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In Ville Platte, Louisiana an annual tradition brings together the town's racially segregated schools and communities to revel in a game of football, dubbed The Tee Cotton Bowl. Now under their first Black mayor, the game is at once a symbol of Ville Platte's progress as well as a reminder of a bitter history of racial tensions, many of which remain evident to this day in the town's schools and generational economic divisions.

In Germany, every student at the age of 14 is made to wrestle with the hard truths of their nation's history. But are the methods employed by educators truly serving their students? The Lesson offers a critical and artful portrait of modern teaching amidst the trouble return of right-wing extremism and ethnic scapegoating.

At a time when we are routinely made to bear witness to the devaluation and destruction of Black boys and men in America, it has become more clear than ever that our institutions need to be re-imagined.

Doc Severinsen is an icon of television and music, having led The Tonight Show band for nearly 3 decades during Johnny Carson's run. Now 93 and showing no signs of slowing down, Severinsen remains a fierce advocate for music education, and continues to record and tour, while mentoring the next generation of musicians.