Jimmy Carter's story is one of the greatest dramas in American politics. In 1980, he was overwhelmingly voted out of office in a humiliating defeat. Over the subsequent two decades, he became one of the most admired statesmen and humanitarians in America and the world.

Even today, decades after his death, Richard Nixon inspires divided passions in America. Nixon was a self-made man who rose from modest Quaker beginnings in California to the most powerful office in the world. Admired and reviled, loved and hated, the man and his life continue to fascinate us.

President Lyndon B. Johnson's visions of a Great Society were swallowed up in the quagmire of Vietnam: the unpopular and costly war eroded his political base and left him an exile within his own White House.

Revisit the lives of six recent presidents -- John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush -- in films from our award-winning collection. Beginning August 8 on PBS American Experience.

Forever enshrined in myth by an assassin's bullet, John F. Kennedy's presidency long defied objective appraisal. While maturation, as evidenced in the handling of the Cuban missile crisis, was apparent, the potential legacy of the New Frontier will forever be left to speculation.

In August 1936, just outside Berlin, Germany, crowds gathered for the marquee event of the Olympic rowing contests: the men's eight. The host nation had won more medals than any other and looked to dominate the final race. As Adolf Hitler looked on, nine boys from Washington prepared to row the biggest race of their lives. "The Boys of '36" premieres 8/2 at 9/8c on PBS.

The boys from Washington had to win one more time to become the first Washington crew to represent the United States in the Olympics. "The Boys of '36" premieres August 2 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Don Hume wasn't a physically imposing athlete, but he had a gift for rowing that helped lead the University of Washington rowing team to Olympic victory in 1936. "The Boys of '36" premieres August 2 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

The national rowing championship was June 22nd, and Washington’s strategy was to exercise patience in the four mile race. "The Boys of '36" premieres August 2 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

The 1936 Olympic Opening Ceremony was held on August 1 at the Reichssportsfeld in Berlin. Cheers echoed throughout the stadium as Adolf Hitler entered. "The Boys of '36" premieres August 2 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

On July 15, 1936 more than 300 members of the U.S. Olympic team boarded the SS Manhattan to travel to the Olympic Games in Berlin. The boat also carried precious cargo: the boys from Washington's racing shell, the Husky Clipper. "The Boys of '36" premieres August 2 at 9/8c on American Experience PBS.

In 1936, nine working-class young men from the University of Washington took the rowing world and America by storm when they captured the gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Their unexpected victory gave hope to a nation struggling to emerge from the depths of the Great Depression. The Boys of '36 premieres August 2 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

In the summer of 1936, nine working class young men from the University of Washington took the rowing world and the nation by a storm when they captured the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Berlin. American Experience Executive Producer, Mark Samels talks about the series' upcoming documentary on the "Boys of '36," inspired by the best-selling book by Daniel James Brown.

Radioing he had "a ring-side view of the heavens" Air Force officer David G. Simons made history in 1957 high aboard his Manhigh II balloon. He rose 101,500 feet above Earth, writing later he could barely comprehend the beauty of the sky. He was celebrated by The New York Times as "The First Space Man." "Space Men" premieres March 1 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Project Manhigh was woefully underfunded and undervalued, but Dr. John Paul Stapp and his Air Force team were certain of the project's success. Using spare parts and ingenuity, they assembled a capsule that attached to a newly-invented balloon they hoped would carry a man to heights over 100,000 feet about Earth's surface. "Space Men" premieres March 1 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Beginning in 1783, balloonists risked their lives trying to view the Earth from a brand new vantage point. But rather than deter aerial exploration, these new and dangerous heights lured explorers ever higher into the clouds. "Space Men" premieres March 1 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

U.S. Air Force aviation doctor, John Paul Stapp, tested the limits of human physiology both on the ground and in near-space. Not satisfied with the accepted belief that 18 G's -- or 18 times the pull of gravity -- could kill a person, he set out to prove humans could survive acceleration and deceleration at rapid speeds and from dizzying heights. "Space Men" premieres March 1 at 9/8c on PBS.

In the mid-20th century, a small band of high-altitude pioneers exposed themselves to the extreme forces of the space age long before NASA's acclaimed Mercury 7 would make headlines. In California, a young Army doctor named John Paul Stapp tested the limits of human endurance in order to keep up with the rapid developments in rocket and aircraft technology. "Space Men" premieres March 1 at 9/8c.

On the morning of May 22, 1924, the body of 14-year-old Bobby Franks was found in a culvert outside of Chicago. A pair of glasses found at the crime scene would lead police to an unlikely suspect. "The Perfect Crime" premieres February 9 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

The shocking story of Richard Leopold and Nathan Loeb, two wealthy college students who murdered a 14-year-old boy in 1924 to prove they were smart enough to get away with it. Their trial, with famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow and Cook County Prosecutor Robert Crowe, set off a national debate about morality and capital punishment. Premieres Feb 9, 2016 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.