Rena Garrett

The Great War is over and the long-awaited engagement of Lady Mary and Matthew is on, but all is not tranquil at Downton Abbey as wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues, and personal crises grip the majestic English country estate. Shirley MacLaine joins the much-loved cast, which includes Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton and many others. “No family is ever what it seems from the outside,” observes Smith’s shrewd character.

White Stripes leader Jack White performs in support of his solo LP Blunderbuss.

Jack White appears on Austin City Limits on Saturday, January 5th at 9:00 pm.

Paul Simon’s Graceland album, an experiment in cross-cultural collaboration, was also commercially popular, selling 14 million albums worldwide and winning Grammys for “Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year” for the title track. Today, it’s considered one of the most significant recordings of its time. But why was Graceland so controversial in 1986? Why did Simon face such vehement criticism?

Alaska Statehood! is the birth story of modern Alaska – the struggle to free Alaska from colonialism and win self-government. It started with the Gold Rush and ended in victory sixty years later. It’s an inspirational tale of volunteerism, love of place, and overcoming partisanship.

Alaska Statehood! airs on Thursday, January 3rd at 7:00 pm.

The 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland provoked economic chaos by paralyzing a major air traffic network for days. This eruption, however, was mild. Much more powerful volcanoes in Iceland are ready to wake up. Through spectacular aerial footage of this country, which is an accumulation of lava and ash, a maze of craters and faults, the episode tries to discern which volcano could wake up next and what the consequences of a major eruption are likely to be.