Browse All Films
Films: Recent Broadcasts
Browse the entire American Experience series featuring over 250 films. Watch full films online, download teacher’s guides, go behind the scenes, and learn more about your favorite films.
Tesla : 1 hr
Meet the genius engineer and inventor whose technology helped create our wireless world.
George H. W. Bush : 3 hrs
A biography of the 41st U.S. president, from his service in WWII to his days in the Oval Office. Part of the award-winning Presidents Collection.
Reagan : 270 mins
The life of the president who saw himself as the heroic defender of the "shining city on a hill." Part of the award-winning Presidents Collection.
Jimmy Carter : 2 hrs
A peanut farmer who rose to become America's 39th president. Part of the award-winning Presidents Collection.
Nixon
Richard Nixon faced impeachment but also ended the Vietnam War. Part of the award-winning Presidents Collection.
LBJ : 4 hrs
Lyndon Johnson pushed progressive programs before the Vietnam War eroded his support. Part of the award-winning Presidents Collection.
JFK : 4 hrs
Forever enshrined in myth by an assassin's bullet, Kennedy's presidency long defied objective appraisal. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
The Boys of '36 : 1 hr
The thrilling true story of the American Olympic rowing team that triumphed against all odds in Nazi Germany in 1936.
The Big Burn : 1 hr
It was the largest fire in American history: by the time it was all over, more than three million acres had burned and at least 78 firefighters were dead.
The Perfect Crime : 1 hr
The shocking story of Richard Leopold and Nathan Loeb, two wealthy college students who murdered a 14-year-old boy in 1924.
Murder of a President : 2 hrs
The story of James Garfield, one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president, and his assassination by a deluded madman.
The Mine Wars : 2 hrs
The coal miners' battle for dignity led to the largest armed insurrection since the American Civil War.
Bonnie & Clyde : 1 hr
The true story behind the most romanticized, infamous outlaw couple in U.S. history and their gang.
The Pilgrims : 2 hrs
The converging forces, circumstances, personalities and events that propelled a group of English men and women west across the Atlantic in 1620.
American Comandante : 1 hr
American comandante William Morgan went to Cuba to help Fidel Castro return the country to a democracy. Instead, four years later, he was executed.
War of the Worlds : 1 hr
Explore how Orson Welles' genius use of the new medium of radio struck fear into an already anxious nation.
The Forgotten Plague : 1 hr
The impact of tuberculosis in America, once the deadliest killer in human history.
The Abolitionists : 3 hrs
How five abolitionist allies turned a despised fringe movement against chattel slavery into a force that literally changed the nation.
Mount Rushmore : 1 hr
High on a granite cliff in South Dakota's Black Hills tower the huge carved faces of four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Last Days in Vietnam : 2 hrs
With the clock ticking and the city under fire how many could be saved?
My Lai : 90 mins
Winner, 2010 Peabody Award --- The 1968 My Lai massacre, its subsequent cover-up, and the soldiers who broke ranks to bring the atrocity to light.
Klansville U.S.A. : 1 hr
During the 1960s the Ku Klux Klan would rise again in the most progressive southern state.
Ripley: Believe It or Not : 1 hr
Meet the Wizard of Odd. Robert Ripley was a new media star and the most popular man in America.
Cold War Roadshow : 1 hr
In September 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev made an unprecedented visit to America, creating a media circus as he traveled from coast to coast.
Freedom Summer : 2 hrs
A historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in what was one of the nation’s most viciously racist, segregated states.
Freedom Riders : 2 hrs
A courageous band of civil rights activists called Freedom Riders who in 1961 challenged segregation in the American South.