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Russia's Solovetsky Islands, less than 100 miles from the Arctic Circle, have become a popular tourist destination. Originally an outpost of the Orthodox Church, they later became home to a brutal prison. Now, islanders and church officials are battling for control.

Airs Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV

Nowhere is the Volga River more hallowed than in the city named after it: Volgograd, better known as Stalingrad, site of one of World War II's most important, and bloodiest, battles. Today, Volgograd residents are still adjusting to the post-Soviet changes that have altered Russia.

The contradictions of today's Russia are evident along the banks of the Volga River. In the post-Soviet world, personal freedoms, unshackled capitalism and the paradox of Vladimir Putin's centralized state controls run on a parallel course.

'Toy Story 3' and 'The Goonies' Get Special Treatment

Have you studied up on the candidates and propositions that will appear on your local ballot? Professors Glen Sparrow and Carl Luna join us to provide their analysis of the most important local races. Plus, KPBS Reporter Tom Fudge discusses the propositions that could reform state government.

Harry Houdini was known for escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets and water tanks, but his greatest trick was escaping from the dustbin of history. A new exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York asks how Houdini's fame managed to survive.

It's been one week since a massive earthquake killed tens of thousands of people in China. Monday marks the first of three days of mourning that will be observed for the victims.

Forget Halloween. In Ukraine, the orange vegetable is scary, for real. It is synonymous with rejection, especially in matters of the heart. For centuries, men proposing marriage might have received a pumpkin as a form of "no."

The crisis in the northwestern part of Haiti seems to have stabilized, but many more people may be carrying the cholera bacteria without showing symptoms. Doctors and aid groups are rushing to quell the outbreak.