On TV: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Sunday, May 5
11am Simply Ming: On The Road - Strasbourg (NEW)
Simply Ming goes On the Road to Europe and experiences the wonderful culinary experiences along the Rhine River.

David Kahalewai at Saguaro Correctional Center. (Independent Lens: Out of State) (Courtesy of Chapin Hall)

Monday, May 6
10pm Independent Lens: Out of State (NEW)
For two Native Hawaiian inmates who were sent to an Arizona prison, returning home to Hawai'i is a tough transition.

Tuesday, May 7
8pm Finding Your Roots: Reporting on the Reporters
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows journalists Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry and Lisa Ling that the stories within their own family trees are every bit as compelling as the news stories they have been covering for the world.

11pm Pacific Heartbeat: Prison Songs (NEW)
The people imprisoned in a Darwin jail are shown in a unique and completely new light in Australia's first ever documentary musical.

Wednesday, May 8
7:30pm Simply Ming: Carla Hall
This week on Simply Ming, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto stops by the loft kitchen for a showdown. After a quick cucumber cutting challenge, these two amazing chefs cook up dueling versions of a traditional Japanese dish-tonkatsu.

Friday, May 10
8pm Forever Chinatown: A Local USA/Truly CA Special
This documentary presents the story of self-taught, 81-year-old artist Frank Wong who has spent the past four decades building romantic, extraordinarily detailed miniature models of the San Francisco Chinatown rooms of his youth.

Credit: Courtesy of the Tyrus Wong family.
Tyrus Wong painting in his studio (Courtesy of the Tyrus Wong family)

8:30pm Tyrus Wong: American Masters
Discover the art, life and enduring impact of Tyrus Wong, the renowned Chinese-American painter behind Bambi.

Saturday, May 11
9:30am Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan: Penang Heritage
Martin explores culinary treasures of Penang, a World Heritage City and a true cultural and historical gem.

6:30pm Lucky Chow: Food As Azn
Hear from renegade chefs, entrepreneurs and cultural ambassadors from Canal Street Market to the dance party sensation Bubble T to see what's in store for the future of Asians in the mainstream.

Sunday, May 12
11am Simply Ming: On The Road - Amsterdam II (NEW)
Simply Ming goes On the Road to Europe and experiences the wonderful culinary experiences along the Rhine River.

6pm Family Ingredients: Hawaii – Poi
Join host Ed Kenney as he traces the most famous Hawaiian dish that is also the most misunderstood — poi.

Monday, May 13
11pm And Then They Came For Us
And Then They Came for Us brings history into the present, retelling this difficult story and following Japanese American activists as they speak out against the Muslim registry and travel ban.

Tuesday, May 14
11pm Pacific Heartbeat: Leitis in Waiting (NEW)
The Kingdom of Tonga is one of the most socially conservative and deeply religious nations in the world but is also home to a visible community of talented and creative "leitis" or transgender women.

Wednesday, May 15
7:30pm Simply Ming: Jacques Pepin
Legendary French chef Jacques Pepin joins Ming in the loft to cook with sole and soul.

11pm Ito Sisters: An American Story (NEW)
Explore the lives of three Nisei sisters from the Sacramento Delta, from their childhood on a farm in the Delta to their internment during WWII and beyond.

Saturday, May 18
9:30am Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan: Langkawi
A two-hour ferry ride from the mainland of Malaysia is the 99-island chain of Langkawi. Martin explores this vacation paradise and its many sporting activities.

8pm Saturday Night Movie: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (NEW)
A 19th-century martial arts master (Chow Yun-Fat) gives a sword called Green Destiny to his beloved (Michelle Yeoh), then the two must recover it from thieves.

10:10pm Next Gen Asian American Art (NEW)
This program explores how Asian Americans in California's Central Valley are using art to reshape narratives about and within their communities.

Sunday, May 19
11am Simply Ming: On The Road - Rhine (NEW)
Simply Ming goes On the Road to Europe and experiences the wonderful culinary experiences along the Rhine River.

6pm Family Ingredients: Okinawa - Soki Soba
Learn about Okinawan soba — not to be confused with Japanese soba — and how it embodies the spirit of the Okinawan people and the complex history of their islands.

Norman Y. Mineta. Credit: Courtesy of Mineta Legacy Project (Courtesy of Mineta Legacy Project)

Monday, May 20
9pm Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story (NEW)
Meet the statesman who served as cabinet secretary for Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. Imprisoned by the U.S. during World War II for his Japanese ancestry, Mineta rose to become the first Asian American to serve in a presidential cabinet.

Tuesday, May 21
11pm Pacific Heartbeat: Te Kuhane O Te Tupuna (The Spirit of the Ancestors) (NEW)
A grandfather and a girl travel from the most remote island in the world, Easter Island, in search of Mana, the sacred power of their ancestors.

Wednesday, May 22
7:30pm Simply Ming: Rick Bayless
Chef Rick Bayless creates traditional Mexican chilaquiles and Ming makes rice cake chicken "nachos."

Saturday, May 25
8pm Saturday Night Movie: A Passage to India (NEW)
Adela Quested (Judy Davis) and Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft) tour 1920s India with a native doctor (Victor Banerjee).

Sunday, May 26
6pm Family Ingredients: Tahiti - Poisson Cru
Meet a Polynesian seafarer on a worldwide voyage with a stop at his ancestral home — a family moment to remember and an unforgettable dish.

Tuesday, May 28
11pm Pacific Heartbeat: Corridor Four (NEW)
Corridor Four challenges the image of the American hero in a heartfelt portrait of 9/11 first-responder Isaac Ho'opi'i as he works to put that traumatic...

Wednesday, May 29
7:30pm Simply Ming: Masaharu Morimoto
Rick Bayless stops by the loft kitchen to bring us back to his Mexican roots. Rick starts us off with a traditional Mexican chilaquiles, while Ming puts a spin on nachos with his crispy rice cake chicken "nachos."

KQED Plus

Jo Byeong-man, Kang Kye-yeol from POV: My Love, Don't Cross That River. Credit: Courtesy of Courtesy Film Movement (Courtesy of Courtesy Film Movement)

Friday, May 3
10am P.O.V: My Love, Don’t Cross That River
Spouses 89-year-old Kang Gye-yeol and 98-year-old Jo Byeong-man have shared a home for 76 years. While they spend every day together like a newlywed couple, they now must face the reality of their aging romance.

Monday, May 6
10am Story of India: Beginnings
Wood embarks on an expedition through today's India, looking to the present for clues to its past, and to the past for clues to its future. Witness dramatic archaeological discoveries that are changing the view of the migrations that have helped fashion Indian identity.

4pm Sinking Cities: Tokyo
Discover how Tokyo is looking for new ways to fight back against rising waters.

6pm Great Museums: The Art of Islam at the Met and the Louvre (NEW)
This program showcases the objects on display in the Islamic galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and The Louvre in Paris to reveal a roadmap of connections that explains why the foreign seems familiar.

Tuesday, May 7
1:30pm Simply Ming: Hawai'i - Ed Kenney
Coconuts, opah and plantains all show up in this week's dishes as Ming heads to Hawai'i.

3pm Lucky Chow : Food As Beauty (NEW)
Asian beauty secrets have long held fascination with Western audiences. Charlotte Cho from Sokoglam shows audiences how the K-Beauty boom is all over mainstream America today.

Monday, May 13
9am Rick Steves Iran
Rick Steves journeys to Iran in the hopes of getting to know this ancient country - a leader in its corner of the world for 2,500 years - and to better understand the 70 million people living there.

10am Story of India: The Power of Ideas
This episode covers the last centuries BC -- the age of the Buddha, the coming of the Greeks with the invasion by Alexander the Great and the rule of the emperor Ashoka, one of the greatest figures in world history.

1:30pm Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom: Panda-Monium!
Martin explores the multifaceted wonders of bamboo. Join him as he visits the adorable giant pandas at a research compound in Chengdu, attends a bamboo banquet, and discovers artists who work with this sturdy and adaptable plant.

6pm Off the Menu: Asian America
Go into the kitchens, factories, temples and farms of Asian Pacific America to explore how the bond with food reflects an evolving community.

Tuesday, May 14
1:30pm Simply Ming: Hawai'i - Lee Ann Wong
Ming continues his adventures on Maui with chef Lee Anne Wong. They gather traditional Hawaiian ingredients, such as taro plants, edible ferns and breadfruit.

7pm Finding the Virgo (NEW)
This program follows the Vuong family through the post-war years in Vietnam, including the patriarch's imprisonment, the family's harrowing escape and rescue at sea, and their daughter's decades-long search for their saviors.

Wednesday, May 15
11am Counting from Infinity: Yitang Zhang and the Twin Prime Conjecture
A snapshot of a great moment in mathematical history, this film is at once a biographical portrait of a Yitang “Tom” Zhang and the exciting story of his discovery, the solving of the Twin Prime Conjecture.

Monday, May 20
10am Story of India: Spice Routes & Silk Roads
The third episode covers the early centuries AD, the time of the Roman Empire. In this period, India, located at the "center of world, " became a great player in the first global economy.

1:30pm Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom: Tomorrow's Chengdu
Martin visits Tianfu, a new capital of tech in China. See what Tianfu software developers are eating, from a popular Mao Chai restaurant to the dazzling molecular gastronomy of Chef Huang.

Tuesday, May 21
1:30pm Simply Ming: Hawai'i - Mom & Dad
Ming heads to Honolulu to join mom and dad in their kitchen for a family meal.

Monday, May 27
10am Story of India: Ages of Gold
The fourth episode is the story of India in the Middle Ages, and Michael Wood shows viewers some of the amazing achievements of medieval India.

1:30pm Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom: Hot Pot, Anyone?
Hot pot is almost a religion in Chengdu. On this episode, Martin explores several of Chengdu's estimated 30,000 hot pot restaurants, each with its own unique style. Martin takes to the streets to ask people about their deep feelings surrounding this revered dish.

6pm Kimono Revolution (NEW)

Tuesday, May 28
1:30pm Simply Ming: Hawai'i - Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong
Heading to the Hawai'i Food and Wine festival, Ming bumps into chefs Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, masters of Hawai'ian cuisine.

KQED WORLD

Friday, May 3
3pm The Dictator’s Playbook: Kim Il Sung
Witness Kim Il Sung's transformation from guerrilla fighter to brutal dictator of North Korea. How did he build the most controlled society on earth and launch a dictatorship that has lasted for three generations?

4pm Korea: The Never-Ending War
Discover more about the world we live in by shedding new light on a geopolitical hot spot. Often considered a "forgotten war," the Korean War was an important turning point in world history that still reverberates today.

Saturday, May 4
4pm The Quietest Place on Earth
This film explores Maui's geological and spiritual birthplace.

5pm The Story of China: Ancestors/Silk Roads and China Ships
Explore China's early history with host Michael Wood as he joins a million people at a festival devoted to ancient gods, hear the tale of China's bloodthirsty First Emperor and travel the Silk Road to discover the brilliant Tang dynasty.

Sunday, May 5
6pm Reel South: Gimme a Faith (NEW)

7pm Doc World: Finding Samuel Lowe
In order to fulfill a promise to their mother to connect to her estranged father's people, retired NBC Universal executive Paula Williams Madison and her two brothers embark on a journey to uncover their ancestral roots.

8:30pm Stories in Thread
This program focuses on Hmong Pa Dau or Story Cloths, which are hand-made textiles that are integral to what it means to be Hmong in America.

Tuesday, May 7
5pm America ReFramed: Nailed It

6pm P.O.V.: Still Tomorrow
A village woman without a high school diploma has become China's most famous poet. Meet the breakout writer Yu Xihua, a woman with cerebral palsy, poignantly weaving her personal story with that of an ascendant, urbanizing China.

I Am Another You filmmaker Nanfu Wang. Credit: Courtesy of Michael Shade (Courtesy of Michael Shade)

Wednesday, May 8
3:3pm Independent Lens: I Am Another You
Join Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang and Dylan, a charismatic young homeless drifter who left a comfortable home and loving family, in this mysterious cross-cultural road trip that explores of the limits and meaning of freedom.

Friday, May 10
3pm Of Race and Reconciliation
This program chronicles the Chinese experience in America around the year 1885 – that was the year the Chinese residents of Tacoma were forcefully expelled from the city.

4pm The Chinese Exclusion Act: American Experience
Examine the origin, history and impact of the 1882 law that made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become U.S. citizens. It remained in force for more than 60 years.

Saturday, May 11
5pm The Story of China: Golden Age/The Ming
See the stunning achievements of two of China's most brilliant dynasties: the Song, creators of a Chinese Renaissance, and the Ming, builders of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

Sunday, May 12
7pm Doc World: One Child
One Child follows the journey of these three families as they try to restore a sense of normalcy and struggle to move past the loss of their children.

8pm Roadtrip Nation: Don’t Forget Where You Came From
Meet road-trippers Tehani, Traven, and Keakealani, three college students interested in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM). Their journey begins on the island of Hawai'i, where they meet the scientist who saved Hawaii's papayas.

8:30pm Roadtrip Nation: Cross the Ocean, Build Bridges
Tehani, Traven, and Keakealani visit the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory to explore an active volcano zone, and meet with geophysicist Dr. Jim Kauahikaua and engineer Kevan Kamibayashi.

Monday, May 13
3pm Local USA: Ku Kanaka
A one-half hour documentary explores the transformation of the late Kanalu Young from an angry 15 year old who becomes quadriplegic to a leader of his Native Hawaiian people.

4pm Nothing Left to Lose
Nothing Left to Lose is a documentary which tells the story of approximately 100 Vietnamese refugees who have each lived in hiding for 25 years hoping to one day reclaim the dignity of being recognized as a person.

Saturday, May 18
5pm The Story of China: The Last Empire/The Age of Revolution
Journey back in time to see the splendor of the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing. Witness the fateful First Opium War, which sparked the fall of the empire, and, after the 20th-century revolutions, the birth of today's China.

Sunday, May 19
7pm Doc World: Daze of Justice
Daze of Justice is the intimate story of trailblazing Cambodian-American women who break decades of silence, abandoning the security of their American homes on a journey back to resurrect the memory of their loved ones before the UN Special Tribunal prosecuting the Khmer Rouge.

8pm Roadtrip Nation: Know Where Home Is
The road-trippers reach O?ahu, their third and final island destination; while there, they take a once-in-a-lifetime trip up Mount Ka'ala-the island's highest mountain-and visit a private U.S. Army nature reserve at the peak.

8:30pm Roadtrip Nation: You Can Guide Your Future
The trip across Hawaii comes to a close, but not before the team makes some major final breakthroughs.

Tuesday, May 21
4pm Lost Child: Sayon’s Journey
This film explores the Cambodian genocide (1975-1979) and its lasting impact through the eyes of a former Khmer Rouge child soldier.

5pm America ReFramed: Who Is Arthur Chu?
This documentary follows 11-time Jeopardy! winner Arthur Chu, who won almost $300,000 and attempted to put his 15 minutes of TV fame to good use by addressing topics such as racism and sexism in gaming culture.

Wednesday, May 22
3pm Frontline: Abacus—Small Enough to Jail
Hear the little-known story of the only U.S. bank prosecuted after the financial crisis.

Friday, May 24
4pm Relocation, Arkansas: Aftermath of Incarceration
In 1942, nearly 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced into prisons because they looked like the enemy. Two of those prison camps were in Arkansas, a land of deep racial divide. This film chronicles the trauma of this incarceration experience and how it’s been passed down through multiple generations.

5pm Resistance at Tule Lake
This film is Konrad Aderer's examination of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Sunday, May 26
7pm Doc World: My Atomic Aunt
Japanese filmmaker Kyoko Miyake visits a relative who lived in the area that was devastated by the 2011 tsunami and subsequent disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Monday, May 27
5pm Pacific Heartbeat: Let’s Play Music! Slack Key with Cyril Pahinui and Friends
An intimate look at master slack key artist Cyril Pahinui, his friends, and family as they play music and reminisce about his father, Gabby Pahinui, one of Hawai?i's true recording legends.

Tuesday, May 28
5pm America ReFramed: Island Soldier
Filmed in Kosrae, Micronesia, Island Soldier follows the Nena family as they grieve the loss of their son, Sapuro "Sapp" Nena.

Wednesday, May 29
3pm P.O.V.: The Birth of Sake
Go behind the scenes at Japan's Yoshida Brewery, where a brotherhood of artisans, ranging from 20 to 70, spends six months in nearly monastic isolation as they follow an age-old process to create sake, the nation's revered rice wine.

4:30pm Independent Lens: Meet the Patels
Ravi Patel is almost 30 and still single, and his tradition-minded Hindu family is not happy. After he breaks up with his white girlfriend, he enters the semi-arranged marriage system in America.

KQED 9 is available over the air on DT9.1, 54.2 and 25.1 and via most cable systems on Channel 9. It is on XFINITY cable from Comcast (Channels 9 SD and 709 HD) and on Wave (Channels 9 SD and 164 HD). It can also be found on DIRECTV and DISH satellite systems (Channels 9 SD and HD).

KQED Plus is available over the air on Channels 54, DT54.1, 9.2 and 25.2, and via many cable and satellite systems on either channel 10 or 54. It is on XFINITY cable from Comcast (Channels 10 SD, and 710 HD) and on DIRECTV (Channel 54 SD and HD) and DISH (Channel 54, SD only) satellite systems.

This schedule also lists programs airing on KQED World (XFINITY 190, Channel 9.3 & 54.5).