Michael Wood’s fascinating journey through the history of the Indian subcontinent, the first history of India on western television, chronicles the incredible richness and diversity of its peoples, cultures and landscapes; outlines the originality and continuing relevance of its ideas; and relates some of the most momentous and moving events in world history.

The world’s largest democracy and a rising economic giant, India is now as well known in the U.S. for its mastery of computer technology and its business and industrial strength as it is for its many-armed gods and its spiritual traditions. But India is also the world’s most ancient surviving civilization, with unbroken continuity stretching back into prehistory.

Like other great civilizations, India has renewed itself several times, enjoying several brilliant golden ages in art and culture. Its great thinkers and religious leaders have permanently changed the face of the globe. Now, in the era of globalization, India is once again becoming a leading player in the world and an increasingly important strategic partner and friend of the U.S. Home to more than a billion people, it is a land of amazing contrasts: It contains both the high-tech brilliance of Bangalore’s Silicon Valley and the archaic splendor of the Kumbh Mela festival, where 25 million pilgrims bathe in the sacred river Ganges on a single night. While moving at high speed into the modern world, India is still in touch with her ancient past.

Join us for this exciting journey at 9pm, tonight on WTCI.

Featured Sunday, December 21st and Wednesday, December 24th on WTCI

Tune into WTCI this Sunday, December 21st at 7 p.m. and Wednesday, December 24th  at 10 p.m. for Faith Hill’s Exclusive One-Time Performance of Her Newly Released CD.
Faith Hill chose PBS’s SOUNDSTAGE for the first and only full performance of her newly released Christmas album, Joy to the World. Backed by an orchestra led by esteemed conductor David Campbell, Hill sings favorites from her upcoming holiday album, Joy to the World , a collection of standards amped up with challenging vocals and ambitious melodic structure. This SOUNDSTAGE special features booming orchestral arrangements on the title track, “Joy to the World,” and swinging, big-band versions of more lighthearted fare such as “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and “Holly, Jolly Christmas.” A choir joins Hill and the orchestra on more spiritual songs such as “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Silent Night” and “A Baby Changes Everything.” The program was taped over two nights at the Chicago-area Sears Centre Arena.

Since the first production The Nutcracker in St. Petersburg more than a century ago, its charming story, dazzling choreography and magnificent Tchaikovsky score have combined to make it one of the most popular and enduring ballets the world over. San Francisco Ballet makes the beloved ballet its own, resetting it during the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exhibition and introducing “Dance in America” viewers to the dazzling Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan. Recorded last December by KQED San Francisco to help commemorate SFB’s 75th anniversary, the work is choreographed by artistic director Helgi Tomasson and features dazzling new sets by Michael Yeargan and opulent costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, both repeat Tony Award-winning designers. Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi hosts.

Tonight on WTCI

Keep an eye out for a new public service announcement in the coming days featuring Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, Rocky the Recycling Raccoon, and clients of Orange Grove Center.  WTCI was on location monday morning to shoot the spot reminding Chattanooga residents to recycle this holiday season in order to reduce the amount of trash that's headed for landfills.  If you need more information about recycling, visit www.recycleright.org.

To better prepare viewers in the Tennessee Valley, all Chattanooga broadcast television stations will participate in a nationwide effort to test their readiness for the switch to digital television.

WDEF (Channel 12), WDSI (Channel 61), WFLI (Channel 53), WRCB (Channel 3), WTCI (Channel 45) and  WTVC (Channel  9) will all participate at 6:28pm on Wednesday, December 17, 2008. At that time, viewers who are not ready for the digital conversion will see a message on their screen advising them what to do. If the viewer’s television set is ready for the conversion, there will be no change in programming.

At 6:28pm, the stations will simultaneously interrupt regular programming on their analog channels to replicate what will happen on February 17, 2009 when all analog broadcast television stations will be required to sign off.  Regular programming will be uninterrupted on each station’s digital channel.

The following viewers should not experience any interruption in service: Those who have television sets connected to a cable system or satellite service provider; viewers who have a digital television set attached to an antenna; viewers who have an analog television set attached to a digital converter box.

The only viewers who should experience a disruption in their over-the-air service are those viewers who have an analog television set which is used for over-the-air reception.

The local broadcasters are conducting this “soft DTV test” to educate all viewers in the area about the need to prepare for the digital conversion.  Station personnel hope the test will encourage viewers who experience a disruption in service to call and get answers to their questions quickly so they will avoid a permanent interruption of service on February 17, 2009.

Local cable companies and satellite service providers are working with the local broadcasters to make this test as successful as possible.

The Chattanooga test is part of a nationwide effort to increase awareness of the digital conversion. For more information on the switch to digital television and an explanation of the difference between digital television and high definition television, visit www.dtv2009.gov or call 888-DTV-2009.

Don't you wish you could be this happy? You can! Head over to the Creative Discovery Museum to check out this most-impressive WTCI-inspired gingerbread man masterpiece for yourself. Beth Neuhoff, Donyale Grove, and Jennifer Hoff did a fantastic job putting it together and we hope it reminds you to be more festive this holiday season!

WTCI will be featuring two popular specials this Sunday, November 30 beginning at 5 p.m. as part of WTCI’s membership drive: Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey Holiday SpeCIAL at 5 p.m. and Great Scenic Railway Journeys at 7 p.m. Tickets to Celtic Woman’s Nashville, Atlanta and Knoxville shows will be available during the program, and WTCI will have Robert Van Camp, the producer of Great Scenic Railway Journeys, live in the studio. Tune in and enjoy these popular programs! 

Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey Holiday Special is the essential collection of Celtic Woman’s most beloved and memorable songs. The Celtic Woman journey to international renown began in 2005. Now, with more than three million CDs and DVDs sold in the US — including gold and platinum album certifications, a #4 debut on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and #1 on the Billboard World Music Chart for more than 90 consecutive weeks — Celtic Woman remains a major force in the contemporary music landscape. The special is a collection of memorable highlights taken from Celtic Woman’s acclaimed PBS specials and showcases vocalists Lisa, Chloe, Orla, Méav and Hayley and fiddler Máiréad. Performances include “Mo Ghile Mear,” “Spanish Lady,” “Christmas Pipes,” “You Raise Me Up” and many more. All of the songs are intertwined, using stunning scenic and landscape images of Ireland.

GREAT SCENIC RAILWAY JOURNEYS: CELEBRATING NORTH AMERICA'S STEAM RAILWAYS explorers the impact that the steam engine had in building our world. With visits to seventeen of North America's most historic and scenic tourist steam railroads, it is a journey steeped in the history of a great land where steam trains provided raw power to blaze new trails and build the United States and Canada. The program journeys from the frozen tundra of Alaska to the vast high desert of Arizona, the rolling hills of New Hampshire to the Black Hills of South Dakota and through the prairies and mountains of Canada.

A world broadcast premiere for a local documentary at 8pm on WTCI. Coke Ovens Slaves: The Story of a Bluegrass Festival, is the work of Dunlap resident Charli Wyatt. This half-hour documentary celebrates the musicians and volunteers who are keeping history and heritage alive in the Sequatchie Valley.

The Coke Ovens Park in Dunlap, Tennessee was once the town's unofficial trash dump. Hidden under decades of rubbish were stone ruins - the remains of the coal and coke operation that dominated life in the area in the early 20th century. In the 1980s, a group of residents, with the support of the vibrant local bluegrass community, formed the Sequatchie Valley Historical Association to clean up the site and preserve the coke ovens. Today the 77-acre park is home to a museum and an annual bluegrass festival.

Don't miss Coke Ovens Slaves: The Story of a Bluegrass Festival, tonight at 8pm on WTCI.

Don't miss tonight's NOVA special, The Bible's Buried Secrets, which presents the latest archeological scholarship from the Holy Land to explore the beginnings of modern religion and the origins of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament.

Be sure to join us after NOVA for Buried Secrets: Local Perspectives, a panel of area religious experts from our area engaging in a roundtable discussion about the content and the context of the Nova program.

Over a thousand guests joined us at the WTCI studios on Sunday for our annual Family Day. Kids of all ages had an opportunity to meet some of their favorite PBS friends: Curious George, Super Why, Arthur, Word Girl, and the star of one of our newest shows, Martha Speaks. Our very own Brooke Honeycutt painted faces (and hands), and everyone had a blast in front of the green screen. If you were one of the hundreds that came out and you'd like to share your experience, post a comment below and tell us about it. If you missed your chance, be sure to join us next year, and keep an eye on this site for new opportunities to learn, contribute, volunteer, and experience all that WTCI offers our community.

Family Day at WTCI November 9^th from Noon to 3 p.m. - Meet PBS Kids Characters and See WTCI's Broadcast Studio

If you are looking for something fun and free to do in November, look no further. WTCI, your community’s PBS station, is holding Family Day on Sunday, November 9, from noon to 3 p.m. at WTCI’s broadcast studio, located at 7540 Bonnyshire Drive. The event offers something for everyone: special guests from PBS Kids, storytelling, hands-on activities, a digital TV information booth and station tours for those interested in a behind-the-scenes look at WTCI’s studio. WTCI is also holding a book drive during the event to support a local elementary school library. Children who donate a used book can pick out a new book from our Ready to Learn library—a great way to teach children the spirit of giving as we enter the holiday season.

Curious George, Arthur, Word Girl, Martha Speaks, and the Super Readers from Super WHY! will greet kids, and a photographer will be on hand to capture these special moments. Read 20, a Hamilton County organization promoting literacy skills for early childhood, will provide reading activities throughout the day in WTCI’s Ready to Learn Center, which serves as the centerpiece for WTCI’s educational outreach services. Kids will have a chance to see what it is like to be on TV in a special camera station set up in our studio, and several other interactive activities will be set up throughout the studio. WTCI’s technical staff will also be on hand to provide tips and information for the digital TV transition coming up in February 2009.

Additional details about Family Day activities are posted on our Family Day web page - we'll be updating the page as we add new partners and events! We hope to see you November 9^th!

Yet another essential viewing comes to us from Frontline this Tuesday, October 28th at 10pm. "The War Briefing" lays out the foreign policy and military challenges facing our next president.Here's a look:

In an effort to continue our mission to educate and inform, your local PBS station will share an up close and personal look into the latest happenings in our nation’s capital.  Tennessee District 3’s U.S. Congressman, Zach Wamp (R-TN), will share his perspective on the recent financial fallout and what state and Washington lawmakers are doing to secure our future through energy, conservation and health care strategies, in a WTCI special program to air Friday, October 24 at 9 p.m.—Conversations with the Congressman.

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Levi Stubbs died today. You may not know the name, but you certainly know the voice. Stubbs was a member of The Four Tops, one of Motown's most popular groups. Their catalog includes the classics "Reach Out (I'll Be There)", "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'", and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)".  Folks from my generation probably know him best as the voice of Audrey II, the man-eating plant in the 1986 film "Little Shop of Horrors".

Do yourself a favor and go sort through your record collection tonight and listen to The Four Tops again. There's an urgency in Stubbs' powerful vocals that's a rare treat indeed. We'll certainly miss the man, but let's be thankful we can hold on to that voice.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman & CEO Warren Buffett made news over the last few weeks with large investments in Goldman Sachs and General Electric.  The "Oracle of Omaha" is one of the most respected business minds in America and is generally regarded among the greatest investors in history.  So, when he talks, the business community listens.  He sat down with Charlie Rose earlier this week to talk about his recent major investments and the current economic crisis, and if you missed it, you're in luck.  It's here, in its entirety.