UNUM

Alexander and Yevgeny Vindman return to the bench where they first met Ken Burns nearly 40 years ago to reflect on their own refugee experience, the refugee crisis unfolding today, and what we need to do to live up to our country’s ideals.

Reacting to a scene from THE ROOSEVELTS, US Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio considers the legacy of the United Mine Workers Strike of 1902 and the role our modern government should play in labor disputes.

The 2021 release of Taylor Swift’s re-recorded album, “Red (Taylor’s Version),” sparked discussions of artist rights. In this UNUM Short, Ken Burns reflects on Dolly Parton’s relationship to Porter Wagoner, and the struggle female artists often face against men in the industry who wield power over their careers.

In 2007, the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site became the only National Park Service unit to use "massacre" in its name, acknowledging a horrific act of state-sponsored violence. In this UNUM Short, Ken Burns tells the story of the tragedy at Sand Creek, and the push to recognize it for what it truly was.

Sports can serve as an x-ray of the health of America, and some of our greatest athletes have worked towards a better future for all of us. In this UNUM Short, Ken Burns reflects on the ways Muhammad Ali stood on the foundation Jackie Robinson created, using his platform to speak truth to power outside of the ring.

In the midst of the Great Depression, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt ran against Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency. In this UNUM Short, released just ahead of the 2020 election, Ken Burns explores leadership in moments of crisis.

In 1947, a young student at Morehouse College named Martin Luther King, Jr. watched as Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball. In this UNUM Short, Ken Burns considers baseball's role in pulling us forward.

During a 1985 interview, Ken Burns asked James Baldwin what the Statue of Liberty meant to him. In this UNUM Short, released amid debate over the removal of confederate monuments, Baldwin's powerful words resonate as we consider why, and for whom, our monuments have been built.

In 1908, police stopped a title fight when storied Black boxer Jack Johnson was about to knock out his white competitor. Ken Burns tells the story in this UNUM Short, which explores sports as a mirror of our culture.

During World War II, nearly the entire American automotive industry switched from producing cars to manufacturing wartime equipment. In this UNUM Short, Ken Burns compares the collective mobilization of the 1940s to America's pandemic response.

Ken Burns is making shorts. Watch this introduction to learn more.