Dolly Parton's New Album 'Pure & Simple' & More Set for Tonight's MetroFocus on THIRTEEN

The award-winning series MetroFocus premieres new episodes in the New York and tri-state region weeknights at 5 p.m. on WLIW21, 5:30 p.m. on NJTV and 6 p.m. on THIRTEEN. All episodes are available at metrofocus.org following the broadcast.

The episode descriptions for tonight, Thursday, August 25 follow below. Please note episode descriptions are subject to change. Please visit metrofocus.org for the latest information.

Thursday, August 25 at 5:00 p.m. on WLIW21, 5:30 p.m. on NJTV and 6:00 p.m. on THIRTEEN

Zika & Other Threats - Late last year, an unusually high number of babies were born in Brazil with abnormally small heads, a condition called microcephaly. The birth defect soon became linked with a mosquito-borne virus called Zika. Since the initial outbreak, the Zika virus has been named a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. But Zika isn't the first public health emergency in recent memory. In 2014, the world watched in horror as the deadly EBOLA virus ripped through West Africa, leaving 10,000 dead. Both viruses are examples of zoonotic diseases, or spillover infections, a term used to define diseases that originate and spread from animals. This is exacerbated by the fact that as our population grows, we are forced to have greater interactions with the wildlife that surrounds us. Veterinarian, epidemiologist, and Associate Vice President of Conservation Medicine at EcoHealth Alliance Dr. Jonathan Epstein joins us to talk about these diseases and his role in a new PBS documentary, Spillover-- Zika, EBOLA & Beyond.

Unseen Black History - If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the pictures in this project make up a lifetime story. The New York Times unearthed never before seen images from Black history drawn from old negatives buried in their archives. Once found, editors combed through 5 million photographs and 300,000 negatives to culminate in a project titled "Unpublished Black History." During Black History Month this year, The New York Times ran pieces of the project with an explanation of their backstories and historical significance. We will speak to two of the editors on the project, New York Times' photo editor Darcy Eveleigh and reporter Rachel Swarns to learn more about it.

Dolly Parton's Pure & Simple - You know her for her hits like "Jolene," "I Will Always Love You," and "9 to 5, and now legendary singer, songwriter and philanthropist Dolly Parton is back on MetroFocus! This time, she is out traveling the country to promote her 43rd studio album Pure and Simple, in her largest North American tour in 25 years. She took some time out of her busy schedule to talk to us about her life, decade-spanning career, and her new music that is selling out shows around the nation.