Miami, FL - South Florida PBS (WPBT, WXEL, & Health Channel) is excited to announce the new season of Between the Covers premiering on Friday, January 27th at 5:30PM on WXEL and Saturday, January 28th at 6PM on WPBT. Join host Ann Bocock on a literary odyssey through best-selling works of fiction, non-fiction, and an exciting variety of additional genres. This series offers the opportunity to meet your favorite author or introduce you to new voices in the literary world.
“We are very pleased to be able to launch the fifth season of Between the Covers. Not only will South Florida PBS broadcast these twelve new episodes to an estimated 6.5 million viewers, we will also make the series accessible online, helping to expose our digital audience to new authors of all genres.” said president and CEO of South Florida PBS, Dolores (Sukhdeo) Fernandez Alonso
Episode descriptions are as follows:
Episode 501 premiering January 27th at 5:30PM on WXEL and January 28th at 6PM on WPBT
- Brad Meltzer, author of “The Nazi Conspiracy”
- From the New York Times bestselling author of The First Conspiracy and The Lincoln Conspiracy comes the little-known true story of a Nazi plot to kill FDR, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill at the height of World War II.
Episode 502 premiering on February 3rd at 5:30PM on WXEL and February 4th at 6PM on WPBT
- Geraldine Brooks, author of “Horse”
- Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamour of any racetrack.
Episode 503 premiering on February 10th at 5:30PM on WXEL and February 11th at 6PM on WPBT
- Scott Turow, author of “Suspect”
- Lucia Gomez is a female police chief in a man’s world and she’s walked a fine line to succeed at the top. Now a trio of police officers in Kindle County have accused her of soliciting sex for promotions and she’s in deep.
Episode 504 premiering on February 17th at 5:30PM on WXEL and February 18th at 6PM on WPBT
- Jonathan Escoffery, author of “If I Survive You”
- In the 1970s, Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But America, as the couple and their two children learn, is far from the promised land. Excluded from society as Black immigrants, the family pushes on first through Hurricane Andrew and later the 2008 recession, living in a house so cursed that the pet fish launches itself out of its own tank rather than stay.
Episode 505 premiering on February 24th at 5:30PM on WXEL and February 25th at 6PM on WPBT
- Patricia Engel, author of “The Faraway World”
- Two Colombian expats meet as strangers on the rainy streets of New York City, both burdened with traumatic pasts. In Cuba, a woman discovers her deceased brother’s bones have been stolen, and the love of her life returns from Ecuador for a one-night visit. A cash-strapped couple hustles in Miami, to life-altering ends.
Episode 506 premiering on March 3rd at 5:30PM on WXEL and March 4th at 6PM on WPBT
- Christina Diaz Gonzalez, author of “The Bluest Sky”
- A boy and his family must decide whether to remain in Cuba under a repressive government or risk everything for the chance of a new beginning in this gripping story from the award-winning author of The Red Umbrella.
Episode 507 premiering on March 10th at 5:30PM on WXEL and March 11th at 6PM on WPBT
- Phoebe Zerwick, author of “Beyond Innocence”
- A deeply reported, gripping narrative of injustice, exoneration, and the lifelong impact of incarceration, Beyond Innocence is the poignant saga of one remarkable life that sheds vitally important light on the failures of the American justice system at every level.
Episode 508 premiering on March 17th at 5:30PM on WXEL and March 18th at 6PM on WPBT
- Robert Watson, author of “Escape”
- The definitive account of the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison, site of the Civil War’s largest prison break. Libby Prison housed Union officers, high-profile foes of the Confederacy, and political prisoners. Watson captures the wretched conditions, cruel guards, and the story of the daring prison break, called “the most remarkable in American history.”
Episode 509 premiering on March 24th at 5:30PM on WXEL and March 25th at 6PM on WPBT
- Lisa Unger, author of “Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six”
- Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, but their dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare.
Episode 510 premiering on March 31st at 5:30PM on WXEL and April 1st at 6PM on WPBT
- James Grippando, author of “Code 6”
- Aspiring playwright, Kate Gamble, is struggling to launch a script she’s been secretly researching her entire life, mostly at the family dinner table. Her father is Christian Gamble, CEO of Buck Technologies, a private data integration company whose clients include the CIA and virtually every counter-terrorism organization in the Western World. Kate’s father adores her, and a play about the dark side of Big Data would be the ultimate betrayal in his eyes.
Episode 511 premiering on April 7th at 5:30PM on WXEL and April 8th at 6PM on WPBT
- Alka Joshi , author of “The Perfumist of Paris”
- Paris, 1974. Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she's finally found her passion--the treasure trove of scents.
Episode 512 premiering on April 14th at 5:30PM on WXEL and April 15th at 6PM on WPBT
- Lynne Olsen, author of “Empress of the Nile”
- In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time: Fifty countries contributed nearly a billion dollars to save a dozen ancient Egyptian temples, built during the height of the pharaohs' rule, from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. But the massive press coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the gutsy French archaeologist who made it all happen.
About Between the Covers:
Watch interviews with award-winning, nationally recognized authors. From sci-fi to romance to adventure, our host Ann Bocock interviews writers of all genres, diving deep into their creative processes, their struggles and, of course, their successes.
About South Florida PBS:
South Florida PBS is Florida’s largest public media company, including Public Broadcasting stations WXEL-TV, serving the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast and WPBT2, serving Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and the Health Channel, the only 24/7 channel dedicated to health in the nation. South Florida PBS connects organizations and institutions across our region and preserves South Florida's history. Leading the way in this global society, South Florida PBS is committed to creating and presenting award-winning programs focused on kids, education, arts and culture, health, environment, science and civic engagement. For more information, visit https://www.southfloridapbs.org.