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Hiding in Plain Sight On-Demand

Watch the Trail above from a new documentary explores the mental health crisis among American youth. Click the button below for the full documentary.

Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness, a film presented by Ken Burns and co-produced by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, is a documentary about the mental health crisis among youth in America.  The two-part, four-hour film is part of Well Beings, a national campaign from public media to demystify and destigmatize our physical and mental health through storytelling. 

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More From Well Beings

Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness features first-person accounts from more than 20 young people, ranging in age from 11 to 27, who live with mental health conditions, as well as parents, teachers, friends, healthcare providers in their lives, and independent mental health experts. The film presents an unvarnished window into daily life with mental health challenges, from seemingly insurmountable obstacles to stories of hope and resilience. Through the experiences of these young people, the film confronts the issues of stigma, discrimination, awareness, and silence, and, in doing so, help advance a shift in the public perception of mental health issues today. 

The film includes the following individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges:

  • A teenager who surrenders to addiction at the age of 15
  • A young Native American woman who feels so isolated she contemplates suicide
  • A transgender teen who goes through periods of profound joylessness and substance abuse
  • A high school freshman whose childhood hallucinations intensify after a series of assaults
  • A 14-year-old boy who is plagued by intrusive thoughts and withdraws into his own world

The documentary Hiding in Plain Sight is a central part of Well Beings, the multi-year, multiplatform health campaign including other feature-length documentaries, short-form original digital content, user-generated storytelling, a digital and social media campaign, community events, and educational curriculum created by WETA with support from a broad coalition of national and local partners.

Celebrating Women’s History On-Demand

WXXI celebrates Women’s History and Heritage. We proudly feature moments in women’s history that had their roots and connections to Rochester. Watch On-Demand and also see the profiles on WXXI-TV. 

Explore the contributions of national and local people that contributed to women’s rights and learn about their roots in Rochester. 

WATCH ALL PROFILES IN THIS PLAYLIST

Watch additional suffrage champions from the Celebrating 2020 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage.

Our Turn to Talk On-Demand

A digital-first documentary about the mission to end stigma around mental health challenges, starting with the next generation. In this character-driven film, we go behind the scenes of a podcast production bringing together teens from all walks of life to use storytelling to bravely share their mental health journey without fear, shame or stigma.​​ Join these youths as they step into their voice and learn to create space to share the impact on their mental health of social media, sexual identity, gender identity, racism, and the pandemic.

If you are struggling, you are not alone. You deserve love, understanding and support. If you or someone you love needs help, please use the resources below:

• Dial 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• The National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: 1-800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741-741
• The RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
• For free 24/7 support from a trained counselor, contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741 or visit crisistextline.org
• If you are a young person in the LGBTQ+ community, call the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678 for immediate help

The Letter: A Message for Our Earth


This film tells the story about the Pope’s call to care for our planet. In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’, a letter to the world confronting the looming calamity of human impact on Earth and ourselves. It is one of the most ambitious and revolutionary papal statements in history and outlines the most critical environmental and social issues that we collectively face. The Letter: A Message for Our Earth airs Sunday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Educator Webinar On-Demand: Revolutionary Voices: Student Media-Making and THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Bring The American Revolution Youth Media Challenge to your classroom. Discover how your students can connect the foundational principles of the American Revolution to their lives today by amplifying their knowledge through media-making.  Intended for Educators & Professionals working with students in grades 6-12.

When: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 7:00-9:00 PM EST

Watch The Archive

Description
In this interactive workshop for middle and high school teachers, we’ll explore the extensive, curriculum-aligned, multimedia resources from The American Revolution classroom collection on PBS LearningMedia, created with educators and drawing on content from the film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. Workshop participants will learn how to use the resources in the collection to inspire students to create a media project for The American Revolution Youth Media Challenge, focusing specifically on audio production, a media format that can be made accessible to all learners. Participants will learn how to create a podcast in the classroom setting — no special studio or equipment required – and they will leave with a pathway to empower and share student voice beyond the classroom.  

What you’ll do:

  • Learn about PBS LearningMedia’s free, curriculum-aligned resources from The American Revolution classroom collection and The American Revolution Youth Media Challenge
  • Get hands-on experience with the basics of audio production and start your own short podcast
  • Discover how to guide the creation of audio projects in your classroom setting

What you’ll get:

  • A pathway to empower and share student voice beyond the classroom
  • Modifiable resources in English and Spanish
  • No-cost access to web-based audio tools
  • A copy of the presentation deck to modify and use when implementing the project in your classroom
  • A PDF letter of attendance–verifying two hours of attendance–to submit to your district or administration for approval towards professional development credit. (Requirements for professional development credits vary, so check with your district and/or state.)
  • Ongoing facilitator support for technical and classroom implementation questions, as needed

Designed by educators for educators, KQED’s well-paced workshops provide ready-to-use resources, instructional strategies, and genuine interaction with experienced and dynamic facilitators.

Speakers

  • PBS LearningMedia
  • KQED Education

KQED is a nonprofit, public media station and NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco. As a leader in media innovation, KQED provides free standards-aligned classroom content and professional development that educators can trust. Our workshops and courses help educators in all roles, subjects and grades strengthen their media literacy skills, empower youth voices, and encourage civil discourse.

PBS LearningMedia, a partnership of PBS and GBH, is an online destination that offers free access to thousands of resources from PBS stations and partners. These digital tools are designed to complement classroom instruction — from videos, images, and interactives to lesson plans, articles, and primary sources. Available for free to all educators PreK through 12th grade, PBS LearningMedia offers classroom-ready content aligned to state and national standards, compatible with the tools teachers use most, such as Google Classroom, and contextualized with supporting materials. Learn more at pbslearningmedia.org.

Questions about the event? Email education@kqed.org

Great Performances at the Met: The Hours

Premieres Friday, March 17 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Rochester’s own Renée Fleming makes her return to the Met in this new opera by from Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Kevin Puts, adapted from Michael Cunningham’s novel, inspired by Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.” Also inspired by the 2002 Oscar-winning film, the opera follows three women from different eras who each grapple with inner demons and their roles in society. The opera also stars Tony winner Kelli O’Hara and opera star Joyce DiDonato. Phelim McDermott directs with Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting. Christine Baranski hosts.

PBS KIDS Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage On-Demand

In the United States, May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. Many people use the month to honor the accomplishments of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States while celebrating their diverse heritages. Learn more with some of your friends from PBS KIDS!  Asian Pacific American Heritage celebration started as a week in 1979 under the Carter administration but was extended to a full month on the first Bush administration.

All About Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

39 Videos in a PBS KIDS Celebrate Asian-American Pacific Islander Month Playlist Watch Here:

PBSKIDS.org Asian-American, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month Playlist: Connect Here

Happy Asian American Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Month
Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage

A Good Life • On-Demand

Life is full of joys and challenges for us all — but the experiences of individuals living with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) is something that not everyone understands or appreciates.

A Good Life, a WXXI production, takes an intimate look into the lives of six adults living with I/DD and their families. The film shares the challenges and opportunities they face, while leading national experts and historians in the field offer insight.

The film’s producers were able to imbed themselves with these adults and their families, filming moments from their everyday lives. A Good Life provides the unique opportunity to share their stories from a first-person perspective. Viewers will see each family dealing with aging in a unique way that is specific to the time period and constructs they were born into.

The film also offers professional perspective and historical context from local and national experts including Dan Meyers, Al Sigl Community President Emeritus; Jeiri Flores, an advocacy specialist with the Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities; Professor Tamar Heller of the Insitute on Disability and Human Development; Dr. Allison Carey, Disability Activism Sociologist, Professor, and Author; Nicole VanGorder of Upstate Special Needs Planning; Professor Jorge Matos of City University of New York Center for the Humanities; and Dr. Stephen Sulkes of Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities.

Photo: Roomates Amy and Katie
Credit: WXXI

Produced by WXXI. A Good Life was produced in conjunction with Move to Include, a partnership between WXXI and the Golisano Foundation designed to build a more inclusive community by inspiring and motivating people to embrace different abilities and include all people in every aspect of community life. Move to Include grew out of WXXI and Al Sigl Community of Agencies initiative, Dialogue on Disability, which is an annual week-long programming event that encourages community dialogue about the lives and abilities of people with disabilities.

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