Other than the History Channel and the Simpsons, I’m not much of a TV person. But there is one intelligent weeknight show in the general wasteland of network programming.

Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea on CNBC is a celebration of entrepreneurship. His guests have included Bill Gates and other icons, but far more interesting are the small-time entrepreneurs you’ve never heard of. Last night one women struck it big with the invention of a mundane toilet paper product.

Just about every entrepreneur tells a story of an initial idea, a struggle to find financing and distributors, and the overcoming of naysayer friends and established businesses. Many of the stories also reveal that economic growth has less to do with formal education than with a citizenry infused with a can-do spirit. 

Kudos to CNBC and Donny Deutsch, and thank god for American entrepreneurs.