The film evokes poignant recollections of those caught in the horror of the 1906 earthquake, a disaster felt by everyone from Enrico Caruso to the everyday citizens of San Francisco. Nearly four hundred and eighty city blocks were leveled, …

As the United Nations deliberated on methods to govern atomic energy, the United States Navy made preparations for two highly publicized nuclear detonations. Hundreds of cameras were dispatched to Bikini Atoll for a major propaganda film. T…

In 1899, young Angie Debo journeyed to Oklahoma by covered wagon. She would later become the state’s most contentious historian, a career nearly derailed when she unearthed a collection of documents revealing a vast conspiracy to dispossess…

This poignant memoir opens with a glimpse of life in a quiet Minnesota town and follows a young man’s formative years as a pacifist. However, reporting on the burgeoning fascism of Europe irrevocably altered his convictions. Based on the ac…

Examining newsreels, films produced by the War Department, propaganda posters, and firsthand accounts from five women who worked in defense plants during World War II—a generation often called "Rosies"—reveals a vivid picture of their exper…

The rhythm of a year unfolds for the cowboys of Wyoming and the families who have cultivated land in the Big Piney Valley for six generations. The life remains remarkably unchanged from a century past – demanding, isolated, yet imbued with …

This film presents a deeply personal look at the Kennedy brothers and their direct engagement with Alabama Governor George Wallace during the 1963 crisis. Wallace’s defiance of federal court orders and his refusal to desegregate the Univers…

The narrative unfolds as a profound clash between two cultures, each holding sharply contrasting perspectives on the other. In 1886, five thousand American soldiers were deployed with the singular objective of capturing a single man and his…

A fresh perspective on the tenant families of Alabama, as captured by Walker Evans and James Agee in their 1936 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, a cornerstone of American literature.

The development of rhythm and blues during the careers of vocalists like Ruth Brown and Charles Brown, spanning from the 1940s through the 1950s, and continuing in their performances into the present day.

Father Charles Coughlin, a Roman Catholic priest based in Michigan, harnessed the burgeoning power of radio to achieve unprecedented fame. Each Sunday, he transmitted his sermons, a fervent denunciation of the nation’s economic and social o…

The patterns and artistry of quilts offer revealing glimpses into the lives of 19th-century women, who wove their individual experiences and political sentiments into these enduring works of history.

In the years 1832 to 1834, Prince Maximilian of Bavaria, a keen naturalist, and Karl Bodmer, a talented artist, embarked on an exploration of the Mississippi River region. Their expedition involved a detailed record of the land, flora, faun…

In this memoir, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty recounts her formative years in Jackson, Mississippi, detailing the experiences that shaped both her childhood and her burgeoning artistic sensibilities. The narrative draws directl…

Dominating the New York cityscape from the late 1920s into the 1960s, Robert Moses wielded considerable influence. He engineered structures of immense scale: bridges, highways, Jones Beach, Lincoln Center, and the United Nations complex—pro…

In the shadowed heart of 19th-century New England, a Gothic narrative unfolds, exploring themes of transgression and the possibility of salvation. The close-knit community of a Maine village finds itself unsettled by the unusual conduct of …