TV Schedules

Kentucky Muse

Merle Travis: Guitar Man

Raised in the Western Kentucky coalfields during the Great Depression, songwriter and guitarist Merle Travis grew to worldwide stardom by the 1940s and 1950s. Today he is one of country music's most celebrated stylistic pioneers. His life story and his musical legacy are the focus of the documentary, "Merle Travis: Guitar Man". Perhaps best recognized as the original balladeer of the classic "Sixteen Tons" as well as hits like "Nine Pound Hammer" and "Dark as a Dungeon" - which all drew inspiration from the struggles of coal miners - Travis, who died in 1983, is also celebrated as the developer of a unique thumb-picking guitar-playing style eventually dubbed "Travis pickin.'" A 2016 KET Production.

bookclub@ket

Slender Is the Thread

Host Bill Goodman and a panel of readers discuss renowned Kentucky author Harry Caudill's "Slender Is the Thread," a collection of stories from his years as a country lawyer. A 2001 KET production.

Kentucky Collectibles

Martin Ukulele and Heirloom Jewelry

The 5th season of Kentucky Collectibles continues with an appraisal of a Martin Ukulele passed down through a family for generations and some heirloom jewelry that once went missing! A 2016 KET Production.

Downstream

Bardstown: The Beech Fork & The Kentucky Bourbon Festival

Carrie and Kyle travel to Bardstown, Kentucky for the 25th annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival and paddling along the Beech Fork River. Featured stories include country ham and bourbon pairing, mint julep history, crazy grains for making bourbon, historic Bardstown walking tour, and visiting the spring source for Barton Distillery. A 2018 production.

Kentucky Life

West Kentucky's Culinary Melting Pot, Opportunity for All, Art Walks the Runway

Paducah chef Sara Bradley elevates Western Kentucky's culinary scene with a mix of regional influences; the Opportunity Center of Owensboro has been supporting people with disabilities for nearly 70 years; and the KMAC Contemporary Art Museum in Louisville hosts an annual live art runway show spotlighting the work of local and regional designers and models. A 2025 KET production.

Distinguished Kentuckian

Barry Bingham Sr.

A profile of Barry Bingham Sr., patriarch of the family that dominated local media in Louisville for several decades. The Binghams owned the "Courier-Journal" and "Louisville Times" newspapers as well as WHAS radio and television. A 1975 KET production.

Tim Farmer's Country Kitchen (KET)

Tomato Gravy, Cola Chocolate Cake

Tim and Nicki revisit the flavors of their childhood, sharing beloved family recipes. Tim recalls his favorite comfort dish - thick tomato gravy spooned over homemade butter biscuits - and shows how to use it two ways, including piling it onto a sourdough sandwich with cornmeal-coated bacon. For dessert, they finish on a sweet note with a rich, fudgy cola chocolate cake topped with classic cola icing. A 2026 production.

Kentucky Afield

Rabbit Hunt, Trophy Crappie, Invasive Plant Species

We're rabbit hunting with the beagles in Shelby County, fishing Dale Hollow Lake for trophy-sized crappie and battling invasive plant species from the air in the Rockcastle River Wildlife Management Area. A 2026 production.

Kentucky Collectibles

Martin Ukulele and Heirloom Jewelry

The 5th season of Kentucky Collectibles continues with an appraisal of a Martin Ukulele passed down through a family for generations and some heirloom jewelry that once went missing! A 2016 KET Production.

WoodSongs Kids

Eleanor Pouge & Ellanabeth Duncan

Singer Eleanor Pouge, 7, from Kentucky; banjo player Alanabeth Duncan, 16, from New York.

Movies of Color: Black Southern Cinema

Examines African American independent filmmaking in the South between 1915 and 1945, highlighting the films of Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams, Eloyce Gist, and Clarence Muse. Produced by independent Kentucky filmmaker Tom Thurman. A 2001 KET Production.

Hey Cartooners!

Jule Huffman entertained the tri-state area as Mr. Cartoon for nearly three decades, but his legacy was bigger than his television personality. Those who knew him well recount his life story, starting from his childhood during the Great Depression, through World War II, into the early days of television and beyond the turn of the century. A 2025 production.

Appalshop @ 40: Classics from the Collection

Coalmining Women/In Ya Blood

Interviewed at home and on the job, women coal miners tell of the conditions that led them to seek employment in this traditionally male-dominated industry and the problems they encountered once hired. And, the story of a typical young man from Appalachia in the summer after his senior year in high school. He must face the difficult decision faced by many Appalachian youth - whether to stay in the mountains or leave in search of a "better life." A 2011 Production.

2026 Kentucky General Assembly Live

Our Kids

News and features about classroom projects and activities in Louisville-area schools.

2026 Kentucky General Assembly Live

Kentucky Time Capsule

Knee High to a Sculpture

In the early 1970s-before she became a playwright and won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award-Marsha Norman worked in her hometown of Louisville as a social worker, teacher, and freelance writer. In this film, young Marsha makes Louisville's statues "talk" for a group of schoolchildren. A 2003 KET Production.

2026 Kentucky General Assembly Live

Kentucky Muse

Merle Travis: Guitar Man

Raised in the Western Kentucky coalfields during the Great Depression, songwriter and guitarist Merle Travis grew to worldwide stardom by the 1940s and 1950s. Today he is one of country music's most celebrated stylistic pioneers. His life story and his musical legacy are the focus of the documentary, "Merle Travis: Guitar Man". Perhaps best recognized as the original balladeer of the classic "Sixteen Tons" as well as hits like "Nine Pound Hammer" and "Dark as a Dungeon" - which all drew inspiration from the struggles of coal miners - Travis, who died in 1983, is also celebrated as the developer of a unique thumb-picking guitar-playing style eventually dubbed "Travis pickin.'" A 2016 KET Production.

2026 Kentucky General Assembly Live

Headwaters: Real Stories from Rural America

Rough Side of the Mountain

Two southwest Virginia towns, Trammel and Ivanhoe, attempt to recover from the closings of manufacturing plants and mining companies. But their grassroots community-organizing efforts are stymied by the "steel ceiling" often encountered by poor rural communities as they struggle to develop new economies in an increasingly global system. A 2003 Production.

2026 Kentucky General Assembly Live

Conversations with Champions

Jim Host

Host Billy Reed talks with Kentucky entrepreneur Jim Host, chair of the Louisville Arena Authority, which recently opened the new KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville. A Georgetown College production. A 2011 KET Production.

Movies of Color: Black Southern Cinema

Examines African American independent filmmaking in the South between 1915 and 1945, highlighting the films of Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams, Eloyce Gist, and Clarence Muse. Produced by independent Kentucky filmmaker Tom Thurman. A 2001 KET Production.

Hey Cartooners!

Jule Huffman entertained the tri-state area as Mr. Cartoon for nearly three decades, but his legacy was bigger than his television personality. Those who knew him well recount his life story, starting from his childhood during the Great Depression, through World War II, into the early days of television and beyond the turn of the century. A 2025 production.

Kentucky Life

New Theme Song - Kentucky Bound; Glema Mahr Center for the Arts; Fort Ancient Native Americans

Go into the recording studio with Doug Flynn and songwriter Greg Austin as "Kentucky Life" debuts its new theme song "Kentucky Bound", the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts in Madisonville showcases regionally and nationally known performers, and learn more about Native American life in northern Kentucky prior to Columbus. A 2016 KET Production.

Kentucky Afield

Rabbit Hunt, Trophy Crappie, Invasive Plant Species

We're rabbit hunting with the beagles in Shelby County, fishing Dale Hollow Lake for trophy-sized crappie and battling invasive plant species from the air in the Rockcastle River Wildlife Management Area. A 2026 production.

Tim Farmer's Country Kitchen (KET)

Tomato Gravy, Cola Chocolate Cake

Tim and Nicki revisit the flavors of their childhood, sharing beloved family recipes. Tim recalls his favorite comfort dish - thick tomato gravy spooned over homemade butter biscuits - and shows how to use it two ways, including piling it onto a sourdough sandwich with cornmeal-coated bacon. For dessert, they finish on a sweet note with a rich, fudgy cola chocolate cake topped with classic cola icing. A 2026 production.

Kentucky Collectibles

Martin Ukulele and Heirloom Jewelry

The 5th season of Kentucky Collectibles continues with an appraisal of a Martin Ukulele passed down through a family for generations and some heirloom jewelry that once went missing! A 2016 KET Production.

Kentucky Edition

January 22, 2026

Movies of Color: Black Southern Cinema

Examines African American independent filmmaking in the South between 1915 and 1945, highlighting the films of Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams, Eloyce Gist, and Clarence Muse. Produced by independent Kentucky filmmaker Tom Thurman. A 2001 KET Production.

Kentucky Afield

Rabbit Hunt, Trophy Crappie, Invasive Plant Species

We're rabbit hunting with the beagles in Shelby County, fishing Dale Hollow Lake for trophy-sized crappie and battling invasive plant species from the air in the Rockcastle River Wildlife Management Area. A 2026 production.

Headwaters: Real Stories from Rural America

Rough Side of the Mountain

Two southwest Virginia towns, Trammel and Ivanhoe, attempt to recover from the closings of manufacturing plants and mining companies. But their grassroots community-organizing efforts are stymied by the "steel ceiling" often encountered by poor rural communities as they struggle to develop new economies in an increasingly global system. A 2003 Production.