Latest Episodes
The Golden Gate bridge is an engineering marvel that symbolizes America’s can-do spirit.
As the nation wrestles with its past, the fate of Stone Mountain stands in question.
The story of how the Bald Eagle soared to its vaunted perch in American iconography.
A look at The Statue of Liberty's evolving meaning as symbol for a “nation of immigrants."
The cowboy is the quintessential American — fiercely independent, brave and laconic.
The Gadsden flag has been co-opted by a wide variety of Americans over its long history.
A look at the L.A. landmark that became an international symbol of the American dream.
Extras
Does America have the can-do spirit for another Golden Gate-level engineering achievement?
The Golden Gate Bridge is an engineering marvel that symbolizes America’s can-do spirit.
The plan to construct the Golden Gate Bridge was met with scores of skeptics.
BIPOC communities bear the brunt of the environmental cost of U.S. highway development.
Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith discusses Stone Mountain's psychological toll on Black people
Hasan Jeffries explains why some Southerners try to reframe the causes of the Civil War.
United Daughters of the Confederacy had a pivotal role memorializing Confederate soldiers.
Should Confederate leaders remain on places like Stone Mountain, or should they be erased?
The head of Stone Mountain Memorial Association discusses plans for the monument's future.
Gloria Brown discusses the unfulfilled promises of integration.
The story of how the Bald Eagle soared to its vaunted perch in American iconography.
The greatest bald eagle migration on Earth happens in the Alaskan village of Haines.
The effect of DDT on the Bald Eagle population in the northeastern U.S. was devastating.
David talks to Peter Nye, the biologist who saved the bald eagle population in New York.
Why did the Founding Fathers decide to use the bald eagle in the Great Seal of the U.S.?
This clip features a Bald Eagle's nest that is estimated to weigh around 1000 pounds.
Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith reflects on Lady Liberty's potential as an agent of change.
David Rubenstein visits Ellis Island with Atlantic writer Caitlin Dickerson.
David Rubenstein visits Ellis Island with Atlantic writer Caitlin Dickerson.
There are hundreds of historical sites across America, but how we perceive them changes.
David Rubenstein asks Professor Ed Berenson why Lady Liberty is a symbol of America.
A look at how Lady Liberty's anti-slavery origins and design changed over time.
America's greatest symbol has its roots in a small town in France, 300 miles from Paris.
A look at how the poem, "The New Colossus" came to be engraved on the Statue of Liberty.
It's hard to argue that there's a more iconic symbol of America than the Statue of Liberty
Wild West Shows led to a skewed perspective of the role of real cowboys in America.
Westerns downplayed the role that women and minorities played in settling The West,
The cowboy is the quintessential American — fiercely independent, brave and laconic.
The Homestead Act attracted thousands of settlers to The West with 160 acres of free land.
The appeal and success of the Marlboro Man cigarette ad campaigns spanned decades.