Beyond the Great Wall: Journey to the End of China | Peabody Award Winner 1982

Seeking to understand one’s next-door neighbors is difficult, but seeking to understand people who live thousands of miles away, who speak a strange language, and who have even stranger customs sometimes seems beyond comprehension. One enterprising television station decided to help and, by teaming up with their corporate production company, they turned in a televised report which would get an A-plus in any academic grading system. Beyond the Great Wall: Journey to the End of China provided a close-up of China’s far western Xinjiang province. As the first American television crew allowed in that remote area, they concentrated on examining the Muslim minorities, the Kazahk mountain people, the experimental multi-ethnic schools, along with the unique music, dances, and games of the people.

Read full winner’s citation here: http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/beyond-the-great-wall-journey-to-the-end-of-china

The Complete Angler: James Prosek

Peabody Winner 2002 | ESPN

When Yale student James Prosek convinced the university to permit him to write a senior essay on Izaak Walton, author of the 17th Century classic, The Complete Angler (The Compleat Angler), he had not yet read Walton’s book. When he did he found it as much about a philosophy of life as about fishing. Prosek’s “research,” which took him to Ireland and England to fish the same rivers and streams as had Walton, is captured in this very personal documentary that celebrates nature, fishing, and most importantly, the contemplative life of the “complete” fisherman. He discovers the art of “dapping,” a method of fly-fishing still practiced as it was in Walton’s day, 350 years earlier. 

Read the full winner’s citation: http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-complete-angler

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013 Peabody Award citation)

Our latest episode of Stories that Matter features an interview with Anthony Bourdain. He discusses his time in Beirut, how he plans his trips and his dinner with Boris Nemtsov. Listen to it here.