American Experience

History Series / 15 Seasons

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

52m 54s

OKC scene breakdown

1m 32s

In 1995, the aerial image of the Murrah Federal Building after the Oklahoma City bombing stunned America. In this Scene Breakdown, Director Barak Goodman discusses the decision to open the documentary with this image, and how the film connects the dots between the 1995 bombing, and earlier events at Waco and Ruby Ridge.

Timothy McVeigh at Waco, from Oklahoma City

1m 53s

During the stand-off between federal agents and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas in 1993, people gathered on a hill roughly three miles away to see what was happening at the compound. One of those drawn to Waco was a 24-year-old Army veteran named Timothy McVeigh.

The Race Underground, Chapter 1

8m 24s

It was Boston — a city of so many firsts — that overcame a litany of engineering challenges, the greed-driven interests of businessmen, and the great fears of its citizenry to construct America’s first subway.

The Race Underground promo

30s

It was Boston — a city of so many firsts — that overcame a litany of engineering challenges, the greed-driven interests of businessmen, and the great fears of its citizenry to construct America’s first subway.

The Race Underground Scene Breakdown

2m 59s

Bringing to life the story of an engineer and a massive construction project from more than 100 years ago is a challenge. Filmmaker Michael Rossi takes viewers behind-the-scenes of the production of Race Underground, the story of building America’s first subway, in Boston.

StartUp Success Story

2m 41s

The creation of the Boston subway system — the country’s first — is the subject of the new American Experience film, The Race Underground. It’s also one of our nation’s oldest startup success stories. To explore that angle, we turned to Scott Bailey, managing director of MassChallenge Boston.

Malaria and the Silent Spring

12m 30s

In 1963, the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring—which some called the most controversial book of the year—put the nation and world on alert to the dangers of overuse and misuse of chemical pesticides—in particular, Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known as DDT.

Rachel Carson, Chapter 1

8m 59s

Rachel Carson is an intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world. When Silent Spring was published in September 1962 it became an instant bestseller and would go on to spark dramatic changes in the way the government regulated pesticides.

Rachel Carson preview

30s

Rachel Carson is an intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world. When Silent Spring was published in September 1962 it became an instant bestseller and would go on to spark dramatic changes in the way the government regulated pesticides.

Command and Control, Accident Report

1m 8s

Bob Purifoy joined Sandia National Laboratories as an engineer in 1952, and later became its leading advocate for nuclear weapon safety. Bill Stevens was an engineer who served as the first head of Sandia’s nuclear safety department. Both men were shocked when they realized how vulnerable the nation’s nuclear weapons were to accidents.

Command and Control, Deterrence and the Turn of a Key

1m 10s

“The whole reason I sat out there was to prevent anything from happening. That's what deterrence was about. But deterrence is worthless if you don't demonstrate that you are willing to do it.” Lieutenant Allan Childers was a deputy commander of the Titan II Missile Combat Crew. He was on duty the night of the accident in Damascus, Arkansas.

January 2017 premieres

2m 58s

The 2017 season premieres on January 10, 2017, with Command and Control, a chilling, minute-by-minute account of the long-hidden story behind one of America’s most dangerous nuclear accidents. An new portrait of Rachel Carson (January 24), which illuminates the life of the scientist whose writings revolutionized our relationship to the natural world, and the first subway — Race Underground.

Command and Control trailer

2m 18s

A chilling nightmare plays out at a Titan II missile complex in Arkansas in September, 1980. A worker accidentally drops a socket, puncturing the fuel tank of an intercontinental ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead in our arsenal, an incident which ignites a series of feverish efforts to avoid a deadly disaster.

Command and Control, Chapter 1

9m 21s

A chilling nightmare plays out at a Titan II missile complex in Arkansas in September, 1980. A worker accidentally drops a socket, puncturing the fuel tank of an intercontinental ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead in our arsenal, an incident which ignites a series of feverish efforts to avoid a deadly disaster.

Command and Control, Goldsboro 1961

2m 6s

On January 24, 1961, when a B-52 bomber carrying two powerful hydrogen bombs took off on a routine mission over Goldsboro, North Carolina. During the mission, the plane experienced a fuel leak, and suddenly the B-52 began to break apart mid-air.

Oklahoma City: Coming February 2017

30s

Oklahoma City explores how a series of deadly encounters between American citizens and federal law enforcement— including the standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco -- led to the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in April 1995, the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history. Airs Tuesday, February 7, 9/8c

Flight Nurse

8m 16s

Lillian Kinkela Keil was one of the most decorated women in WWII and the Korean War, with 11 battle stars, four air medals and more than 450 air evacuations in Europe and in Korea. Starting as an air stewardess, where one had to be a registered nurse at the time, Kinkela then joined the Air Force and started evacuating soldiers off the battle field.

The Battle of Chosin, Web clip

1m 11s

With the rising concern over Communist aggression in Asia and beyond, President Harry S. Truman committed American troops in South Korea, stating that involvement in Korea was necessary for America’s security and survival.

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