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Friday

Danny McBride, Pitching For Laughs In 'Eastbound'

Fresh Air

Comic actor Danny McBride stars in Eastbound and Down, an HBO series about a washed-up baseball star who becomes a substitute gym teacher. The show is out now on DVD. Rebroadcast from Feb. 2009.

Danny McBride, Pitching For Laughs In 'Eastbound'

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Children's TV Helps But Can't Teach Reading Alone

How successful are television programs like Reading Rainbow and Sesame Street at helping kids learn to read? The head of the International Reading Association says TV is not a tool to teach explicit reading skills. Richard Long says that's a job for schools and parents, but he says children's programs are better than nothing.

Children's TV Helps But Can't Teach Reading Alone

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'Reading Rainbow' Reaches Its Final Chapter

For 26 years, Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton (left) shepherded kids through the exciting world of books. The show, which fostered a love of reading, was the third longest-running program in PBS history, outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. GPN/Nebraska ETV Network; WNED Buffalo hide caption

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GPN/Nebraska ETV Network; WNED Buffalo

'Reading Rainbow' Reaches Its Final Chapter

After 26 years, the beloved children's show hosted by LeVar Burton will disappear from the airwaves. Today, educational funding favors programs that teach kids how to read, rather than why to read.

'Reading Rainbow' Reaches Its Final Chapter

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Tuesday

Promises Unkept: Disappointments In Digital TV

Because of the digital transition, TV stations can now offer four or more different channels. But critics say that offerings are a far cry from what broadcasters could be doing with the new channels.

Promises Unkept: Disappointments In Digital TV

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Pop Culture

Loving The "Unlovable" Men Of The 1950s

"Why do we love those unlovable men of the 1950s and early '60s?" asks Jonathan Zimmerman in the Christian Science Monitor. He explains how finding love letters written by his father 50 years ago convinced him today's man is not that different from the 1950s man.

Loving The "Unlovable" Men Of The 1950s

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The Cast Of 'Thirtysomething' Reflects

It was the show that redefined what it means to be 30, and gave us the shorthand we use to refer to that generation. The cast of thirtysomething reunites and talks about the show's significance 20 years after it first aired.

The Cast Of 'Thirtysomething' Reflects

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Monday

HBO Documents Child Migrants In 'Which Way Home'

Boxcar Limited: Migrant children Fito, Jairo and Kevin ride atop a freight train as they make their way toward the United States. Mr. Mudd Productions/HBO hide caption

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Mr. Mudd Productions/HBO

Movie Interviews

HBO Documents Child Migrants In 'Which Way Home'

Filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa's new documentary, Which Way Home, follows child migrants as they leave their families behind and follow a perilous trail, train-hopping and hiking their way across the U.S.-Mexico border. Cammisa talked to Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep about why she made the film — and what she learned.

HBO Documents Child Migrants In 'Which Way Home'

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Friday

Media

'60 Minutes' Creator Hewitt: A Lifetime Of News

Fresh Air

In this 2001 archival interview, 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt discusses the highlights of his career, including his work on the televised Nixon-Kennedy debate. Hewitt died Aug. 19 at age 86.

'60 Minutes' Creator Hewitt: A Lifetime Of News

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When News Happened, Don Hewitt Was There

Fresh Air

Don Hewitt, who died on Aug. 19 at age 86, didn't invent the TV newsmagazine, but he sure invented the most successful and durable one. David Bianculli offers a remembrance of the man behind 60 Minutes.

When News Happened, Don Hewitt Was There

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Wednesday

Obituaries

'60 Minutes' Producer Don Hewitt Dies

The voluble CBS News executive producer who was the creative force behind 60 Minutes died Wednesday morning of pancreatic cancer at his home in Bridgehampton, N.Y. He was 86.

'60 Minutes' Producer Don Hewitt Dies

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Monday

HBO Documentary Spotlights Slain Afghan 'Fixer'

Ajmal Naqshbandi, an Afghan who worked with visiting reporters, was kidnapped and killed by the Taliban in 2007. A new documentary airing Monday on HBO, Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi, tells his story.

HBO Documentary Spotlights Slain Afghan 'Fixer'

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Friday

On Television

'Mad Men' Returns, With A British Invasion

Fresh Air

When last we saw the ad men and women of AMC's Mad Men, the firm had just been bought by a British company and the Cuban missile crisis was underway. Critic David Bianculli offers a sneak peak at what additional drama the new season might hold.

'Mad Men' Returns, With A British Invasion

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A Mad Dash To Decorate 'Mad Men'

For Amy Wells, set decorator for AMC's Emmy-winning show — set in a 1960s advertising agency — life is one big scavenger hunt. She goes to great lengths to get the era's details just right — right now she's hunting for vintage Halloween decorations.

A Mad Dash To Decorate 'Mad Men'

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Thursday

America: Prepare To Be Mightily Booshed

Imagine a cross between Monty Python, H.R. Pufnstuf and Flight of the Conchords. What you get is The Mighty Boosh, a British TV comedy as weird as it is funny. The creators of the U.K. cult hit are aiming to win over American audiences.

America: Prepare To Be Mightily Booshed

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Pop Culture

Meet Lisa Sanders, The Doctor Behind 'House'

Fresh Air

Lisa Sanders' monthly "Diagnosis" column in The New York Times Magazine was an inspiration for the TV series House. Sanders, an internist on the faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine, is the show's technical advisor; her new book is Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis.

Meet Lisa Sanders, The Doctor Behind 'House'

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