Teddy Roosevelt planned to go to law school while vice president – but became president when William McKinley was assassinated. A new American Experience explores the ambiguities of the office, and how it evolved into its modern-day importance.
American Experience
Fly With Me: A Q&A with One of the First Black Flight Attendants for Delta Featured in a New Documentary
Meredith FrancisA new American Experience documentary, Fly With Me, tells the stories of the young women who became flight attendants who fought for workplace, gender, and racial equality. WTTW spoke to Casey Grant, who was among the first Black flight attendants for Delta Airlines and is featured in the documentary.
The American Nazi-Sympathizing Group That Drew Tens of Thousands of Members Before World War II
Daniel HautzingerA new American Experience documentary examines the German American Bund, a Fascist group that drew a surprising amount of support as well as attention in the 1930s, including in Chicago.
A Q&A with the Producers of a New Documentary on Comiskey Park's Infamous Disco Demolition Night
Daniel HautzingerThe Woman Who Invented Monopoly (Sort of)
Daniel HautzingerThe Illinoisan and Chicagoan Lizzie Magie invented a board game at the turn of the twentieth century as a teaching tool on behalf of anti-land ownership ideals. It later influenced Monopoly. Discover her story in an excerpt from a new American Experience documentary on Monopoly.
Why America Is the Only Country That Embraced the Lie Detector—and Chicago’s Role in Its Rise
Daniel HautzingerSome of PBS's Best Documentaries, According to 'Esquire'
Daniel HautzingerThe Chicago Professor Who Chased Tornados
Daniel HautzingerPBS Announces Local Livestreaming and 2020 Shows
Daniel HautzingerOur Summer of Space Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing
Daniel HautzingerThe Chinese Exclusion Act and Chicago
Daniel HautzingerThe Clash of Wealth and Labor in Chicago's Gilded Age
Daniel HautzingerChicago epitomized the contradictions of late nineteenth century America, with its explosive growth and exorbitant wealth contrasting with abject squalor and a burgeoning labor movement. The two poles infamously came to a head several times in Chicago.
The Brazilian Explorer Who Saved Theodore Roosevelt's Life
Daniel HautzingerThe Atomic Age's Beginnings on a Squash Court in Chicago
Daniel Hautzinger75 years ago on December 2, scientists at the University of Chicago inaugurated the nuclear era by engineering the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. Learn about the origins of nuclear power and the upsides and downsides of its future.