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American Experience

  • Watchlist
  • 1988-2026
  • 38 Seasons
  • PBS
  • Documentary
  • TV-PG
  • Watchlist

American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

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Cast & Crew See All

David McCullough
Self - Host
David Ogden Stiers
Self - Narrator
Michael Murphy
Self - Narrator

Season 38 Episode Guide See All

Episode 1

Bombshell

Tue, Jan 6, 2026

The film details the efforts of a group of intrepid reporters to let the world know the truth about the bombing of Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. The program illustrates how the development of atomic weapons was a far different process from that of convention weapons. It also demonstrates and discusses how the two opposing cultures dealt with the after effects of the atomic bombings, many of which presented unique operational and security concerns.

Where to Watch

Featured Video

American Experience: Season 34
American Experience: Season 34
1:01
Watch Now

1:01 American Experience: Season 34

Trailers & Videos See All

American Experience: Season 34
1:01
The American Experience: We Shall Remain Trailer
2:49
The American Experience: 1964
0:30
American Experience: The Abolitionist Movement
2:06
American Experience: The Presidents
1:00

Awards

  • 1995 - Oscar - Best Documentary, Features - nominated
  • 1998 - TCA Award - Outstanding Achievement in News and Information - winner
  • 1999 - TCA Award - Outstanding Achievement in News and Information - nominated
  • 2003 - Grand Jury Prize - Documentary - nominated

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Latest News See All

Video: Nikita Khrushchev is Back in PBS's Cold War Roadshow

He scared the bejeesus out of Americans with his nuclear-war cry, "We will bury you!" But when Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States in 1959 he was much more of a pussycat than an evil Commie dictator. PBS's American Experience will track Khrushchev's bizarre trek in Cold War Roadshow (Tuesday, Nov. 18, 9/8c), a one-hour documentary that offers fascinating insight into the human side of our chilling face-off with the U.S.S.R.

Mon, Nov 17, 2014
Video: Nikita Khrushchev is Back in PBS's Cold War Roadshow

Video: PBS's American Experience Looks at 1964: The Beatles, Cassius Clay, LBJ and More

Their timing was as perfect as their music. The Beatles' first trip to America in February 1964, just a few weeks after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, brought a devastated nation some desperately needed joy and excitement — and that's just one of the many seismic events in the new American Experience documentary 1964, premiering Tuesday on PBS (8/7c, check local listings). What a year. President Lyndon Johnson spearheaded the landmark Civil Rights Act and launched a war on poverty, students at U.C. Berkeley were rising up in revolt, millions flocked to the futuristic New York World's Fair, Betty Friedan was triggering a feminist firestorm with The Feminine Mystique and Bob Dylan told us — as if we needed further proof — that The Times They Are a-Changin'.

Tue, Jan 14, 2014
Video: PBS's American Experience Looks at 1964: The Beatles, Cassius Clay, LBJ and More

Peter Bogdanovich on the Night Orson Welles Punk'd America

Were we really that naive? The PBS American Experience documentary War of the Worlds (Tuesday, Oct. 29) commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Orson Welles radio play The War of the Worlds, a tale of a deadly Martian attack on the U.S. that panicked many thousands ...

Mon, Oct 28, 2013
Peter Bogdanovich on the Night Orson Welles Punk'd America

Ask Matt: How Scandal-ous, Smash's Crash, PBS Is Hot, Middle Graduation, More

Send questions and comments to [email protected] and follow me on Twitter! Question: [SPOILER ALERT for anyone who's fallen behind on Scandal] I'm a loyal reader of your column, and always enjoy hearing your well-thought-out and articulate opinions on TV's hottest topics. I'm writing to you for the first time now because I wanted to know your take on the latest installments of Scandal. I saw in your last column the tag line "Scandal is the new Revenge," and I agree Scandal has been far more gripping lately than Revenge.

Mon, Feb 11, 2013
Ask Matt: How Scandal-ous, Smash's Crash, PBS Is Hot, Middle Graduation, More

Roush Review: Bearing Witness to the Amish Way of Life

As modern life keeps accelerating, with everything so fast-paced and high-tech, the Amish quietly adhere to centuries-old traditions, leaving the rest of us wondering whether to admire or pity them. The Amish, a fascinating and gorgeously photographed two-hour episode of PBS' American Experience that's as much anthropology as history lesson, often feels more like a nature documentary. Because the subjects refuse to talk on camera, believing it violates the Second Commandment, we watch from afar as these devout people go about their daily routine and timeless devotions in insular, unspoiled rural habitats. They do, however, open up in voice-over interviews about their strongly held values and rigidly enforced rules.

Tue, Feb 28, 2012
Roush Review: Bearing Witness to the Amish Way of Life

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