eclipse, dives into the science of the Sun’s influence on the Earth and solar system, and examines the current and historical cultural context of Sun watching and Sun worshiping across time and cultures. ​We meet researchers chasing the elusive corona in the Moon’s shadow, ​NASA heliophysicists shedding light on the solar winds, Indigenous leaders sharing the Sun’s spiritual symbolism, conservationists entreating us to steward our planet, and artists creating in search of human enlightenment. 

Touch the Sun – and experience the awe and wonder of its fiery secrets and life-sustaining force.  

Additional Project Elements:

• Digital series with a deeper dive into the science of the Sun and total solar eclipses and their place in ancient, First Nations, and modern cultures 
• Educational lesson plans for K-12 students in math, science, and social studies using documentary clips 
• Social impact initiative with key partners focused on stewardship of the Earth (climate, sustainability, outdoors, dark skies) and humanity (tolerance, altruism, compassion).

DEMOCRACY ON THE BRINK is an urgent multi-platform media project featuring a PBS documentary film, digital installments, and a voter literacy and get-out-the-vote social impact campaign about the perilous state of democracy in the U.S. and worldwide. 

Documentary Description:

DEMOCRACY ON THE BRINK is a feature-length documentary that unflinchingly explores the state of democracy in the flashpoint states of Texas and Florida as the country approaches the presidential and midterm elections and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It uncovers personal stories of people whose legal, health, and humanitarian rights have been abrogated by these states’ single-party politics and ideological jurisprudence. We meet individuals constrained from voting, prevented from getting abortions, unable to teach classic literature, treated inhumanely as they seek freedom and asylum, and demonized for the people they love. These intimate stories add up to big stories about the undermining of democratic institutions, erosion of civil liberties, threats to independent judiciary rule of law, assaults on voting rights, and impacts of disinformation and polarization campaigns. Viewers witness these states creating autocratic playbooks, which are being followed actively by many other states and are amplifying these impacts. As citizens’ rights bump up against these current laws and practices, seminal questions emerge about the Founding Fathers’ intentions and what people feel about the current status of the great experiment of our democratic republic.

Additional Project Elements:

• Digital series reveals the fundamentals of both autocratic and democratic societies globally
• Educational lesson plans about democracy, history, and civics for K-12 students (based on clips from the documentary) for PBS LearningMedia (#1 source of video-based curricula in the US)
• Social impact initiative with key partners around civics literacy and getting-out-the-vote.

MURALING AUSTIN is a multi-platform media project anchored by a three-part documentary series exploring Austin’s vibrant murals and imaginative artists who have brought the city’s walls to life. From large-scale commission murals to grassroots public art, the murals in MURALING AUSTIN are transforming spaces, giving voice to causes, and impacting communities. The Lone Star Emmy award-winning series aired on PBS on the World channel in almost 80% of the U.S. and will continue to play on PBS stations through 2026. It’s also streaming internationally and has social studies lesson plans on PBS LearningMedia. The series won an Emmy (Lone Star) in 2023 and two Gold Telly Awards in 2024. 

Docu-Series Description:

MURALING AUSTIN dives into the dynamic and impactful mural art that is elevating this capital city. Immerse yourself in the art. Meet the artists. Watch them create. Hear from the organizers. Take in the colorful stories behind the murals. This unique three-part documentary series journeys into some of Austin’s most inspiring public murals and portraits of the artists and activists who made them. From large-scale installations to intimate painted walls, these murals celebrate people (Frida Kahlo, Angela Davis); honor histories (19th Amendment, Austin Black Senators baseball team); and transform spaces (Rosewood Park, The Pan American Center). MURALING AUSTIN provides an inside look at some of Austin’s most expressive and impactful public art.

Episode Descriptions:

Each 30-minute episode features public and private murals that are gracing the walls and surfaces of Austin — with behind-the-scenes stories of the artists who created them, the organizers who made them possible, and the histories they are bringing to light. Viewers can explore the murals of Austin through the following episodes:

• Episode 1: “Pride of Place” showcases the national and community changemakers who helmed efforts to realize Austin’s most inspiring murals, including “The Beauty of Liberty and Equality” (commemorating the 19th Amendment conferring women with the right to vote by renowned street artists Shepard Fairey and Sandra Fevrier) and the Bolm Road fence murals (including murals about community activists efforts to save the environment and immigration).
• Episode 2: “Women Rising” features the images of women rising on the walls of Austin – from murals honoring accomplished artists and activists to spiritual icons with messages of female empowerment. Meet the artists driven to paint these women. (Frida Kahlo, Angela Davis, RBG)
• Episode 3: “Big, Bright & Bold” highlights the vibrant contemporary murals that are bursting onto public spaces throughout Austin. Leap into the art and meet the artists who are energizing this capital city’s urban architecture. Streaming on PBS.

Additional Project Elements:

• Website: Muraling Austin
• Social Studies Lesson Plans: On PBS LearningMedia (#1 source of video-based curricula in the U.S.) Five video segments from the three-part series Muraling Austin are accompanied by suggested activities and discussion questions that explore the individuals who have contributed to making Austin’s murals, the historic events that appear in murals, and the power of mural art to convey history, place, emotion, and representation of BIPOC communities. Four lesson plans were targeted to Grades 3-5, and a fifth for MS/HS art students. 

Documentary Description:

BEATING SUPERBUGS: CAN WE WIN? is a feature-length documentary presenting an accessible, in-depth exploration of how superbugs — antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ABR) — emerged and what it will take to beat superbugs. Overuse of antibiotics in medicine, agriculture, and our food stream has created a new class of formerly treatable bacteria that have mutated and become resistant to antibiotics. Diseases such as MRSA, C. difficile, TB, VRE, CRE, and Neisseria gonorrhea are becoming increasingly deadly. Through dramatic first-hand victim stories, we learn about individuals’ death and near-death battles with these and other diseases. We also learn about the accelerating evolutionary arms race caused by the multi-billion dollar cost and 15-year timeframe to develop new antibiotics, while some bacteria mutate to antibiotic resistance in just two years. ARB appears to be winning.

Still, the film focuses on many solutions presented by dedicated experts in science, economics, government, and the pharmaceutical industry. The documentary also guides viewers on ways to change their personal habits and support public efforts (government initiatives, pending legislation, independent foundations) that can bring them into the superbug fight. Superbugs share a global crisis status with COVID-19. A high quantity of known patient deaths in this viral pandemic have been linked to unfettered bacterial infections. Their predictable presence as partners in coming pandemics, and on their own, cannot be ignored. But ingenious counterattacks are either in place or are emerging. International leaders in multiple fields are separately and together bringing innovative strategies and tactics to the battle. Such efforts, empowered by citizens everywhere, have a good chance to stem a dire prediction: if unchecked by mid-century, superbugs could surpass cancer as the No. 1 cause of human death worldwide. Streaming on YouTube, Tube, Google Play, Vimeo

THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA is a multi-platform project shedding light on how big data and AI are impacting society. Nearly everything we do today leaves an indelible digital trail: Where we live. What we search. What we read. Where we go. What we buy. What we say. All this data is being recorded, stored, extracted, and processed. The rapid emergence of internet-connected data devices and the massive gathering and analyzing of real-time data is creating a central planetary nervous system in which individuals have become human sensors, mapping and measuring the planet while, at the same time, mapping intimate details of the lives of every one of us. This phenomenon is “Big Data.” And there is a very human side to this data that often is overlooked or untold.

Documentary Description:

THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA, a gripping one-hour documentary that premiered nationally on PBS, examines the promises and perils of this unstoppable force that is now invisibly sweeping through our lives and is expected to have an impact on humanity and civilization 1,000 times greater than the internet itself. Narrated by actor Joel McHale, the award-winning film features compelling human stories, captivating visuals, and in-depth interviews with dozens of pioneering scientists, entrepreneurs, futurists, and experts to illustrate powerful new data-driven tools, which have the potential to address some of humanity’s biggest challenges, including health, hunger, pollution, security, and disaster response. It also explores our vulnerabilities in the new cyber era, spotlighting issues of personal privacy, government surveillance and civil liberties, and the implications for the future of democracy when people’s lives are chronicled and exposed to known and unknown entities. Streaming on CuriosityStream.

Film Distinctions:

• Jury Prize for “Best Cinematography” at the Boston International Film Festival and official selection at many other festivals
• The U.S. Department of State American Film Showcase selection shown at embassies and consulates around the world Other

Additional Project Elements:

• THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA is a best-selling, critically acclaimed book Immersive, interactive, WEBBY Award-winning iPad app, also available on iTunes (100% percent of earnings donated to Charity Water)
• Thought-leader events (Los Angeles, San Francisco/San Jose, Seattle, Minneapolis/St. Paul)

Measles. Mumps. Whooping cough. Diseases that were largely eradicated in the United States a generation ago are returning. Across America and around the globe, children are getting sick and dying from preventable diseases—in part, because some parents are choosing to skip their children’s shots.

Documentary Description:

The award-winning science series NOVA helps viewers find the answers they need. Misinformation about vaccines can spread quickly, creating confusion about the relative risks of vaccinating vs. not vaccinating. VACCINES–CALLING THE SHOTS is an important film that encourages parents to ask questions and use the best available evidence to make decisions about how to protect their children. This documentary travels the globe to provide the latest evidence and answers. Featuring scientists, pediatricians, psychologists, anthropologists, and parents wrestling with vaccine-related questions, the hour-long film takes viewers around the world to explore the history and science behind vaccinations, track epidemics, hear from parents wrestling with vaccine-related questions, and shed light on the risks of opting out.

More than 90 percent—vaccinate their children, and most do it on the recommended schedule. Yet many people have questions about the safety of vaccines, and at least 10 percent of parents choose to delay or skip their children’s shots. The film illustrates how vaccines not only protect individuals but also safeguard entire communities. The higher the overall vaccination rate is, the more protection for everyone. For highly infectious diseases like measles, 95% of the community must be vaccinated to shield the larger population, a concept known as “herd immunity.” If the rate drops below that 95% threshold, even by just a few percentage points, this layer of protection can collapse, sometimes leading to the kinds of outbreaks reported in recent news headlines. Streaming on PBS. 

Additional Project Elements:

• Partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Op-ed in the New York Times about vaccination
• Blogs by experts and partners
• Online Twitter chats with pediatricians and parents