American Experience

Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

The behavior of American soldiers at Abu Ghraib shook President Bush, but, to him, there was no connection with his decision to approve harsh interrogation techniques on Al Qaeda suspects. "It showed the kind of rot that was occurring in Iraq under American occupation,” said journalist Elisabeth Bumiller, “and it showed how far off we had come from American ideals."

Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

4m 55s

  • The American Vice President: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The American Vice President

    S36 E6 - 52m 36s

    The American Vice President tells the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolution from a constitutional afterthought to a position of political consequence. Focusing on the fraught period between 1963 and 1974, the film examines the passage and first uses of the 25th Amendment and offers a fresh perspective on succession in the executive branch.

  • The Riot Report: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Riot Report

    S36 E5 - 1h 53m

    When Black neighborhoods across America erupted in violence during the summer of 1967, President Johnson appointed a commission to determine what happened, why it happened, and what could be done to keep it from happening again. The bi-partisan commission’s final report offered a shockingly unvarnished assessment of American race relations that would doom its finding to political oblivion.

  • Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal

    S36 E4 - 1h 52m

    The dramatic and inspiring story of ordinary women who fought against overwhelming odds for the health and safety of their families. In the late 1970s, residents of Love Canal in Niagara Falls, NY, discovered that their homes, schools, and playgrounds were built on top of a former chemical waste dump. Housewives activated to create a grassroots movement that galvanized the landmark Superfund Bill.

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