Today sees the PBS debut of award-winning documentarian KEN BURNS’ new film, THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA. The six hour film examines the history and maintenance of our parks from 1851 to 1980. We spoke with BURNS recently and he explained why he ended the series almost thirty years ago:

But BURNS’ interest in the parks isn’t just academic. Listen in as the filmmaker explains his very personal reason for this project:

THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA premieres today on PBS in several markets