Six Millennium Minutes were broadcast during 1999 on PBS stations nationwide.

Murasaki Shikibu writes the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji, 1011. Tony Award-winning actress Betty Buckley reads the words of Lady Murasaki as viewers see 11th century Japanese calligraphy written using authentic implements. Shakahasbi flutes play in the background as the emotional prose captures the universal themes of love and loss captured in the novel written nearly a thousand years ago.

Gutenberg publishes the Bible making books readily available to the masses, 1455. One of the best of approximately forty surviving Gutenberg bibles is seen in great detail, especially its Gothic Latin letters, smudges and all, and its illumination reminiscent of earlier hand-copied versions. Roscoe Lee Browne’s narration reminds the viewers that Gutenberg’s perfection of the printing press launched an information revolution which continues to this day.

Galileo is condemned by the Inquisition for advocating that the earth is not the center of the universe, 1610. Actor Paul Sorvino reads the words of the great Italian scientist whose telescopic observations confirmed the theories of Copernicus and led to years of dispute and his arrest by the church hierarchy. Nearly four hundred years later, astronaut David Scott, from the surface of the moon, reminds viewers that one of the reasons "we got here was because of a gentleman named Galileo."

Seneca Falls, New York, Convention calls for women’s suffrage, 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, read by actress Linda Lavin, states the case for women’s rights, boldly asserting that "all men AND women are created equal" and calling for women’s suffrage at the world’s first women’s rights convention. Headlines from newspapers of the era demonstrate that the fight would not be easy or short. It took seventy-two years before American women got the right to vote.

Pablo Picasso paints Guernica to protest the Nazi bombing of the defenseless town during the Spanish Civil War, 1937. Rare footage and photographs of Picasso painting the renowned mural are inter-cut with newsreel film which parallel the painting’s images. An angry Picasso declared, in words read by Academy Award-nominee Bruce Davison, "Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war against the enemy:"

Nelson Mandela is elected president of Apartheid-free Republic of South Africa, 1994. The words of Nelson Mandela from his autobiography, A Long Road to Freedom, read by actor Joe Morton, along with poignantly edited news footage, capture Mandela’s feeling on Election Day after years of imprisonment and struggle. The long lines of people waiting to vote "for the first time in their lives" were, for Mandela, like "seeing his nation re-born."

"We have to ensure that our unique, vibrant cultural life flourishes in the new century and that our rich history is treasured and preserved.

"I am pleased that....a nationally televised series of Millennium Minutes spotlight a thousand years of important people , events and achievements."