PBS Readies Week of Shows on Newtown

Starting Feb. 18, PBS will devote a week of shows to the Newtown shooting, it has announced. The "After Newtown" series will include the programs Frontline, Nova, PBS NewsHour, and Washington Week With Gwen Ifill. "PBS is not where you go for breaking news," says the station's head, Paula Kerger. "Where we can add to the conversation is to step back ... and say: 'OK, where are the big issues and where does this take us?'"

Frontline will look at Adam Lanza's youth and relationship with his mother, as well as gun control issues in the US, the Washington Post reports. The Nova episode "Mind of a Rampage Killer" will examine the motivations behind mass shootings, including psychological theories and the question of whether science can help prevent such attacks. (More PBS stories.)