Our America with Lisa Ling

Unexpected Gifts from The Little Cable Channel That Could

by paula on March 12, 2013

When I was young, one of my favorite stories that my mom would read me was The Little Engine That Could.  Each night, my mom would tell me the story…sometimes by memory when she couldn’t find the picture book…and always, the words that echoed over and over to my young mind were “…I think I can, I think I can, I know I can…”  A lesson in moving forward and believing in yourself and your direction, even when other’s may doubt you…just keep going and don’t give up…because you will make it up that mountain.  This simple childhood story reminds me a little of OWN…and it’s so wonderful to see them churning up the steam and climbing up, up, up!  

For the last few weeks, OWN has rolled out amazing new programming to the world and in turn, brought with it some amazing lessons.  Long ago in the early days of the network, we used to use the hashtag on Twitter, #ChangeTheChannelChangeYourLife.   Growing up with Oprah and her “brand” we knew the impact from a young age – that empowering yourself with knowledge and understanding opens up your life and heart to the world around you.  For the last two years, I would like to think that I listen more closely, walk a little lighter, choose my words more carefully, forgive a little more easily and love with an open heart.  And much of this has to do with what’s in my life and since day one of the network, OWN has been in my life. 

From early on, we knew that OWN programs – the REAL Oprah content that’s sprinkled among the Discovery filler – was different.  Simply listen and it could change your life.   The new programs over the last few weeks have raised the bar even higher.  Here’s what you’ve been missing if you haven’t been around…

With Super Soul Sunday, Oprah opens up discussions and reminds us of some of the basic lessons from The Four Agreements and the movement of energy and the hunger of the soul and more, introducing us to spiritual leaders and igniting our minds and our hearts to light up and see the possibilities of living our best life.  Like clockwork, my body wakes up each Sunday morning and turns to the lessons of the day…as if my soul has been waiting all week to drink up the lessons.  The world is thirsty and this program is the prefect answer to that thirst.

Traveling with Oprah’s Next Chapter, homes are opened up and we are invited into family dynamics, and behind closed doors and into the lives of many who we see, but don’t always really SEE.  Make sense?  With Oprah sitting down on a purple couch or talking over the laughter or asking the hard questions, we see people as people…human, not always perfect, sometimes much funnier, often even more approachable and most of all the show always seems to capture the heart of the person.  Even in the most difficult episodes, there is humanity there as people open up to Oprah and to the rest of us to reveal that they are just like the rest of us…lexcept with a lot more stuff.

As Oprah’s Master Class comes back to the network, it feels like home.  My second favorite series on OWN (just behind Super Soul Sunday) this hour of traveling through someone’s life – the twists and turns, ups and downs – all to bring us full circle into a pool of lessons for personal success .  A college level master class on life and what has worked and not worked for some.  Listening carefully, the journey always reminds me of one thing – we all have lessons throughout our own lives…each and every one of us is living a Master Class right now.  Are we paying attention to our own lessons?

In a new reality program, OWN takes us into the South with Blackboard Wars, and has immersed us into the process of standing up and trying to make a difference in the school system, in young lives, and in the world.  As we watch these amazing teachers and leaders use every ounce of their spirit and soul to change the world and as we see the real world that some of our students – the leaders of tomorrow – are faced with, it touches the soul and makes an imprint on hearts.  When programs start a conversation – a real conversation that can make a difference in the world – this is amazing.  This is what this program has done.

Finally, Our America with Lisa Ling hasn’t missed a beat as Lisa jumps into some of the most interesting conversations and areas with an open mind and a blank notebook.  Knowing that their stories will be treated with respect and honor, Our America goes into some of the most curious communities and opens up some of the most important topics to start conversations and get us thinking.  For as long as I can remember I have always said, “You fear what you do not know or understand.”  Lisa Ling and her team are opening up our eyes and helping us to understand.  While we may not always agree, by the end of the hour we are educated and enlightened.  A beautiful series that reminds us what the highest level of journalistic television  should look like and how it should touch our humanity.

As OWN keeps moving up the mountain, we will be here watching and cheering and taking in the lessons that have changed our lives.  We hope that you find OWN on your TV or watch some of the programs offered at Oprah.com.  You too may realize the unexpected gifts that show up with the programs…and really, who doesn’t like presents?!

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Our America Looks at Abuse through a Child’s Eyes

by paula on February 27, 2013

In last night’s Our America, Lisa Ling brought us stories of two different children – one young 10 year old boy dreaming of baseball in Florida and the other, a young 13 year old girl in California – on opposite sides of the country but both with the same story.  Their innocence was taken away from them.  As these now adults talked about the abuse and faced the memories with Lisa Ling once again, the pain was evident and the detour that their lives had taken was clear.   And as Lisa asked the questions and told their stories, she did so with understanding that while many years may have passed, the wounds are still healing and the aftereffects are written in the sadness in their eyes. 

As I watched the program, my first reaction was of how brave these two survivors were.  To tell their stories and share their impact will save others who may find themselves in similar situations.  Parents will be more aware and ask questions.  People around will pay attention and speak up.  Society will pay closer attention…because the days of minding your own business and turning away when something appears to be going wrong is changing and needs to change.  Everyone should be watching…and everyone should be extra  aware of what’s going on with our younger generation.  

As Lisa Ling continued on with the stories, my heart broke for Leeronnie and the other little boys who were abused in the Red Sox clubhouse for many years as others turned their heads or laughed and made jokes of what was going on.  It goes beyond my understanding how grown-ups could see and know that this was happening and not step up and see that this – these young men who so idolized being on the field and in that space – could be their children…or them.  Why didn’t anyone speak up for them?  Where were the voices of the bystanders? 

As the stories were carefully brought to light, the sadness of Kristen’s story of a female coach threatening her and her family was awakening.  From a quaint little Walnut Creek neighborhood – with nearby Berkley University where students standup and fight for the most basic rights, this young girl was simply fighting to survive a possessive, manipulative, and criminal couch, Julie – a middle school teacher who deserves to be exactly where she is – in prison.  Where were the signs?  How can we do better in the future?  This needs to stop…

From the beginning, my heart was so extremely proud of these two individuals, Leeronnie and Kristen, for sharing their stories and standing UP in their truth to shed light for so many others.  Let their strength and courage be the ripple that starts the wave and let this same strength and courage allow each and every one of us to stand UP and speak UP when we see something that we think is suspect or wrong.  Let’s use this courage to be the voice for those who have smaller voices or no voices at all.  This could be exactly why you are here – to save that life and to be that voice.

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This Week’s Pop Culture Moment with Lisa Ling

by Guest Blogger on February 21, 2013

Each week we take a look around our pop culture world and try to find one moment that stood out as the most inspiring. It might be a celebrity who is doing charitable things, a TV shows that inspires us to be better or a philosophy that we should all strive to live by. Here is this week’s most inspiring pop culture moment.

This week Season 4 of Our America with Lisa Ling premiered, and once again the show delved into a topic not many people feel comfortable discussing, but somehow made it approachable and nonjudgmental. Lisa tackled the topic of bondage in the season opener and will follow it up with shows about childhood obesity, families of killers, polyamorists and martyrs for Christ. Each week Our America explores the worlds we don’t even know exist and opens our minds to the lives of those around us.

At a recent press event Lisa talked about the new season saying, “In our fourth batch of shows — the quality of our shows, the writing — we’ve all honed our skills even more so. And I’m so proud of what we’re producing in this fourth batch.”

She continued, “This is the proudest I’ve ever been of the work that I’ve done. I’ve been in this business for well over 20 years and this is the culmination of all the things that I’ve had the privilege and fortune of being able to do.”

Ling said she gets the access to the people she covers because the reputation of the show proceeds her. She said, “We treat everyone we feature on our show with dignity and respect, irrespective of what they may have been accused of doing or what they’re currently doing. I know that they appreciate it and they know that we’re not going to exploit their stories.”

She credits the style of the show with creating a place for viewers to come and learn. “Our show is the least loud and sensational show on TV. If you really think about it, our shows are slow moving and they’re beautifully shot and they’re very introspective… It’s unlike any other show in that way because it breaths and allows you to get immersed in the lives of these people.”

Lisa looks forward to doing more and more shows for the series because as she said, “There are no shortage of stories in this country.”

And the driving force behind the show’s continuous success is the passion. “Our teams consist of deeply passionate people. It drives me. It is my baby. It is the thing about which I am most passionate and everyone on our team feels the same way.”

She added, “Everyone on my teams knows that opportunities like this come around never. Literally never. If this goes away we might not ever get another chance to do this kind of programming and not sound cliche but I really don’t think we’d be able to do it anywhere but [OWN]. This network has gone through its ups and downs — and thank goodness it’s on this amazing uptick right now — but regardless of the roller coaster that it’s been on, it’s been so supportive of the show and for that we will always be grateful.

Tune into Our America with Lisa Ling Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. Central on OWN.

Photo courtesy of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

***About the Pop Culture Passionistas -  The only other two sister bloggers we know, our fellow sisters – Amy & Nancy Harrington – are simply amazing women. Huge pop culture fans, they have made a career and passion for the entertainment world  through their writing and production talents and a name for themselves in the blogging community. Part of Oprah’s Lifeclass chosen bloggers for the Lifeclass Tour, these two women not only have passion, they have tremendous respect and admiration from us. The PCPassionistas can be found on Twitter @PCPassionistas  and always at their blog, http://www.popculturepassionistas.com/.

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Two Hour Season Finale of Our America Tonight on OWN

by paula on August 21, 2012

For those who are keeping track, Our America with Lisa Ling is wrapping up their third season on OWN with a double-header tonight! During the first season Lisa and team brought us the controversial topic of “Pray the Gay Away.” During that show, she and Gayle King sat together to watch and then, televised a live broadcast following the program that opened up the conversation to callers and social media comments.  It’s a conversation that will probably continue for many years across cultures to come.  Tonight, the promos give us a little bit of what’s in store.  Oprah.com mentions “Revisit the groundbreaking episode on this topic, along with an exclusive new  interview with the leader of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, who credits  this show with changing his mind.”

That alone should get you to make sure you tune in.  This should be interesting…But WAIT!  OWN is giving us a second hour of Our America to round out the final episode of the season.  Lisa is taking us into the world of swingers.  Now, that’s adventurous for sure.  OWN stats mention that an estimated 15 million Americans are active in this lifestyle.  How do couples survive this lifestyle?  What about jealousy?  Lisa Ling is sure to go there and take us with her.  So, make sure you tune into OWN tonight at 9/8c and settle in for some of the best programming there is on television.

From OWN: Preview of tonight’s Our America

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Our America’s Innocent Behind Bars – Deleted Scenes

by paula on August 16, 2012

This week on Our America with Lisa Ling, the OA team took a closer look at our criminal justice system.  Within the hour, the team points out death row cases, wrongful sentencing, restitution and the impact on the human beings attached to each of these cases and their outcomes.  From the cutting room floor, here are a couple of scenes that couldn’t be fit into the program but are worth watching.  As Our America keeps peeling back the layers of what we don’t always see, it gives us the opportunity to stand up and understand topics that may not always touch our own lives.  Opening our eyes to a whole new world that just might be right around the corner. Don’t miss these videos.

From OWN’s Our America deleted Scenes: Life After Prison - Former death row inmate Daniel Bright was exonerated after 10 years in jail. 8 years later, Daniel still struggles to understand why he spent years in prison and fantasizes about creating his future.

 
From OWN’s Our America deleted Scenes: How to Prevent Wrongful Convictions – Although the evidence can suggest a defendant is innocent, Innocence Project director and expert Emily Maw explains why wrongful convictions are so prevalent in New Orleans and what we can do to prevent them from occurring.
 

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Our America with Lisa Ling Looks Past Labels and Into Life

by paula on August 10, 2012

In this episode of Our America with Lisa Ling, the team looks at society and sex offenders. Unlike last season’s episode, this week Lisa looks at the case of just one person, Travis – a 17-year-old who was sentenced to 15 to 20 years for touching a 10 year olds breast. Just released from prison after 16 years, Our America follows his homecoming but also, takes a look at his past and the journey he faces going forward and being labeled a sex offender forever.  Labeled for life.  Lisa asks, “Does the punishment fit the crime?”  and takes us along in the process to find the answers to that question.

As a survivor from the hands of a sex offender, I often look away from these shows.  Oprah would interview someone and I would turn away and delete the episode.  News would follow the Sandusky case…and I would do my best to read it quickly, take a deep breath and move forward.  Perhaps it affects me differently than others but stories on sex offenders often take me back to a dark space of powerlessness and innocence lost.  But this episode of Our America was different in many ways and opened my eyes to the possibility that perhaps one label doesn’t fit all but also reminds me that one moment has the power not just to put you in prison but also, to change many lives.  Our America gave us an opportunity to see if from Travis’s side and question that perhaps it’s not a clear-cut world with the justice system…and clearly, it is not a perfect world either.

With delayed maturity, mental health issues and compulsive behavior that mirrored turrets syndrome, Travis found his trouble at a house party where he was goofing off with other kids.   The next day, police showed up at his door and said he “touched a 10-year-old on top of her blouse for sexual pleasure.”  As a 17-year-old, Texas tried him as an adult.  Was it an example of his delayed behavior?  His mother says two other girls there said they didn’t see it happen.  But does that clear him? Awaiting his trial in jail, he was young and against the advice of his mom, he made a deal.  Taking a plea deal and pleading guilty, he was given 5 years’ probation with strict curfews and rules. His attorney told him that if he took the plea deal, he could go home.  After six months in jail, this looked like a lifeline so he took it and went home.  Within a month of getting out of jail, he was out with neighborhood friends and broke curfew.  For this, he ended up in prison for the full sentence of 20 years.

During the show, Lisa researches Travis’ case, the charges and his mental disabilities.  Lisa uncovers notes in his case of police predicting his future behavior without even knowing him. Interesting. But there is always another side to the story, so Lisa wants to hear that as well.  During the show Lisa tries to hear the story from the victim and talks to the victim’s mother. Protective as any mother might be, the victim’s mother tells Lisa that she still feels that Travis should be on the sex offender list.  As Lisa dives deeper into the case she looks for more witnesses to help fill in some of the pieces of the story.   Investigating an incident that happened 17 years ago, Lisa is finding out that many of the witnesses could not remember being questioned by the police and that two witnesses there said that it didn’t happen at all.  Buried in the case notes, Lisa and Our America are digging for information that should have been looked at years ago for Travis.  In one last push for information, Lisa reaches out to t0 the victim’s father who said that the victim was worried that she may have exaggerated what happened and even considered coming forward but was afraid she would go to jail or get in trouble.  Finally, Lisa did speak to the victim and she didn’t want to be part of the show but she said, “Travis did plead guilty.”  That’s the truth.  He did.

So while my heart always lands next to the victim in any sex offender story, I understand that the world is not perfect, our justice system is not perfect and the sex offender registry needs to be reformed.  Perhaps reform and reexamination will lead to a process that will help in cases such as the one highlighted by Our America but it’s hard to focus on reforming part of the fix in the Band-Aid when society is still bleeding from the original crime at the hands of so many others.  Lisa Ling, our eyes have been opened. Seeing is the first step.

 

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The New Homeless – An Inside Look at Mary’s Place in Seattle with Our America (video)

by paula on August 6, 2012

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The American Dream Has Become a Dream for Survival on “Our America with Lisa Ling”

by patricia on July 28, 2012

The spiraling economy has been a hot topic for several years. We all know that we are in the worst economic crisis since the “not-so” Great Depression. As politicians continue to bicker back and forth, families are sliding down a slippery cliff struggling to hold onto whatever they can. How did the American Dream instead become a desperate dream for survival?

Only a few minutes into Our America with Lisa Ling, I sent out a silent prayer hoping that politicians would flip the dial and stumble upon this true economic reality show as it played out on OWN. Throughout the night Lisa Ling introduced us to different individuals who are hanging onto their own economic cliff. She began with 56 year-old Bob who had recently lost his job. Following a promotion, his company paid for his family to relocate to a wealthy suburb neighborhood where many of the 1% lived. Making a comfortable 6-figure income, Bob thought life was on an upturn. unfortunately, the layoffs came and Bob’s position was eliminated. Four years later he is still looking for full-time work. Taking what he can and working as a custodian for a church, he and his family are falling apart. With up to 400 applications for some jobs, Bob realized how difficult it would be to find any job…but he was trying despite the odds. To make it worse, his wife has battled breast cancer for 5 years. All of the stress is overwhelming and his in-laws (who are helping to support them) are upset. After unemployment benefits ran out, the only other help they received was through food stamps. “Like Bob, one-in-six people in America don’t always know where their next meal is coming from,” Lisa shared. It can be hard to get one’s own pride. No one wants to rely on the kindness of others. So much has changed in only a few short years. Listening to his children speak, you can tell how hard this has been on them. As Bob’s 12-year-old son softly cried over being evicted from their home as movers threw their belongings onto the front lawn. Talking about the stress of seeing a bill that was due, it was hard to fight back tears for his lost childhood.

The cameras then introduced Teresa, a 47-year-old woman who was let go after a paper factory closed in her town. Like many of us, she didn’t have a huge savings and instead took the vacations and bought the cars. After watching what little she did have disappear, she wished she would have been smarter with her money. However, that wasn’t her reality. Now living in the basement of a home and sharing a room with her son who is a senior in highschool, everything was different. Although she was getting a little help from unemployment, just as Bob had, it only lasts so long and then nothing the check stops coming. Sadly her story was not unique. Companies have been closing their factories and sending our money to other countries who barely pay their employees. It makes sense for them. They make a lot more money. But at what cost? Even America’s Olympic uniforms were created in a communist country. Some people seemed outraged, but shouldn’t we be outraged every day? Instead of American companies helping to put food on the tables of their neighbors, they are choosing to strengthen the most powerful places that threaten our own democracy. In fact, this would be a great topic for Our America. [read more…]

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