The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

last updated 8 January 2015

Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House

As a Washington, D.C., reporter for nearly six decades, Helen Thomas has peppered every president since John F. Kennedy with pointed questions. The daughter of illiterate immigrants, she rose to dean of the elite White House press corps and helped open the government corridors of power to female journalists. In this documentary by JFK’s niece, Rory Kennedy, Thomas recounts her colorful career. Monday, Aug. 18, at 9 p.m., HBO

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Each month, about 50,000 Iraqis of all classes and religions flee their war-torn country. Wide Angle tracks them to their most frequent destinations, Jordan and Syria. Interviewees include an interpreter for the U.S. military who fears for his family and a mother and daughter forced into prostitution to survive. Anchor Aaron Brown also speaks to Jordan’s Queen Noor about how the influx has strained her nation’s resources. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

In this documentary, former New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell interviews an eclectic assortment of 22 noteworthy African-Americans, among them Chris Rock, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, civil-rights activist Vernon Jordan, museum curator Thelma Golden, rock guitarist Slash, and choreographer/dancer Bill T. Jones. The film is part of a multimedia project that includes a book and a traveling photo exhibit. Monday, Aug. 25, at 9 p.m., HBO

As New Orleans attempts to recover from Hurricane Katrina, the city has struggled to overcome the culture of corruption that had become endemic to the Big Easy. Correspondent Soledad O’Brien speaks to the city’s first inspector general about his mission to root out mismanagement, and to prosecutors who are trying to curb the violence that hinders the return of residents, tourists, and business investment. Saturday, Aug. 30, at 8 p.m., CNN

Between 1935 and 1943, a gifted group of photographers confronted America with images of the Dust Bowl and the Depression, including Dorothea Lange’s iconic 1936 portrait of a destitute family of California pea pickers, Migrant Mother. This documentary tells how Roy Stryker, head of the Information Division of the Farm Security Administration under FDR, assembled a group of extraordinary talents that included Gordon Parks, Walker Evans, Lange, and many others. Their images, which aroused controversy and charges of propaganda at the time, remain haunting and relevant today. Monday, Aug. 18, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings

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