Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
For 50 years radio dominated the airwaves and the American consciousness as the first “mass medium.” In Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Ken Burns examines the lives of three extraordinary men who shared the primary responsibility for this invention and its early success, and whose genius, friendship, rivalry and enmity interacted in tragic ways.
Episodes
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Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
S1 E1 - 1h 51m
For 50 years radio dominated the airwaves and the American consciousness as the first “mass medium.” In Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Ken Burns examines the lives of three extraordinary men who shared the primary responsibility for this invention and its early success, and whose genius, friendship, rivalry and enmity interacted in tragic ways.
Extras + Features
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Developing FM Radio
4m 49s
Edwin Howard Armstrong was best known for developing FM Radio — for the first time in history, one person with a microphone could speak to many, influence them, and perhaps change their lives.
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A Land of Listeners
3m 36s
The invention and introduction of radio made America a land of listeners — it entertained, educated, angered, and delighted Americans of every kind, age, and class.
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The Titanic Disaster
3m 16s
On Sunday, April 14, 1912, the Titanic’s distress signals were heard by a nearby ship, allowing passengers in lifeboats to be rescued. Federal law soon required that all large ocean-going vessels to be equipped with wireless for safety reasons. David Sarnoff noted that the Titanic disaster “brought radio to the front.”
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Power of Sound
1m 5s
Norman Corwin talks about the power of sound.
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