Lear's husband is a doctor who has heart failure, and together, the couple deals with the medical professionals who make errors and who get angry when a second opinion is requested. Nothing prepared Lear for the utter helplessness and rage that she experienced.
Interviewing Maggie Kuhn of the Gray Panthers about the roles of senior citizens and the welfare of the aged in the United States. Kuhn talks about how society thinks once a person has retired, he or she is set aside or put to pasture. To the contrary, older people have a lot to offer with their wisdom, their knowledge and their experiences, says Kuhn.
John T. Scopes was a young teacher who taught biology. He was arrested because in Tennessee, no theory of the origin of man could be taught in schools. Clarence Darrow, an attorney from Chicago, defended Scopes in the "Scopes Monkey Trial" of 1925. Scopes was found guilty and was fined $100.
Church leaders Howard Schomer, Elsie Schomer and Rabbi Jacob Weinstein talk about their experiences with the Vietnamese people they encountered. The group determined no matter who they came in contact with, two things were true, they were never told that they should leave Vietnam and that all the Vietnamese people longed for peace.
Elizabeth Garry, talks about her one woman show "Victoria." The show tells the story of Victoria C. Woodhull the first women to run for President in 1872. Garry discusses Woodhull's life including her supposed clairvoyant talents, suffragist works, and her work as a broker and publisher. Woodhull's arrest for obscene literature with her newspaper, "Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly," is also discusses and Garry performs the part of her show that describes that event. Garry also breifly explains her research and writing process for the show.
Discussing the works of Federico Garcia Lorca with translator James Graham-Lujan. Garcia Lorca was a great poet and playwright and he re-vitalized Spanish theater with his eleven plays, according to Graham-Lujan. Garcia Lorca's life was joyous and full of life unlike the theme of his plays, which was tragedy and death.
Having seen a one-man puppet show at a young age, creator and puppeteer Burr Tillstrom knew that's what he wanted to do. Kukla was the first puppet Tillstrom created. Kukla was Tillstrom's right-hand man, as Tillstrom always and only used his right hand to make Kukla come alive.
In a their man-made raft, Hesselberg and his crew travelled 4300 sea miles out in the open water. Erik Hesselberg talks about navigating the three-month long expedition on the Kon-Tiki from South America to French Polynesia. Hesselberg said everyone should have such an experience as he did, to be unencumbered while out at sea.
On December 3, 1970, Debbie Sweet won the Young Americans Service Award. She talks about what happened when she met President Nixon to receive her award. Upon shaking his hand, Sweet told President Nixon that she didn't believe in his sincerity in giving out the awards until he got us (America) out of Vietnam. Her encounter with President Nixon made headlines around the world.