American Experience poster
7.3/10 (180 votes)
#1

Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History

S35:E3

Monopoly is America’s favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and our free market society. But behind the myth of the game’s creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing.

julienpierre Feb 22, 2023

Excellent and thrilling documentary on the origin of Monopoly, and the courageous battle of Ralph An...

7.2/10 (77 votes)
#2

The Lie Detector

S35:E1

Discover the story of the polygraph, the controversial device that transformed modern police work, seized headlines and was extolled as an infallible crime-fighting tool. A tale of good intentions, twisted morals and unintended consequences.

0.0/10
#3

Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space

S35:E2

Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Also a trained anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston collected folklore throughout the South and Caribbean — reclaiming, honoring and celebrating Black life on its own terms.

0.0/10
#4

The Movement and the "Madman"

S35:E4

Discover the story of the 1969 showdown between President Nixon and the antiwar movement. Told through firsthand accounts, the film reveals how movement leaders mobilized disparate groups to create two massive protests that changed history.

0.0/10
#5

The Sun Queen

S35:E5

Scientist Mária Telkes dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun. Though undercut and thwarted by her male colleagues, she persevered to design the first successfully solar-heated house in 1948 and held more than 20 patents.

0.0/10
#6

Casa Susanna

S35:E6

In the 1950s and ’60s, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found refuge at a house in the Catskills region of New York. Known as Casa Susanna, the house provided a safe place to express their true selves.

0.0/10
#7

The Busing Battleground

S35:E7

The Busing Battleground viscerally captures the class tensions and racial violence that ensued when Black and white students in Boston were bused for the first time between neighborhoods to comply with a federal desegregation order.

robfwtx Sep 12, 2023

This is on PBS as 35x07. Season 36 hasn't started.

0.0/10
#8

The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools

S35:E8

When the Supreme Court issued an order to fully and immediately desegregate schools in October 1969, Leland Mississippi finally met the demand put forth in the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision. In the fall of 1970, a group of children entered school as part of the first class of Black and white students who would attend all 12 grades together.

0.0/10
#9

The War on Disco

S35:E9

The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the rise of Disco music. The hostility came to a head on July 12, 1979, when a riot led by rock fans broke out at “Disco Demolition Night” during a baseball game in Chicago

7.2/10 (77 votes)
#1

The Lie Detector

S35:E1

Discover the story of the polygraph, the controversial device that transformed modern police work, seized headlines and was extolled as an infallible crime-fighting tool. A tale of good intentions, twisted morals and unintended consequences.

7.3/10 (180 votes)
#2

Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History

S35:E3

Monopoly is America’s favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and our free market society. But behind the myth of the game’s creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing.

julienpierre Feb 22, 2023

Excellent and thrilling documentary on the origin of Monopoly, and the courageous battle of Ralph An...

7.2/10 (77 votes)

The Lie Detector

S35:E1

Discover the story of the polygraph, the controversial device that transformed modern police work, seized headlines and was extolled as an infallible crime-fighting tool. A tale of good intentions, twisted morals and unintended consequences.

0.0/10

Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space

S35:E2

Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Also a trained anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston collected folklore throughout the South and Caribbean — reclaiming, honoring and celebrating Black life on its own terms.

7.3/10 (180 votes)

Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History

S35:E3

Monopoly is America’s favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and our free market society. But behind the myth of the game’s creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing.

julienpierre Feb 22, 2023

Excellent and thrilling documentary on the origin of Monopoly, and the courageous battle of Ralph An...

0.0/10

The Movement and the "Madman"

S35:E4

Discover the story of the 1969 showdown between President Nixon and the antiwar movement. Told through firsthand accounts, the film reveals how movement leaders mobilized disparate groups to create two massive protests that changed history.

0.0/10

The Sun Queen

S35:E5

Scientist Mária Telkes dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun. Though undercut and thwarted by her male colleagues, she persevered to design the first successfully solar-heated house in 1948 and held more than 20 patents.

0.0/10

Casa Susanna

S35:E6

In the 1950s and ’60s, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found refuge at a house in the Catskills region of New York. Known as Casa Susanna, the house provided a safe place to express their true selves.

0.0/10

The Busing Battleground

S35:E7

The Busing Battleground viscerally captures the class tensions and racial violence that ensued when Black and white students in Boston were bused for the first time between neighborhoods to comply with a federal desegregation order.

robfwtx Sep 12, 2023

This is on PBS as 35x07. Season 36 hasn't started.

0.0/10

The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools

S35:E8

When the Supreme Court issued an order to fully and immediately desegregate schools in October 1969, Leland Mississippi finally met the demand put forth in the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision. In the fall of 1970, a group of children entered school as part of the first class of Black and white students who would attend all 12 grades together.

0.0/10

The War on Disco

S35:E9

The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the rise of Disco music. The hostility came to a head on July 12, 1979, when a riot led by rock fans broke out at “Disco Demolition Night” during a baseball game in Chicago

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