In our one-on-one interviews (10-45 minutes), viewers explore fascinating topics with fascinating people (authors, artists, scientists, etc.)

# of Current Videos:  126
115 are 10 to 45 minutes; 5 are less than 10 minutes, and 6 videos range from 45 to 58 minutes.

Humanities and Social Studies Samples

Candid, Personal, and Hilarious: One on One with Judy Blume
One of our favorite childhood authors is back and she’s writing for us once again; Judy Blume’s latest book “In the Unlikely Event” is her first adult book in more than fifteen years. In this fiction that premiered at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list, Blume revisits her adolescence…using a series of tragic events that took place in the 1950s in her hometown as the backdrop for a tale of three generations of family and friends. Author Ridley Pearson talks with Blume about the five year journey she took to finish this novel, her writing inspirations and favorite past times.

A Book of Treasures:  One on One with Daniel James Brown
Author Daniel James Brown gives us the back-story of his compelling New York Times’ Best Seller “The Boys in the Boat” – a tale of the countless challenges facing the U.S. eight-oar rowing team during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Throughout this story, Brown drops what he calls informational “treasures” that transport the reader to Depression-era USA and Nazi Germany. Join us as he describes the six-year journey he took to find all those “treasures” and write the story that reveals the heart and dedication of not just the nine boys in the boat, but the people of that entire generation.

Newberry Medal Winner Erin Entrada Kelly Talks About Her Latest Book “Lalani of the Distant Sea”
In Erin Entrada Kelly’s beautiful novel, “Lalani of the Distant Sea,” we meet mythical creatures, faithful friends and an ordinary girl who braves impossible odds to help the people she loves. The story, which is Entrada Kelly’s first fantasy novel, was inspired by Philippine folklore and the stories her Filipina mother told her as a child. Entrada Kelly – who won the Newberry Medal in 2018 for “Hello, Universe” – began writing novels as a child to channel the loneliness she felt as a Filipina-American growing up in Louisiana. Now, as the New York Times Bestselling “authoress” of five beloved middle-grade books, she creates the characters she longed to see a child.

A Conversation with Paul Rusesabagina
A Mid-America Emmy Award winner, view this one-on-one interview with the hotel manager who saved hundreds of lives during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Building a Career:  A Conversation with Joan Elhoffer
Joan Elhoffer, owner of seven McDonald’s Restaurants in the St. Louis area, shares her story of rising from working at a McDonald’s counter at age 16 to being an owner/operator today.  During the conversation she shares her insights on setting goals, the importance of education and training, and running a successful business.

Making a Difference—The Raegan Weber Story
Meet Raegan Weber, youth volunteer award winner, and learn why and how she has chosen to make community service an essential feature of her life and find out the impact that focus has had on her and hundreds of children at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital that she is committed to through her organization Henson’s Heroes.

STEAM and STEM Samples

Amazing Apollo Stories with Charles Fishman
For fifty years we’ve marveled at the incredible feat the astronauts accomplished by walking on the moon in the Apollo missions. We know their names, famous phrases and stories. But, former Washington Post reporter Charles Fishman bets you don’t everything about the Apollo missions.  More than 400,000 scientists, engineers and factory workers spent hours (each hour of space flight required one million hours of work back on Earth) inventing and fine-tuning not just the spaceships, but space suits and computers to send the astronauts to the moon.  And, many of them have incredible stories. We talk with Charles Fishman about these tales lost to history and how he went about researching the book he “always wanted to write,” “One Giant Leap.”

Full STEAM Ahead with Medical Research
So how does Mother Nature work?  That’s the big picture question that immunologist Dr. Kathryn Tristan (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine) is always interested in finding more answers to.  See science, technology, engineering, and math come together as you explore the scientific process of her work.  Investigate the human body; see tools from her laboratory; and learn what it takes to be a pioneering medical researcher.

The Curious Science of Mary Roach
Mary Roach isn’t afraid to go there. After tackling the “curious science” of cadavers, outer space and the human digestive system (Stiffed, Packing for Mars, Gulp), the bestselling author explores the military in her new book, “Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War” (W.W. Norton & Company). In Grunt, Roach uses her trademark wit, warmth and curiosity to dissect the fascinating science of keeping soldiers alive – before, during and long after battle.

Arts and Arts Integration Samples

Meet the Playwright:  A Conversation with Idris Goodwin
Meet Idris Goodwin, author of “And In This Corner….Cassius Clay.” Find out what fascinates him about the spoken word. Learn about his process for writing a play and other forms of writing. Listen as he explains themes and issues he chooses to explore in his work as well as the specific themes, issues, and characters addressed in this play about the life of Cassius Clay from age 12 to 22.

The Arts and Student Learning:  Arts Integration
In this episode of “Talking Teaching,” Tom Tobias, Arts Education Director for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, shares information about Arts Integration, its distinctiveness from STEAM and Arts Enhancement, why and how it helps student learning, and examples of Arts Integration in practice.

Inspire Your Heart with Art with Dancer Arianna Russ
Arianna Russ is a dancer for MADCO, Modern American Dance Company.  In this video she shares her love of dance, talks about the life of a professional dancer, and shares insights into the training, artistry, and power of dance.