Melveen Leed’s music career spans over five decades and has taken her around the world. However, in many ways, she says she’s still “da tita from Moloka‘i.” She opens up about life’s challenges and why she’s found a new sense of peace and personal happiness in her life. Learn more on this episode of Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox.

Renowned songwriter, record producer and performer Kenneth Makuakāne offers a sentimental and candid performance inside historic Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu. Among the songs he performs are “ʻO Violeka,” an affectionate ballad for his mother, and “Kuʻu Pua Lei Mēlia,” inspired by his experience of sending off his oldest son to college.

Twyla Tharp ’s career and famously rigorous creative process is documented through original interviews, first-hand glimpses of her at work and rare archival footage of select performances from her more than 160 choreographed works. Follows Tharp as she builds a work from the ground up, with an international cast of ballet stars, including Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo and Maria Khoreva, who rehearse by video conference while under quarantine.

From 1990, this tribute to the late hula master Kauʻi Zuttermeister documents how four generations of her family were invited to open the famed Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo. Crews filmed the year-long preparation ahead of their trip to Hilo, where they performed the mele, chants and hula of the Zuttermeister tradition.

Winner of the first-ever Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, Flannery is an intimate exploration of the life and work of author Flannery O’Connor, told through never-before-seen archival footage, newly discovered personal letters and her own published words.

In an increasingly data-driven, automated world, the question of how to protect individuals’ civil liberties in the face of artificial intelligence looms larger by the day. When MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that the majority of facial-recognition software does not accurately identify darker-skinned faces, she joins data scientists, mathematicians and watchdog groups from different parts of the world to expose the discrimination within the prevalent facial recognition algorithms.

For a young Kalani Peʻa, music wasn’t just a hobby he enjoyed – it was also therapy, as he worked through a childhood speech impediment. On a new Nā Mele: Traditions in Hawaiian Song, the Grammy and Nā Hōkū-winning singer and his band perform selections from his albums, E Walea and No ʻAneʻi in the PBS Hawaiʻi studio. Discover Peʻa’s humble beginnings in Panaʻewa, Hawaiʻi Island, his creative drive and how music changed his life.

Experience Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet performed by dancers from The Royal Ballet, choreographer by Kenneth MacMillan. Set to a score by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, the ballet was filmed on atmospheric sets and locations throughout Budapest, Hungary, evoking old Verona, Italy. William Bracewell and Francesca Hayward star in the title roles.

Celebrated American soprano Renée Fleming performs arias by Puccini and Massenet to selections by Handel and Korngold from the intimate music salon of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC.

Listen in on the history of vintage Hawaiian music and the story of the radio program Territorial Airwaves with Harry B. Soria Sr. and Jr.The program also includes tales from Hawaiʻi’s radio personalities and trailblazing disc jockeys, including Honolulu Skylark, James Grant Benton and Perry & Price.

Intelligent, resilient and bold, the red fox can change its behavior to thrive in new environments, from urban locales to the Arctic tundra. New scientific research offers a fascinating look into the secret life of these foxes.

Come with us as we talk with Harry B. Soria Jr., the voice of Hawaiʻi’s longest running radio show. Learn how he has kept the music of Hawaiʻi’s past alive for current and future generations through his weekly show, Territorial Airwaves, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this month.

Between 2011 and 2016, oil drilling in rural North Dakota reached its peak, setting off a modern-day gold rush in the quiet, tight-knit farm town of Trenton, North Dakota, population less than 1000. With billions of dollars to be gained in an industry-friendly state with a “reasonable regulation” climate, small towns like Trenton became overwhelmed by an influx of workers, and countless acres of farmland were repurposed for industrial development. Through the voices of Trenton’s residents, My Country No More challenges the notion of “progress” and questions the long-term human consequences of short-term approaches to land use, decisions that ultimately affect all Americans, rural and urban alike.

Slack key musician and singer-songwriter Kawika Kahiapo is a longtime member of the PBS Hawaiʻi ʻohana. In 2008, he wrote the theme song for our “PBS Hawai‘i and You” campaign. He then served on our Board of Directors for six years, from 2009 through 2015. Kahiapo makes his NĀ MELE debut, performing music inspired by his lifelong home, Windward Oʻahu.

Educator, composer and hula dancer Nona Beamer, or Aunty Nona, was a champion of Hawaiian culture. This special features songs from her musically talented family, as well as one-on-one interviews. They share personal stories, including the time Aunty Nona fired her sons Kapono and Keola on stage, during a live concert.

Captured in peak performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tony Award-winner Lea Salonga performs the beloved songs she made famous throughout her Broadway career, as well as her signature songs from the animated movie blockbusters “Aladdin” and “Mulan” from the Sydney Opera House.

A special compilation edition of Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox features four local Artists and Painters. These creatives share how they approach their work and what inspires them.

Enjoy this throwback from 1992 of the Nā Mele ʻOhana concert featuring some of Hawaiʻi’s most beloved musical families accompanied by the Honolulu Symphony for this once-in-a-lifetime performance. Step back in time with one of Hawaiʻi’s leading steel guitarists, Barney Isaacs; get swept away with the chicken-skin falsetto voices of Benny Kalama and Mahi Beamer; and experience the multi-talented musicians and composers, Robbie and Jimmy Kaholokula and Irmgard Farden Aluli with Puamana.

Vaccines. Virus variants. Wearing two masks. Get updates and the facts on where we are with COVID-19 with top State and County leaders. You can phone in, or leave us a comment on Facebook or Twitter. Or join us on livestream on pbshawaii.org or on our Facebook page.