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51% Show #1309

FDR Library

On this week’s 51%, we’ll hear from Ken Burns on his soon-to-be-aired documentary about the Roosevelts. On Eleanor Roosevelt. Then, a documentary currently in production on the Lost Girls of Sudan. And moving from screen to sound, we’ll hear from an audio engineer with a mission.

Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns has tackled topics as diverse as baseball, the Civil War and prohibition. This time, the film is The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. It’s a seven-part, 14-hour documentary directed and produced by Burns and written by longtime Burns collaborator Geoffrey Ward. The film interlaces the stories of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of one of the most prominent families in American politics. It airs on PBS in September. Burns was at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York earlier in the summer, where I caught up with him. I asked Burns what is different about his approach to the Roosevelts and the resulting film.

The first episode of The Roosevelts: An Intimate History airs on PBS September 14, running seven consecutive nights. Ken Burns is director and producer. 

Sister Luise Radlmeier visiting South Sudanese women she mentored now living in the USA

 Now we turn to a documentary currently in production, about the Lost Girls of Sudan. Veronica Balderas Iglesiasreports from Colorado. 

From a mission on the screen to a mission in sound. When you hear about STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, do you think about audio engineers? Terri Winston does, According to some estimates, 95% of all audio engineers are men. But that’s changing, as Jen Chien reports from San Francisco. 

And that’s our show for this week. Roll credits. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance.  Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. 

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