The Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate bridge is an engineering marvel that symbolizes America’s can-do spirit. Can America continue to execute bold and ambitious infrastructure projects in the 21st century?
Episodes
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The Golden Gate Bridge
S1 E8 - 55m 11s
The Golden Gate bridge is an engineering marvel that symbolizes America’s can-do spirit. Can America continue to execute bold and ambitious infrastructure projects in the 21st century?
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Stone Mountain
S1 E7 - 55m 38s
As Confederate statues are torn down across the country and the nation wrestles with its past, there are heated arguments about the fate of the Monument at Stone Mountain, Georgia, the Confederate Mount Rushmore.
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The American Bald Eagle
S1 E6 - 55m 8s
The story of how the American Bald Eagle soared to its vaunted perch in American iconography, a symbol not only of patriotism but also of environmental activism and Native American traditions.
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The Statue of Liberty
S1 E5 - 55m 11s
This episode explores the evolving meaning of The Statue of Liberty as symbol for a “nation of immigrants,” and how it embodies our values and our conflicts, from abolition and women’s suffrage to the treatment of refugees
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The Cowboy
S1 E4 - 55m 24s
The cowboy is the quintessential American — fiercely independent, brave and laconic. This episode examines the myths and realities of this archetype, which remains as potent as ever in the 21st century.
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The Gadsden Flag
S1 E3 - 55m 11s
The “Don’t Tread on Me” flag is such a potent symbol of independence that it has been co-opted by a wide variety of Americans over its long history.
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The Hollywood Sign
S1 E2 - 55m 35s
The Hollywood Sign episode examines the history of the Los Angeles landmark, which was erected in 1923 originally as a real estate advertisement, and went on to become an international symbol of fame, fortune, and the American dream.
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Fenway Park
S1 E1 - 55m 27s
Baseball is a favorite American pastime and obsession, and no ballpark is more iconic than Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. This episode tells the story of a city’s loyalty to its team and love for its ballpark through thick and thin.
Extras + Features
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Bridging Times: An Icon of American Innovation
S1 E8 - 2m 34s
"We, as Americans, have the power, and the ability, and the talent to create marvels in this world and the ingenuity to do it. So, I think about, what's the Golden Gate Bridge of the future? What new technology or new ways of seeing, or doing, or being can help us advance from one place to the next?"
- Katherine Toy, Deputy Secretary for Access at California Natural Resources Agency.
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The Golden Gate Bridge Preview
S1 E8 - 32s
The Golden Gate bridge is an engineering marvel that symbolizes America’s can-do spirit. Can America continue to execute bold and ambitious infrastructure projects in the 21st century?
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Hidden tolls: The Impact of Freeways on BIPOC Communities
S1 E8 - 2m 1s
Historically, freeway development in the U.S. was often made without adequate consideration of the social and environmental consequences on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. This has caused systemic inequalities in BIPOC communities and contributed to significant and long-lasting negative impacts including displacement, economic disinvestment and health disparities.
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Overcoming Construction Challenges and Skeptics
S1 E8 - 1m 47s
From its unprecedented length (for a suspension bridge), to enormous geological and financial hurdles, the plan to construct the Golden Gate Bridge was met with scores of naysayers.
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Meet Stone Mountain Memorial Association's Black Chairman
S1 E7 - 5m 38s
“I don’t see the carving being removed… I don’t see pleasing everybody because you’re not going to please everybody. I’d rather be agitating on the inside than be on the outside looking in."
- Rev. Abraham Mosely, Chairman of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, discusses plans for the future that he hopes will alleviate some of the controversy surrounding the Confederate monument.
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Pushback in the Immediate Aftermath of Integration
S1 E7 - 23s
Gloria Brown tells David Rubenstein about the hope and disappointment she experienced in the immediate aftermath of desegregation.
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Stone Mountain Preview
S1 E7 - 31s
Should Confederate leaders remain on places like Stone Mountain, or should they be erased? As Confederate statues are torn down across the country and the nation wrestles with its past, David Rubenstein looks at the origin, the impact and the future of Stone Mountain Georgia's problematic monument to the Civil War.
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Confederate Monuments as a Constant Reminder of Separatism
S1 E7 - 27s
"It's a very scary thing to live in a space that is whispering to you, 'You don't belong. You're not authorized.' There are forces that will roughly remind you of what you can and can't do."
U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith discusses the possible psychological toll on Black people living in the shadow of a Confederate monument like Stone Mountain.
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United Daughters of the Confederacy's Lost Soldiers
S1 E7 - 1m 59s
This clip takes a look at The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the pivotal role that they played in memorializing Confederate soldiers. This organization, originally comprising female relatives of Civil War soldiers who fought for The South, was instrumental in propagandizing the war and reframing its origins by coining phrases such as “The War of Northern aggression.”
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An Alternative Rationalization for the Civil War
S1 E7 - 3m 2s
“In order to believe that the Confederacy and these Confederates were noble, you have to have this myth of victimization of white Southerners that they are the real victims during the Civil War... And any effort to redeem them ought to be considered heroic.”
– History Professor Hasan Jeffries explaining how attempts to reframe the causes of the Civil War gained traction in The South. -
The Infamous Bird's 1000 Pound Nest
S1 E6 - 45s
An American Bald Eagle's nest, also known as an eyrie, is an awe-inspiring structure that reflects the grandeur and strength of these majestic birds. Typically located in tall trees near bodies of water, the nest is an expansive platform constructed with meticulous care and precision. In this clip, David Rubenstein is show a Bald Eagle's nest that is estimated to weigh around 1000 pounds.
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Restoring and Hacking Bald Eagles in NY
S1 E6 - 3m 52s
David Rubenstein talks to Peter Nye, an esteemed eagle biologist, retired from the Department of Environmental Conservation in New York. Nye gained national recognition for his expertise in eagle research, and he developed a technique called hacking which played a pivotal role in reviving the bald eagle population following a drastic decline caused by the pesticide DDT.
Schedule
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Image
Iconic America
Fenway Park
Thursday
Dec 7
1 Hour
The story of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, and the city's loyalty to its team and love for its ballpark. -
Image
Iconic America
The Hollywood Sign
Thursday
Dec 7
1 Hour
A real estate advertisement erected in 1923 becomes an international symbol of fame, fortune and the American dream. -
Image
Iconic America
Fenway Park
Friday
Dec 8
1 Hour
The story of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, and the city's loyalty to its team and love for its ballpark. -
Image
Iconic America
The Hollywood Sign
Friday
Dec 8
1 Hour
A real estate advertisement erected in 1923 becomes an international symbol of fame, fortune and the American dream. -
Image
Iconic America
Fenway Park
Sunday
Dec 10
1 Hour
The story of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, and the city's loyalty to its team and love for its ballpark. -
Image
Iconic America
The Hollywood Sign
Monday
Dec 11
1 Hour
A real estate advertisement erected in 1923 becomes an international symbol of fame, fortune and the American dream. -
Image
Iconic America
The Gadsden Flag
Thursday
Dec 14
1 Hour
How the "Don't Tread on Me" flag has been co-opted by a wide variety of Americans over its long history. -
Image
Iconic America
The Cowboy
Thursday
Dec 14
1 Hour
The myths and realities of the American cowboy. -
Image
Iconic America
The Gadsden Flag
Friday
Dec 15
1 Hour
How the "Don't Tread on Me" flag has been co-opted by a wide variety of Americans over its long history. -
Image
Iconic America
The Cowboy
Friday
Dec 15
1 Hour
The myths and realities of the American cowboy. -
Image
Iconic America
Fenway Park
Saturday
Dec 16
1 Hour
The story of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, and the city's loyalty to its team and love for its ballpark. -
Image
Iconic America
The Hollywood Sign
Saturday
Dec 16
1 Hour
A real estate advertisement erected in 1923 becomes an international symbol of fame, fortune and the American dream. -
Image
Iconic America
The Gadsden Flag
Sunday
Dec 17
1 Hour
How the "Don't Tread on Me" flag has been co-opted by a wide variety of Americans over its long history. -
Image
Iconic America
The Cowboy
Monday
Dec 18
1 Hour
The myths and realities of the American cowboy.
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