Welcome to the Reaching Out Website!

Reaching Out is a very special television experience -- a community healing process that combines racial bridge-building, compassionate caring, and deep ecological awareness.

Reaching Out grows out of town-hall meetings in Oakland CA, where a thousand people came together to address this question: "What keeps us so separate -- and what can we do about it?" Now Reaching Out brings this question to PBS viewers across the United States.

This website is offered to you as a resource, both to deepen your experience of the Reaching Out series, and to help you carry forward -- in your own life, and the life of your community -- the healing process it depicts. Here is an overview of what you will find.

Airdates -- dates and times of all scheduled broadcasts. Information is posted as soon as we receive it from the individual PBS affiliates, usually about two weeks in advance of broadcast. Many additional stations will broadcast Reaching Out during the summer and fall, but have not yet scheduled a precise date and time. If your station is not currently listed, you can send an e-mail directly to your PBS station programmer to ask about broadcast plans. (If your station has already shown Reaching Out, your e-mail can ask about plans for re-broadcast.)

Viewer's Guide -- core issues, key concepts, and selected highlights from each of the seven programs, and suggested questions for personal reflection and discussion. The Viewer's Guide also provides guidance for developing a viewing group, where you can experience and communicate the feelings and thoughts that the programs give rise to.

Program Transcripts -- complete texts of all seven programs.

Descriptive Materials -- an overview of the Reaching Out Project, and an overview of the seven Reaching Out programs.

Background Materials -- internal documents detailing the original project vision, and the ensuing broadcast plan.

Wisdom Circles -- highlights of the Wisdom Circle process, suggested for Reaching Out viewing groups.

Ordering Information -- for purchasing the entire Reaching Out series on two VHS video-cassettes.

Feedback Form -- an e-mail form for joining the dialogue. What touches you most deeply about the programs? What are you experiencing in your viewing group? What are you feeling moved to do in your community? What suggestions can you offer, and what initiatives might you take, to introduce Reaching Out to others?

Welcome to Reaching Out. And please do let us hear from you.

Joseph Tieger, Executive Producer
jt@reachingout.org