Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
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.
Episodes
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Plague at the Golden Gate
S34 E4 - 1h 52m
Discover how an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900 set off fear and anti-Asian sentiment in San Francisco. This new documentary tells the gripping story of the race against time by health officials to save the city from the deadly disease.
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Flood in the Desert
S34 E3 - 52m 45s
Explore the 1928 dam collapse, the second deadliest disaster in California history. A colossal engineering failure, the dam was built by William Mulholland, who had ensured the growth of Los Angeles by bringing water to the city via aqueduct.
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The American Diplomat
S34 E2 - 52m 43s
Discover how three Black diplomats broke racial barriers at the US State
Department during the Cold War. Asked to represent the best of American ideals
abroad while facing discrimination at home, they left a lasting impact on the
Foreign Service. -
Riveted: The History of Jeans
S34 E1 - 52m 39s
Riveted: The History of Jeans reveals the fascinating and surprising story of the iconic American garment. They’re more than just a pair of pants — America’s tangled past is woven deeply into the indigo fabric. From its roots in slavery to the Wild West, youth culture, hippies, high fashion and hip-hop, jeans are the fabric on which the history of American ideology and politics are writ large.
Extras + Features
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Chapter 1 | Taken Hostage, Part 2
S34 E5 - 10m 34s
Watch a preview of Part Two of Taken Hostage.
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The Shah
S34 E5 - 1m
Mohammad Reza Pahlav, the last Shah of Iran consolidated power after a CIA-backed coup in 1953 overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
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Jimmy Carter
S34 E5 - 58s
President Jimmy Carter confronted one of the most significant challenges of his presidency during the Iran hostage crisis.
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Snapshot: America in the 1970s
S34 E5 - 2m 6s
From Jimmy Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" speech to the Hostage Crisis, here's a look at each year from 1970 to 1979.
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Ways A Rescue Mission Can Go Wrong
S34 E5 - 3m 40s
On April 24, 1980, after 172 days of captivity, a U.S. Armed Forces operation attempted to rescue the hostages. Colonel James Q. Roberts recalls the details of the failed Iran Hostage rescue mission.
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Hilary Brown
S34 E5 - 48s
Hilary Brown was the first female foreign correspondent at ABC News. Her coverage included first-hand reports on the fall of Saigon, the Rwandan genocide, and the Iranian Revolution.
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Who's Who
S34 E5 - 1m
Who's who of the Iran Hostage Crisis.
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Operation Ajax
S34 E5 - 6m 8s
The secret plan by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) to overthrow the then-democratically-elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
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Chapter 1 | Taken Hostage, Part 1
S34 E5 - 10m 7s
Watch a preview of Part One of Taken Hostage.
-
Barry Rosen
S34 E5 - 46s
Barry Rosen was the press attaché at the U.S. embassy in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis. He first visited Iran in 1967 on a two-year Peace Corps mission and fell in love with the country and pursued graduate studies in Iranian language and culture.
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Trailer | Taken Hostage
S34 E5 - 3m 14s
Revisit the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, through stories of those whose ordeal riveted the world.
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Title Sequence
S34 E5 - 1m 7s
Watch the opening sequence of film, Taken Hostage from American Experience.
Schedule
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Image
American Experience
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
Friday
Apr 26
2 Hours
The 1970s Love Canal disaster and how the battle for justice, led mostly by women, created the basis for the federal Superfund program. -
Image
American Experience
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
Saturday
Apr 27
2 Hours
The 1970s Love Canal disaster and how the battle for justice, led mostly by women, created the basis for the federal Superfund program. -
Image
American Experience
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
Saturday
Apr 27
2 Hours
The 1970s Love Canal disaster and how the battle for justice, led mostly by women, created the basis for the federal Superfund program. -
Image
American Experience
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
Saturday
Apr 27
2 Hours
The 1970s Love Canal disaster and how the battle for justice, led mostly by women, created the basis for the federal Superfund program. -
Image
American Experience
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
Saturday
Apr 27
2 Hours
The 1970s Love Canal disaster and how the battle for justice, led mostly by women, created the basis for the federal Superfund program. -
Image
American Experience
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
Saturday
Apr 27
2 Hours
The 1970s Love Canal disaster and how the battle for justice, led mostly by women, created the basis for the federal Superfund program.
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