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Two Days in October

Aired October 17, 2005 | 118 min

In fall of 1967 in a jungle in Vietnam, a Viet Cong ambush nearly wiped out an American battalion. On a campus in Wisconsin, a student protest against the war spiraled out of control.

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Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst

Aired May 23, 2005

In 1974, a militant, fringe political group kidnapped teenage newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst from her Berkeley apartment. In the months that followed, Hearst, the Symbionese Liberation Army (S.L.A.), and their constant, paramilitary audio messages dominated headlines globally.

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The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Aired May 9, 2005 | 120 min

The songs A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and her cousin Maybelle recorded in August 1927 to audition for Victor Talking Machine Company drew upon the rich musical traditions of their native rural Appalachia. The Carter Family sang of love and loss, desperation and joy, and their music captured the attention of a nation entering the darkest days of the depression.

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Victory in the Pacific

Aired May 2, 2005

The decisions made by leaders and the escalation of bloodletting that finally ended World War II. In this provocative, thorough examination of the final months of the war, American Experience looks at the escalation of bloodletting from the vantage points of both the Japanese and the Americans.

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The Island Murder

Aired April 17, 2018 | 52 min

In 1931, Honolulu's tropical tranquility was shattered when a young Navy wife made an allegation of rape against five nonwhite islanders.

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The Great Transatlantic Cable

Aired April 11, 2005

Though the need for a transatlantic cable was obvious, the physical challenges to laying one were enormous. The project would require the production of a 2,000 mile long cable that would have to be laid three miles beneath the Atlantic.

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Mary Pickford

Aired April 4, 2005

It was the golden age of silent film, and she was the world's most celebrated actress. But she would learn that fame is fickle and life at the top is precarious.

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Kinsey

Aired February 14, 2005

This probing documentary assesses Kinsey's remarkable achievements, while examining how his personal life shaped his career.

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Building the Alaska Highway

Aired February 7, 2005

The Alaskan Highway stands today as one of the boldest homeland security initiatives ever undertaken.

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Fidel Castro

Aired January 31, 2005

On January 3, 1959, a column of victorious young rebels advanced along Cuba's main highway towards Havana. At the head of the column rode 33-year-old Fidel Castro Ruz.

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The Fight

Aired August 3, 2021 | 53 min

On June 22, 1938, 70,000 fans crammed into Yankee Stadium to watch what some have called "the most important sporting event in history" — the rematch between African American heavyweight Joe Louis and his German opponent Max Schmeling.

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RFK

Aired October 4, 2004 | 112 min

When an assassin took his brother's life, Robert Kennedy was bereft of someone he loved, and of a role that had given his life meaning. As he began to move beyond the shadow of his brother, he, too, was assassinated.

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