American Experience
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.
- 1988-2026
- 38 seasons
- PBS
- Documentary
- TV-PG
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.
Season 32 Episode Guide
10 Episodes 2019 - 2020
Episode 1
The Feud
Tue, Sep 10, 2019
The feud between the Hatfields and McCoys is perhaps the most famous family conflict in American history. As legend has it, two neighboring families in the backwoods of Appalachia waged a crude and bloody war against each other over a stolen hog, an illicit romance, and longstanding grudges. Yet the events that took place near the end of the 19th century between the Hatfields and McCoys are part of a much richer and more complex narrative of the American experience. Anderson Hatfield and Randolph McCoy, the patriarchs of the legendary feud, were entrepreneurs seeking to climb up from hardship after fierce economic competition and rapid technological change had turned their lives upside down. When members of both families took their grievances to court, their dispute escalated into a war between two families and a struggle between two states. The Feud reveals more than an isolated story of mountain lust and violence between "hillbillies" - the Hatfield - McCoy feud was a microcosm of the tensions inherent in the nation's rapid industrialization after the Civil War.
Episode 2
Jubilee Singers
Thu, Oct 10, 2019
Following the Civil War, a group of young ex-slaves in Nashville, Tenn., set out to save their bankrupt school by giving concerts. Throughout the North and in venues across Europe, they introduced audiences to the power of spirituals.
Episode 3
McCarthy
Mon, Jan 6, 2020 120 mins
This documentary surveys the rise and fall of the notorious Communist-hunting Republican senator from Wisconsin, who helped spread a climate of suspicion and fear in early 1950s America.
Episode 4
The Poison Squad
Tue, Jan 28, 2020 110 mins
Chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley takes on food manufacturers to banish dangerous substances threatening the health of consumers, laying the groundwork for U.S. consumer protection laws and the creation of the Food and Drug Administration.
Episode 5
The Man Who Tried to Feed the World
Tue, Apr 21, 2020 53 mins
Plant breeder Norman Borlaug solves India's famine problem and leads a "Green Revolution" of agriculture programs around the world, saving 1 billion lives and winning a 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
Episode 6
George W. Bush: Part 1
Mon, May 4, 2020 113 mins
Biography and political career of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.
Episode 7
George W. Bush: Part 2
Tue, May 5, 2020 113 mins
Biography and political career of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.
Episode 8
Mr. Tornado
Tue, May 19, 2020 53 mins
Japanese American researcher Tetsuya Theodore Fujita, aka Mr. Tornado, created the Fujita scale of tornado intensity and damage and is credited with advancing modern understanding of severe weather phenomena.
Episode 9
The Vote, Part 1
Mon, Jul 6, 2020 120 mins
100 years after the 19th Amendment passed, The Vote tells the dramatic story of the hard-fought and transformative campaign waged by American women for the right to vote, resulting in the largest expansion of voting rights in U.S. history.
Episode 10
The Vote, Part 2
Mon, Jul 6, 2020 120 mins
Second of 2 2-hour episodes. Final few years of the struggle for woman suffrage, focusing substantially on the efforts of Alice Paul. Also sometimes airs as 4 one-hour episodes.
