Andrew Carnegie: Man of Steel
His family arrived in the United States penniless, but by the end of the Gilded Age, Andrew Carnegie had amassed an unimaginable fortune. As the nation rapidly industrialized, Carnegie cornered the market on steel — the material needed to build the railroads that fueled the boom. Filmmaker Sarah Colt introduces the Gilded Age titan.
The Rad Lab
The “Rad Lab” was the main research facility for the American radar program in the Second World War. But there’s virtually no record of it. Filmmaker Rob Rapley discusses the program, housed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that advanced radar technology and helped to win WWII.
The Lab at Tower House
In the wealthy New York suburb of Tuxedo Park, a Wall Street tycoon converted his mansion into one of the most elite laboratories in the country. In the 1930s, nearly every leading scientist in America passed through Alfred Loomis’s lab, where early research on radar led to one of the most significant radar programs in American history—an initiative that helped win World War II. Filmmaker Rob Rapl
Tycoon Turned Scientist
Alfred Loomis was a Wall Street tycoon who predicted the Crash of ’29, became a fulltime scientific researcher, and developed the radar technology that helped win WWII. Filmmaker Rob Rapley introduces viewers to this little know scientist who change the course of history.
Isolated Tribes
Today, there are approximately 100 tribes in the Amazon rainforest that have not interacted with the modern world. A hundred years ago, there were many more. In this co-production with Retro Report, Scott Wallace, author of The Unconquered, talks about the ever-shrinking world for the indigenous people who have chosen to live with limited or no contact with the outside world.
Filming in the Amazon
To produce Into the Amazon, the filmmaking team quite literally ventured into the Amazon. Filmmakers John Maggio and Hannah Olson offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to bring to life Theodore Roosevelt’s death-defying journey down an uncharted river in Brazil.
Filming with Wildlife
Snakes, spiders, and howler monkeys — those are just a few of the animals the crew of Into the Amazon contended with when filming in Brazil. Filmmakers John Maggio and Hannah Olson discuss the many creatures they met during their efforts to bring to life Teddy Roosevelt’s journey down a river in Brazil.
The Secret of Tuxedo Park: Chapter 1
In the fall of 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered a small team of scientists on a clandestine transatlantic mission to deliver his country’s most valuable military secret — a revolutionary radar component — not to the U.S. government, but to a mysterious Wall Street tycoon, Alfred Lee Loomis.
Blizzard of 1888
In 1888, the east coast experienced one of the worst blizzards in American history. It dumped four feet of snow and left hundreds dead. But it also helped inspire one of the greatest infrastructure projects in American history — the nation’s first subway.
Into the Amazon: Chapter 1
The remarkable story of the journey taken by President Theodore Roosevelt and legendary Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon into the heart of the South American rainforest to chart an unexplored tributary of the Amazon in 1914.
Into the Amazon: Candido Rondon
When Theodore Roosevelt accepted an expedition down an unknown river in Brazil, his guide was to be a man named Cândido Rondon. Rondon was a colonel in the Brazilian army, and had spent the previous ten years fording a path through the Amazon and laying thousands of miles of telegraph wire. He was considered the Lewis and Clark of Brazil. Filmmaker John Maggio introduces the intrepid explorer.
Into the Amazon: Kermit Roosevelt
Kermit Roosevelt was Theodore and Edith Roosevelt’s second child. When TR accepted an invitation to the Amazon after he lost the 1912 election, Edith pleaded with her son to accompany his father. The trip very nearly killed TR. But when Theodore pleaded with Kermit to leave him behind to save the expedition, Kermit refused. Into the Amazon filmmaker John Maggio talks about the famous son.
Into the Amazon: Theodore Roosevelt
After Theodore Roosevelt lost the 1912 election, he was devastated and bereft. He accepted an invitation to take a trip down the River of Doubt, an uncharted river in the Amazon. Led by Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon, the trip was a life-changing experience for TR — one that tested his physical and emotional fortitude. Into the Amazon filmmaker John Maggio talks about TR’s journey.
The Secret of Tuxedo Park: Trailer
The Secret of Tuxedo Park tells the story of Wall Street tycoon Alfred Lee Loomis and his team of scientists who developed radar technology that played a decisive role in winning World War II.
Endorsed by Seabiscuit
In the late 1930s, a champion racehorse lent his name to countless products. Here’s a handful of unlikely products endorsed by Seabiscuit.
The Gilded Age: Trailer
Meet the titans and barons of the glittering late 19th century, whose materialistic extravagance contrasted harshly with the poverty of the struggling workers who challenged them. The vast disparities between them sparked debates still raging today.
Escape from Saigon
As North Vietnamese forces swept into Saigon in April of 1975, one family risked everything to escape.
Coming in 2018
2018 kicks off American Experience's 30th season. Series Executive Producer Mark Samels introduces four new documentaries: Into the Amazon (January 9), The Secret of Tuxedo Park (January 16), The Gilded Age (February 6), and The Bombing of Wall Street (February 13).
Le Chemin des Dames
“Word of this place and this graffiti had been passed down from generation to generation. A hundred years on, it has sort of taken on the air of legend,” says writer Richard Rubin. “You hear that it’s out there and you set off in search of it.”
Richard Rubin is the author of The Last of the Doughboys: The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War and Back Over There.
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