In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws were disgracefully applied.
Cassius X puts a period of often-overlooked history into the spotlight – the period when Cassius Clay fought his way to achieving his lifelong dream of becoming World Heavyweight Champion while embarking on a secret spiritual journey.
The story of Hitler’s final hours told by people who were there. This special features exclusive forgotten interviews, believed lost for 65 years, with members of Hitler’s inner circle who were trapped with him in his bunker as the Russians fought to take Berlin. These unique interviews from figures such as the leader of the Hitler Youth Artur Axmann and Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, have never before been seen outside Germany. Using rarely seen archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this special tells the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker.
The story of Pocahontas has been passed down through the centuries. Her relationship with John Smith has been characterized as a romance that united two cultures and created lasting peace. However, the life of this American Indian princess was anything but a fairytale. Join us as we look beyond the fiction and reveal the real story of Pocahontas, a tale of kidnapping, conflict, starvation, ocean journeys, and the future of an entire civilization.
Going from 0 to 150 mph in three seconds, withstanding three Gs of force, and taking off from what's often called "the most dangerous place on the planet" are just parts of everyday life for an aircraft carrier pilot-and it's no different for the crew aboard the USS Enterprise. After being stationed in the Middle East for a year, these pilots have seen heavy action in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, finally, they're returning home. With amazing personal stories and real-time footage from missions, this is an exciting insider's peek at life onboard a wartime aircraft carrier.
On July 16, 1969, hundreds of thousands of spectators and an army of reporters gathered at Cape Kennedy to witness one of the great spectacles of the century: the launch of Apollo 11. Over the next few days, the world watched on with wonder and rapture as humankind prepared for its "one giant leap" onto the moon--and into history. Witness this incredible day, presented through stunning, remastered footage and interviews that takes you behind-the-scenes and inside the spacecraft, Mission Control, and the homes of the astronaut's families.
"The World's Loneliest Elephant" Kaavan will finally experience freedom, thanks to his biggest champion, the one & only Cher. We'll follow Cher, Free The Wild, Four Paws International, and Kaavan on every step of the trip.
The Color of Care chronicles how people of color suffer from systemically substandard healthcare in the United States, with a pressing focus on how the Covid-19 pandemic shed light on the tragic consequences of that inequity. Oprah’s Harpo Productions and the Smithsonian Channel are teaming up on the timely project, which traces the origins of this systemic inequity to practices that first emerged during slavery in the United States.
For 20-year-old Madison Stewart, nothing feels safer or more natural than diving straight into shark-infested waters. Since childhood, growing up by the Great Barrier Reef, she's treated these predators as family. But they're vanishing from existence, and because of their bad reputation, few people seem to care. Follow Madison on her mission to protect our sharks, a battle that began when she put her studies on hold, grabbed a camera, and set out to save these incredible, misunderstood creatures.
By mid-1945, Hitler is dead and the war has ended in Europe. Halfway around the world, however, the fighting is still going strong on a small island in the Pacific. Okinawa was the site of the last battle of the last great war of the 20th century, with a casualty rate in the tens of thousands. Through it all, military cameramen risked their lives to film the conflict, from brutal land combat to fierce kamikaze attacks at sea. See the footage they captured and experience this intense battle the way the soldiers saw it -- in color.
Take an epic voyage over the remote island nation of New Zealand, the last habitable landmass to be discovered on the planet. No bigger than the state of Colorado, this small country offers an incredibly diverse landscape view that changes dramatically with each mile. From snow-capped mountains to sandy beaches, and from the glacier-carved Fiordland National Park to the crater lake of Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand is a land of extremes. It's a place where fire clashes with ice and people are always pushing the limits.
The sinking of the RMS Titanic remains one of the most enduring and mysterious tragedies of the 20th century. For decades, investigators and amateurs alike have floated theories for why it occurred and who was to blame for the extraordinary loss of life, but no one answer could fully explain what happened. Until now. To mark the 100th anniversary of the infamous disaster, Smithsonian Channel will premiere Titanic's Final Mystery. The two-hour special investigates a century of theories and uncovers astonishing new forensic evidence that proves the most likely theory for the case.
The doctor who tried to save him. The Secret Service agent who was seconds too late. The man wrongly accused of his murder. And the woman who unwittingly sheltered an assassin. The death of JFK has inspired thousands of books and debates over the last 50 years, but the stories of the people there on that day have gone largely untold...until now. Experience November 22, 1963 as it has never been presented before, in this minute-by-minute account of that day, narrated by Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey, and brought to life through rarely seen footage and rarely heard testimonies.
A haunting call echoes across the Liuwa Plain. There is no answer, there hasn't been for years. She has no pride, no support - she alone must safeguard her own survival. Her name is Lady Liuwa, and she is the Last Lioness. Isolated by a scourge of illegal trophy hunting that wiped out the rest of her species in the region, Lady Liuwa is the only known resident lion surviving on Zambia's Liuwa Plain. For four years, cameraman Herbert Brauer watched her lonely life unfold, until, in her solitude, she reached out to him for companionship. But Herbert knows he is not the companion this lonely lioness needs - she should be amongst her own kind. Now, in May of 2009, plans for a male lion translocation have come through, and there is hope for ending her isolation. For the first time in more than five years, Lady Liuwa will no longer be the Last Lioness This is just a re-titled version of "The Last Lioness"
Huddie Ledbetter was born into poverty, battled racism, and did time, but in spite of his early hardships, or perhaps because of them, he became one of the great musicians of the 20th century. We trace the life and career of Lead Belly, a man praised by critics and revered by artists, whose unique music crossed a host of genres and influenced countless industry legends, from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Nirvana and beyond.
Over billions of years, planet Earth has become home to an amazing interdependent ecosystem, containing a dizzying variety of animals and plants. But how did life here begin? And does it exist anywhere outside of our solar system? We uncover the secrets of our world by tracking the evolution of the cosmos itself, from the Big Bang onwards. Follow scientists responsible for some of the major breakthroughs in understanding the origins of life and witness how their discoveries are fundamentally changing the way we perceive the universe.
On the harsh and unforgiving plains of central Namibia, Africa, a young honey badger named Grit has just left home to venture out in the great, wide world, but it won't be easy. Fewer than half of all young honey badgers survive their first few weeks on their own, as they deal with intense heat, starvation, and round-the-clock threats from the many predators of the savannah.
Take a cross-country flight over Ireland's natural wonders and ancient ruins. In this spectacular overview of the historically significant Emerald Isle, we soar over Neolithic tombs of the Celtic era, medieval castles of the Vikings, and modern cities humming with life. From the tower that inspired a novelist to the ancestral home of a famous stout, we explore the sites, the people, and the milestones of this unique gem of Western Europe.
It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform one man into a national sensation and iconic fairy-tale character. His name: Petrus Gonsalvus, more commonly known today as the hairy hero of Beauty and the Beast.
