Riding the Rails promo
At the height of the Great Depression, more than 250,000 teenagers were living on the road in America.
Hurricane of '38 Home Movies
Several families documented the destruction wrought by the Hurricane of '38 with their home movie cameras. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE acquired home movies from three families.
Hurricane of '38 Preview
As the storm made its way across the Atlantic and up the eastern seaboard, there was little warning. Radar had not been invented. The National Weather Bureau predicted it would blow itself out at North Carolina, but it didn't. No one had ever seen a storm like this.
Into the Deep Whale Vocalizations
Acoustic recordings of whale vocalizations. Hear the sounds of humpbacks, rights and sperm whales.
Author Interview: Nat Philbrick
Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea, talks about his interest in the whaleship Essex and the history of whaling on Nantucket. Hear more about Philbrick's historical interests and other works he has written.
Into the Deep preview
The history of the American whaling industry from its 17th-century origins in drift-and-shore whaling off the coast of New England and Cape Cod, through the golden age of deep ocean whaling, and on to its demise in the decades following the American Civil War.
Producer Interview: Ric Burns
Into the Deep producer talks about life on the set of America, Whaling & the World. Hear more about Burns' background and other films he has produced for American Experience.
Enablers of Racial Violence
Whites willing to resort to racist violence found encouragement from high profile figures.
They Didn't Treat Us As A Man
The call of sanitation workers for fair treatment drew Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis.
Cops Came From Everywhere
March 1968: Memphis sanitation workers' march in Memphis ends in police violence.
Dr. King Launches the Poor People's Campaign
Martin Luther King, Jr launched the Poor People's Campaign in 1968 to fight poverty.
The My Lai Massacre: A National Shame
Learning about My Lai changed American opinions about the Vietnam War. Was the price of winning the war a price worth paying?
Merely Following Orders?
Lieutenant William Calley's 1971 conviction for crimes committed during the My Lai massacre set off protests in the U.S., with many feeling he was unfairly blamed for Vietnam mistakes.
When Should a Soldier Say No?
When should a soldier refuse to follow orders? The 1968 attack of My Lai pushed soldiers and Americans to ask this hard question.
On the Road to Hell
My Lai: In the Vietnam War, military leaders failed to give moral guidance to scared US soldiers.
My Lai Preview
March 16, 1968, a company of American soldiers entered the village of My Lai, located in Quang Ngai Province in central Vietnam. By the end of the day, they had shot and killed between 300 and 507 unarmed and unresisting men, women and children. What drove a company of American soldiers -- ordinary young men from around the country -- to commit the worst atrocity in American military history?
Robert Stone's First Film
Around age 12, Robert Stone created his first short film on environmental pollution in his New Jersey hometown. Commentary by Robert Stone.
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