Robert Redford celebrates unsung heroes

Robert Redford calls them "a rare combination of saint, politician and hard-nosed businessperson." He also calls these people "the new heroes."

Redford hosts "The New Heroes," a four-hour, two-night series about people who are applying business skills to solving social ills (and in the process sometimes placing themselves in life-and-death situations).

Early in Episode 1, the series heads to India to follow Kailash Satyarthi on a harrowing slave camp raid.

A world away in San Francisco, Mimi Silbert runs Delancey Street Foundation, whose various businesses have given substance abusers, former felons and others in trouble a chance to turn their lives around. More than 14,000 of them have been helped since she founded the foundation in 1971, and it grosses $20 million annually.

"The New Heroes" tells these stories and those of a dozen other "social entrepreneurs" who are alleviating poverty and illness, combating unemployment and violence, and bringing education, opportunity and freedom to poor and marginalized people around the world.

These people, Redford sums up, "are offering hope instead of despair."

"The New Heroes" airs Tuesday and July 5 on PBS (check local listings).

Other shows to look out for:

* It's a little-known battle front for thousands of injured U.S. troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan -- and for the loved ones who receive them. Rehabilitation can represent a long, expensive fight, sometimes forcing family and friends to quit jobs or even move across the country to care for the patient. MSNBC anchor Lester Holt hosts "Coming Home," a one-hour special that follows several service members who now battle physical and psychological challenges, including once mundane chores like grocery shopping and getting dressed. It airs Sunday.

* Chris Fleming is a psychic. Gail Porter is a skeptic. As co-hosts of "Dead Famous: Ghostly Encounters," they beat a path to wherever ghost idols like Marilyn Monroe, Jim Morrison, John Wayne and Frank Sinatra can (maybe) be found -- then see what awaits them. This new weekly series on the Biography Channel promises to be "a supernatural romp of paranormal proportions" as it explores the lives of celebrities in the afterlife. First up: Ol' Blue Eyes. On the ghost hunters' tour: the Thunderbird Lodge on Nevada's Lake Tahoe, where Sinatra reportedly played cards in his heyday, and Cal-Neva, another hotel where a seance is held. "Dead Famous" premieres Tuesday.

* It has 9,000 employees, serves 135 million customers and will have 1.8 billion items listed for sale this year. A new CNBC documentary, "The eBay Effect: Inside a Worldwide Obsession," examines how this company, just 10 years old, has become a world power and a transforming presence in the culture. The program profiles people who make a living selling on eBay, and hears from former users who feel betrayed by company policies they call high-handed. Founder Pierre Omidyar recalls how he got started, and eBay boss Meg Whitman addresses current challenges and controversies, including outrage over fee increases and claims of fraud. In addition, host David Faber (CNBC's "Squawk Box") tries to sell an item of his own on eBay. Will he get a good price? Find out when "The eBay Effect" airs Wednesday.

Frazier Moore can be reached at fmoore@ap.