Peter Schnall

As a child, Ed was cleaning his father’s hunting rifles - a surprise birthday treat for the old man - when one of them went off, hitting and killing his mother. On seeing the bloodshed, his father flew into a murderous rage - Ed just barely escaped with his life. Now in his teens, he returns home; he doesn’t expect to find his father, still there, waiting for a chance to settle the score . . .

The Watergate case was the original game changer of America politics. How has Watergate changed the Presidency? What effect has the scandal had on our political leaders? And has hope and optimism forever been replaced in our national dialogue by doubt and cynicism? In 1973, Watergate's most pivotal year, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein doggedly investigated the scandal exposing the long, twisted trail of cover-ups and lies.

An examination of how President Abraham Lincoln used contemporary telecommunications to his maximum advantage in the American Civil War.

Through interviews with Manhattan Project scientists and newly declassified archival footage, this documentary examines the life of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his leadership of the Manhattan Project. The film traces the development and testing of the first atomic bomb and follows Oppenheimer’s later opposition to nuclear proliferation during the early years of the Cold War.

Historians, veterans, politicians, and anti-war leaders discuss the history of the military draft in the United States through the Vietnam War, and examine the consequences of its replacement with an all-volunteer professional force currently comprising less than one-half of one percent of the population.

Farmers and parents of young children, who live in the Harrisburg, Pa., area, discuss their fears of radioactive contamination from the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor accident in 1979. Scientists and physicians also expound on the lethal dangers of nuclear power and the risks in containment processes.

In the National Geographic Channel special, “George W. Bush: The 9-11 Interview,” the former President talks about the chaotic moments after the attacks and the reasoning behind decisions he made that day. Bush reflects on being told about the attacks while visiting schoolchildren in Florida and the difficulty in getting accurate information in what he calls “the fog of war.” He also talks about returning to the White House to address Americans in the hours after the terrorist attacks. Fearing a possible psychological boost for al-Qaeda, Bush said he, quote, “damn sure wasn’t going to give it from a bunker in Nebraska.” The former President recalls the emotional visit to Ground Zero just three days after the World Trade Center Towers were destroyed. He describes “a palpable bloodlust” among workers in the ruins who were encouraging him to retaliate against those behind the attacks.

The life and career of jazz musician Ron Carter, the most recorded bassist in history, featuring original concert footage and insights from jazz icons.