American Roots Music

Explore the history of a uniquely American art form: country music. From its deep and tangled roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed in small settings, to its worldwide popularity, learn how country music evolved over the course of the 20th century, as it eventually emerged to become America’s music.

In a tumultuous era, 1971 was a year of musical innovation and rebirth fueled by the political and cultural upheaval of the time. Stars reached new heights, fresh talent exploded onto the scene, and boundaries expanded like never before.

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

The history of the sport of baseball in America, told through archival photos, film footage, and the words of those who contributed to the game in each era. Writers, historians, players, baseball personnel, and fans review key events and the significance of the game in America's history.

Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.

Explore Marvel’s rich legacy of pioneering characters, creators and storytelling to reflect the world outside your window. Each documentary, helmed by a unique filmmaker, showcases the intersections of storytelling, pop culture, and fandom within the Marvel Universe.

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

Don Wildman unearths relics from the world's greatest institutions to reveal secrets from the past. He examines each artifact to illuminate history's most incredible triumphs, sensational crimes and bizarre encounters.

Learn how popular Disney attractions and destinations came to be, how they have changed over time, and how fans continue to obsess over them.

MegaStructures is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, France 5 in France, and 7mate in Australia. Each episode is an educational look of varying depth into the construction, operation, and staffing of various structures or construction projects, but not ordinary construction products. Generally containing interviews with designers and project managers, it presents the problems of construction and the methodology or techniques used to overcome obstacles. In some cases this involved the development of new materials or products that are now in general use within the construction industry. MegaStructures focuses on constructions that are extreme; in the sense that they are the biggest, tallest, longest, or deepest in the world. Alternatively, a project may appear if it had an element of novelty or are a world first. This type of project is known as a Megaproject.

This six part documentary draws attention to the most extraordinary — almost supernatural — accounts of animals that have adapted to the cruelest evolutionary curveballs.

A series of standalone documentaries powered by the unparalleled journalism and insight of The New York Times, bringing viewers close to the essential stories of our time.

Hip-Hop today is a global culture that has changed music, dance, fashion, language —and even politics. But where did this worldwide cultural movement begin? We trace hip-hop back to its humble beginnings, when the kids of the Bronx crammed into house parties, rec rooms, and public parks to hear music like they’d never heard it before.

Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.

Filmed across six continents, this docuseries uses cutting-edge camera technology to capture animals' nocturnal lives, revealing new behaviours filmed in full color like never before.

An in-depth look at the history and pop cultural significance of horror films.

The Blues (2003) is a seven-part documentary series produced by Martin Scorsese that explores the history and influence of blues music. Each episode, directed by a different filmmaker, traces a unique aspect of the genre’s evolution—from its African roots to its global impact. Originally airing on PBS, the series includes Scorsese’s Feel Like Going Home, Wim Wenders’ The Soul of a Man, Richard Pearce’s The Road to Memphis, Charles Burnett’s Warming by the Devil’s Fire, Marc Levin’s Godfathers and Sons, Mike Figgis’ Red, White and Blues, and Clint Eastwood’s Piano Blues.

Sir Kenneth Clark guides us through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilisation in western man. Beginning with the bleakness of the dark ages to the present day, we consider civilisation's articulations and expressions in some of man's finest works of art.

Influential builders, dreamers and believers whose feats transformed the United States, a nation decaying from the inside after the Civil War, into the greatest economic and technological superpower the world had ever seen. The Men Who Built America is the story of a nation at the crossroads and of the people who catapulted it to prosperity.

Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.

A musical adventure series emanating from The Caverns in Tennessee's majestic Cumberland Mountains. Celebrating the diversity of America’s musical heritage with artists from the full spectrum of genres: Bluegrass, yes but also Americana, Country, Soul, Blues, Rock N Roll, Gospel, Folk, and everything between.

Folk musicians from both sides of the Atlantic come together in what have been called “the greatest backporch shows ever.” Collaborative live performances by various leading folk and country musicians playing music from Scotland, Ireland, England and North America.

Evolution of various spheres of Ukrainian culture and its modern heroes. A result of 100+ interviews and stories about how whole layers of culture were created in Ukraine. An attempt to capture the outbreak that is happening today and that we are waiting for tomorrow, to understand the strengths and weaknesses, identify trends and find answers to questions that concern. Each episode reveals an important topic: from the phenomenon of Ukrainian pop music and clipmaking to movies, comedy, street art and local clothing brands.

Following Folk takes us on a journey to discover the artists who are redefining folk music today. Featuring in-depth interviews and intimate performances, this series is a treat for all music lovers.

The story of how a fatherless young soldier full of personal ambition becomes a leader of men willing to sacrifice all for the common cause. How a once-loyal British subject rises to battle an empire in a liberty-or-death campaign to forge a new nation. And then how, at the zenith of his power, the victorious general voluntarily steps down, becoming what King George III would call “the greatest man in the world.”

Series celebrating the historical and contemporary links between Scottish and Irish Gaelic song by bringing together top exponents of both traditions to sing and play with no audience except themselves, using a house band of their peers.

David Holt plays tunes and talks with modern masters of traditional music in Appalachia, showcasing not just the music but also the countryside that gave it life. Shot entirely on location, the program puts its featured performers in the context of the countryside that nurtured their musical traditions.

This documentary-series examines Grant's life story using his perspective and experiences to explore a turbulent time in history: the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Everyone knows the story of Paul Revere and his famous midnight ride to warn colonial forces of the British approach. But history books don't tell of the man who sent Revere on his mission: Joseph Warren, America's least remembered founding father. Uncover the forgotten history of Warren and stories of other unsung heroes in our fight for independence.

Dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.

Travel the country in search of unknown 1920s artists, when the music of ordinary Americans was recorded for the first time, transforming music forever, in a three-part film narrated by Robert Redford, featuring Jack White, Nas, Taj Mahal and others.

Three-part documentary series examining the untold history of folk music in Ulster against the social, political and cultural backdrop of the time.

The epic history behind the creation of America, exploring how and why our ancestors came to this country. Examine the massive immigration patterns of ethnic groups to the United States through the telling of historical events including the Dutch Fur Trade, the Great Potato Famine, the California Gold Rush and more.

Now the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music legends and innovators from every genre.

A concert with Jonas Fjeld and Ole Paus at the ABC Theatre in Oslo, Norway. The show was broadcast in two part on NRK in 1997.

Presenter Charles Hazlewood stages a 140-person flashmob clog dance and explores the history of this folk dance that originated in the collieries and pit villages of the north east of England in the 19th century.

Thorough documentary of how the American Colonies rebelled against England and the personalities involved in the creation of a new nation.

This Emmy-award winning series features performances by musical artists in the setting of a Victorian-era concert hall in Norfolk, Connecticut.