Features | American Experience | Official Site

The Race Underground | Article

What the Maps Miss

How do subway maps shape the way we see and understand our cities? And what do those maps miss? Historian Benjamin Schmidt decided to find out.

The Race Underground | Article

The Forgotten Hero of the American Subway

Public transportation wouldn’t be the same without Frank J. Sprague. But most people have never heard of him.

The Race Underground | Article

Thomas Edison's Intelligence Test

Can you pass Thomas Edison's intelligence test? Probably not.

The Race Underground | Digital Short

MBTA Signal Shop

In this co-production with Retro Report, we visit the MBTA’s Signal Shop, where workers maintain the equipment that keeps the trains on track.

The Race Underground | Behind the Scenes

Scene Breakdown: Sprague's Sketches

Filmmaker Michael Rossi takes viewers behind-the-scenes of the production of The Race Underground, the story of building America’s first subway.

The Mine Wars | Trailer

The Mine Wars: Trailer

In the early 1900s, a struggle over working conditions of coal miners led to the largest armed insurrection since the Civil War and turned parts of West Virginia into a war zone.

The Mine Wars | Chapter

The Mine Wars: Chapter 1

Watch the opening scene of The Mine Wars.

The Mine Wars | Clip

Racial and Ethnic Boundaries in the Coal Mines

In the coal mines and coal towns of West Virginia, African Americans worked and lived alongside European immigrants and native Appalachians.

The Mine Wars | Clip

The Coal Town System

West Virginia coal operators built small, company-owned towns for their miners to live in.

The Mine Wars | Image Gallery

West Virginia Mining

What was it like to live in a company town and work in the mines? Explore photos that help tell the story.

The Mine Wars | Article

Women in the Mine Towns

Women in the early 1900s were barred from working underground in the coal mines, but their work above ground was integral to the coal camp system.

The Mine Wars | Article

Jean Battlo

The daughter of an Italian immigrant who found work in the coal mines, Jean Battlo discusses her parents' stuggle to raise a family under tough conditions.