August 1, 1936. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Adolf Hitler enters the stadium to a militaristic Wagner march. Swastikas flutter everywhere on the flag of the Nazi Party. When these moments are remembered later, one athlete’s name comes up more than any other: Jesse Owens. He’s a Black American sprinter, a legendary athlete, and one of 18 Black A ... Show More
May 11
The Berlin Airlift and the Birth of the New World Order (Part 2)
May 12, 1949. After eleven months under Soviet blockade, the people of West Berlin flood into the streets to celebrate. The lights are back on. The autobahn is open. The siege is over. But just months earlier, West Berlin seemed doomed. Surrounded deep inside Soviet-controlled te ... Show More
31m 15s
May 4
Surviving the Mad Propagandist of Nazi Berlin (Part 1)
May 9th, 1942. In the Lustgarten, a sprawling park in the center of Berlin, a strange new attraction opens to the public. It’s a maze of tents, glowing under red lightbulbs. Inside: a staged vision of the Soviet Union. Filthy streets, starving children, torture chambers. A horror ... Show More
36m 5s
Jul 2021
The Fight for the First U.S. Olympics | Let the Games Begin | 2
<p>In 1904, St. Louis was thrust into the national spotlight, as it played host to both the World’s Fair and America’s first Olympic Games. After a bitter fight over which American city would host, Olympic founder Pierre De Coubertin had disavowed the St. Louis games entirely, pa ... Show More
35m 50s
Jun 2024
Hitler’s Olympics, Part 1: The Blue-Eyed Tornado
In the early 1930s, Adolf Hitler granted a rare interview to the American journalist Dorothy Thompson. When Hitler later came to power, and prepared to stage the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Thompson’s warning about the man she’d met would frame the central debate over the games: Should ... Show More
35m 39s
Jun 2012
Michael Phelps, Rachel Brown and the Cultural Olympiad
As the US Olympic swimming trials get underway, the legendary Michael Phelps speaks about his comeback and rivalry with fellow American Ryan Lochte. Eleanor Oldroyd, former tennis player Mark Woodford and hurdler Jack Green discuss if athletes should take part in Olympic opening ... Show More
29m 17s
Aug 2021
The Fight for the First U.S. Olympics | Passing the Torch | 4
<p>The 1904 St. Louis Olympics were marred by controversy and poorly organized events like the marathon. But at least they took place as scheduled. In 1916, after the outbreak of World War I, they were canceled entirely. A century later, in 2020, the Olympics faced another kind o ... Show More
38m 44s