Dr.
Lesser featured on PBS-TV’s Blast Beyond!
In mid-September 2011, El Paso PBS-affiliate station KCOS-TV
channel 13 (cable channel 12) began airing a locally-produced (with syndication
being pursued) children’s educational show “Blast Beyond,” hosted by Robert Bettes
(Chief Meteorologist on CBS-affiliate KDBC-TV) and including an on-stage
audience of children ages 6-9 from a local school. For more background on
the show, see: http://admin.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=70179.
The
show usually has a math/science theme and its spaceship motif is inhabited by
an on-stage audience of kids (“cadets”), a mega-enthusiastic host, a sarcastic
puppeteer, a crackerjack 3-piece rock band looking like 80s band Devo in their sunglasses and jumpsuits, and a walkie-talkie
wielding commander in “Mission Control” (the TV station’s control room!) who
gives instructions for the games and explains to the cadets-at-home that day’s
thematic reason why the ship will temporarily “lose transmission” (for the
mid-show commercial break).
The show is
recorded live to tape (with no edits!) and airs 5-5:30pm (and 6:30-7am) on
weekdays to a broadcast area of 2 million people spanning three states.
The episodes are accessible to anyone after initial airing, posted at http://kcostv.org/bbpreviousepisodes.html. During
each of the six episodes listed below, Lesser
presented hands-on mini-lessons and also contributed to the parts of the show
when he was off-stage (all lyrics, most games, and some banter):
|
Episode Title |
Season #; Episode # |
Initial air date |
Link to view the episode [note:
there will be a “blackout” near the middle (where the commercial break
was during the TV airing), but the show will resume on its own after 1-2
minutes] |
On-stage participants |
|
Sides |
1; 25 |
Oct. 14, 2011 |
1st,
2nd, 3rd graders from St. Mark’s School |
|
|
Tessellation |
1; 27 |
Oct. 18, 2011 |
“ |
|
|
Music and Math
Connections |
1; 29 |
Oct. 20, 2011 |
“ |
|
|
Polls and
Surveys |
2; 2 |
Jan. 24, 2012 |
1st
& 2nd graders from El Paso Jewish Academy |
|
|
Odd and Even
Numbers |
2; 4 |
Jan. 26, 2012 |
“ |
|
|
Doubling |
2; 6 |
Jan. 30, 2012 |
“ |
Photo from Oct.
20, 2011 episode (Lesser using his guitar and monochord to
explore math and music connections) is HERE;
photos
from Jan. 2012 episodes are at https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/118108048026616744638/albums/5699420284890204289#photos/118108048026616744638/albums/5699420284890204289
selected examples of Dr. Lesser’s
work on the radio:
|
Topic |
Station/Show |
Initial Date Aired |
Link |
|
Interview on
Math and Music |
El Paso’s KTEP
(88.5 FM) “State of the Arts” with Mónica Gómez |
Feb. 21, 2009 |
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/Feb2009KTEPinterview.mp3 |
|
Interview on
Math and Music |
Kingston, Jamaica’s
HOT 102 (101.9 FM) “Today with Beverley Anderson Manley” |
May 19, 2008 |
|
|
Scripts for 5 episodes:
Surface Area of Desert Life, Mark and Recapture, Desert Weather, Snakes, Pi
Day |
El Paso’s KTEP
(88.5 FM) “Desert Diary” with Florence Schwein |
June 22, 2009;
June 7, 2005; May 18, 2005; April 19, 2005; March 14, 2005, respectively |
http://museum2.utep.edu/archive/math/indexmath.htm |
