Good public television

Maybe I'm the last one to know about this, but I just discovered a great show on PBS. It's called Wide Angle, and it hosts international current affairs documentaries. When you go to the main site, it looks like it only has documentaries about women. While I wouldn't mind this, and I think a feminist viewpoint is generally only a humanist viewpoint addressing women's issues, when you read about the series, it seems to have a broader focus. Started as a response to the lack of international news in the U.S., the show's first four seasons involved traveling to 44 countries to capture global human stories that may not otherwise make it back to the States. I've only seen tonight's broadcast, Class of 2006: Islam's New Female Leaders, and I really enjoyed seeing a non-western viewpoint on democracy and social programs - especially how they affect women in different countries. There was an interview with Ambassador Dennis Ross, who saw the documentary and discussed the role of women in the Middle East peace process as well as the democratization process in the Middle East. I was encouraged by his comments. He didn't seem to simply tow the Bush-party line, and instead had some interesting ideas on how to change the current policy. Here's his bio from the Washington Institute.