American Experience | PBS

The man behind the inflammatory, best-selling Kinsey Reports was an unlikely "revolutionary." Alfred Kinsey's exhaustive interview techniques and controversial research into human sexual behavior were a watershed in 20th-century America. They up-ended established ideas about American sexual practices, and served as an implicit plea for greater tolerance. Voices: Julia Ericksen, sociologist John Bancroft, sex researcher Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy, biographer Paul Gebhard, sex researcher John Tebbel, biographer Edward Laumann, sociologist John Gagnon, sex researcher Tony Roach, narration Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

The day after Two Days in October's PBS premiere on American Experience, Mark Samels, executive producer of American Experience, discusses viewer responses to the program with the filmmaker Robert Kenner. Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

On October 17th, 1967, the Black Lions were ambushed in Vietnam. Of the 142 Americans who marched into battle, 64 were killed. Everyone else was wounded. For company commander Clark Welch, this day changed everything. Tony Roach, narration Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

On October 18, 1967, a group of students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison staged a peaceful protest over the administration's decision to allow Dow Chemical, the maker of napalm, to recruit on campus. For first-year student Jane Brotman, this day would change everything. Tony Roach, narration Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

Mark Samels, executive producer of American Experience, discusses three films from the upcoming fall television season: Two Days in October, Race to the Moon, and Las Vegas. Andrew Russell, narration Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

The music of the Carter Family captured the joys and tragedies of everyday life: loves won and lost, dreams attained and shattered, separations and reunions. Their original sound, first heard 75 years ago in a makeshift recording studio in Bristol, Tennessee, continues to resonate throughout America. Voices: Gillian Welch, musician Bill Clifton, musician and A. P. Carter's friend Rita Forrester, granddaughter of A. P. and Sara Carter Mark Zwonitzer, author Barry Mazor, senior editor, No Depression Magazine Andrew Russell, narration Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

In 1974, a militant, fringe political group kidnapped teenage newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst from her Berkeley apartment. In the months that followed, Hearst, the Symbionese Liberation army (S.L.A.), and their constant, paramilitary audio messages dominated headlines globally. These recordings document Hearst's bizarre saga. Andrew Russell, narration Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

In spring 1927, after weeks of rain, the Mississippi River went on a rampage from Illinois to New Orleans, inundating hundreds of towns, killing as many as a thousand people and leaving a million homeless. Voices: John Barry, historian Mildred Commodore, resident John Tigrett, resident Maurice Sisson, resident David Cober, resident Pete Daniel, historian Andrew Russell, narration Produced by: Benjamen Walker Director of New Media: Maria Daniels American Experience is produced by WGBH Boston. Major funding for American Experience is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.