Its name conjures images of America’s mythical past, encoded in the stories and novels of Mark Twain. But today’s Mississippi River is rife with challenges no 19th-century storyteller could have imagined. From issues of basic survival to triumphs of creativity and profit, this program follows the day-to-day lives of those who dwell on the Mississippi. Starting in the town of Cairo, Illinois—where America’s north and south intermingle—the program moves on to Memphis, home of the once-glorious Stax Records and a mecca of blues, soul, and rock ’n’ roll music. Moving through the Delta, viewers meet struggling shrimp fishermen, a Cajun community, survivors of the 1927 floods, and survivors of Katrina. (52 minutes)