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Stay Home With KCET for a Fourth of July Marathon!

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Before you head out for the fireworks, kick back with KCET! We will be celebrating this Independence Day in southern California with a marathon of special programming highlighting some of the country’s most iconic and patriotic figures that influenced the political landscape then and still resonate today – Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. We will broadcast four documentary specials examining some of the most powerful political voices in U.S. history on Wednesday, July 4 starting at 11:00 a.m.

See our lineup of programs on Independence Day below:

Theodore Roosevelt: A Cowboy’s Ride To The White House - 11:00 a.m.

Theodore Roosevelt: A Cowboy's Ride to the White House (Trailer)

The skills that Theodore Roosevelt acquired on the western front ultimately led him to become a war hero and an American President. Filmed on location at the Roosevelt ranches in the Badlands of North Dakota, the life experiences of the nation's 26th President are retold.

Will Rogers and American Politics – 12:00 p.m.

Will Rogers & American Politics

In the 1930s, with the United States mired in the Great Depression and teetering on the brink of a second World War, millions of Americans turned to a rope-twirling, plain-talking cowboy for clarity, comfort and common sense. The documentary reveals how Oklahoma native Will Rogers emerged as one of the most powerful political voices in the United States.

Eisenhower’s Secret War: From Warrior To President & Building Weapons, Talking Peace – 1:00 p.m.

"Eisenhower's Secret War - From Warrior to President" Trailer

Dwight D. Eisenhower was unwaveringly committed to peacefully co-exist with the Soviet Union during the Cold War years. Based on recent research by established scholars and writers, the two-part documentary series provides a new understanding of Eisenhower's path to the presidency from the time of the successful D-Day landing to his national security policies as a president that kept a divided world at peace during the 1950s.

Kennedy Half-Century – 3:00 p.m.

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The Kennedy Half Century (Trailer)

This hour special tells the compelling story of how John F. Kennedy's life, administration and tragic death influenced the general public, the media and every subsequent U.S. president including Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and even Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign

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'The Senior' Q&A with Actor Michael Chiklis and Producer Mark Ciardi at the PBS SoCal Cinema Series

The film screened March 26, with a Q&A with actor Michael Chiklis and producer Mark Ciardi immediately following the screening.
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Mystery Comedy 'Wicked Little Letters' Stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley: Early Screening at the PBS SoCal Cinema Series

The film screens March 19, with a pre-recorded Q&A with director Thea Sharrock shown immediately after the screening.
A person wearing glasses flips through a book at a desk.

'One Life' Q&A with Kim Masters at the PBS SoCal Cinema Series

The film screened March 12, with an in-person Q&A with KCRW host and THR editor Kim Masters, whose mother was one of the children rescued by Nicholas Winton.