Arizona Spotlight

Madonna Thunderhawk and her daughter, Marcy Gilbert, at Standing Rock 2017. The pair were featured in "Warrior Women," a film about the women of the American Indian Movement in the '60s and '70s.

Arizona Spotlight for July 18th, 2019

Jul 17, 2019 Flagstaff Red Screen Film Festival presents indigenous stories for all to see; Retired astronaut Mark Kelly reflects on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing; and a Spotlight Session from Heather Hardy & Alvin Blaine.

Some of the contemporary citizens of Bisbee, Arizona who participated in a dramatic re-enactment of the 1917 Bisbee Deportation for the film "Bisbee '17", directed by Robert Greene.

A town faces ghosts from its past in "Bisbee '17"

Jul 10, 2019 Also on Arizona Spotlight: Looking for a new shelter arrangement for asylum seekers in Tucson; and Aurelie Sheehan talks about her new short story collection "Once Into the Night".

500 Gila Topminnows make a splash at The Mission Garden

Jul 3, 2019 Also on Arizona Spotlight: Author Kimi Eisele on "The Lightest Object in the Universe"; singer Natalie Douglas returns to Tucson with the songs of Nat King Cole; and "A Love Letter to the Library" about MegaMania.

Madeleine Erasto, who's family are refugees from the Congo, dances to the live music at the family fun fest of the World Refugee Day celebration at Catalina High School on Saturday, June 22, 2019, in Tucson.

World Refugee Day in Tucson

Jun 26, 2019 Also on Arizona Spotlight: The youth photography program "Parks in Focus" in action, and The Southwest Fair Housing Council observes the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act.

Archie is a big brown bat, and has been taken care of by Bob & Debbie Beucher since being rescued more than sixteen years ago.

Bat night at the Mission Garden

Jun 19, 2019 Also: A new facility in Nogales, Sonora to help migrants following the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy; and strangers find common ground with "One Small Step".

A small sample of the types of jewelry made by local artisans for the annual Tucson Juneteenth Celebration.

Tucson Juneteenth Celebration 2019

Jun 12, 2019 Also on Arizona Spotlight: A cross-cultural program inspires Native students in the UA College of Medicine; and, is it a piece of cake for the brain to interpret a metaphor?

Doug "Cosmo" Clifford, the original drummer for Creedence Clearwater Revival, keeps his rock 'n roll dreams alive in Creedence Clearwater Revisited.

Drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford and the final tour of Creedence Clearwater Revisited

Jun 5, 2019 Also: The latest on the trial of Scott Warren, and what it means for humanitarian aid on the U.S. / Mexico border; and two Hollywood versions of the story of Judge Roy Bean.

The view from the Oracle Ridge Trail looking north. The landscape would have been much the same as what Sara Lemmon saw on her journey up the mountain, except of course Biosphere II would not have been in the background.

Arizona Spotlight for May 30th, 2019

May 30, 2019 Also: Climbing Mt. Lemmon in the footsteps of Sara Plummer Lemmon; TIHAN celebrates 25 years of helping Tucson's HIV-positive community live better; and an artist who finds creative satisfaction in millions of tiny hand drawn lines.

Sara Plummer Lemmon, age 44, a few months before she climbed to the summit of the Santa Catalina Mountains. / Photo by Wynne Brown. Original at the University and Jepson Herbaria Archives, University of California, Berkeley.

Walking in the footsteps of Sara Plummer Lemmon

May 29, 2019 The story of a botanist and artist who had a mountain named after her.

"New Mexico I-10 mile marker 16 Eastbound. A freshly painted shrine for Rafael and Luis, the Virgin watches me through the plexiglas from her post between the crosses marking the passage of these two travelers, the paint is so fresh the dirt is still blue. It’s good to know you are loved." - Jesse Sensibar

Signs of life and death along southwestern highways

May 22, 2019 Also on Arizona Spotlight: Tucson restaurant history, becoming a goat, and looking back at Dr. Martin Luther King's visits to Tucson.

WWII Plane Stops in Tucson

May 15, 2019 Plus, Tohono O’odham Nation students commit to college; and Teddy Roosevelt, the cowboy president.

Dr. Mae C. Jemison during her 1992 mission as crew member on the space shuttle Endeavor.

Dr. Mae C. Jemison: "Living Deeply and Looking Up"

May 8, 2019 Also on Arizona Spotlight: Artists wish UA students good luck during finals week; Exploring Persian fairy tales and women in mythology; Adiba Nelson on the challenges of being a mom.

1,100 backpacks represent the number of college students who died by suicide in 2018. This event was designed to raise awareness about mental health and encourage suicide prevention.

Can 1,000 Empty Backpacks Save Lives?

May 1, 2019 Also: How Pima County could pay for newly opened migrant shelters; Bridging cultural divides with the Persian language; Tucson author Janni Lee Simner reads from her new book.

Gabriel Schirn is majoring in chemical engineering and piano performance but has several other interests.

Living Each Day to the Fullest After 'Miraculous' Recovery From Bike Crash

Apr 25, 2019 A University of Arizona student relishes each day, trying out different activities.

Guatemalan father with his 5 year old daughter. It took father and daughter almost two weeks to get to the Arizona border. They are asylum seekers staying at a temporary shelter opened by the City of Tucson to relieve the overflow of migrants at Tucson shelters. (April 18, 2019)

The City of Tucson Offers Hope to Migrants in Need

Apr 24, 2019 Also on Arizona Spotlight: Go backstage at Tucson High Magnet School to preview "Our Border Town"; Tucson poet laureate TC Tolbert receives grant from the Academy of American Poets; And, what would you do with the blessing of extra time to be alive?

A scene from Alex Zhao's "Artificial Incompetence."

UA Student Filmmakers to Screen Their Work in Annual Showcase

Apr 18, 2019 Comedies, dramas and mysteries are on the schedule at the "I Dream in Widescreen" short-film event.

Arizona Spotlight - Episodes