Best Bets
 It's a Mitzvah! Jewish Life in the Delaware Valley
As Jewish families across the Delaware Valley prepare to celebrate Passover, this stirring original WHYY production examines the history of Jewish life here during the last 75 years -- from the first immigrants who overcame poverty and institutionalized discrimination to build vibrant communities, to today's business and philanthropic leaders. Using personal stories and archival footage, the program highlights the many contributions those in the Jewish community continue to make to the region's cultural landscape.
Sunday, April 4 at 4 pm.
 American Family -- Journey of Dreams
The second season of this acclaimed drama series relives major historical events of the 20th century through the modern-day experiences of the Gonzalez family. The 13-part miniseries unfolds around the ensuring Iraq War, with Jess (Edward James Olmos) reminded of his ancestors' involvement in the Mexican Revolution as his eldest son Conrado (Yancy Arias) prepares to leave for the Middle East. As Conrado cares for the wounded in a military medical unit, a war ensues at home between Jess and his more liberal children over the ethics of the Iraq War. Meanwhile, the newly married Esteban (Esai Morales) struggles to provide a good life for his family and leave his former membership in an east L.A. gang behind.
Sundays in April and May at 7 p.m.
Applause Online Extra: Learn more about American Family director, writer and producer Gregory Nava.
 The Last Witness
After seven years and much anticipation, Emmy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren returns to the small screen as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison in Masterpiece Theatre's "Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness." Although her colleagues believe she is ready for retirement, Tennison heads a high-profile investigation into the murder of a Bosnian-Muslim woman that appears to have ties to the Balkan Civil War. The case quickly leads Tennision into dangerous territory, and she learns the hard way that her determination to grant justice for victims at any cost conflicts with the politics of her new high-ranking position at the London Metropolitan Police.
Sunday, April 18 & 25 at 9 p.m.
Applause Online Extra: "Prime Suspect" star Helen Mirren discusses her seven-year hiatus from the series and what it was about "The Last Witness" script that made her return.
 American Experience "Patriots Day"
More than two centuries after Lexington militiamen rallied against His Majesty's regulars at what would come to be known as the Battle of Lexington and Concord, 65 Redcoats and 67 patriots face off each April 19 to reenact the historic beginning of the American Revolution. American Experience goes behind the scenes of this annual encounter, watching as the men trade their business suits for authentic costumes, brandish swords and bayonets, and meticulously recreate every detail of the battle.
Monday, April 19 at 9 p.m.
 NOVA "World in the Balance"
It took all of history until 1804 for human population to reach its first billion, but now the world's population is growing at a rate of one billion people every 12 years. The NOVA Earth Day special "World in the Balance" provides a snapshot of today's global family -- from the aging demographic in the Unites States and Japan, to India's staggering infant mortality rate, to the AIDS epidemic that is ravaging Africa -- and examines what various population trends mean for the future of the planet.
Tuesday, April 20 at 8 p.m.
Applause Online Extra: Test your knowledge of current population trends and see if your predictions for the future makeup of the global population are accurate with this "World in the Balance" interactive quiz.
 P.O.V.: Love and Diane
Love Hazzard and her younger siblings were often cold and hungry growing up, abandoned for days on end by Diane, their single mother who couldn't seem to kick her addiction to crack cocaine. When Diane is finally reunited with her children after they have spent years in foster care, she is faced with a familiar scenario: Love, now 18, is HIV-positive and herself a negligent single mother.
Filmmaker Jennifer Dworkin first met members of the Hazzard family in 1989, and for the better part of 10 years worked on telling their story of poverty, addiction, and ultimately redemption. The result is an intimate and deeply moving documentary about a daughter's struggle to reconcile years of hurt and anguish, and a mother's hope to reverse the cycle of hopelessness she set in motion.
Wednesday, April 21 at 9 p.m.
Applause Online Extra: Read Diane Hazzard's perspective on her life and how it was portrayed by filmmaker Jennifer Dworkin. Have a question for Diane? You can submit them from this link.
 Independent Lens "The Weather Underground"
In Chicago 1969, hundreds of young American radicals marched through an up-scale shopping district smashing in car windows and breaking storefronts. This would turn out to be the beginning of "The Days of Rage," a low-level war the group -- known as the Weather Underground -- waged against the U.S. government throughout much of the 1970s to express their outrage over racism in American and their country's involvement in the Vietnam War.
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, Independent Lens "The Weather Underground" uses archival film footage, FBI documents, and candid interviews with former members of the group to explore the rise and fall of this radical movement, the idealistic passion that drove them to "bring the war home," and the trajectory that placed them on the FBI's most wanted list.
Tuesday, April 27 at 10 p.m.
Applause Online Extra: Actor Don Cheadle presents a three-minute clip from the Oscar-nominated documentary "The Weather Underground." Check back beginning April 20, when interviews with the Weathermen; video clips from the film; and links to sites and articles exploring the anti-war movement of the Vietnam era will be made available from this link.
 Mark Russell Comedy Special
Mark Russell -- who has been dubbed "the funniest man on television" by TV Guide --begins his 27th season of specials for public television. Drawing on today's headlines and the approaching presidential election, PBS' resident narrator delivers pointed one-liners and sharp-witted song parodies live from his hometown in Buffalo, New York.
Wednesday, April 28 at 9 p.m.
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