See how Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey merged to create a circus of more than 1,100 people and 1,000 animals, only to limp through the Great Depression against competition from radio and movies.
History
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED
Julius Caesar with Brian Cox
Explore how Julius Caesar challenges us to think about who or what to trust and what values we want to live by.
Shakespeare’s Tomb
Join the first-ever scientific investigation of Shakespeare’s grave, which reveals fascinating new evidence about what lies beneath the infamous “curse stone” – a warning against any man who “moves [my] bones.”
RICK STEVES’ EUROPE
The Story of Fascism in Europe
Rick Steves travels back a century to learn how fascism rose and then fell in Europe, taking millions of people with it. He traces fascism’s history from its roots in the turbulent aftermath of World War I, when masses of angry people rose up, to the rise of charismatic leaders who manipulated that anger, and the totalitarian societies they built. Along the way, Rick visits poignant sites throughout Europe relating to fascism, and talks with Europeans whose families lived through those times.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Circus, Part 1 of 2
This two-part series follows the rise and fall of the gigantic, traveling tented railroad circus, recounting the era when Circus Day could shut down a town, and circus stars were among the most famous people in the country. Travel back to 1793 Philadelphia, when America’s first circus was established, and witness its crash into American culture. The arrival of P. T. Barnum in 1871 transformed the trade, and the five Ringling brothers created a spectacle of their own.
SECRETS OF THE DEAD
The Woman in the Iron Coffin
Follow a team of forensic experts as they investigate the preserved remains of a young African American woman from 19th century New York and reveal the little-known story of early America’s free black communities.
ORCHARD HOUSE:
Home of Little Women
ORCHARD HOUSE: HOME OF LITTLE WOMEN is a captivating documentary that transports viewers to a 350-year-old home in Concord, Massachusetts with literary and historical significance unlike any other. It is here that the classic novel, Little Women, was written and set. With a nurturing, talented family as owners and literary giants Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne as neighbors, Orchard House uniquely inspired Louisa May Alcott to write Little Women at a desk in her room that her father made especially for her. The documentary uncovers a fascinating piece of living history — a pilgrimage site for scholars and fans alike. This enduring and lively house speaks to the power of place in a way few American homes ever have. It also reveals the powerful historical, literary, and very human elements of the home and the people who lived there. ORCHARD HOUSE chronicles its history through archival photographs, letters and journal entries from one of the most well-documented families in American literary history, along with interviews of scholars and fans — including world class artists, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, and first-time visitors — in this entertaining and informative family-friendly film.
ANCIENT INVISIBLE CITIES
Istanbul
Using 3D-imaging technology, Professor Darius Arya brings Istanbul’s tumultuous history alive in his examination of one of history’s most iconic buildings: the Hagia Sophia. Built by the Romans, this Christian cathedral survived 1,500 years of earthquakes, riots, sieges and conquest to become a mosque and now a museum.
NOVA
Iceman Reborn
Murdered more than 5,000 years ago, Otzi the Iceman is the oldest human mummy on Earth. Now, newly discovered evidence sheds light not only on this mysterious ancient man, but on the dawn of civilization in Europe.
Silent Sacrifice:
Stories of Japanese American Incarceration
Silent Sacrifice: Stories of Japanese American Incarceration is a two-hour documentary film that will shed light on the ramifications of Executive Order 9066. This landmark film shares the experience of Japanese Americans before, during and after WWII with a focus on the Merced, Tulare, Fresno and Pinedale Assembly Centers.