Every month, the duo that puts together GBH's programming schedule offers up insights into the best programs on GBH in the coming weeks. Read on to see what Ron Bachman, Senior Director of Programming, and Devin Karambelas, Programming Manager, have to offer this month.

America ReFramed

Tuesday, May 4, 11 and 25 at 8pm on GBH WORLD
Three films for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month from WORLD’s original independent film showcase: First up is Far East Deep South (May 4), in which a Chinese-American family’s search for their roots takes them on an eye-opening journey through the Mississippi Delta. Then, on May 11, Curtain Up! goes behind the footlights of a fifth grade theater club’s production of Frozen in New York City’s Chinatown, where the young performers brush up against cultural stereotypes, family expectations and post-graduation uncertainties. Finally, it’s election season in Hamtramck, USA (May 25), the Michigan town that is now America’s first Muslim-majority city. —Ron
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WBCN and the American Revolution

Thursday, May 6 at 9pm on GBH 2
For Bostonians of a certain age, that title alone will be all the encouragement they need to watch this documentary that tells the amazing story of the radical underground radio station that rocked the city’s airwaves during the profound social, political and cultural changes unfolding in Boston and across the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That story is told through the voices of a compelling cast of characters who connected through the station and the era’s exploding music and countercultural scenes, militant anti-war activism, civil rights struggles and emerging women’s and LGBTQ liberation movements. This is the rare documentary that manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and extraordinarily timely. If you were a ‘BCN fan but want to hear the deep cuts (so to speak), don’t miss this film. And if you’re wondering what the fuss was all about, now’s the time to tune in and turn on. The film’s Peabody Award-winning director, Bill Lichtenstein, was a mere lad of 14 when he started working at WBCN in 1970, so he’s uniquely positioned to tell it like it was. GBH is proud to present the television premiere of this acclaimed documentary. —Ron
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Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Tuesday, May 11 at 8pm on GBH 2
This new four-part series examines the science and medical innovations that conquered some of the world’s deadliest diseases and doubled life expectancies for many across the globe. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, best-selling author Steven Johnson and historian David Olusoga join forces to explore the lessons learned from previous global pandemics — including smallpox, cholera, the Spanish flu and others — and reveal how scientists, doctors, self-experimenters and activists launched a public health revolution, saving millions of lives and leading to extraordinary outcomes, including doubling the human lifespan in under a century. —Ron
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American Experience: Billy Graham

Premieres May 17 on GBH 2
“America’s Preacher” Billy Graham, one of the most influential religious leaders in the 20th century, gets the American Experience treatment in May. With great charisma and movie-star looks, Graham took the role of evangelist and moral crusader to a new level, packing stadiums across the world’s major cities, writing more than 30 books and developing strong relationships with presidents, tycoons and royalty. He died at age 99 a national icon, estimated to have reached 210 million people through his life-long dedication to preaching the Gospel. Explore the incredible making of Billy Graham and his outsize influence on American culture in American Experience: Billy Graham. —Devin
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Independent Lens: The Donut King

Premieres May 24 on GBH 2
Buoyed by zippy editing and a larger-than-life central character, the Independent Lens documentary The Donut King is a portrait of one man’s pursuit of the American Dream with a sugary twist. “Uncle Ted has a very interesting reputation in our family,” says a young woman in an earlier scene. No kidding. Uncle Ted is Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee and entrepreneur who founded a chain of doughnut shops on the West Coast in the 1980s, back when the tasty treat cost a whopping eight cents. So successful was his business that Dunkin' Donuts couldn’t break into the California market. And then, he lost his fortune in spectacular fashion. Ted’s rags-to-riches trajectory is a riveting saga, but filmmaker Alice Gu also captures the broader impact of Ted’s success on the greater Southern California Cambodian American community, for whom the doughnut became a symbol of and means for economic prosperity. Don’t miss this one — it’s a treat. —Devin
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