In this issue
- A Word from Our CEO
- Stay Informed with AZPM News
- TV Highlights
- Passport New & Notable
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- Radio Highlights
- Upcoming Events
- Staff Spotlight
- Thank You
A WORD FROM OUR CEO
The past year was an unprecedented time for public media. AZPM, however, not only survived the threat to public media’s very existence but came out stronger than ever because of your generosity. Although the federal funding AZPM relied on for decades is gone, our commitment to Southern Arizona remains unchanged. Community support now plays an even greater role in making that work possible. With your partnership, we are not simply replacing what was lost. Together, we are building the future of public media in Southern Arizona.
In our inaugural issue of WAVELENGTHS, you’ll find a preview of some remarkable programs coming to AZPM this fall, including a NATURE and Sesame Street wildlife adventure for the whole family, Pati Jinich’s journey across the American West, captivating mysteries from PBS, and a selection of upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month specials.Thank you for believing in AZPM and making this work possible.
STAY INFORMED
The award-winning AZPM News team is gearing up to report on the November midterm election. What will the results mean for Arizona—and, most importantly, and you at home? Through timely interviews and in-depth reporting on multiple platforms, AZPM will bring you the information you need, wherever you get your news.
From The Press Room to the AZPM News Daily podcast, we’re working hard to deliver the news you need to make an informed decision in November. Visit our AZPM Vote 2026 homepage to find the latest news, voting guides, and more.
TV HIGHLIGHTS
NOVA: Evolution
How did billions of years of evolution create the astonishing variety of life on Earth? NOVA: EVOLUTION journeys from the earliest cells to the complex animals of today, revealing the remarkable mutations and evolutionary leaps that shaped life along the way. Through breathtaking photography, stunning animations, and cutting-edge science, the five-part series explores the evolution of brains, feeding, reproduction, and movement, uncovering surprising connections between ancient ancestors and the animals we know today.
TRESPASSES
In 1975 Northern Ireland, young Catholic schoolteacher Cushla (Lola Petticrew) lives in a world shadowed by the Troubles. When she meets Michael (Tom Cullen), an older, married Protestant barrister, an unexpected and forbidden relationship begins. Despite the suspicions and warnings of Cushla’s fiercely complicated mother, Gina (Gillian Anderson), Cushla and Michael find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another. As their relationship deepens and violence closes in around them, Cushla is pulled between duty and desire, family and freedom, in a powerful story of love amid political and personal turmoil.
SPEAKING PERSONALLY
AZPM’s newest podcast Speaking Personally features candid conversations with the people shaping Arizona and beyond, diving beneath the surface to explore who they are, what drives them, and the paths that led them there. Recorded in the Maltz Performance Studio at the Baker Center for Public Media, Speaking Personally is available on AZPM Passport, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
NATURE: Sesame Street and the Great Elephant Adventure
NATURE premieres "Sesame Street and the Great Elephant Adventure," a primetime family special that follows Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Nina on Sesame Street's first-ever African safari. After adopting an orphaned elephant online, the trio travels to Kenya's Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to meet the young elephant and the dedicated keepers who care for her. Along the way, they encounter iconic wildlife while learning about conservation, local culture, and the importance of protecting elephants in their natural habitat.
PASSPORT: NEW & NOTABLE
As an AZPM member, your support gives you access to PBS Passport, an extended library of PBS programs you can stream anytime. Check out what’s coming up this fall on Passport!
BERGERAC Season 1
Detective Jim Bergerac (Damien Molony) is a broken man, battling his demons and grieving the death of his wife. On leave from the force and struggling to rebuild his life, Bergerac is drawn back into the work that once defined him. Set against the striking backdrop of Jersey, this modern reimagining of the iconic detective series follows Bergerac as he takes on complex investigations while confronting the personal struggles he can no longer avoid. Created by Toby Whithouse, Bergerac combines compelling mysteries with the story of a detective trying to find his way forward.
PROFESSOR T Season 5
Jasper Tempest returns for a new season of clever mysteries, complicated relationships, and unconventional crime-solving. Jasper and Helena test their fragile romantic spark during a stay at a secluded spa, but an apparently accidental death quickly rekindles his investigative instincts and threatens their newfound relationship. As the team faces a series of darker and increasingly twisting cases, Jasper is confronted by personal turmoil that clouds his judgment and shakes his usually unflappable focus. Meanwhile, Maiya takes the lead, Chloe grows bolder, and Dan finds himself caught in a new romance that could have devastating consequences.
MAIGRET Season 2
Chief Inspector Maigret (Benjamin Wainwright) and his team of detectives take on a series of complex crimes that demand more than conventional police work. Guided by his instinctive understanding of human nature, Maigret searches beyond the evidence to uncover the motives and secrets behind each case. But his distinctive approach attracts the critical eye of his mentor, Police Director Xavier Guichard, who deliberately weakens Maigret’s team in an effort to teach him a lesson. With pressure mounting at work and tensions spilling into his personal life, Maigret is forced to confront difficult choices about justice, loyalty, and the future of his career.
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Hispanic Heritage Awards
For the first time in its history, the Hispanic Heritage Awards moved beyond Washington, D.C., traveling to Minneapolis to honor the people of the Twin Cities with the Humanitarian Award. Considered among the nation’s most prestigious Latino honors, the annual celebration recognizes individuals and communities making significant contributions to American culture and society. Established in 1988 to commemorate the creation of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Hispanic Heritage Awards bring together leaders and changemakers from across the country in a celebration of Latino achievement, culture, and impact. This year’s ceremony was held September 10 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, with the celebration airing October 2 on PBS 6.
Alma’s Way
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with PBS Kids favorite Alma’s Way! Created by Sonia Manzano, beloved by generations as Maria on Sesame Street, the series follows 6-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud Puerto Rican girl growing up in the Bronx. Alongside Alma, her family, and neighborhood friends, young viewers experience Latino culture through music, food, language, and traditions while learning to think through everyday challenges with confidence and empathy.
Stream Alma’s Way on the PBS Kids app or watch on AZPM’s 24-hour PBS Kids channel 6.2.
Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana
Arriving as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday, the James Beard nominated series explores what unites the Americas through food, culture, and personal connection. In season 2, Pati continues her journey inspired by the Pan American Highway, this time through the Western United States.
Traveling from Montana and Wyoming through Colorado and New Mexico to Arizona and the Mexico border, Pati connects with people whose lives, traditions, and dreams reflect the many threads that make up this country. Along the way she witnesses the revival of the Blackfeet language and the return of the buffalo, shares ancestral recipes with refugee families rebuilding their lives in Missoula, follows the Rio Grande from Denver's jazz-filled Five Points to the adobe homes of Taos, connects with descendants of Sephardic Jews in Albuquerque whose traditions survived centuries, and discovers unexpected abundance in the Sonoran Desert, from Chinese chorizo in Tucson to the first ever National Indigenous baseball team.
AMERICAN MASTERS Luis Valdez: American Pachuco
Explore the extraordinary life and career of groundbreaking Chicano activist, playwright, and director Luis Valdez. In the 1960s, Valdez founded El Teatro Campesino, staging performances for California farmworkers during the movement that led to their first union contract. He went on to write Zoot Suit, the first Chicano play produced on Broadway, and directed its 1981 film adaptation starring Edward James Olmos. Valdez also brought the story of Ritchie Valens to the screen as writer and director of the acclaimed biopic La Bamba.
American Pachuco traces Valdez’s groundbreaking career through rarely seen footage from his theater and television work and conversations with Valdez himself. The film also features interviews with Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Cheech Marin, labor activist Dolores Huerta, and Linda Ronstadt, celebrating the lasting influence of an artist who transformed Latino representation in American theater and film.
RADIO HIGHLIGHTS
John Coltrane: 100 Years
SEP 23 5PM Jazz 89.1 HD2
Celebrate John Coltrane’s 100th birthday with historian Lewis Porter, who explores the jazz legend’s roots, redemption, and transformation, while Ravi Coltrane reflects on his father’s musical legacy.
Forever Chemicals
OCT 7 10AM NPR 89.1
Explore the growing concerns around PFAS or “forever chemicals,” found in everything from firefighting foam to nonstick pans, and potential connections to cancer and other health trends.
Koussevitzky In Hollywood
OCT 17 6PM Classical
Celebrate Russian-American composer and long-time Boston Symphony conductor Serge Koussevitsky with a two-part showcase of his Hollywood Bowl years (1949-1950). Hear the LA Philharmonic perform with legendary pianist Arthur Rubenstein and renowned violinist Isaac Stern.
La Llorona: An Evolving Myth
OCT 30 6PM NPR 89.1
Hear the centuries-old legend of La Llorona, or “The Weeping Woman,” and discover how the story’s meaning has evolved across Mexico and the American Southwest.
View radio broadcast schedules or stream live.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Help Fight Hunger
SEP 10–30
In recognition of Hunger Awareness Month, AZPM is collecting nonperishable food donations for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. Drop off donations at The Baker Center for Public Media. Please, no glass containers.
AZPM Sky Tours
OCT 12
Spend an evening under Southern Arizona’s night sky with AZPM and UA astrophysicist Dr. Erika Hamden. Enjoy guided stargazing and a closer look at the wonders of our universe. Space is limited!
Meet Pati Jinich
OCT 15
AZPM welcomes Pati Jinich for a special celebration of food, culture, and storytelling in Southern Arizona. Choose from one of the special giving levels to reserve your experience. Space is limited, your gift supports AZPM and helps make public media possible in Southern Arizona.
Thriving in the Desert
NOV 7
The community conversation series returns, bringing Southern Arizonans together to explore the plants, practices, and possibilities that help our desert landscapes thrive.
PBS KIDS Day
NOV 14
AZPM and Children’s Museum Tucson are teaming up for the 3rd annual PBS KIDS Day! Families can enjoy performances, hands-on educational activities, and interactive exhibits—plus meet PBS KIDS characters, including Daniel Tiger and more!
See the full list of AZPM events.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
TONY PERKINS
Veteran journalist and AZPM News Reporter Tony Perkins recently took over hosting duties on The Press Room. We caught up with Tony to learn more about his career, what inspires his work, and a few things you might not know about him.
Q: Looking back on your career, what story or assignment has been the most impactful or memorable for you?
A: “I lived and worked in China for 4 years between 2008 and 2012, and one of my first assignments was covering the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Our unit was restricted to broadcasting during the first two hours of the amazing opening ceremony. I left the studio to walk back to our hotel while the ceremony was still going on in the stadium, and I visited some small Beijing neighborhoods on the way. I noticed someone had brought a television from his house and set it out on the street, and a large crowd of his neighbors gathered around to watch the Olympic flame being lit. Most of the people in that crowd were seniors, and I realized how much they’d experienced in their lives: they had lived through World War II, followed by a bloody cultural reset, horrendous famine, and decades of being disconnected from the rest of the world. Now, they were experiencing amazing feats of technology and engineering, leading the 21st century. I was watching ordinary families living literally in the shadow of the big event and saw how much it meant to them that night.”
Q: Is there a Southern Arizona story you’ve covered during your time at AZPM that has been especially meaningful or memorable?
A: “I host The Press Room at AZPM, but I also work as the producer for Arizona Science. I grew up as a devoted enthusiast of the space program in the 1960s, and it’s great to have guests on the show that participated as youthful scientists and engineers on the grand adventure of people going to the moon and back sixty years ago.”
Q: What are some fun facts about you that our audiences might not know?
A: “I am the author of two self-published books on history in the United States. The first, Beyond Our Vision: Stories from the Decade That Changed Everything, focuses on 10 stories from the early 1960s which were overshadowed by the big historical events of the time. My second book is a look at back at disruptive social behavior by fans during sports events. It is called Anarchy! The Passions That Fueled Sports in the 1970s and Changed the Way We Watch Our Favorite Games. Both books are available on Amazon under the pen name A. E. Perkins.
As a young teenager, I was inspired by the way Walter Cronkite and other television broadcasters covered dramatic news stories in the 1960s. My parents purchased a scale model of the Apollo 11 lunar lander like Cronkite had, and watched me build a diorama to display it in. It was essentially a sandbox in the middle of our living room. My parents let me re-create it during every Apollo moon mission, as long as I promised not to make a mess of the house.
My first on-air experience was as a television co-host for the PBS station in Bloomington, IN while a college student in the 1970s. We had to fill 15 minutes of extra time at the end of the original All Creatures Great and Small, by introducing pets available for adoption at the local animal shelter. My co-host and myself would sit outdoors wrangling puppies, cats, and rabbits in our laps.”
Have a suggestion for the show? Send Tony an idea for The Press Room.
YOUR SUPPORT POWERS WHAT COMES NEXT
Powered by You. Built by Generosity. Inspired by Community.
Because of supporters like you, AZPM remained strong through a year of extraordinary change. You helped ensure Southern Arizona’s access to fact-based reporting, educational programming, meaningful conversations, and stories that bring our community together. Today, community support is the foundation of AZPM’s future. Every gift ensures that public media remains available to everyone in our region. Stay with us and help build what’s next.
Visit azpm.org/support to learn about membership, major giving, legacy giving, and other ways to make an impact. Thank you for making AZPM possible.
“I love starting my day with James Reel’s radio programming, and Tom McNamara’s Arizona Illustrated is such a great way to keep in touch with Tucson!” — Susan S., Bend, OR