Uncommon Knowledge
Encyclopedia
Uncommon Knowledge was a weekly 30-minute current affairs show hosted by Peter Robinson
and co-produced and presented by San Jose, California
, PBS
member station KTEH
from 1997 to 2005. It was distributed first by American Public Television
and later by PBS
to public television stations throughout the United States
and internationally by NPR
Worldwide.
The show was funded by various foundations and organizations, including the conservative John M. Olin Foundation
and produced by the Hoover Institution
(where Peter Robinson is a fellow
).
produced a sporadic series of for-web interviews involving Peter Robinson called Directors' Forum Video. In July 2007, these Directors' Forum Video webcasts were rebranded under the old Uncommon Knowledge moniker, starting with the newly produced episode "Land of Lincoln."
Starting in 2008, each of these new webcasts premiers on National Review Online in five parts throughout the week before being published on the Hoover Institution
web site, Facebook
, YouTube
, and other social media outlets.In addition, the Hoover Institution posts each upcoming episodes as a podcast entitled Uncommon Knowledge, which can be downloaded via iTunes
, or as part of the Hoover Institution
iTunes U download page. New episodes are published every other week. Viewers are permitted to suggest guests and ask questions of upcoming guests to be selected by the Uncommon Knowledge team, and/or Peter Robinson, the interviewer/host. The viewers whose questions are selected often win the book[s] or publication[s] of the guests being interviews.
The show interacts with viewers via social media such as Facebook
, Twitter
, and Ricochet.com.
Before the show's transition into a contiguous program in 2008, the show would typically invite up to three guests with opposing points of view on controversial issues and/or matters of international/public policy to debate each other on the air. Robinson moderated and posited devil's advocate
–type arguments, recited quotations to elicit the perspectives of his guests, and questioned his guests. After several segments the show concluded with Robinson asking the guests to predict what the future holds for the issue in question. He would also invite individual guests for one on one interviews, using much of the same interview style.
In its rebirth transition from 2007-2008,and then in its reinstatement in 2008, it adopted the style of a more classic interview program, with up to three guests, but not ones designed to disagree or debate. Rather, Robinson finds like minded or intellectually connected guests to create a more basic interview style, employing the same tactics as previously to elicit the whole of a singular perspective, with guests that would disagree, but not in the radically opposing sides format the program had previously favored. Primarily however, departing from the pre-2008 style, Robinson mostly invites single guests to do one on one interviews and discuss the opinions and ideas of the individual guest.
Background:
Before the 2007-2008 transition, and the '08 rebirth, the background for the program was that of a definitive setting, a room filled with historical and unusual objects, faded artifacts and items, antique furniture, etc., surrounding the wooden interview table. During the '07-'08 revival period, as well as the permanent revival in 2008, the background moved to the classic style interview program background with a plain black background, wooden table,chairs,and carpet, with some brief experimentations around that setup.
Archives of streaming video, transcripts, and MP3
audio are available from the website for most episodes after 2000. For previous years, transcripts are available, though over time some videotapes of these episodes have been recovered and are being posted on YouTube
under the account name "UKHoover" and "HooverInstitution."
Peter Robinson (speechwriter)
Peter Mark Robinson is an American author, research fellow, television host and former speechwriter for then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan. He is currently the host of Uncommon Knowledge, an interview show by Stanford's Hoover Institution. He is also a research fellow...
and co-produced and presented by San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station KTEH
KTEH
KQEH is a public television station in San Jose, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as a PBS member station on channel 54. The station is owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting with sister-stations KQED in San Francisco and KQET in Watsonville, the latter mirroring KQED.Until...
from 1997 to 2005. It was distributed first by American Public Television
American Public Television
American Public Television is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States.-History:...
and later by PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
to public television stations throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and internationally by NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
Worldwide.
The show was funded by various foundations and organizations, including the conservative John M. Olin Foundation
John M. Olin Foundation
John M. Olin Foundation was a grant-making foundation established in 1953 by John M. Olin, president of the Olin Industries chemical and munitions manufacturing businesses. Unlike most non-profit foundations, the John M. Olin Foundation was charged to spend all of its assets within a generation of...
and produced by the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
(where Peter Robinson is a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
).
Revival
In 2006 and 2007, the Hoover InstitutionHoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
produced a sporadic series of for-web interviews involving Peter Robinson called Directors' Forum Video. In July 2007, these Directors' Forum Video webcasts were rebranded under the old Uncommon Knowledge moniker, starting with the newly produced episode "Land of Lincoln."
Starting in 2008, each of these new webcasts premiers on National Review Online in five parts throughout the week before being published on the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
web site, Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and other social media outlets.In addition, the Hoover Institution posts each upcoming episodes as a podcast entitled Uncommon Knowledge, which can be downloaded via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, or as part of the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
iTunes U download page. New episodes are published every other week. Viewers are permitted to suggest guests and ask questions of upcoming guests to be selected by the Uncommon Knowledge team, and/or Peter Robinson, the interviewer/host. The viewers whose questions are selected often win the book[s] or publication[s] of the guests being interviews.
The show interacts with viewers via social media such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, and Ricochet.com.
Format
Style:Before the show's transition into a contiguous program in 2008, the show would typically invite up to three guests with opposing points of view on controversial issues and/or matters of international/public policy to debate each other on the air. Robinson moderated and posited devil's advocate
Devil's advocate
In common parlance, a devil's advocate is someone who, given a certain argument, takes a position he or she does not necessarily agree with, just for the sake of argument. In taking such position, the individual taking on the devil's advocate role seeks to engage others in an argumentative...
–type arguments, recited quotations to elicit the perspectives of his guests, and questioned his guests. After several segments the show concluded with Robinson asking the guests to predict what the future holds for the issue in question. He would also invite individual guests for one on one interviews, using much of the same interview style.
In its rebirth transition from 2007-2008,and then in its reinstatement in 2008, it adopted the style of a more classic interview program, with up to three guests, but not ones designed to disagree or debate. Rather, Robinson finds like minded or intellectually connected guests to create a more basic interview style, employing the same tactics as previously to elicit the whole of a singular perspective, with guests that would disagree, but not in the radically opposing sides format the program had previously favored. Primarily however, departing from the pre-2008 style, Robinson mostly invites single guests to do one on one interviews and discuss the opinions and ideas of the individual guest.
Background:
Before the 2007-2008 transition, and the '08 rebirth, the background for the program was that of a definitive setting, a room filled with historical and unusual objects, faded artifacts and items, antique furniture, etc., surrounding the wooden interview table. During the '07-'08 revival period, as well as the permanent revival in 2008, the background moved to the classic style interview program background with a plain black background, wooden table,chairs,and carpet, with some brief experimentations around that setup.
Archives of streaming video, transcripts, and MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
audio are available from the website for most episodes after 2000. For previous years, transcripts are available, though over time some videotapes of these episodes have been recovered and are being posted on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
under the account name "UKHoover" and "HooverInstitution."