New Ken Burns documentary models what American healthcare could be
It should get people talking ...
25 September, 2018
- The 135-year-old hospital does things differently than the rest of the U. S. healthcare industry
- This documentary might reframe the national conversation about healthcare, which is the #1 issue for American voters in the mid-term elections.
- The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science airs Tuesday, September 25 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS.
<p style=""><br></p>
The miracle in a cornfield
<p>Ever since <em><a href="https://amzn.to/2zvspai" target="_blank">The Civil War</a></em>, the iconic nine-part documentary series that featured such greats as Southern historian Shelby Foote, filmmaker Ken Burns has made deep dives into such topics as Baseball, the Vietnam War, jazz music, and more. </p><p style="">Now, he's taking on something that is often referenced but not deeply understood: The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. While healthcare itself is the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2018/08/13/midterms/#24033fef3667" target="_blank">number one issue for voters in the upcoming mid-term elections</a>, for staff at Mayo, it's what they do, and they do it for free for all people who enter the doors. </p><p>Sometimes called "the miracle in a cornfield," and also known as the place for hope when there is no hope, the hospital treats up to <a href="http://duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/health/4503715-filmmaker-ken-burns-makes-mayo-clinic-documentary" target="_blank">14,000 patients on a given day.</a><a href="http://duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/health/4503715-filmmaker-ken-burns-makes-mayo-clinic-documentary" target="_blank"></a> <br></p><p>Those patients include the Dalai Lama and John McCain.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY1ODU0MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNzQwOTY3OX0.35Cu4_BR0KX7Q9hbNY7E3eeJ5xclSI9vTdzsBysImUs/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=75%2C91%2C0%2C50&height=700" id="7052f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="980296b1565e550b42753cedaea6483b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Mayo Clinic
"Like none other."
<p>Burns himself was a patient there at one time; he refers to his experience there as like none other in the healthcare field. Primarily, he says that he felt like the patient was the center of the treatment, not doctors. "I began to get curious about why this was so different from any other health care experience I'd had," <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/filmmaker-ken-burns-mayo-clinic/4585192.html" target="_blank">he said</a>.</p><p>"We were making a film about the history the Mayo Clinic, but realized that in their story and in their example might be a way for us all to re-enter a conversation about the essential question: What do we owe each other in terms of taking care of each other?" he said.</p><div id="05098" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PIS4HM1568274659"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> <div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"> </div></div><p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BoJeuK-g6jL/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">The Worthy People Project on Instagram: “{New Post} Brittany's Story: A Mother's Love Against All Odds •Link in profile• "The likelihood of Dylan’s survival to this point was only…”</a></p> </div></blockquote></div>The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science
<p>One of the principles that makes the Mayo clinic a shining star is its treatment; the facility can diagnose and treat within days like nobody else can. It primarily accomplishes this because of its patient-centered, collaborative atmosphere that attracts the brightest and the best from around the world to its 135-year-old<a href="https://siouxcityjournal.com/entertainment/television/ken-burns-and-company-look-at-what-makes-the-mayo/article_67fa0193-5394-550f-b02f-5c8e08d891cc.html" target="_blank"> institution</a>.</p><p>Indeed, the Mayo Clinic was founded—by W. W. Mayo and his sons Will and Charlie—on the idea that doctors, staff and patients needed to work together as a team, not isolated, and they must share knowledge and techniques freely. To this day, doctors aren't rewarded by patients seen and bottom lines elucidated by health insurance companies and HMOs; rather, they receive a salary, with the understanding that they will work together for the common patient good. </p><p>Burns concluded in a <a href="http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-mayo-clinic-becomes-part-of-ken-burns-america/493899601/" target="_blank">recent interview</a>, "All of us are super-curious about our health. But focusing on a place that deals with it super-well, it reminds you that maybe we've ceded the health care debate to those who don't know a damn thing about it, and that's politicians on both sides."</p><p>
<iframe width="675" height="424" src="https://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/3014726533/" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" seamless="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p><p>
The documentary airs Tuesday, September 26 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS.
</p><p>(Did you miss it? You're in luck. <a href="https://www.pbs.org/show/the-mayo-clinic/" target="_blank">Watch it</a> on the PBS website.)</p>
Keep reading
Show less
You can watch Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' marathon right now, for free
You can watch the Cosmos marathon right now, for free!
12 January, 2018
NASA/Cosmos Studies.
Beloved author and astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan hosted a 13-part PBS mini-series in 1980 called Cosmos, that today many in science, the media, and regular science-minded citizens remember fondly. Sagan, often sporting a turtle neck or a corduroy jacket, amazed viewers by unraveling some of the biggest mysteries of the solar system, how stars work, the search for intelligent life beyond our planet, and other expansive topics, in ways both spellbinding and accessible.
<p> </p><div class="video-callout-placeholder" data-slug="hey-bill-nye-whats-your-fondest-memory-of-carl-sagan" style="border: 1px solid #ccc;">
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-media_id="XwHncX1h" data-player_id="FvQKszTI" data-rm-shortcode-id="d5ede16a0e7ace8babcadd96e01b4c4c">
<div id="botr_XwHncX1h_FvQKszTI_div" class="jwplayer-media" data-jwplayer-video-src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/XwHncX1h-FvQKszTI.js">
<img src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/thumbs/XwHncX1h-1920.jpg" class="jwplayer-media-preview">
</div>
<script src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/XwHncX1h-FvQKszTI.js"></script>
</div>
</div><p> </p><p>Sagan today still holds an illustrious cult status the world over and has been an inspiration to such people as Neil deGrasse Tyson, <em>Family Guy’s</em> Seth McFarlane, and British physicists Brian Cox and Maggie Aderin-Pocock. Science journalists in particular hold the show in high reverence, even referring to Sagan’s monologues as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2009/aug/12/carl-sagan-cosmos-personal-voyage" target="_blank" title="THe Guardian ">“poetry.”</a> As such, a website called <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/171878227" target="_blank" title="Twitch ">Twitch</a> is allowing you to consume the entire mini-series for free in marathon form on its website. To celebrate such a tremendous event, here are seven things you need to know about Carl Sagan’s <em>Cosmos</em>.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MDg3NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTIyODExNX0.NpjtlZWu9opJTYkE1GMMNYH2TZ4KP64dlO3kYgP3q_I/img.jpg?width=980" id="7abec" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f7e284fb7a1a532d7c7c24e6d57a6ec" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>Credit: NASA.</em></p><p>1. Several episodes show a famous photo of Earth with Africa in the upper left. That’s the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081846/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv" target="_blank" title="IMDB">“Blue Marble”</a> photo Apollo 7 astronauts snapped off in 1972. They shot it while traveling toward the moon. For nearly three decades, it stood as one of the only sunlit pictures of our planet.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MDg3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzY5NDkwOH0.bMmJPe3WMFH-G71Fwwnc6IiV1ghzBGDwNQ_YS2jfi-4/img.jpg?width=980" id="1f950" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9eefc046adfa43ef9012c9c25d7a1f3c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>Viking Landing model. Credit: NASA/JPL.</em></p><p>2. Though mostly known for his work on <em>Cosmos</em>, Dr. Sagan had lots of scientific chops of his own. He worked on several NASA missions including the Viking missions, which explored Mars. He was even a strong supporter of the <a href="https://www.seti.org/" target="_self" title="SETI ">SETI institute</a>, a global initiative on the forefront of the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MDg3Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTM1ODAyOH0.BqvkYJR6wZ_PW5Mq7KHhCqeOps9SYy1Bct3vyxcRkRw/img.jpg?width=980" id="36312" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0d729b6ad47088c7c08f49361ec2fa4e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>Credit: YouTube.</em></p><p>3. In the 'Cosmic Calendar' episode, the entirety of the world’s existence is outlined using calendar dates. The Big Bang occurs on January 1, life on Earth arrives on September 25, trees and reptiles come on the scene on December 23, and finally in the last few minutes, humans pop up. The written record only comes along in the last 10 seconds of the calendar. Talk about putting our species and place in the universe into perspective.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MDg3Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTkyNTI4M30.44dXg76p8VCSsFLu6KxoltY8sEYrEJ3pfY8xvWSq9pY/img.jpg?width=980" id="79a8e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fd8a065646301cdf72e83c14d08cd98e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>Bill Nye speaks at “A Celebration of Carl Sagan,” November 12, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Getty Images.</em></p><p>4. The series is known for some great quotes including:</p><blockquote>
<p>“Up there in the immensity of the cosmos, an inescapable perception awaits us. National boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space. Fanatical ethnic, religious, or national chauvinisms are a little difficult to maintain when we see our planet as a fragile blue crescent fading to become an inconspicuous point of light against the bastion and citadel of the stars.”</p>
</blockquote><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MDg3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjM0Nzk4Nn0.FmgytXmR7lKofXlnfakcutOvJHZ04hXwPcm2BcfWqHA/img.jpg?width=980" id="07325" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e13d1c8582313b5ac0e0f016f2786ca1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>The golden record and its cover for the Voyager I mission. Credit: NASA/Caltech.</em></p><p>5. Sagan oversaw the creation of the famous <a href="http://bigthink.com/brandon-weber/a-spacecraft-moving-at-35000-miles-per-hour-has-human-sounds-on-it-heres-how-to-listen" target="_blank">gold records</a> which adorned the Voyager I and II missions. These are currently hurtling through space, complete with welcome messages in many languages, different musical compositions, and even whale song. They were created in case one of the Voyagers bump into intelligent, spacefaring life.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MDg3OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzI4Njk3M30.xYGgoaRjYC4XeKEOi-gDosfKY8_BUbhapJnBOwAUQ7Y/img.jpg?width=980" id="917f1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6142c2e71a4c60afe0c4016a50b056f3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>Voyager spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL.</em></p><p>6. The filming of the series took a year. It had some of the most impressive special effects for any documentary series before or since. The production team traveled to many different locations in countries such as Egypt, Mexico, India, Cambodia, Italy, and France. Many of the studio segments were shot at Renssalear Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. There, the students made several of the items used in the show, including a model of a Mars rover.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MDg4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTgxMTYwOX0.bOPNNFRYinlSoiiXgvU2JpwdA--D0zP-BnY-qUcTy8g/img.jpg?width=980" id="732e8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="faeff88be8f35e35d935cebf0e92945a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br><em>SETI radio telescopes searching the stars. Credit: YouTube.</em></p><p>7. Another of Sagan’s incredible quotes:</p><blockquote>
<p>There are some hundred billion galaxies, each with, on the average, a hundred billion stars, 1011 x 1011 = 1022, ten billion trillion. In the face of such overpowering numbers, what is the likelihood that only one ordinary star, the Sun, is accompanied by an inhabited planet? Why should we, tucked away in some forgotten corner of the Cosmos, be so fortunate? To me, it seems far more likely that the universe is brimming over with life. But we humans do not yet know. We are just beginning our explorations. From eight billion light-years away we are hard pressed to find even the cluster in which our Milky Way Galaxy is embedded, much less the Sun or the Earth. The only planet we are sure is inhabited is a tiny speck of rock and metal, shining feebly by reflected sunlight, and at this distance utterly lost.</p>
</blockquote><p>Watch the <em>Cosmos </em>marathon <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/171878227" target="_blank" title="Twitch">here</a>.</p><p>To hear Mr. Sagan speak for himself, click here:</p><p class="flex-video"><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4ee23093cdcadea0367a624ec7c5ec1f"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W5c59qUUnAY?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span></p>
Keep reading
Show less
Fund the Arts! Stories Are Our Most Valuable Exports
Cut funding to the NEA and PBS? It would be incredibly costly to cut cultural spending.
14 April, 2017
The arts reflect what a country is, says Jane Rosenthal — so what kind of country is the US if it cuts funding to its arts communities? The NEA and PBS are two organizations on the chopping block under the Trump administration's proposed budget. Rosenthal — a film producer and co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival — reminds us of how crucial story telling is for individuals and nations. The inaugural Tribeca Film Festival opened in 2002, just after the 9/11 terror attacks. The Tribeca Film Festival's purpose was to bring people back to the downtown neighborhood, to create a new memory for the city that wasn't based in fear. They invited Nelson Mandela to speak, and he recalled that the one thing he looked forward to when he was imprisoned on Robben Island was movie night. It created a community between the prisoners and their guards, and provided common ground for their humanity. Beyond the individual, art is also a valuable export from one nation to another, keeping lines of communication and curiosity open between cultures.
Popular
