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American Experience
Space Men
Season 28
Episode 6
In the 1950s and early '60s, a small band of high-altitude pioneers exposed themselves to the extreme forces of the space age long before NASA's acclaimed Mercury 7 would make headlines. Though largely forgotten today, balloonists were the first to venture into the frozen near-vacuum on the edge of our world, exploring the very limits of human physiology and human ingenuity in this lethal realm.
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1:47:20
The story of a Mississippi town’s effort to integrate its public schools in 1970.
1:52:38
Revisit 1970s Boston, when court-mandated school integration unleashed racial unrest.
1:36:51
Casa Susanna was a refuge for transgender women and cross-dressing men in the 1950s-60s.
52:22
Unsung scientist Mária Telkes dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun.
1:22:39
Discover the story of the 1969 showdown between President Nixon and the antiwar movement.
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52:36
Discover the unexpected history behind Monopoly, America’s favorite board game.
1:52:24
The influential author and anthropologist whose work reclaimed and honored Black life.
52:45
The story of the polygraph, the controversial device that transformed modern justice.
1:51:34
The Iran hostage crisis through the stories of those whose ordeal riveted the world.
1:52:24
The Iran hostage crisis through the stories of those whose ordeal riveted the world.
1:52:49
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard with Spanish subtitles.
1:52:23
How a horrific incident of racial violence became catalyst for the civil rights movement.