American Experience
American Experience

American Experience

1988 37 Seasons 396 Episodes ⭐ 6.5 Documentary

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Seasons & Episodes

EP 1

The Great San Francisco Earthquake

From Enrico Caruso to the ordinary San Franciscan, this film presents vivid memories of those trapped in the terrifying

EP 2

Radio Bikini

While the U.N. debated strategies for control of atomic energy, the U.S. Navy was preparing two highly-publicized nuclea

EP 3

Indians, Outlaws and Angie Debo

As a child in 1899, Angie Debo was taken to Oklahoma in a covered wagon. She would become her state's most controversial

EP 4

Eric Sevareid's Not So Wild A Dream

A touching memoir beginning with life in a small Minnesota town and taking us through a young man's early days as pacifi

EP 5

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

An original look through newsreels, war department films, posters and interviews with five, real-life "Rosies" about the

EP 6

Do You Mean There Are Still Real Cowboys?

A year in the life of Wyoming cowboys and the ranching families who have lived in Big Piney for six generations. Althoug

EP 7

Kennedy vs. Wallace: A Crisis Up Close

An intimate portrait of the Kennedy brothers and their confrontation with Alabama Governor George Wallace when he defied

EP 8

Geronimo and the Apache Resistance

The story of a tragic collision of two civilizations, each with startlingly different views of one another. In 1886, 5,0

EP 9

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Revisited

An updated look at the Alabama tenant families that Walker Evans and James Agee documented in their 1936 Pulitzer Prize-

EP 10

That Rhythm, Those Blues

The evolution of rhythm and blues through the careers of singers Ruth Brown and Charles Brown, from the 1940s into the 5

EP 11

The Radio Priest

Father Charles Coughlin, a Roman Catholic priest from Michigan, uses the new power of radio to become one of the first m

EP 12

Hearts and Hands

The design and art of quilting yields intimate clues about the lives of 19th century women, who stitched their personal

EP 13

Views of a Vanishing Frontier

The journey of Prince Maximilian, German naturalist, and artist Karl Bodmer, who explored the Mississippi River area fro

EP 14

Eudora Welty: One Writer's Beginnings

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Eudora Welty narrates the story of her own Southern childhood and early artistic developme

EP 15

The World That Moses Built

From the late 1920s through the 1960s, Robert Moses held almost total power over the landscape of New York. He built bri

EP 16

Sins of Our Mothers

A Gothic tale of sin and redemption in 19th century New England. A small town in Maine reacts to the unconventional beha

EP 1

The Great Air Race of 1924

The first around-the-world air race, sponsored by the Army Air Service to prove that the airplane had a commercial futur

EP 2

Demon Rum

Prohibition's effect on Detroit, Michigan, the first major American city to "go dry," where smuggling liquor across the

EP 3

A Family Gathering

Lise Yasui explores three generations of her Japanese-American family - from their immigration to Oregon in the early 19

EP 4

The Great War: 1918

All lingering 19th-century notions of the romance of battle were replaced by the terrible reality of 20th-century mechan

EP 5

Wildcatter: A Story of Texas Oil

The tale of mavericks whose risk-taking, sweat and dreams changed an American industry. Starting with Spindletop, the fi

EP 6

Forever Baseball

There is hardly a city, town or village without a baseball diamond. More than a game, baseball is a tradition, rite of p

EP 7

Mr. Sears' Catalogue

They started selling watches. Then Richard Sears and Alva Curtis Roebuck started a revolution -- a "wish book" that made

EP 8

Yosemite: The Fate of Heaven

A stunning film portrait of Yosemite National Park. The film's narration is taken from using the 1851 diary of the first

EP 9

Adam Clayton Powell

Affluent, handsome, light-skinned and blond, he could pass for white. But his message about "economics and jobs" would m

EP 10

Journey to America

A tribute to the twelve million people who emigrated to the U.S. between 1890 and 1920. A recapturing of the journey thr

EP 11

Ballad of a Mountain Man

Bascom Lamar Lunsford was a pioneer folklorist who in the 1920s began a campaign to preserve mountain music and dance. H

EP 12

Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice

Born into slavery, she became a journalist and newspaper owner in Memphis, and was radicalized following the lynching of

EP 13

Orphans of the Storm

In the summer of 1940, as the German Luftwaffe began its assault on England, 10,000 British children were sent on a peri

EP 14

Forbidden City, USA

Before WWII, San Francisco's Chinatown was a separate world, closed to outsiders, ruled by rigid homeland customs. But i

EP 15

Battle for Wilderness

The first major battle for wilderness preservation erupted over the building of Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite National Pa

EP 16

Roots of Resistance: The Story of the Underground Railroad

Men and women, black and white, risked their lives to carve an elaborate network of escape routes out of slavery in the

EP 1

Lindbergh

At 25, Charles A. Lindbergh arrived in Paris, the first man to fly across the Atlantic -- handsome, talented, and brave

EP 2

Nixon

He possessed a fateful combination of strengths and weaknesses that propelled him to the White House and then brought hi

EP 3

God Bless America and Poland, Too

Frank Popiolek was 14 when he came to America in 1911, one of 2 million Polish immigrants who made the journey. He settl

EP 4

Insanity on Trial

On July 2, 1881, Charles Julius Guiteau shot and fatally wounded President James A. Garfield in the lobby of the Baltimo

EP 5

The Satellite Sky

Few events shocked America more than the news in 1957 that Russia had launched the first satellite. It was an assault on

EP 6

The Crash of 1929

In 1929, while the stock market was rising, there were few critics. It was a "New Era" when everyone could get rich. But

EP 7

The Iron Road

A tale of high adventure, enormous human effort and engineering brilliance. On May 2, 1869, when the last railroad spike

EP 8

French Dance Tonight

When French settlers, exiled from Nova Scotia, migrated to Louisiana in the 1750s, they mixed with African Americans, Af

EP 9

After the Crash

After the stock market crashed in 1929, thousands suffered unemployment and poverty in the Great Depression. The most de

EP 10

Los Mineros

The story of Mexican American miners -- "los mineros" -- whose pitched labor battles, beginning with the first strike in

EP 11

Coney Island

Before there was Disneyland, there was Coney Island. By the turn of the century, this tiny spit of New York real estate

EP 1

LBJ (1)

LBJ's career started in 1938 when he was elected a congressman, one of the youngest ever. He was elected to the Senate i

EP 2

LBJ (2)

Lyndon Johnson's ascension to the Presidency and the controversial events of his tenure such as the Great Society and th

EP 3

The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry

The first officially formed regiment of northern black soldiers who fought in the Civil War, the 54th's roster included

EP 4

Scandalous Mayor

James Michael Curley dominated Boston's politics for almost half a century, building a sophisticated political machine b

EP 5

The Johnstown Flood

By an abandoned earthen dam, at a mountain resort 14 miles up the valley, the leaders of industry and their families cre

EP 6

Pearl Harbor: Surprise and Remembrance

The shock of what happened on December 7, 1941 has made Pearl Harbor a synonym for deceit and unpreparedness. Produced f

EP 7

G-Men: The Rise of J. Edgar Hoover

The rise of the FBI from a minor government bureaucracy to the premiere law enforcement agency in the world under the co

EP 8

Duke Ellington: Reminiscing in Tempo

At a time when black and white musicians rarely performed together, when black musicians were exploited by record compan

EP 9

The Quiz Show Scandal

When CBS premiered The $64,000 Question in 1955, the show was more than a hit; it was a national phenomenon. More quiz s

EP 10

Love in the Cold War

Eugene Dennis fled to Moscow to avoid indictment and prison for his work for the American Communist Party in the late 19

EP 11

Wild by Law

For years there was no federal law to protect the shrinking wilderness from encroaching industry and tourism, until thre

EP 12

Barnum's Big Top

P.T. Barnum was huckster, con man, promoter and entertainer. His American Museum featured ancient relics side by side wi

EP 13

In the White Man's Image

In 1875, in St. Augustine, Florida, an ambitious experiment was conceived -- to teach Native Americans to become imitati

EP 1

The Kennedys (1): The Father, 1900-61

No family has had such a powerful hold on the American imagination. A saga of ambition, wealth, family loyalty and perso

EP 2

The Kennedys (2): The Sons, 1961-80

No family has had such a powerful hold on the American imagination. A saga of ambition, wealth, family loyalty and perso

EP 3

The Donner Party

Of all the 19th century pioneer stories, none exerts so powerful a hold on the American imagination as this, during the

EP 4

Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II

EP 5

George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn't Be King

He was bumbling, yet ambitious. He volunteered to serve his country, but insisted on being reimbursed for expenses. He w

EP 6

Last Stand at Little Big Horn

In 1876, when the U.S. Army planned its biggest Indian campaign yet against Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, General George

EP 7

If You Knew Sousa

John Phillip Sousa became America's favorite bandmaster, but band music wasn't Sousa's only passion. He was the first to

EP 8

Simple Justice

Thirty years after the Supreme Court's "separate but equal" ruling, lawyer Charles Hamilton took over Howard University'

EP 9

Knute Rockne and His Fighting Irish

When he died in 1931 in a plane crash on his way to Hollywood to sign a film contract, the President called it a "nation

EP 10

Sit Down And Fight

In 1936, Walter Reuther led one of the bitterest, bloodiest battles ever fought in the history of the American labor mov

EP 11

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

She had been a biologist for the federal government when she first took note of the effects of the unregulated use of pe

EP 12

Goin' Back to T-Town

In Tulsa, the community of Greenwood was a place where blacks had some measure of financial, social and political indepe

EP 20

Ishi: The Last Yahi Indian

When "Ishi," the last surviving member of a small Indian tribe, walked into the small California town of Oroville in 191

EP 1

Amelia Earhart: The Price of Courage

The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart was one of America's first celebrities. After only a few

EP 2

The Hunt for Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, was the culmination of years of bloody incidents along the border. For Amer

EP 3

Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower was a decorated general, a skillful politician, a tough Cold War adversary and one of America's lea

EP 4

The Hurricane of '38

The Hurricane of '38 chronicles the lives of fishermen, residents and vacationers on the day before the storm, following

EP 5

Ishi: The Last Yahi Indian

The last surviving member of a California Indian tribe became a sensation in 1911, but the contact brought him terrible

EP 6

Malcolm X: Make It Plain

If any man expressed the anger, struggle and insistence of black people for freedom in the sixties, it was Malcolm X. In

EP 7

America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference

Complex social and political factors shaped America's response to the Holocaust, from Kristallnacht in 1938 through the

EP 8

D-Day Remembered

It was truly a "battle of the world," a pivotal turning point in history, and the most dramatic single event in WWII. A

EP 1

FDR (1): The Center of the World (1882-1921)

Polio at age 39, president at age 50. Explore the public and private life of a determined man who steered the United Sta

EP 2

FDR (2): Fear Itself (1922-1933)

In this second episode, the subject is FDR's courageous fight with polio. With his wife Eleanor Roosevelt at his side, F

EP 3

FDR (3): The Grandest Job in the World (1933-1940)

In episode 3, the subject is FDR's leadership of America during the Great Depression. The nation turned to this son of g

EP 4

FDR (4): The Juggler (1940-1945)

The portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt concludes with his years as preside (1932 until his death in 1945), how he dea

EP 5

Telegrams from the Dead

For 40 years, a new religion called spiritualism affected the nation as no other ever had. Abraham Lincoln, P.T. Barnum,

EP 6

Midnight Ramble

The little-known story of a black independent film industry that thrived outside of Hollywood and produced close to 500

EP 7

Battle of the Bulge

The history of World War II's "Battle of the Bulge", when the German army launched a major surprise counteroffensive aga

EP 10

One Woman, One Vote

From Elizabeth Cady Stanton's electrifying call to arms at Seneca Falls in 1848, to the last battle for passage of the N

EP 11

The Way West (1): Westward, the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (1845-1864)

A six-hour documentary of how the West was lost and won, from the time of the Gold Rush in 1848 until after the last gas

EP 12

The Way West (2): The Approach of Civilization (1865-1869)

A six-hour documentary of how the West was lost and won, from the time of the Gold Rush in 1848 until after the last gas

EP 13

The Way West (3): The War for the Black Hills (1870-1876)

A six-hour documentary of how the West was lost and won, from the time of the Gold Rush in 1848 until after the last gas

EP 14

The Way West (4): Ghost Dance (1877-1893)

A six-hour documentary of how the West was lost and won, from the time of the Gold Rush in 1848 until after the last gas

EP 1

Murder of the Century

In 1906, the murder of Stanford White, New York architect and man-about-town, by Harry K. Thaw, heir to a Pittsburgh rai

EP 2

Edison's Miracle of Light

In 1878, Thomas Edison announced his intention to harness Niagara Falls and produce a safe, electric light system. He sa

EP 3

Chicago 1968

While America was reeling from the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King and public outcry against the

EP 4

The Orphan Trains

In the mid 19th century, thousands of children roamed the streets of New York in search of money, food and shelter. In a

EP 5

Freedom on My Mind

In the summer of 1964, two groups converged in Mississippi: one mostly young, white and well educated from out of state;

EP 6

Daley: The Last Boss

Richard J. Daley was born on a street he would never leave and christened in the small church in which he would be burie

EP 7

The Battle Over Citizen Kane

A thinly-veiled portrait of the immensely powerful newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, the movie created a buzz l

EP 8

The Wright Stuff

Theirs is a quintessential American story of two midwestern boys who believed they could break the barrier of the air, s

EP 9

Spy in the Sky

In the spring of 1960, Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Overnight, this top-secre

EP 1

T.R.: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (1): The Long Campaign

TR is born into a wealthy New York family that has a strong sense of social justice. He fights his severe asthma through

EP 2

T.R.: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (2): The Bully Pulpit

After McKinley's assassination, Roosevelt becomes an "accidental" president. Seeing himself as a crusader, TR uses the p

EP 3

The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie

A look at the poor emigrant boy who built a fortune in railroads and steel, and, unlike any industrialist of his time, b

EP 4

Hawaii's Last Queen

Liliu'okalani moved easily between two worlds -- she had dined at the White House, had been a guest at Buckingham Palace

EP 5

The Telephone

At first rented only "to persons of good breeding," seen as an expensive luxury for doctors and businessmen, within a de

EP 6

Big Dream, Small Screen

The little known story of Philo T. Farnsworth, a Utah farm boy who first sketched out his idea for electronic television

EP 7

New York Underground

It began with the blizzard of 1888 -- mountains of snow twenty feet high, horse cars and omnibuses abandoned, the city p

EP 8

Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern

A story of the realities leading to the vanishing role of the family farm in the United States.

EP 9

Around the World in 72 Days

At the age of nineteen, Nellie Bly talked her way into an improbable job on a newspaper, then went on to become "the bes

EP 10

Gold Fever

The 1890's in America were desperate times. A depression brought bank and business failures and forced millions of men a

EP 11

Vietnam: A Television History (Part 1 & 2)

"Vietnam: A Television History" begins by tracing the "Roots of a War" to French colonialism. "America's Mandarin" look

EP 12

Vietnam: A Television History (3): LBJ Goes to War

LBJ Goes to War (1964-65) examines the escalating American involvement following the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Interviewed

EP 13

Vietnam: A Television History (4): America Takes Charge

In "America Takes Charge (1965-67)," GIs recall combat experiences during the years of U.S. military escalation. Also: a

EP 14

Vietnam: A Television History (5): America's Enemy

As "Vietnam: A Television History" continues, "America's Enemy (1954-67)" examines the escalating war from the point of

EP 15

Vietnam: A Television History (6): Tet 1968

Vietnam: A Television History": TV-news footage graphically recalls "Tet 1968," the bold North Vietnamese and Vietcong o

EP 16

Vietnam: A Television History (7): Vietnamizing the War

"Vietnam: A Television History": The gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and their replacement by the South Vietnamese are

EP 17

Vietnam: A Television History (8): Cambodia and Laos

America's involvement in—and secret bombing of—Cambodia and Laos are chronicled as "Vietnam: A Television History" c

EP 18

Vietnam: A Television History (9): Peace is at Hand

"Vietnam: A Television History": "Peace Is at Hand (1968-73)" recalls the peace negotiations in Paris, including Henry K

EP 19

Vietnam: A Television History (10): Homefront USA

"Vietnam: A Television History - Homefront U.S.A.," traces the widening rift between supporters and opponents of the war

EP 20

Vietnam: A Television History (11): The End of the Tunnel

"Vietnam: A Television History" concludes with "The End of the Tunnel," which recalls the 1973 Paris accords and the sub

EP 30

T.R.: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (3): The Good Fight

TR is just 46 years old when he is inaugurated as president. He builds the Panama Canal, wins the Nobel Prize for Peace,

EP 31

T.R.: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (4): Black Care

TR opposes his old friend Taft for the 1912 Republican nomination. When Taft wins, TR runs for president with his own Pr

EP 1

Truman (1): An Accident of Democracy

A study of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president. Part 1 covers his service during World War I; his accomplishments as a s

EP 2

Truman (2): The Moon, the Stars and All the Planets

Harry S. Truman recalls his post-WWII economic policies; his 1948 presidential campaign; the Korean War; and his celebra

EP 3

A Midwife's Tale

Chronicling the efforts of historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich to gather facts about early American life through the diarie

EP 4

Mr. Miami Beach

Recalling the life of Carl Fisher, the entrepreneur who “sold the glamour of Florida” and turned a swampland into Mi

EP 5

Influenza 1918

Chronicling the epidemic of the Spanish flu in 1918, which claimed “more than 600,000 lives.” Included: futile attem

EP 6

Reagan (1): Lifeguard

The life and legacy of Ronald Reagan are examined in a two-part study, beginning with his impoverished childhood; his st

EP 7

Reagan (2): An American Crusade

The conclusion of a biography of Ronald Reagan focuses on the president's second term and includes his defense-spending

EP 8

Surviving the Dust Bowl

Children of 1930s Plains farmers recall the Dust Bowl, the eight-year drought that was made far worse by the 30 years of

EP 9

Riding the Rails

During the Depression-era 1930's, tens of thousands of teenagers hopped freight trains in search of a better life elsewh

EP 1

America 1900

Over one hundred years ago, Americans looked forward to the uncertainty of a new century with a mixture of confidence, o

EP 2

Race for the Superbomb

At the dawn of the Cold War, the United States initiated a top secret program in New Mexico to build a weapon even more

EP 3

Hoover Dam

Rising more than 700 feet above the raging waters of the Colorado River, it was called one of the greatest engineering w

EP 4

Alone on the Ice

In June 1934, Richard Byrd lay alone in a small hut within the polar ice, hovering near death. No one before Byrd had ev

EP 5

Rescue at Sea

On January 23, 1909, two ships -- one carrying Italian immigrants to New York City, the other, American tourists to Euro

EP 6

Meltdown at Three Mile Island

At 4:00am on March 28, 1979, a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power facility near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania sud

EP 7

Lost in the Grand Canyon

In the summer of 1869, a one-armed Civil War veteran led the first expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand

EP 8

MacArthur (1): Destiny

Part 1 of a two-part biography of Douglas MacArthur takes "America's first soldier" from his brilliant WWI service into

EP 9

MacArthur (2): The Politics of War

The conclusion of "MacArthur" focuses on his "return" to the Philippines in 1944, his years as Supreme Allied Commander

EP 10

Fly Girls

During WWII, more than a thousand women signed up to fly with the U.S. military. Wives, mothers, actresses and debutante

EP 1

New York (1): The Country and the City

The Country and the City, 1609-1825: New York, notes narrator David Ogden Stiers, "was a business proposition from the

EP 2

New York (2): Order and Disorder

"Order and Disorder: 1825-1865" recalls a period of tremendous growth and ferment. Most of the new arrivals were Irish i

EP 3

New York (3): Sunshine and Shadow

"Sunshine and Shadow: 1865-1898" During the Gilded Age, New York "was home to the greatest concentration of wealth in hu

EP 4

New York (4): The Power and the People

"The Power and the People: 1898-1914" recalls the era of mass immigration. "The entire world would arrive on the city's

EP 5

New York (5): Cosmopolis

"Cosmopolis: 1914-1931" recalls the WWI years and the "Roaring '20s" in the city that F. Scott Fitzgerald called "the la

EP 6

Eleanor Roosevelt

Profiling Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of one president, the niece of another and, says historian Geoffrey Wa

EP 7

Houdini

Mandy Patinkin narrates a biography of Harry Houdini (1874-1926) that focuses on his amazing feats (later ones are seen

EP 8

Nixon's China Game

Charting the tortuous three-year gambit that led to Richard Nixon's historic February 1972 visit to the People's Republi

EP 9

The Duel

The duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, narrator Linda Hunt says, was an 1804 gunfight between “the founde

EP 10

John Brown's Holy War

John Brown could be seen as a hero or a madman (perhaps both), but either way, there's no doubt he played a role in igni

EP 11

George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (1)

A haunting two-part profile of George Wallace, who, says narrator Randy Quaid, "divided a nation and launched a conserva

EP 12

George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (2)

The conclusion of a two-part profile of George Wallace (1919-98) focuses on his Presidential campaigns and the 1972 atte

EP 13

Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory

Former slaves spread the gospel of African-American music in an inspiring 2000 chronicle of the 1870s Tennessee vocal gr

EP 14

Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life

An atmospheric profile of Joe DiMaggio (1914-99), baseball's "Yankee Clipper," explores how and why he played what narra

EP 15

The Wizard of Photography

Profiling George Eastman (1854-1932), whose Kodak and Brownie cameras "forever changed the way people see their world,"

EP 1

The Rockefellers (1)

A dramatic two-part profile of the Rockefellers, a family whose name is synonymous with wealth, begins. Part 1 traces ho

EP 2

The Rockefellers (2)

The conclusion of a profile of the Rockefellers explores how John D. Jr. accomplished "the seemingly impossible task of

EP 3

Secrets of a Master Builder

Charting the life on the Mississippi of James B. Eads (1820-1887), "one of the greatest engineering geniuses of all time

EP 4

Return with Honor

Vietnam POWs recall their ordeals -- at times with great poignancy -- in a first-person history that supplements the com

EP 5

Streamliners: America's Last Trains

Recalling the stainless steel trains that crisscrossed the country in high style (and at speeds of greater than 100 mph)

EP 6

Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind

Recalling racial-pride advocate Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), whose grand (some said grandiose) vision included an Africa r

EP 7

Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, Part I

Parts 1 and 2 of a six-part chronicle of the Abraham Lincoln-Mary Todd relationship begins with their childhoods and cou

EP 8

Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, Part II

Parts 3 and 4 of the six-part series. When the Lincolns arrive in Washington, D.C., in 1861, the president-elect is dee

EP 9

Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, Part III

Parts 5 and 6 of a six-part chronicle. The third part recalls 1863, when opposition to the Civil War spread among North

EP 10

Scottsboro: An American Tragedy

Following the 17-year struggle to free nine blacks falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. The str

EP 11

Fatal Flood

Recalling the tidal wave of racial conflict that followed in the wake of the surging Mississippi as it inundated the del

EP 12

Stephen Foster

A profile of quintessentially American composer Stephen Foster features interviews with historian Fath Ruffins, biograph

EP 1

New York (6): The City of Tomorrow

"City of Tomorrow (1929-45)" focuses on Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who used his close ties to FDR to make the city "a gig

EP 2

New York (7): The City and the World

Conclusion. "The City and the World" begins in 1945, with New York "at the pinnacle," says historian David McCullough. B

EP 3

War Letters

War letters from the American Revolution to the Gulf War are read by 15 actors (including Joan Allen, Edward Norton, Kev

EP 4

Woodrow Wilson (1): A Passionate Man

A two-part profile of Woodrow Wilson in which news clips, atmospheric re-creations and readings (Rene Auberjonois and Bl

EP 5

Woodrow Wilson (2): The Redemption of the World

Woodrow Wilson reluctantly enters World War I in an effort to "make the world safe for democracy" as this two-part profi

EP 6

Mount Rushmore

Chronicling the 16-year struggle (1925-41) to fashion Mount Rushmore in South Dakota's Black Hills, and profiling sculpt

EP 7

Miss America

Recalling the 80-year history of the Miss America Pageant and what narrator Cherry Jones calls "a barometer of America's

EP 8

Zoot Suit Riots

"Zoot Suit Riots" recalls a week of violence that rocked Los Angeles in June 1943, pitting Mexican-Americans against Ang

EP 9

Monkey Trial

Recalling the "epic battle" over evolution waged in 1925 by fundamentalist titan William Jennings Bryan and freethinking

EP 10

Public Enemy #1

John Dillinger may have been "Public Enemy No. 1" in 1933 and '34, but Americans didn't reflexively hate him, and this h

EP 11

Ansel Adams

Ric Burns' profile of the photographer whose connection to Yosemite is such that a mountain near the park is named for h

EP 12

A Brilliant Madness

Mathematics genius John Nash recalls his bout with schizophrenia (the subject dramatized in the Oscar-winning film "A Be

EP 13

Ulysses S. Grant (1): The Warrior

A moody two-part biography of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-85). Part 1, "Warrior," quickly sketches his largely unsuccessful p

EP 14

Ulysses S. Grant (2): The President

The conclusion of this biography of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-85) covers the last 20 years of the life of "the most popular

EP 1

Jimmy Carter (1): Jimmy Who?

An evocative two-part profile of Jimmy Carter explores how his career has been shaped by what former speechwriter Hendri

EP 2

Jimmy Carter (2): Hostage

"Hostage," the conclusion of a two-part Jimmy Carter biography, covers his presidency and post-presidency. Human rights

EP 3

Chicago: City of the Century (1): Mudhole to Metropolis

A three-part history based on historian Donald L. Miller's book "City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making

EP 4

Chicago: City of the Century (2): The Revolution Has Begun

A three-part history based on historian Donald L. Miller's book "City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making

EP 5

Chicago: City of the Century (3): Battle for Chicago

A three-part history based on historian Donald L. Miller's book "City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making

EP 6

The Murder of Emmett Till

Recalling the 1955 murder of a 14-year-old black youth in the Mississippi delta, an incident that could very well have l

EP 7

Transcontinental Railroad

Charting the race between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific to construct a transcontinental railroad to link the U.S

EP 8

Partners of the Heart

Chronicling the unlikely partnership between a white surgeon and a black "technician" that led to a procedure to correct

EP 9

The Pill

Charting the development of an oral contraceptive during the 1950s and its effect on "the sexual revolution" of the '60s

EP 10

Daughter from Danang

"Daughter from Danang," an Oscar-nominated documentary, chronicles the tearful reunion of an Amerasian refugee with her

EP 11

Seabiscuit

"Seabiscuit" recalls the squat and ugly racehorse that riveted the nation in the late 1930s. Interviewees include author

EP 12

Bataan Rescue

"Bataan Rescue," narrated by Scott Glenn, recalls the daring January 1945 commando raid that freed 513 survivors of the

EP 13

Murder at Harvard

Historian Simon Schama ("A History of Britain") plays sleuth -- searching, he says, "not for literal truth, but for poet

EP 1

New York (8): The Center of the World

Filmmaker Ric Burns adds a poignant postscript to his series "New York: A Documentary Film" with this chronicle of the W

EP 2

Reconstruction: The Second Civil War (1): Revolution

"Reconstruction: The Second Civil War," a two-part report, follows political leaders and ordinary Americans alike as it

EP 3

Reconstruction: The Second Civil War (2): Retreat

"Reconstruction" concludes by following whites and blacks in Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana between 1867 and 1877

EP 4

Citizen King

"Citizen King," a reverential chronicle of the final five years of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, employs eyewitnes

EP 5

Remember the Alamo

"Remember the Alamo" recalls the contributions of Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) to the struggle for Texan independence. It p

EP 6

Tupperware!

"Modern dishes for modern living" (and they "burped," no less), sold by women at "home parties." This slice of 1950s Ame

EP 7

Emma Goldman

Recalling Emma Goldman (1869-1940), the fiery and formidable radical whose life, says narrator Blair Brown, was "dedicat

EP 8

Patriots Day

"Patriots Day" follows Revolutionary War re-enactors as they prepare to re-fire those shots heard 'round the world on Ap

EP 9

Golden Gate Bridge

Recalling the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, a "graceful leap over an unprecedented space," as narrator David O

EP 1

RFK (Part 1 & 2)

A shy, if driven man, Robert Kennedy "wasn't built for the spotlight, he was built for the wings," says journalist Jack

EP 2

The Fight

"The Fight" recalls the June 1938 heavyweight title bout between Joe Louis and the German Max Schmeling, and assesses it

EP 3

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro's march through Cuba and the second half of the 20th century is chronicled by filmmaker Adriana Bosch. Here

EP 4

Building the Alaska Highway

Recalls the construction of the 1500-mile "shortcut to Tokyo" through Canada in 1942 by 11,000 U.S. troops (4,000 of the

EP 5

Kinsey

Profiling Dr. Alfred Kinsey, the Indiana University zoologist whose "revolutionary picture of American sexuality" rocked

EP 6

Mary Pickford

Profiling Mary Pickford, the silent-screen "sweetheart" who blazed the trail to Hollywood and became "America's first su

EP 7

The Great Transatlantic Cable

Cyrus Field's struggle to lay telegraph cables across the Atlantic in the 1850s and '60s is chronicled. When Field final

EP 8

The Massie Affair

"The Massie Affair" chronicles a 1931 Honolulu rape case involving a young white Navy wife that became even more serious

EP 9

Victory in the Pacific

EP 10

The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

Recalls "the first family of country music" in interviews with Carter relatives, music writers, and singers Gillian Welc

EP 11

Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst

EP 1

Two Days in October

"Two Days in October" recalls two 1967 events -- a Vietcong ambush and a violent antiwar demonstration at the University

EP 2

Race to the Moon

"Race to the Moon" chronicles Apollo 8, the first voyage to the moon. "It was an event beyond all other events," says Wa

EP 3

Las Vegas: An Unconventional History (1): Sin City

The story of the gambling mecca is told via news clips and reminiscences. Part 1 of 2

EP 4

Las Vegas: An Unconventional History (2): American Mecca

News clips and reminiscences tell the story of the gambling mecca, from a dusty railroad town to a leading tourist attra

EP 5

John and Abigail Adams

An engrossing portrait of the second U.S. president and first lady, costars Simon Russell Beale and Linda Emond. Include

EP 6

The Nuremberg Trials

A gripping study of the groundbreaking prosecution, which began Nov. 20, 1945, as Nazi Germany's leaders were held accou

EP 7

Jesse James

A striking profile of the outlaw (1847-82) is told through reenactments, comments from historians and archival photograp

EP 8

Hijacked

A look at the coordinated hijacking of four jetliners in 1970 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, whic

EP 9

Eugene O'Neill

An absorbing profile of the esteemed playwright (1888-1953). Included: excerpts from his plays are performed by Al Pacin

EP 10

The Boy in the Bubble

The absorbing story of David Vetter (1971-84), who had severe combined immunodeficiency and lived inside a sterile plast

EP 11

The Alaska Pipeline

The history of the Alaska Pipeline, which was built in the 1970s to transport oil across 800 miles of pristine wildernes

EP 12

Annie Oakley

An on-target profile of the sharpshooter (1860-1926) who was “the first American woman ever to become a superstar.”

EP 13

The Man Behind Hitler

A profile of Joseph Goebbels (1897-45), who helped launch Hitler's rise to power. Kenneth Branagh provides voice-over re

EP 1

Eyes on the Prize (1 & 2): Awakenings 1954-1956 / Fighting Back 1957-1962

Part 1 of 3 of the award-winning 1987 documentary "Eyes on the Prize." Included: profiles of Mose Wright and Rosa Parks;

EP 2

Eyes on the Prize (3 & 4): Ain't Scared of Your Jails 1960-1961/No Easy Walk 1961-1963

Part 2 of the 1987 documentary "Eyes on the Prize." Included: the 1960 Greensboro, N.C., lunch-counter sit-in; the Stude

EP 3

Eyes on the Prize (5 & 6): Is This America? 1963-1964 / Bridge to Freedom 1965

Conclusion of the 1987 documentary “Eyes on the Prize.” Included: events of 1963 and '64, when Mississippi became a

EP 4

Test Tube Babies

History of in vitro fertilization, traces IVF from an early success with rabbits to the present. Included: controversy a

EP 5

The Great Fever

The history of yellow fever, and how it was determined that the disease was transmitted by mosquitoes. Included: the wor

EP 6

The Gold Rush

A vibrant retelling of the mania that followed the discovery of gold in San Francisco in 1848. "Next to the Civil War in

EP 7

The Berlin Airlift

One of the first skirmishes of the Cold War, the 1948-49 Soviet blockade of rail and road traffic to and from West Berli

EP 8

The Living Weapon

"The Living Weapon" explores the history of America's biological-weapons program, which began in 1942 with a group that

EP 9

New Orleans (1 & 2)

A history of New Orleans, from its origins as a French settlement to its post-Katrina present. Included: archival photos

EP 10

Sister Aimee

A profile of Sister Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944), a popular Pentecostal evangelist during the 1920s and '30s. Incl

EP 11

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

Examines the story behind the November 1978 mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, where more than 900 people were le

EP 12

Summer of Love

In 1967, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district became a mecca for young people seeking free music, free love and cosmi

EP 13

The Mormons (1): History

Historian Sarah Barringer Gordon says of the LDS Church "that from the moment of its birth, Mormons were under a kleig l

EP 14

The Mormons (2): Church and State

An examination of the modern-day LDS Church, including its missionary program; how its followers have entered into the A

EP 15

Alexander Hamilton

A profile of Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first treasury secretary and a leading force in the post-Revolutionary War

EP 1

Oswald's Ghost

Few Americans then or now accept that a lone, inconsequential gunman could bring down a president and alter history. In

EP 2

The Lobotomist

In the 1940s Dr. Walter Freeman gained fame for perfecting the lobotomy, then hailed as a miracle cure for the severely

EP 3

Eyes on the Prize (7 & 8): The Time Has Come/Two Societies

After a decade-long cry for justice, a new sound is heard in the civil rights movement: the insistent call for power. Ma

EP 4

Grand Central

A marvel of engineering, architecture, and vision, the story of the Beaux Arts structure on 42nd Street that forever cha

EP 5

Eyes on the Prize (9 & 10): Power!/The Promised Land

The call for Black Power takes various forms across communities in black America. In Cleveland, Carl Stokes wins electio

EP 6

Eyes on the Prize (11 & 12): Ain't Gonna' Shuffle No More/A Nation of Law?

A call to pride and a renewed push for unity galvanize black America. World heavyweight champion Cassius Clay challenges

EP 7

Eyes on the Prize (13 & 14): The Keys to the Kingdom/Back to the Movement

In the 1970s, antidiscrimination legal rights gained in past decades by the civil rights movement are put to the test. I

EP 8

Kit Carson

An illiterate mountain man, Kit Carson was fluent in Spanish and five Indian languages; he twice married Native American

EP 9

Buffalo Bill

In 1886, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show played to over one million people in New York City. It was one of the most elabor

EP 10

Minik: The Lost Eskimo

In 1897, renowned Arctic explorer Robert Peary returned to New York from his latest Greenland expedition. At the request

EP 11

Walt Whitman

This American Experience tells Whitman's life story, from his working class childhood in Long Island, to his years as a

EP 12

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente is an in-depth look at an exceptional baseball player and committed humanitarian who challenged racial

EP 13

George H.W. Bush (1)

When George. H.W. Bush left the Oval Office in 1992, rejected after one tumultuous presidential term, his 30-year career

EP 14

George H.W. Bush (2)

George H.W. Bush presents the first in-depth assessment of the 41st president of the United States, drawing upon unparal

EP 1

The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer

A brilliant scientist, Oppenheimer was tasked with the development of the atomic bomb in the top-secret Manhattan Projec

EP 2

The Polio Crusade

The story of the polio crusade pays tribute to a time when Americans banded together to conquer a terrible disease. The

EP 3

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Over the next twelve days, a

EP 4

A Class Apart

From a small-town Texas murder emerged a landmark civil rights case. The little-known story of the Mexican American lawy

EP 5

We Shall Remain (1): After the Mayflower

In March of 1621, in what is now southeastern Massachusetts, Massasoit, the leading sachem of the Wampanoag, sat down to

EP 6

We Shall Remain (2): Tecumseh's Vision

In the spring of 1805, Tenskwatawa (actor Billy Merasty, Cree First Nation), a Shawnee, fell into a trance so deep that

EP 7

We Shall Remain (3): Trail of Tears

The Cherokee would call it Nu-No-Du-Na-Tlo-Hi-Lu, “The Trail Where They Cried.” On May 26, 1838, federal troops forc

EP 8

We Shall Remain (4): Geronimo

In February of 1909, the indomitable Chiricahua Apache medicine man Geronimo lay on his deathbed. He summoned his nephew

EP 9

We Shall Remain (5): Wounded Knee

On the night of February 27, 1973, fifty-four cars rolled, horns blaring, into a small hamlet on the Pine Ridge Indian R

EP 1

The Civilian Conservation Corps

One of the most popular New Deal programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps put three million young men to work in the na

EP 2

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp has been portrayed in countless movies and television shows by some of Hollywood's greatest actors, including

EP 3

The Bombing of Germany

From International Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning producer Zvi Dor-Ner (Israel’s Next War, House of Saud) comes

EP 4

Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison lived through the two wars that established the U.S., was friends with the first 12 Presidents, and watch

EP 5

Earth Days

Earth Days looks at the road to April 22, 1970, to the dawn and development of the modern environmental movement through

EP 6

My Lai

What drove a company of American soldiers — ordinary young men from around the country — to commit the worst atrocit

EP 7

Roads to Memphis

On April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King. This is the fateful narrative of the killer and

EP 8

Into the Deep: America, Whaling and the World

The 300-year saga of the American whaling industry, from its origins off the coast of New England, through the age of de

EP 1

God in America (Parts 1–2)

A New Adam explores the origins of Christian religion in America and examines how the New World changed the faiths that

EP 2

God in America (Parts 3-4)

During the 19th century, the forces of modernity challenged traditional faith and drove a wedge between liberal and cons

EP 3

God in America (Parts 5-6)

Hour five explores the post-World War II era, when rising evangelist Billy Graham tried to inspire a religious revival t

EP 4

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee, the leading Confederate general of the American Civil War, remains a source of fascination and, for some,

EP 5

Dinosaur Wars

From PBS and American Experience - In the summer of 1868, paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh boarded a Union Pacific t

EP 6

Panama Canal

In 1914, the Panama Canal connected the world’s two largest oceans. American ingenuity and innovation had succeeded wh

EP 7

The Greely Expedition

In 1881, 25 men led by Adolphus Greely set sail from Newfoundland to Lady Franklin Bay in the high Arctic, where they pl

EP 8

Triangle Fire

It was the deadliest workplace accident in New York City’s history. A dropped match on the 8th floor of the Triangle S

EP 9

The Great Famine

The little-known story of the American effort to relieve starvation in the new Soviet Russia in 1921, The Great Famine i

EP 10

Stonewall Uprising

In 1969, homosexuality was illegal in almost every state... but that was about to change. The Stonewall riots marked a m

EP 11

Soundtrack for a Revolution

The story of the American civil rights movement told through the freedom songs protesters sang on picket lines, in mass

EP 12

Freedom Riders

They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face t

EP 1

Billy the Kid

A fascinating look at the myth and the man behind it, who, in just a few short years transformed himself from a skinny o

EP 2

Custer's Last Stand

A profile of Gen. George Armstrong Custer (1839-76), nicknamed "the boy general" for his Civil War exploits, who died wi

EP 3

Clinton: The Comeback Kid (1)

Part 1 of a two-part profile of former president Bill Clinton charts his path from Hope, Ark., to Washington, D.C., endi

EP 4

Clinton: The Survivor (2)

The conclusion of the Bill Clinton biography recalls the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which led to Clinton becoming the seco

EP 5

The Amish

The first documentary to deeply penetrate and explore this profoundly attention-averse group, The Amish answers many que

EP 6

Grand Coulee Dam

Featuring the men and women who lived and worked at Grand Coulee in the wake of the Great Depression and the Native peop

EP 7

Jesse Owens

Despite Jesse Owens' remarkable victories in the face of Nazi racism at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the athlete struggled

EP 8

Death and the Civil War

With the coming of the Civil War, and the staggering casualties it ushered in, death entered the experience of the Ameri

EP 1

The Abolitionists: 1820s-1838

The story of how abolitionist allies William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown and A

EP 2

The Abolitionists: 1838-1854

See how the activities of the five principals intersect and affect the anti-slavery movement.

EP 3

The Abolitionists: 1854-Emancipation and Victory

Examine the forces leading to war and to the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

EP 4

Henry Ford

An absorbing life story of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 2

EP 5

Silicon Valley

Led by physicist Robert Noyce, Fairchild Semiconductor began as a start-up company whose radical innovations would help

EP 6

War of the Worlds

A broadcast that struck fear into an already anxious nation, Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast was the mos

EP 7

JFK (Part 1)

A two-part profile of John F. Kennedy begins with his early years, detailing the health challenges he faced; his heroism

EP 8

JFK (Part 2)

Conclusion. John F. Kennedy's White House years, including the Bay of Pigs fiasco; Cuban Missile Crisis; handling of civ

EP 1

The Poisoner's Handbook

The story of New York City's first medical examiner, Charles Norris (1867-1935), and his chief toxicologist, Alexander G

EP 2

1964

Recalling 1964, a pivotal year in U.S. history. While the Beatles captured the imaginations of the nation's youth, Presi

EP 3

The Amish: Shunned

The Amish practice of shunning those who leave their faith is explored through the experiences of individuals who have l

EP 4

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

The story of outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, whose turn-of-the-century exploits made headlines, led them to

EP 5

The Rise and Fall of Penn Station

The story of New York's Pennsylvania Station, which opened to the public in 1910. One of the greatest architectural and

EP 6

Freedom Summer

Recalling the summer of 1964 in Mississippi, when student volunteers from around the country joined local activists in a

EP 7

Cold War Roadshow

In 1959, at the very height of the Cold War, with American schoolchildren practicing duck-and-cover drills, Soviet leade

EP 1

Ripley: Believe It or Not

Robert Ripley's obsession with the odd and keen eye for the curious made him one of the most successful men in America d

EP 2

Klansville, USA

The rise of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina during the 1960s is recalled. In 1963, Bob Jones Sr. started the state's

EP 3

Edison

EDISON explores the complex alchemy that accounts for the enduring celebrity of America's most famous inventor, offering

EP 4

The Big Burn

In the summer of 1910, hundreds of wildfires raged across the Northern Rockies. By the time it was all over, more than t

EP 5

The Forgotten Plague

By the dawn of the 19th century, the most deadly killer in human history, tuberculosis, had killed one in seven of all t

EP 6

Last Days In Vietnam

The North Vietnamese Army was nearing Saigon and the South Vietnamese resistance was at a low. Nearly 5,000 Americans st

EP 7

Blackout

First responders, journalists, shop owners, those inside the pressure-packed control center of Con Edison on West End Av

EP 8

Walt Disney (1)

In 1966, the year Walt Disney died, 240 million people saw a Disney movie, 100 million tuned in to a Disney television p

EP 9

Walt Disney (2)

In 1966, the year Walt Disney died, 240 million people saw a Disney movie, 100 million tuned in to a Disney television p

EP 10

American Comandante

When William Morgan was executed outside a Havana prison on March 11, 1961, his strange story seemed to vanish from the

EP 11

The Pilgrims

The challenges the Pilgrims faced in making new lives for themselves still resonate almost 400 years later: the tensions

EP 1

Bonnie & Clyde

Though their exploits were romanticized, the Barrow gang was believed responsible for at least 23 murders, including two

EP 2

The Mine Wars

The story of small people going up against very big forces for a better nation. In the first two decades of the 20th cen

EP 3

Murder of a President

The story of James Garfield, one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president, and his assassination by a delude

EP 4

The Perfect Crime

The shocking story of Richard Leopold and Nathan Loeb, two wealthy college students who murdered a 14-year-old boy in 19

EP 5

Space Men

In the 1950s and early '60s, a small band of high-altitude pioneers exposed themselves to the extreme forces of the spac

EP 6

The Boys of '36

The story of nine working-class young men from the University of Washington who took the rowing world and America by sto

EP 7

Tesla

Meet Nikola Tesla, the genius engineer and tireless inventor whose technology revolutionized the electrical age of the 2

EP 8

The Battle of Chosin

View the intense battle in intimate detail in this vivid narrative of combat and survival in the first major military cl

EP 1

Command and Control

An account of an incident at a Titan II missile complex in Damascus, Ark., in 1980 that almost caused the explosion of a

EP 2

Rachel Carson

She set out to save a species...us. An intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our rel

EP 3

The Race Underground

The dramatic story of the country's first subway.

EP 4

Oklahoma City

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a former soldier deeply influenced by literature and ideas of the radical right, kil

EP 5

Ruby Ridge

A riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement.

EP 6

The Great War: Part 1

Part 1 of 3. President Woodrow Wilson vowed to keep the U.S. out of World War I after hostilities erupted in Europe in

EP 7

The Great War: Part 2

Part 2 of 3. America's entry into World War I is recalled, including the breathtaking speed of mobilization and the pro

EP 8

The Great War: Part 3

Part 3 of 3. In the fall of 1918: a major American offensive that could bring a swift end to the war, a lost U.S. batt

EP 1

Into the Amazon

The remarkable story of President Theodore Roosevelt’s journey with legendary Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon into t

EP 2

The Secret of Tuxedo Park

EP 3

The Gilded Age

Meet the titans and barons of the glittering late 19th century, whose materialistic extravagance contrasted harshly with

EP 4

The Bombing of Wall Street

Explore the story behind the first terrorist attack in the U.S., a mostly-forgotten 1920 bombing in the nation’s finan

EP 5

The Island Murder

In the summer 1931, Honolulu's tropical tranquility was shattered when a young Navy wife made a drastic allegation of ra

EP 6

The Chinese Exclusion Act

The origin, history and impact of the 1882 law that made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chine

EP 7

The Circus (1)

Explore the early days of this popular, influential and distinctly American form of entertainment during an era when mas

EP 8

The Circus (2)

Revisit the heyday of this distinctly American form of entertainment when former rivals Barnum, Bailey and the Ringling

EP 9

The Eugenics Crusade

The Eugenics Crusade tells the story of the unlikely –– and largely unknown –– campaign to breed a “better”

EP 1

The Swamp

The history of the Everglades is a dramatic yet little known story of humanity’s attempt to conquer nature. The Swamp,

EP 2

Sealab

In 1969 off the California coast, a US Navy crane carefully lowered a massive tubular structure into the waters. It was

EP 3

Chasing the Moon - A Place Beyond the Sky

On 4 October 1957, Soviet scientists launched Sputnik 1 - a beach ball-sized, radio-transmitting aluminium alloy sphere

EP 4

Chasing the Moon - Earthrise

What exactly was it going to take for America to beat the Soviets to the moon? Cold War tensions persisted, as rumours c

EP 5

Chasing the Moon - Magnificent Desolation

After the immediate celebration of 1968’s successful Apollo 8 mission, underlying questions about the space programme

EP 6

Woodstock

In August, 1969, half a million people from all walks of life and every corner of the country converged on a small dairy

EP 7

The Feud

Anderson Hatfield and Randolph McCoy, the patriarchs of the legendary feud, were entrepreneurs seeking to climb up from

EP 1

McCarthy

McCarthy chronicles the rise and fall of Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator whose zealous anti-communist crusade wou

EP 2

The Poison Squad

The story of government chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley who, determined to banish these dangerous substances from dinner tables

EP 3

The Man Who Tried to Feed The World

Explore the life of 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, who tried to solve world hunger. He rescued India from

EP 4

George W. Bush (Part 1)

The latest in our award-winning series of presidential biographies, this film looks at the life and presidency of George

EP 5

George W. Bush (Part 2)

George W. Bush, part two continues through Bush’s second term, as the president confronts the devastating impact of Hu

EP 6

Mr. Tornado

Mr. Tornado is the remarkable story of Ted Fujita, whose groundbreaking work in research and applied science saved thous

EP 7

The Vote (Part 1)

One hundred years after the passage of the 19th Amendment, The Vote tells the dramatic culmination story of the hard-fou

EP 8

The Vote (Part 2)

Part Two examines the mounting dispute over strategy and tactics, and reveals how the pervasive racism of the time, part

EP 1

The Codebreaker

Based on the book The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted Ameri

EP 2

Voice of Freedom

Explore the fascinating life of celebrated singer Marian Anderson. In 1939, after being barred from performing at Consti

EP 3

The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

In 1946, Isaac Woodard, a Black army sergeant on his way home to South Carolina after serving in WWII, was pulled from a

EP 4

American Oz

The life of author L. Frank Baum, creator of the classic novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," which has inspired films, b

EP 5

Billy Graham

Explore the life of one of the best-known and most influential religious leaders of the 20th century. An international c

EP 6

Sandra Day O'Connor: The First

Discover the story of the Supreme Court’s first female justice. A pioneer who both reflected and shaped an era, she wa

EP 7

Citizen Hearst (1)

William Randolph Hearst builds the nation’s largest media empire by the 1930s. Born into one of America’s wealthiest

EP 8

Citizen Hearst (2)

William Randolph Hearst continued his rise to power and expansion into Hollywood. The model for Citizen Kane, he had a d

EP 1

Riveted: The History of Jeans

The fascinating and surprising story of the iconic American garment. They’re more than just a pair of pants — Americ

EP 2

The American Diplomat

Discover how three Black diplomats broke racial barriers at the US State Department during the Cold War. Asked to repres

EP 3

Flood in the Desert

Explore the 1928 dam collapse, the second deadliest disaster in California history. A colossal engineering failure, the

EP 4

Plague at the Golden Gate

Discover how an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900 set off fear and anti-Asian sentiment in San Francisco. This new docu

EP 5

Taken Hostage (1)

Part 1: Revisit the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, through stories of those wh

EP 6

Taken Hostage (2)

Part 2: Revisit the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, through stories of those wh

EP 1

The Lie Detector

Discover the story of the polygraph, the controversial device that transformed modern police work, seized headlines and

EP 2

Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space

Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Also a trained anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston

EP 3

Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History

Monopoly is America’s favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and our free market society. But behi

EP 4

The Movement and the "Madman"

Discover the story of the 1969 showdown between President Nixon and the antiwar movement. Told through firsthand account

EP 5

The Sun Queen

Scientist Mária Telkes dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun. Though undercut and thwarted by her mal

EP 6

Casa Susanna

In the 1950s and ’60s, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found refuge at a house in t

EP 7

The Busing Battleground

The Busing Battleground viscerally captures the class tensions and racial violence that ensued when Black and white stud

EP 8

The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools

When the Supreme Court issued an order to fully and immediately desegregate schools in October 1969, Leland Mississippi

EP 9

The War on Disco

The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the rise of Disco music. The hostility came to a head on Jul

EP 1

Nazi Town, USA

The story of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi group which in the 1930s had scores of chapters across the country, re

EP 2

Fly With Me

The story of the pioneering women who changed the world while flying it. Maligned as feminist sellouts, “stewardesses,

EP 3

The Cancer Detectives

The untold story of the first-ever war on cancer and the coalition of people who fought tirelessly to save women from ce

EP 4

Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal

The dramatic and inspiring story of the ordinary women who fought against overwhelming odds for the health and safety of

EP 5

The Riot Report

When Black neighborhoods across America erupted in violence during the summer of 1967, President Johnson appointed a com

EP 6

The American Vice President

The American Vice President explores the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolut

EP 7

American Coup: Wilmington 1898

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurre

EP 1

Forgotten Hero: Walter White and The NAACP

While many consider the birth of the civil rights movement to be 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on an

EP 2

Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

The emotional and dramatic story of the decades-long push for equality and accessibility that culminated in the passage

EP 3

Mr. Polaroid

Before the iPhone, the Polaroid camera let people instantly chronicle their lives. Along with instant photo mania, its c

EP 4

Clearing the Air: The War on Smog

A chronicle of how Los Angeles' devastating smog problem in the 1940s and 50s led to the creation of the Environmental P

EP 5

Hard Hat Riot

Hard Hat Riot tells the story of a struggling metropolis, a flailing president, a divided people, and a bloody juncture

EP 6

Kissinger (1): The Necessity of Power

The story of Henry Kissinger, the enigmatic powerbroker who served in the topmost echelons of U.S. diplomacy. Celebrated

EP 7

Kissinger (2): The Opportunist

Discover how Henry Kissinger's anti-Communist zeal would shape U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam, China, Chile, and the Sov

EP 8

Bombshell

The efforts of a group of intrepid reporters to let the world know the truth about the bombings of Japanese cities Hiros

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