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American Masters

Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For

Season 14 Episode 3

One of the early “scat” performers, Fitzgerald found a place among the growing jazz innovators, making recordings with such greats as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. Through fifty-eight years of performing, thirteen Grammys and more than forty million records sold, she elevated swing, bebop, and ballads to their highest potential. She was, undeniably, the First Lady of Song.

Aired: 12/07/99
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Hannah Arendt’s reflections on being a refugee
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Clip: S39 E5 | 1:15
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Why McCarthyism was familiar to Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was teaching at Berkeley when McCarthyism took hold of the United States.
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How Hannah Arendt developed the concept of "the banality of evil"
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Clip: S39 E5 | 3:40
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American Masters
Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” as a tribute to her friend
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Clip: S39 E4 | 3:02
How Janis Ian wrote “Society’s Child”
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American Masters
How Janis Ian wrote “Society’s Child”
Janis Ian was inspired to write “Society’s Child” after observing an interracial couple on her bus.
Clip: S39 E4 | 1:10
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American Masters
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Clip: S39 E4 | 2:05