Discover the life and legacy of U.S. Senator and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
A bipartisan intellectual, he served under four presidents — both Democrat and Republican — and served four terms in the Senate. President Joe Biden, Senator Charles Schumer, Ta-Nehisi Coates and others reflect on his career, including the “Moynihan Report” and his efforts to combat national poverty.
Moynihan premiered March 29, 2024 on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS App.
Accessible versions of the documentary are now available with on-screen ASL interpretation and extended audio description with large open captions.
American Masters shares the stories of political “Thought Leaders” with new documentaries on PBS.
As the U.S. enters a new election cycle, examine the lives and legacies of political changemakers.
Political discourse in the United States is shaped by audacious ideas of what a society should be. But who are the influencers and disrupters of American political thought that have paved the way for the systems that we currently have—and those still to come? Beginning in September 2023, American Masters seeks to answer this question with Thought Leaders, a collection of documentaries spotlighting key figures in American politics, law and music.
“’How did we get here?’ is a question we are all asking ourselves these days, and it is a complicated one,” said Michael Kantor, Executive Producer of American Masters. “By examining the origins and accomplishments of these thought leaders who share such different perspectives, American Masters aims to add crucial context and nuance to what we’re seeing in today’s political arena.”