Burt Wolf: Travels and Traditions

Burt takes a lake steamer to the foot of Mount Pilatus and rides the steepest cogwheel railway in the world to the top of a 7,000 foot peak for some of the most impressive views of Switzerland. The he visits the Lion Monument that honors the Swiss Guards who died defending the King of France in 1792. Mark Twain described the monument as the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world. He walks across the Chapel Bridge that was constructed in the first half of the 14th century as a part of the city's fortifications. Burt also tours the Old Town with its fountain squares and painted buildings and the Jesuit Church - the first large scale Baroque church in Switzerland which was constructed in 1666.

Burt visits Ireland's great pilgrimage sites, follows the trails of St. Patrick, investigates the history of Guinness, learns about the most valuable book in Ireland, looks at the great architecture of Dublin and finds out what's good to eat. This program could easily become the basis for your own fascinating tour of Ireland.

Each summer, Burt takes his wife, a selection of his sons and daughter-in-laws and grandchildren to Europe. This program takes an irreverent look at one of their itineraries which includes Prague - the capital of the Czech Republic and Leukerbad in Switzerland. Our editors think it is Burt's contribution to "Reality TV" - somewhere between "Survivor" and "Animal Planet".

We tend to think that the largest groups to immigrate to America were from Italy or Ireland. But that is not the case. The greatest numbers of people to immigrate to America were from Germany. Today, over 60 million Americans consider themselves of German descent. This program, shot on-location in Germany, takes a look at who they were and where they came from.

This program looks at a group of famous photographs that have something to do with eating and drinking, including Halsman's photo of Marilyn Monroe having a hamburger at a drive-in, Cartier-Bresson's picnic near Paris, Duncan's photo of Picasso at lunch. Burt, Jeff Rosenheim, a curator of photograph at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Andy Smith, the editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America and Kathryn Howard Oremland, a graduate of Sotheby's Institute of Art explain why each photograph is important, and the history and significance of the gastronomic elements. The recipe for each food is then demonstrated by a leading chef.

In 1869, Francis Galton, an English anthropologist argued that all talent was the result of heredity. No matter what the skill - from painting a great picture - to inventing a perfect recipe - it was always the result of the genes you received from your parents. Today, we know that he was smart, but wrong. What we are is the result of the interaction of our genes and our environment and our biology is continually altered by our environment. In these programs, Burt interviews a number of famous Taiwanese-Americans who grew up in traditional Taiwanese homes and immigrated to the United States, including an internet billionaire, a top Hollywood director, and a man who builds 6 million bicycles every year. Then, Burt travels to Taiwan to look at the key influences on their lives including one of Taiwan's most famous museums, a train that travels at over 150 miles an hour, big budget martial arts movies, a restaurant that presents dishes based on famous works of Chinese art, and one of the world's greatest choreographers. Burt tries to discover how the early life of these successful people affected the way they think now.

In 1869, Francis Galton, an English anthropologist argued that all talent was the result of heredity. No matter what the skill - from painting a great picture - to inventing a perfect recipe - it was always the result of the genes you received from your parents. Today, we know that he was smart, but wrong. What we are is the result of the interaction of our genes and our environment and our biology is continually altered by our environment. In these programs, Burt interviews a number of famous Taiwanese-Americans who grew up in traditional Taiwanese homes and immigrated to the United States, including an internet billionaire, a top Hollywood director, and a man who builds 6 million bicycles every year. Then, Burt travels to Taiwan to look at the key influences on their lives including one of Taiwan's most famous museums, a train that travels at over 150 miles an hour, big budget martial arts movies, a restaurant that presents dishes based on famous works of Chinese art, and one of the world's greatest choreographers. Burt tries to discover how the early life of these successful people affected the way they think now.

During Burt's 40 years of reporting, he has lived through a half-dozen recessions in the United States and visited dozens of countries during their economic downturns. In this program, he travels across the U.S. talking to people who have made our nation economically stronger - creative entrepreneurs with great imaginations who started small businesses based on their innovative ideas and technology and made fortunes for themselves and the people who helped them get started.