Why Does Caffeine Exist?
Today, billions of people around the world start their day with caffeine. But how and why did the ability to produce this molecule independently evolve in multiple, distantly-related lineages of…
The Unhinged Ladies Who Terrorized Greedy Merchants
The American Revolution wasn’t just fought on battlefields, it was fought in breadlines too. As war dragged on and inflation skyrocketed, ordinary women and laborers found themselves starving while wealthy…
American Experience: Billy The Kid: The True Story of the Notorious Outlaw
Demonized by the lawman that killed him, the Kid was soon mythologized by a never-ending stream of dime store novels and big-screen dramas, portrayed by everyone from Paul Newman to…
Transforming a Colonial Library in Nairobi
Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise…
The Arms Race That Made Insects Take Flight
Spiders and their ancestors have been driving an arms race that began before either stepped foot onto land and resulted in the first powered flight on Earth.
Style Wars
Style Wars is a 1983 American documentary film on hip hop culture, directed by Tony Silver and produced in collaboration with Henry Chalfant. The film has an emphasis on graffiti,…
Why We Only Have Ten Toes
Today, all mammals from humans to bats have five fingers or fewer. Yes, even whales, whose finger bones are hidden in their fins. Birds have four or fewer and amphibians…
Bob Newhart: Unbuttoned
"American Masters: Bob Newhart – Unbuttoned" recorded July 20, 2005.
Butterfly Metamorphosis
Joe explores the biological marvel of metamorphosis, revealing that caterpillars don't just turn into soup inside their chrysalis. Discover the surprising reality behind how these insects transform their entire bodies…
American Masters: Georgia O’Keeffe
Among the great American artists of the 20th-century, Georgia O’Keeffe stands as one of the most compelling. For nearly a century, O’Keeffe’s representations of the beauty of the American landscape…