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Miles O’Brien’s new docuseries ‘Resolve to Solve’ tackles global challenges

Five-part series to air on NMPBS explores science and human ingenuity

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“Resolve to Solve with Miles O’Brien” will rebroadcast at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, on World channel 5.4. The next three episodes will broadcast at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. The final episode will air at 9 p.m. Sept. 12, on channel 5.4. All episodes will be available to stream on the PBS app and PBS YouTube channel after each broadcast.

Journalist Miles O’Brien is used to traveling the world to capture newsworthy stories.

About two years ago, when Arizona PBS reached out to O’Brien about creating a docuseries, he was on board.

“This project was done backwards,” O’Brien says. “We had the funding up front and needed to figure out what stories to tell in order to make a series that not only educates but starts a conversation of what’s happening in the world.”

The result is the five-part series “Resolve to Solve with Miles O’Brien,” which sees the journalist travel the globe to meet with scientists, innovators and determined problem solvers working to address some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

O’Brien crafted the series to focus on the people behind efforts to curb current global issues.

“Each issue is complex, but I wanted to put the lens not only on the issue, but the people behind each effort,” he says. “This type of storytelling profile helps give the audience a way to connect and understand what’s being done to help these issues.”

The first episode was released on Aug. 19 and will rebroadcast at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, on World channel 5.4. It is also available to stream on the PBS app and PBS YouTube channel. The next three episodes will broadcast at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. The final episode will air at 9 p.m. Sept. 12, on channel 5.4.

According to NMPBS, across five episodes O’Brien explores how science and human ingenuity are tackling some of the defining challenges of our time. He follows researchers reducing methane emissions from cattle, ecologists restoring landscapes with beavers, engineers reinventing cities for extreme heat, communities navigating the promise and tradeoffs of offshore wind, farmers adapting to a shrinking Colorado River, neuroscientists transforming the treatment of brain disorders, and energy pioneers unlocking the potential of geothermal energy.

“Over the past 30 years, I’ve traveled to every corner of the globe, covering science — from the depths of the ocean to the frontiers of space,” O’Brien says. “One thing has become clear — behind every breakthrough are passionate people who refuse to accept that our biggest problems are unsolvable. ‘Resolve to Solve’ is my attempt to tell those stories.”

O’Brien says working with Scott Woelfel, Arizona PBS general manager, on the project has been fulfilling. Woelfel echoes the sentiment and says this series helps simplify complex issues and Arizona PBS is proud to be a collaborator on the project.

“Public media plays an essential role in helping audiences engage with complex issues through storytelling that inspires and builds understanding,” Woelfel says. “In ‘Resolve to Solve with Miles O’Brien,’ viewers come face-to-face with the scientists, innovators and changemakers whose work reminds us of what is possible.”

Arizona PBS hosted a premiere in Flagstaff on Aug. 14 to kick off the series.

O’Brien was impressed with the conversations that started after the premiere episode aired.

“The audience really inspired me and I want those conversations to start,” he says. “There aren’t many people who know that a strange seaweed could be what helps take methane from cows out of the air. Or that the scientist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory watched a PBS show and left her job to bring attention to how beavers can build a new habitat. I want people to have these conversations. All I can do is tell these stories the best I can and hope that it sparks a little something.”

Adrian Gomez is a freelance writer for the ϼ. He works for the New Mexico Film Office, focusing on industry research.