American Experience poster
8.1/10 (156 votes)
#1

Oklahoma City

S29:E4

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a former soldier deeply influenced by literature and ideas of the radical right, killed 168, and injured 675 others.

7.9/10 (109 votes)
#2

Command and Control

S29:E1

An account of an incident at a Titan II missile complex in Damascus, Ark., in 1980 that almost caused the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead 600 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. The near-calamity was kicked off when a socket fell from the wrench of an airman performing maintenance in a Titan II silo and punctured the missile, releasing a stream of highly explosive rocket fuel.

7.8/10 (143 votes)
#3

Rachel Carson

S29:E2

She set out to save a species...us. An intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.

7.5/10 (425 votes)
#4

Ruby Ridge

S29:E5

A riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement.

7.2/10 (204 votes)
#5

The Race Underground

S29:E3

The dramatic story of the country's first subway.

0.0/10
#6

The Great War: Part 1

S29:E6

Part 1 of 3. President Woodrow Wilson vowed to keep the U.S. out of World War I after hostilities erupted in Europe in August 1914. It was a promise he kept until 1917, when the Germans resumed "unrestricted submarine warfare"— a policy it had started and then stopped in 1915 — and began sinking U.S. ships. An intercepted telegram also showed Germany trying to convince Japan and Mexico to declare war on America.

0.0/10
#7

The Great War: Part 2

S29:E7

Part 2 of 3. America's entry into World War I is recalled, including the breathtaking speed of mobilization and the profound transformations required for America to play a central role in the conflict.

0.0/10
#8

The Great War: Part 3

S29:E8

Part 3 of 3. In the fall of 1918: a major American offensive that could bring a swift end to the war, a lost U.S. battalion surrounded by German forces, a deadly flu epidemic on the homefront.

7.2/10 (204 votes)
#1

The Race Underground

S29:E3

The dramatic story of the country's first subway.

7.5/10 (425 votes)
#2

Ruby Ridge

S29:E5

A riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement.

7.8/10 (143 votes)
#3

Rachel Carson

S29:E2

She set out to save a species...us. An intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.

7.9/10 (109 votes)
#4

Command and Control

S29:E1

An account of an incident at a Titan II missile complex in Damascus, Ark., in 1980 that almost caused the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead 600 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. The near-calamity was kicked off when a socket fell from the wrench of an airman performing maintenance in a Titan II silo and punctured the missile, releasing a stream of highly explosive rocket fuel.

8.1/10 (156 votes)
#5

Oklahoma City

S29:E4

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a former soldier deeply influenced by literature and ideas of the radical right, killed 168, and injured 675 others.

7.9/10 (109 votes)

Command and Control

S29:E1

An account of an incident at a Titan II missile complex in Damascus, Ark., in 1980 that almost caused the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead 600 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. The near-calamity was kicked off when a socket fell from the wrench of an airman performing maintenance in a Titan II silo and punctured the missile, releasing a stream of highly explosive rocket fuel.

7.8/10 (143 votes)

Rachel Carson

S29:E2

She set out to save a species...us. An intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.

7.2/10 (204 votes)

The Race Underground

S29:E3

The dramatic story of the country's first subway.

8.1/10 (156 votes)

Oklahoma City

S29:E4

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a former soldier deeply influenced by literature and ideas of the radical right, killed 168, and injured 675 others.

7.5/10 (425 votes)

Ruby Ridge

S29:E5

A riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement.

0.0/10

The Great War: Part 1

S29:E6

Part 1 of 3. President Woodrow Wilson vowed to keep the U.S. out of World War I after hostilities erupted in Europe in August 1914. It was a promise he kept until 1917, when the Germans resumed "unrestricted submarine warfare"— a policy it had started and then stopped in 1915 — and began sinking U.S. ships. An intercepted telegram also showed Germany trying to convince Japan and Mexico to declare war on America.

0.0/10

The Great War: Part 2

S29:E7

Part 2 of 3. America's entry into World War I is recalled, including the breathtaking speed of mobilization and the profound transformations required for America to play a central role in the conflict.

0.0/10

The Great War: Part 3

S29:E8

Part 3 of 3. In the fall of 1918: a major American offensive that could bring a swift end to the war, a lost U.S. battalion surrounded by German forces, a deadly flu epidemic on the homefront.

Season Average Rating Episodes Best Episode Worst Episode
31 ★ 7.9 7
★ 8.6 Chasing the Moon - Earthrise
★ 7.1 The Feud
36 ★ 7.9 2
★ 8.0 American Coup: Wilmington 1898
★ 7.8 Nazi Town, USA
25 ★ 7.8 6
★ 8.2 JFK (Part 1)
★ 7.2 War of the Worlds
13 ★ 7.8 1
★ 7.8 Fatal Flood
★ 7.8 Fatal Flood
32 ★ 7.8 8
★ 8.3 The Poison Squad
★ 7.3 George W. Bush (Part 2)
28 ★ 7.7 3
★ 8.0 Murder of a President
★ 7.3 Bonnie & Clyde
29 ★ 7.7 5
★ 8.1 Oklahoma City
★ 7.2 The Race Underground
24 ★ 7.7 8
★ 8.1 Death and the Civil War
★ 7.3 Billy the Kid
33 ★ 7.7 8
★ 8.1 The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
★ 6.6 Billy Graham
14 ★ 7.6 1
★ 7.6 A Brilliant Madness
★ 7.6 A Brilliant Madness
6 ★ 7.5 1
★ 7.5 America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference
★ 7.5 America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference
19 ★ 7.5 1
★ 7.5 Alexander Hamilton
★ 7.5 Alexander Hamilton
23 ★ 7.5 5
★ 8.2 Freedom Riders
★ 7.1 God in America (Parts 5-6)
10 ★ 7.4 1
★ 7.4 Surviving the Dust Bowl
★ 7.4 Surviving the Dust Bowl
30 ★ 7.4 1
★ 7.4 The Secret of Tuxedo Park
★ 7.4 The Secret of Tuxedo Park
26 ★ 7.3 3
★ 7.5 The Poisoner's Handbook
★ 7.1 The Amish: Shunned
35 ★ 7.2 2
★ 7.3 Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History
★ 7.2 The Lie Detector
1 ★ 7.0 16
★ 7.9 The Great San Francisco Earthquake
★ 5.9 Eudora Welty: One Writer's Beginnings
2 ★ 6.6 13
★ 7.5 Demon Rum
★ 5.3 Battle for Wilderness
5 ★ 6.5 1
★ 6.5 George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn't Be King
★ 6.5 George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn't Be King