The Dust Bowl on PBS

2012, TV Show

Ken Burns Explores the Great Depression in The Dust Bowl

The iconic photos from the southern plains states during the Great Depression say it all: the haunted eyes of weary mothers, children with their faces wrapped against the choking dust and families piling their belongings into trucks and heading to California.

In the two-part documentary The Dust Bowl, filmmaker Ken Burns (The Civil War, Baseball, Prohibition) focuses on the nearly decade-long drought that, coupled with unsustainable farming techniques, destroyed millions of acres in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico.  read full article

Free | PBS Aired: 7/12/2012

Learn about Arthur Rothstein.

Free | PBS Aired: 7/12/2012

During the Great Depression FDR's administration sought to document the economic crisis.

Free | PBS Aired: 6/12/2012

Premieres Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Check your local listings.

Free | PBS Aired: 6/12/2012

Premieres Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Check your local listings.

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Ken Burns: The Dust Bowl
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Ken Burns Explores the Great Depression in The Dust Bowl

The iconic photos from the southern plains states during the Great Depression say it all: the haunted eyes of weary mothers, children with their faces wrapped against the choking dust and families piling their belongings into trucks and heading to California.

In the two-part documentary The Dust Bowl, filmmaker Ken Burns (The Civil War, Baseball, Prohibition) focuses on the nearly decade-long drought that, coupled with unsustainable farming techniques, destroyed millions of acres in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. read more

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Premiered: November 18, 2012, on PBS
Rating: TV-PG
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Premise: Recalling the 1930s-era environmental catastrophe that destroyed the farmlands of the Great Plains and caused massive dust storms and "dust pneumonia." The 1920s saw a wheat boom in the region, but the Depression led to a drop in prices. In a bid to recoup losses, farmers—acting against the recommendations of the government—harvested more wheat. But that left fields open and, once drought hit in 1932, created the Dust Bowl. The documentary includes first-person stories, photos and film footage.

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