Learn how creative experiences can help heal military soldiers with post-traumatic stress. The recovery process for active duty US soldiers and veterans can seem out of reach, at times leading to attempted suicide and death. Follow how one group of volunteers and professional songwriters work with soldiers to offer an immersive retreat for them to write songs about their military experience and even a chance at healing.
NPR Veterans’ Coverage On-Demand
NPR Coverage Veterans stories and issues coverage is chronicling the lives of America’s troops, where they live. Listen to Stories.
Also Learn More & Listen On-Demand to Featured Stories of StoryCorps Military Voices Initiative
StoryCorps Military Voices Initiative On-Demand
How did you come to serve in the military? What is your proudest moment? During your service, can you recall times when you were afraid? What are your strongest memories from your time in the military? What lessons did you learn from this time in your life?
The Military Voices Initiative provides a platform for veterans, service members, and military families to share their stories. In doing so we honor their voices, amplify their experiences, and let them know that we—as a nation—are listening.
For more than a decade, 2.4 million men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan while millions of families have stood behind them at home. The military community knows well the challenges of multiple deployments, combat-injuries, and long-awaited homecomings. Yet few civilians truly understand the complex realities of our troops’ service and sacrifice.
Learn More & Listen On-Demand to Featured Stories
They Were Our Fathers On-Demand
Over 20,000 American children lost their fathers during the Vietnam War. Their stories serve as powerful testimonies about the true cost of war.
They Were Our Fathers shares their stories, as told by members of Sons and Daughters in Touch—a group formed in 1990 to locate, unite and support Gold Star children who lost their fathers in service during the Vietnam War. They gather in the nation’s capital on Father’s Day to honor their fathers, reflect on their common grief and support one another, like no one else can. Produced by WSRE.
This program is part of WXXI’s Veterans Connections initiative that is designed to help bridge military and veteran needs with community support and awareness. Through special TV, radio and online programming, documentary films, group discussions, news features, and web features. Veterans Connections works to create a community platform to raise awareness and connect veterans with valuable resources.
On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam On-Demand
This film captures a complex aspect of the Vietnam War: the legacy of Latino veterans and their families during the conflict. Watch On-Demand
Through rare archival footage and candid interviews, On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam, conveys the rich heritage of military service, a deeply rooted part of Latino cultural identity in the U.S., and looks at the contributions made by Latino veterans and their families during the Vietnam era. The film also explores the controversy and changing attitudes amid the growing Chicano anti-war movement and within a community reeling over disproportionate losses and divided over participation in the war.
Examine the Latino experience during a war that placed its heaviest burden on working-class youth and their communities. Framing the documentary are memoirs of two siblings, Everett and Delia Alvarez, who stood on opposite sides of the Vietnam War, one as a POW and the other protesting at home.
On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam is part of WXXI’s Veterans Connections initiative that is designed to help bridge military and veteran needs with community support and awareness. Through special TV, radio and online programming, documentary films, group discussions, news features, and web features. Veterans Connections works to create a community platform to raise awareness and connect veterans with valuable resources.
Norm & Company: Dr. Bill Valenti On-Demand
Dr. Bill Valenti, co-founder of Trillium Health, continues his efforts to end the HIV epidemic in New York State by 2020.
Dr. Valenti has devoted his career and life’s work to ending the Aids epidemic. As co-founder of Trillium Health, formerly known as the Community Health Network, Dr. Valenti has been a pioneer in the fight against HIV and AIDS, helping to advance treatment and save countless lives. Dr. Valenti joins WXXI President & CEO Norm Silverstein to reflect on his work as a physician, advocate and community trailblazer.
Dr. Valenti has published a memoir titled Aids: A Matter of Urgency describing his experiences as a medical maverick facing the frontlines of the epidemic. Born and raised in Rochester, Dr. Valenti has dedicated his life to improving public health and increasing access to healthcare for individuals in need, particularly from LGBTQ and low-income communities.
Norm & Company is hosted by WXXI President & CEO Norm Silverstein, who speaks with long-time Rochesterians as they recount fascinating stories about their lives in the community.
The full episode can be viewed here:
Nature Cat: Songs, Videos & Activities
Play games and watch full episodes of Nature Cat on https://pbskids.org/naturecat
“Nature Cat,” a series for children ages 3 to 7, follows Fred, a house cat who dreams of exploring the great outdoors. Once his family leaves for the day, Fred transforms into Nature Cat: “backyard explorer extraordinaire!” He can’t wait to get outside for a day of nature adventures and bravery! There’s just one problem: he’s still a house cat with no instincts for nature! With the help of his animal friends, Nature Cat goes on action-packed adventures full of nature investigation and humor, all while inspiring children to go outside and experience nature.
WXXI Favorite Activities:
- Activity: Create Your Own DIY Pond Viewer
- Activity: Make Sun Prints
- Activity: Make Your Own Fruit Leather Snack
- Online Game: Play the game Hal’s Big Dig
- Article: Encouraging Kids To Enjoy with Nature with All Their Senses
- Activity: Create a natural toolbox
- Learning Resources: Explore the Nature Cat PBS LearningMedia Collection
See Games, Activities and Videos from the Nature Cat Series at PBS KIDS
Learn more about the series, articles, activities and games at PBS KIDS for Parents: Nature Cat Show Page
Nature Cat Videos Playlist
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Stonewall Uprising On-Demand
When gay bar Stonewall Inn was raided in 1969, gay men and women did something they had not done before: they fought back.
In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois and gays frequently found themselves being hauled off to jail, their names splashed in the next day’s newspaper. Even in Greenwich Village, where thousands of gay people moved to escape the constant oppression of their hometowns, patrons of gay bars were accustomed to frequent police harassment. But on June 28, 1969, the gay community experienced what one Village Voice reporter who was on the scene called its “Rosa Parks moment,” when the N.Y.P.D. raided a Mafia-run gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. For the first time ever, patrons refuse to be led into paddy wagons, setting off a violent three-day uprising that launched the gay rights movement.
Watch on-demand through 6/9/26