The War that Made America

The life and times of radio commentator and syndicated newspaper gossip columnist Walter Winchell, who reached an audience of 50 million at his peak.

Eighty years after the devastating atomic bombings that ushered in the nuclear age, Bombshell explores how the U.S. government manipulated the narrative about the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Through propaganda, censorship and the co-opting of the press, the government presented a benevolent picture of atomic power, minimizing the horrific human toll. Bombshell sheds light on the efforts of a group of intrepid reporters to let the world know the truth.

The globe-spanning story of the oil industry from the first strikes of the 19th century through the Gulf War. The industry's colorful characters and oil's key role in 20th century history are brought to life by participants and historians.

An investigative biography originally broadcast in 1993 for BBC Timewatch about the man at the center of the political crime of the 20th century. At the heart of the assassination lies the puzzle of Lee Harvey Oswald: Was he an emotionally disturbed lone gunman? Was he part of a broader conspiracy? Or was he an unwitting fall guy, the patsy, as Oswald himself claimed? This was subsequently broadcast on PBS in America as Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?

In 1913, little Mary Phagan is found dead at the National Pencil Factory in Atlanta. Police quickly decide that the Jewish Superintendent, Leo Frank, should be held responsible. The trial commences with both prosecution and defense lawyers using ad hominen as the base for their arguments. From 1913 to 1915, this murder, trial, and aftermath gained notoriety worldwide. And one hundred years later it has produced books, college and university discussions, a Hollywood-ized movie "They Won't Forget", a TV movie "The Murder of Mary Phagan", a Broadway musical "Parade", a bittersweet folk song "The Ballad of Mary Phagan", and racial controversy.

Explore an overlooked moment in pre-WWI Palestine when people's identities overlapped, and Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities intermingled freely. Few could contemplate the conflict that would engulf their region for the next century.

On January 23, 1909, two ships--one carrying Italian immigrants to New York, the other American tourists to Europe--collided in a dense fog off Nantucket Island. In an instant, more than 1,500 lives suddenly became dependent on a new technology, wireless telegraphy, and the efforts of a twenty-six-year-old wireless operator who bravely tapped out distress signals form his sinking ship. "Rescue at Sea", a story of courage, luck and heroism. Produced by Ben Loeterman, the film features interviews with descendants of passengers and crew, recollections of the young hero, Jack Binns and surprising revelations of the connections between this event and a later disaster at sea: the "Titanic". David McCullough narrates, and Matthew Broderick provides the voice of Jack Binns.

This program tells the story of a hustler and self-promoter, a man who had never designed or overseen the building of a suspension bridge. Joseph Strauss spent thirteen years wrangling with politicians, arguing over designs and fighting lawsuits from opponents before he was able to break ground. By completion, Strauss, his designers and his construction crews had built what has since been called one of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World."