The History Channel

Mormons built a politically powerful religion based on family, faith and clean living. But they also built Las Vegas, they owned brothels, and they copied some of their rituals from the Freemasons. These are just some of the secrets author and Historian David Eisenbach uncovers. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were Washington's first couple with a New Deal. But historian and author David Eisenbach reveals that the Roosevelts' marriage was a political arrangement of epic proportions. FDR had a long-running affair with his wife's secretary, and Eleanor was a closet lesbian in love with a female news reporter. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Deep in the Rust Belt the white collar and blue collar divide has shaped our cities and our states. How did this rivalry change the way we all bring home the bacon? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It's a rivalry that tears us apart every four years, but how did our nation divide into red states vs. blue states, and what happens to the states caught in the middle? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Best-selling author Brad Meltzer and his Decoded team examine claims that John Wilkes Booth actually escaped to freedom after murdering President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The "official" version of events says federal agents cornered Booth and killed him just days after the assassination. But Brad and the team uncover glaring inconsistencies in that 150-year-old account: Why did the authorities hide Booth's body from public view? Why was Booth autopsy's conducted in complete secrecy in the cramped confines of an ironclad gunboat? Searching for answers to these and other troubling questions, the team finds startling evidence that strongly suggests Booth may indeed have lived into old age without ever facing punishment for his crime. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Is it possible that sightings of alien beings or UFOs may actually be evidence of time travelers from the future? And might ancient astronauts actually be time travelers from our future? Scientists explore the theoretical possibility of time travel. How can it be achieved? And what might people from 10,000 years in the future look like? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Myths and legends have long been regarded as fantastic stories that describe powerful gods, mutant giants and fearsome monsters. But why do so many different cultures, separated by vast distances, tell the same stories? Is it possible that myths and legends were really eyewitness accounts of ancient astronauts descending to Earth? Ancient texts are filled with stories of gods interacting with humans, offering wisdom, technology, and even impregnating women. Could the demigods of mythology have been the offspring of alien and human unions? If so, could aliens have supplied the Missing Link that accelerated human evolution, advancing our civilization and making us who we are today? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In this episode, our cast uses awesome analogies to bring the biggest objects, farthest distances and fastest speeds down to earth. To truly understand the scale of the cosmos, we jump behind the wheel of monster trucks, scale the Golden Gate bridge, and race across the desert in a rocket-powered car. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Two underdogs of American culture go head to head to prove how hillbillies and rednecks have shaped our states. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

America's most iconic rivalry was more than just a feud between families. The fight between the Hatfields and McCoys nearly launched a war between two states. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

There really are ice worlds like Hoth from Star Wars. In this episode, we explore icy planets and moons, discover the role of cold in the Universe, and learn about the importance of ice to the development of habitable worlds. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Scientists offer insight into how and where a 10.0 megaquake could strike. This two-hour History special explores one of the most deadly and perplexing mysteries that surrounds planet earth: huge megaquakes. The largest quake ever recorded was a 9.5 earthquake off of Chile in 1960, but new research shows how even larger quakes close to 10.0 just might be possible. Through interviews with top earthquake experts and cutting edge scientific experiments, the special reveals that over 3 billion people on earth are in immediate danger from the next big one and how a real 10.0 might actually happen on US soil--in places you might not expect. TVPG VL | CC

Mother Nature unleashes a swarm of tornados on a group of storm chasers. A delivery driver in Japan gets swallowed by the deadliest tsunami in Japan's history. And finally, a massive avalanche barrels into a small town in Norway. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It is among the most versatile, nutritious, and varied foodstuffs in the world. The Potato is the ultimate comfort food. We'll travel from the Potato's mysterious origins in the South American Andes to the ethnic enclaves of New York's lower Eastside, for some tasty Potato Knishes. In Northern Maine we'll discover a farmer of exotic potatoes: blue, green, pink, and dark purple varieties. We'll reveal how large-scale potato producers in Idaho and Pennsylvania slice, dice, freeze, and dehydrate millions of pounds of spuds annually. We'll learn how to mass produce Tater tots and Kettle Potato Chips. Potato Vodka now scores near perfection in international tasting competitions--and we'll visit a Maine distillery at the top of their game. Finally, we'll pay tribute to the iconic Mr. Potato Head, now celebrating its 50th Anniversary, then round out the show with an explosive visit to the makers of some of the world's most sophisticated Spud Guns. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

160 million Americans visit a convenience store every day. Why? Because it's fast. But what you probably didn't know is how every detail of its design has been engineered to work that way. Step inside one of the busiest 7-11's in America and find out what makes it tick. And go behind the scenes to see how favorite innovations--like slurpees, turbo ovens, and beef jerky--are made. The science of convenience will amaze you! TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Two underdogs of American culture go head to head to prove how hillbillies and rednecks have shaped our states. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

America's most iconic rivalry was more than just a feud between families. The fight between the Hatfields and McCoys nearly launched a war between two states. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

The Battle of the Little Big Horn is one of the most iconic events in American history. It is an amazing story, but until now it has never been fully told. Many questions still remain but one question remains above all the others, did any of Custer's soldiers survive? New evidence suggests that a soldier named August Finkle was the lone survivor of "Custer's Last Stand," a battle that is practically synonymous with "no survivors." His tale of what actually went on in the battle may revise our interpretation of the events of the day. TVPG VL | CC

Today, New York is the biggest city in the country... but it's got some dark secrets in its past. It was founded by covert groups, overrun with gangs and mob bosses, and ruled by secret societies. This is the true foundation of the city that never sleeps, and host Don Wildman is headed deep beneath the skyscrapers, taxicabs and street vendors into a New York that few have ever seen before. From a hidden Freemason tunnel and secret world of the Sandhogs, to mobster hideaways and gang escape routes, we're uncovering the secret societies that built New York--from the underground up. TVPG VL | CC

What was the secret to the success of ancient Rome? Aqueducts, underground neighborhoods and one of the oldest sewer systems reveal many secrets. The largest and most influential empire in history leaves clues to her greatness under nearly every street. Search subterranean locales for proof that ancient Roman design inspired many modern engineering marvels. Join host Eric Geller as he exposes city upon city and the technological marvels that allowed it. TVPG VL | CC

Welcome to Las Vegas, America's Sin City where casinos have made security their highest priority. Join hosts Don Wildman as he uncovers underground vaults, secret surveillance nerve centers, and how the latest technology beats the cheaters. Don shows how a massive engineering feat transformed the city from a barren desert into a mobster metropolis where thieves ran the show from underground tunnels dating back to Prohibition. Vegas is the only city in the world where you can be in Egypt one moment and Italy the next, thanks to a secret underground. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

First see a demolition team preparing to sink a barge to create an artificial reef--they stay onboard while detonating and are sent flying! Next a small plane carrying a grandfather and grandson is on fire on the runway and then the oxygen tanks explode. Watch as the Iranian embassy in London, being held by terrorists, is stormed by the SAS. Then parents in Atlanta witness the absolute horror of their children's nursery school explode a target of the infamous bomber Eric Rudolf. Finally a motorcycle race through the streets on the Isle of Man ends in a spectacular crash--see footage from three angles, including two pov cams. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

The mysterious death of King Tut continues to puzzle archaeologists and scholars alike. From the moment the "Boy King's" mummy was discovered in the Valley of the Kings, rumors of foul play emerged. Recent x-ray's of King Tut's mummy show signs of a possible attack, but new evidence may point to another cause of death. In his quest for the truth, host Josh Bernstein climbs into King Tut's tomb, fires the weapons King Tut took to his grave, and uses modern science to dig deeper into the rumors of King Tut's murder. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

The engineering marvel Machu Picchu sits perched on a ridge in the Peruvian Andes. Originally built by the Incas, this magnificent structure remains a mystery. Was it an observatory? Pleasure retreat? Fortress? This program presents the most current theories. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

They can crawl up walls, swim underwater and investigate bomb threats. Robots are making the coffee in your kitchen and keeping your office parking lot secure at night. Join host Daniel H. Wilson as he reveals artificial intelligence which can create smart houses that anticipate our desires and automate the functions of our-day to-day life. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

In days of old, if your army had to take on a huge stone castles there was only one option: bunker busting siege weapons like the giant crossbow known as the Ballista and the fearsome Trebuchet! These weapons hurled rocks and flaming kegs to cause mayhem and smash through walls. Today the siege tradition continues, with our military using high-explosives to blow the bad guys out of their foxholes. First, Gunny let's loose massive boulders from an ancient trebuchet catapult against an enemy castle. Then he gets his hands on some old-style gunpowder and recreates the big bangs that were used to bring down enemy bunkers, all the time instructed by committed experts who revel in the history of these amazing weapons. Gunny also visits today's bunker busters--military engineers who bust under, over, and into enemy strongholds. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Gunny takes a journey through the history of cannons and field artillery and shoots off everything from Revolutionary War-era cannonballs to the futuristic shells of NLOS-C -- a fully automated piece of artillery that's so new the Army's still testing it. Other featured artillery includes Civil War cannons and the Pack 75 Howitzer, a World War II cannon used in the Battle of the Bulge. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Watch as a helicopter in Hawaii crashes and a huge man named Tiny lifts the 1,500 pound chopper by himself, enabling rescuers to pull the pilot out. When a gas tanker explodes on an Oklahoma freeway, area residents have their video camera rolling. In Ohio, the driver of a BMW flips over 13 times before coming to a crashing stop. Next a kayaker in France gets caught in a vicious torrent, turned upside down and cannot right the kayak. Cameras are rolling in the town of Punta Gorda, Florida as storm chasers are caught in the eye of Hurricane Charley. Finally a chariot race for fun turns disastrous as the chariot breaks, and the driver is catapulted 30 feet in the air. TVPG VL | CC

For years, people have claimed to have had direct, personal contact with an alien. In this episode of our series, the team tracks down several people who claim to have had such contact. They'll also work along side medical and scientific professionals to try and discover what, if anything, really happed to these people. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

NASA has been exploring space for decades, and there are persistent reports that the agency has uncovered surprising information about UFOs. The team speaks with former astronauts, employees and engineers, and delves into NASA videos to see if the space agency knows more than it is letting on. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It's 1000 BC and the Israelites are battling the Philistines. After wresting control of the throne of Israel in a bloody civil war, David moves quickly to destroy those who challenge his right to the throne, and then turns his sword on his political enemies. Finally, David sets his sites on a new target--the beautiful Bathsheba, but she is already married. For someone like David this is a minor impediment. He sends her husband to his death in battle, a battle that eventually propels Israel into becoming an empire. TVPG VL | CC

Hannibal's merciless attacks on Roman soil dealt a near fatal blow to the soon-to-be Empire. Sworn by his father to a blood oath against the Romans, Hannibal of Carthage does the unthinkable... he marches 40 war elephants and a massive army over the Alps to gain an element of surprise. In three key battles--Hannibal uses terrain, intimidation and his iron will to annihilate the Roman Legions, killing every Roman soldier that he possibly can. TVPG VL | CC

At 7:15AM on June 30, 1908, a giant fireball, as bright the Sun, explodes in the Siberian sky with a force a thousand times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. It decimates 1,000 square miles of forest--over half the size of Rhode Island, and was the biggest cosmic disaster in the history of civilization. What caused the apocalyptic fire in the sky? Over a hundred theories surround what is called the Tunguska event, varying from asteroids and comets to black holes and alien spaceships. Most scientists agree the Tunguska event will happen again, and next time, the human toll could be unimaginable. Now, NASA and other organizations race against time to stop the next planet killer before it ignites Armageddon. TVPG VL | CC

For nearly a century archaeologists place the height of the Maya civilization during the First Millennium AD. However, revolutionary discoveries in Guatemala are now challenging those views. When did the Maya Civilization truly reach its peak? Join host Josh Bernstein as he tracks the origins of the Maya throughout Mexico and the Central American rainforest. He climbs the tallest Maya pyramid, shovels muck from a jungle swamp, and reveals the known oldest mural in the Maya world. TVPG VL | CC

A certain mystique lingers in its very name. It's a haunting and hostile arena with a past as captivating as its landscape. In this desert blanketing 11 nations in Northern Africa, nature has crafted a world of mesmerizing desolation and across its scorching sands humanity has dared to carve history. Our cameras explore a land of mirage and myth--from a mountain fortress of ancient freedom fighters to a vast stadium filled with gladiators' gore to the vibrant chaos of a camel auction to the fabled metropolis of Timbuktu. Historians chronicle how a devastating climate change turned a lush savanna into the world's harshest desert. The Sahara...sinister and seductive, mythic and mysterious...as tantalizing and elusive as a mirage. TVPG VL | CC

They are the cars that appeal to a certain kind of "businessman"--the kind that has a lot of enemies. Smooth, sleek, and glamorous, they've helped make outlaws like John Dillinger, Al Capone, and John Gotti look like gentlemen instead of killers. Some did zero to 60 faster than any police car could and others were bulletproof. Today, science enables these cars to withstand a bomb blast or the punch from a 9-millimeter automatic. Ride along as we explore Gangster Cars--built to keep their owners from getting clipped! TVPG VL | CC

Explore the hottest trends in gadgets, how they've evolved and where they're going. See how the latest miniaturized, mobile gadgetry can fit all the technology that once filled an entire office into a single briefcase. Visit Brookstone, the ultimate gadget store. We'll meet a gadget collector who's turned his home into a gadget museum. And we'll visit basement inventors who have developed everything from an iron you slip over your hand to smart appliances that talk back. Revisit some of the original gadgets like the corkscrew and zipper and see how some gadgets evolve into new forms. Discover which gadget inventors may hold tomorrow's hottest new trends and learn why some gadgets succeed while others crash and burn. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

A versatile yet toxic metal, lead has served mankind for 6,000 years. Explore the vast mines where heavy machinery extracts and refines lead. Visit a car battery factory that makes a superior battery from pure lead. See how a team of experts safely remove harmful lead products from homes and businesses. How can a metal as dark as lead make lead crystal not only sparkle, but manage to stay transparent? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Another history lesson filled with surprising facts, figures and stories from five American states. Texas hit the jackpot in 1901 with the discovery of oil at Spindletop Well in Beaumont. Puritans came to Massachusetts to escape religious persecution, but their own zeal to convert Native Americans led to one of the bloodiest wars in US history. Arkansas, 1957--nine African American high school students attempted to enroll at Little Rock's Central High School and made Civil Rights history. During the Iowa Caucuses farmers rub elbows with would-be presidents. Finally, Delaware patriot Caesar Rodney rode into history in 1776 when he raced 80 miles on horseback to break the deadlocked vote for American independence. TVPG VL | CC

Gathered from archives and attics and now seen for the first time, these extremely-rare home movies tell the story of the children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, as they grew up in the 1930s and 40s through November 1963, and include scenes of the last weekend Jack and Jackie Kennedy spent with Caroline and John, Jr., just two weeks before Dallas. The movies provide behind-the-scenes footage of the family at their Hyannis Port and Palm Beach homes, and on trips to Europe and Asia. Also featured are never-before-seen home movies filmed by Robert and Ethel Kennedy in the early 1950s. This footage, shot by the Kennedys and their closest friends, allows viewers to experience the forces and personalities that shaped their lives as never before. Interviews with family members of Kennedy friends provide fresh anecdotes and colorful stories, and distinguished historians contribute new insights into this larger-than-life American family. TVPG VL | CC

The urban sprawl of Cairo, Egypt belies its history as one of the world's oldest civilizations, where the Pharaohs' ancient secrets lay hidden deep below the vast deserts of the Nile. Don Wildman embarks on an underground quest to explore the massive engineering might of the oldest structures in the world, and learn how they survived a long history of invasions by the Mediterranean's greatest civilizations: the Greeks, Romans and Turks. The Step Pyramid, constructed a century before the great structures at Giza, reveals hidden insights into how the Pharaohs died; an eerily detailed roadmap to the afterlife known as "The Book of the Dead" is examined; and a lost tomb filled with 2,000 year-old mummies is serendipitously discovered. Cairo is a city of the living and the dead, with its darkest secrets hidden in the tunnels of the ancient underworld. TVPG VL | CC

World War I was the bloodiest war the world had ever seen. A young Adolf Hitler served in the trenches and tunnels of Belgium's Western Front. Join host Don Wildman as he explores the subterranean web where 24,000 Allied soldiers waited to ambush the enemy, to the indestructible fortress that endured thousands of bombs daily. Discover the underground that made World War I one of the most brutal wars in history... and turned Hitler into the terrifying madman of World War II. TVPG VL | CC

Travel to Egypt and join a team of archaeologists who have uncovered what evidence reveals is the lost fourth pyramid of Giza. Radjedef, son of the great Khufu, would stamp his supremacy by erecting the highest pyramid ever built, towering some 60 feet above Khufu's Great Pyramid of Giza. However, Radjedef's pyramid was forgotten and almost buried beneath the encroaching desert sands and its significance to the three great pyramids was lost. State-of-the-art CGI demonstrates how all four pyramids were connected. Interwoven through the exciting finds of this new excavation is the story of the most powerful, prolific, and arguably, the most cruel and debauched of all Egypt's dynasties. TVPG VL | CC

Ever since the military started using sophisticated airplanes, they have sought ways to build an aircraft that can fly undetected, maneuver like a helicopter and fly like a jet. The Nazis were the first to pursue the idea of building a disc-shaped aircraft. After the war, the Americans, Canadians and Russians all were able to build aircraft similar to the German prototype, perhaps based on the concepts smuggled out by German engineers. This episode looks at top secret flying saucer designs of the Air Force, with specific dates, times and locales of flights that may point to the real explanation behind the many UFO sightings beginning in 1947, and why the saucer design was abandoned for stealth technology. TVPG VL | CC

Meteors, comets, and asteroids cross the solar system to offer clues about our planet and universe. Can they destroy civilizations? Did they wipe out the dinosaurs? Have they brought life to our planet? And when will the next one hit? Aided by elaborate animation and live-action footage, we learn what these mysterious space rocks really are and imagine what likely happened 65-million years ago, when an object plowed into the Yucatan Peninsula. We see how certain spectacular meteor falls advanced our understanding of what they are and the danger that they pose. We talk to leading experts--astronomers and geologists including David Levy and Carolyn Shoemaker, co-discoverers of the Shoemaker-Levy comet that fell into Jupiter in 1994. And we talk to NASA scientists about recent missions to asteroids and comets and speculate on ways to move Earth-threatening asteroids and comets out of our way. Because it isn't a question of if but when the next deadly impact will take place. TVPG VL | CC

In a galaxy filled with a billion stars, in a universe filled with a hundred billion galaxies--are we alone? SETI--the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence--is a privately funded project using radio telescopes and optical telescopes to scan the stars for signals. NASA is planning missions to Mars, Jupiter's sixth moon, Europa, and Saturn's largest moon, Titan, to look for primitive, microbial life in ice concentrations. Whether we discover primitive or intelligent life, how will that knowledge impact humankind's view of itself? Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to bring the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Ignited by the power of the atom, burning with light, heat and wrath, stars are anything but peaceful. They collide, devour each other, and explode in enormous supernovas--the biggest explosions in the Universe. Using cutting-edge computer graphics, never-before-seen satellite images, and interviews with the world's leading astronomers, take a front row seat to the most amazing light show in the cosmos. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It has been fifty years since man first ventured into space, but the greatest secrets are yet to be revealed. Mars is the planet in our solar system most similar to Earth despite otherworldly features such as the largest volcano in the Solar System. Rumors of life on Mars may be substantiated as NASA orbiters and rovers discover new evidence of frozen water just beneath the rusty soil. Did alien life exist there? As Earth reels with the effects of global warming, Mars becomes the most likely candidate for eventual human habitation. Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to show what life would be like on Mars, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Traveling between 135 and 190 miles per hour with an astonishingly high safety record, bullet trains can be found throughout Europe, Japan, and on the US eastern seaboard. How high-speed trains are propelled is rooted in fundamentals that haven't changed since the first electric trolleys appeared in the 19th century. We see how scientists are looking at new alternatives to electricity, including magnetic levitation that can move passenger trains 345 miles per hour and beyond! TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They are the life blood of the American Economy, transporting 1.8 billion tons of freight each year, carrying everything from crops, to consumer electronics, cars to chemicals, not to mention coal and just about any other item that you can think of. This program will take you to what is considered the greatest freight transportation system in the world, the Union Pacific's Bailey yard--a pit stop for much of the nation's freight on its journey across the continent. We'll also explore the history of freight transportation from its humble beginnings as tramways in mines to complex system of rails that stretches to every corner of the nation. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Perhaps no field has experienced the revolution in velocity more acutely than transportation. We look at five blazingly fast technological marvels that have pushed the speed limits to the very edge, each with its own unique and dramatic history: the world's fastest production car (Sweden's Koenigsegg CCR); the world's fastest train (the Maglev in Shanghai); the world's fastest boat (The Spirit of Australia); the world's fastest roller coaster (the Kingda Ka) and the fastest thing on earth (the Holloman High Speed Test Track), used to test highly sensitive equipment for many branches of the government and commercial clients. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Candy is America's sweetest guilty pleasure--so appealing that we spend $25 billion annually to experience it. Our cameras venture from Chicago to Santa Cruz, California to show you that behind every delicious bite is a fascinating story of imagination and innovation. Fourth-generation candy makers Nick and Gino Marini reveal how they're redefining the limits of confectioneering with their latest sensation...chocolate-covered bacon. The crew that makes the iconic red and white Starlight Mints demonstrates how they give each piece its trademark color pattern. As your mouth waters throughout the hour, you'll also discover they key ingredient that gives Lemonheads their sour punch...and the surprising substance that puts the polish on Mike and Ikes. And you'll be shocked to learn how little sugar is in cotton candy. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Ride along as we relate the racy history of the cars that were run for bragging rights on Sunday afternoons...and the men who trusted those same cars with their lives come Sunday night. It's a story about searching for any edge...boring a block, milling a head, boosting the springs--anything to gain an advantage over the hated federal revenuers. We'll learn tricks of the trade--such as the "bootlegger turn"--and see how model after model of Detroit's finest were made better by back-road innovation. We'll see how moving "shine" created a whole new breed of automobile that ushered in stockcar racing and led to the birth of today's NASCAR. TVPG VL | CC

They are the cars that appeal to a certain kind of "businessman"--the kind that has a lot of enemies. Smooth, sleek, and glamorous, they've helped make outlaws like John Dillinger, Al Capone, and John Gotti look like gentlemen instead of killers. Some did zero to 60 faster than any police car could and others were bulletproof. Today, science enables these cars to withstand a bomb blast or the punch from a 9-millimeter automatic. Ride along as we explore Gangster Cars--built to keep their owners from getting clipped! TVPG VL | CC

Take a history lesson filled with surprising facts, figures and stories from five American states. In California, see how the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill, in 1848 started the largest migration in US history, and then learn how scientists are currently trying to predict the next big earthquake. Next it's off to North Carolina's tobacco fields and the mystery of Roanoke--the lost colony. Wichita, Kansas is the "Aviation Capital of America" and Wyatt Earp put Dodge City on the map. New Hampshire is the state where the first act of open rebellion in America's Revolutionary War took place and the first presidential primary each election season is held. Finally, learn about The Battle of Blair Mountain, West Virginia, where in 1921, over 10,000 unionizing coal miners faced off with state and federal troops in what was one of the largest armed uprisings in America since the Civil War. TVPG VL | CC

Another history lesson filled with surprising facts, figures and stories from five American states. Texas hit the jackpot in 1901 with the discovery of oil at Spindletop Well in Beaumont. Puritans came to Massachusetts to escape religious persecution, but their own zeal to convert Native Americans led to one of the bloodiest wars in US history. Arkansas, 1957--nine African American high school students attempted to enroll at Little Rock's Central High School and made Civil Rights history. During the Iowa Caucuses farmers rub elbows with would-be presidents. Finally, Delaware patriot Caesar Rodney rode into history in 1776 when he raced 80 miles on horseback to break the deadlocked vote for American independence. TVPG VL | CC

Hundreds of ghost stories lurk in the shadows of London, England, but behind every myth and legend is the terrifying truth that sheds light on one of the darkest periods of this city's history. In Victorian times, violent crimes, extreme poverty and lawlessness forced Londoners to band together to survive. In a time when science and medicine challenged the Church, and disease and overpopulation drove the poor to do jobs only the Devil himself could imagine, London set the stage for chaos. From body snatchers and serial killers to occult clubs and pagan rituals, Victorian Londoners lived by their own rules...both above and below ground. Don Wildman explores London from the bottom up and tells the stories most would rather remain buried. TVPG VL | CC

A stunning documentary about the escalating global nuclear arms crisis. Traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs: nine nations possess nuclear weapons capabilities with others racing to join them, with the world held in a delicate balance that could be shattered by an act of terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident. Written and directed by acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker (Devil's Playground, Blindsight), the film features an array of important international statesmen, including Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair. The film was produced by Academy Award winner and 2009 nominee Lawrence Bender (Inglourious Basterds, An Inconvenient Truth) and developed, financed and executive produced by Participant Media, together with World Security Institute. (2010) TVPG VL | CC

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most dangerous geological features on Earth. In trying to uncover the processes behind Yellowstone's main attractions like "Old Faithful," geologists came to the frightening realization that Yellowstone was in fact a vast hidden super-volcano--one that is overdue for a massive eruption. Yellowstone has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years but the last eruption was over 640,000 years ago, so the next is overdue. An eruption at Yellowstone could be 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens event. In the past 16.5 million years, the volcano has mysteriously moved hundreds of miles though Nevada across southern Idaho to reach its present location in Yellowstone. But even today it is still active. A swarm of 500 earthquakes hit the park early in 2009 and geologists found that the entire park is being pushed up into the air by hidden forces under the ground. Is this sleeping giant beginning to stir? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Clues to human extinction are discovered in the Dinosaur's apocalypse. TVPG VL | CC

NASA has been exploring space for decades, and there are persistent reports that the agency has uncovered surprising information about UFOs. The team speaks with former astronauts, employees and engineers, and delves into NASA videos to see if the space agency knows more than it is letting on. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

On October 26, 1994, the U.S. government made their first official acknowledgement of Area 51. Six months later, nearly 4,000 acres of previously public land surrounding the base were closed. Now, over a decade later, satellite photos reveal new buildings, towers and runways finishing construction. Secret flights with blacked-out windows bring passengers from Las Vegas. And security surrounding the perimeter of the base is tighter than ever. The team heads to the epicenter of UFO and military conspiracy theories to visit new vantage points, speak with former base employees, and search the skies above America's most top-secret facility. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Ever since the military started using sophisticated airplanes, they have sought ways to build an aircraft that can fly undetected, maneuver like a helicopter and fly like a jet. The Nazis were the first to pursue the idea of building a disc-shaped aircraft. After the war, the Americans, Canadians and Russians all were able to build aircraft similar to the German prototype, perhaps based on the concepts smuggled out by German engineers. This episode looks at top secret flying saucer designs of the Air Force, with specific dates, times and locales of flights that may point to the real explanation behind the many UFO sightings beginning in 1947, and why the saucer design was abandoned for stealth technology. TVPG VL | CC

Delve into the myths, misconceptions, truths and amazing mysteries of our unique universe. Could life exist on Mars? Is time travel possible and does Einstein's theory of relativity support it? Is there a companion dark star to our sun and could it pose a threat to earth? Learn about the spark that lit the big bang. Take a journey from science fiction that predicted all these things, to the scientific reality of what they mean to us in the ever-changing universe. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Don't try this at home! In this episode, our experts cook up ten ways you could destroy the earth, including: swallowing it with a microscopic black hole; blowing it up with anti-matter; hurling it into the Sun, and switching off gravity. This is a fun way to explore the dangerous physics of the Universe and the properties of the planet we call home. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

The planets of our solar system have experienced epic catastrophes throughout their long history, both raining down from outside and bubbling up from within. We'll voyage back in time to investigate the violent events that profoundly shaped the planets, including earth itself. We'll witness stunning revelations about what transformed Mars into a barren, hostile desert...The disaster that changed Venus from temperate to hellish...The impact that blew away Mercury's mantle, turning it into a planetary core...A colossal disturbance that rearranged the orbits of the gas giants...Titanic impacts on Jupiter...And how a lost moon may finally explain Saturn's rings. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

A wildfire threatens to swallow a group of Russian firefighters. A hurricane takes dead aim at a Florida weatherman. And in Korea, a massive landslide wipes out traffic on a busy road. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In recent years the destructive power of natural disasters has been recorded--from Hurricane Katrina to the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. Serial Killer Earth brings together a top team of experts to examine the most compelling footage from news and home video, as well as hear from eyewitness testimony in order to explain, understand and inform viewers of what actually happened during these disasters and how they compare and contrast with the most historic natural disasters of the past. In this episode, a massive tornado rips through a Midwestern town, destroying everything in it's path. Mother Nature unleashes a giant wall of snow in Canada and sends a monster tsunami into southeast Asia, killing two hundred and eighty three thousand people. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

A massive landslide chases a group of construction workers. A tornado tears through an airport; and an earthquake threatens a 700-year-old church. Mother Nature continues her killing spree. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

A versatile yet toxic metal, lead has served mankind for 6,000 years. Explore the vast mines where heavy machinery extracts and refines lead. Visit a car battery factory that makes a superior battery from pure lead. See how a team of experts safely remove harmful lead products from homes and businesses. How can a metal as dark as lead make lead crystal not only sparkle, but manage to stay transparent? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Extruders, molds, in-line conveyor belts. Are these machines manufacturing adhesives, plastics, or parts for your car? No, they're making treats for your mouth--and you will see them doing their seductively tasty work in this scrumptious episode. First, we visit Utz Quality Foods in Hanover, Pennsylvania, that produces more than one million pounds of chips per week, and Snyder's of Hanover, the leading US pretzel manufacturer. Next, we focus on the world's largest candy manufacturer, Masterfoods USA, which makes Milky Way, Snickers, Mars, and M&Ms, and take a lick at the world's largest lollipop producer, Tootsie Roll Industries. And at Flower Foods' Crossville, Tennessee plant, an army of cupcakes rolls down a conveyer belt. The final stop is Dreyer's Bakersfield, California plant, where 20,000 ice cream bars and 9,600 drumsticks roll off the line in an hour. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Candy is America's sweetest guilty pleasure--so appealing that we spend $25 billion annually to experience it. Our cameras venture from Chicago to Santa Cruz, California to show you that behind every delicious bite is a fascinating story of imagination and innovation. Fourth-generation candy makers Nick and Gino Marini reveal how they're redefining the limits of confectioneering with their latest sensation...chocolate-covered bacon. The crew that makes the iconic red and white Starlight Mints demonstrates how they give each piece its trademark color pattern. As your mouth waters throughout the hour, you'll also discover they key ingredient that gives Lemonheads their sour punch...and the surprising substance that puts the polish on Mike and Ikes. And you'll be shocked to learn how little sugar is in cotton candy. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

This two-hour special offers an in-depth look at the critical 24-hour period after news of Japan's attack on U.S. soil in 1941 reached the President. Drawing on exhaustive research and new information provided by the FDR Library, the special gives a rare and surprising glimpse at the man behind the Presidency and how he confronted the enormous challenge of transitioning the nation from peace to war. There was no direct phone line between Pearl Harbor and the White House. As information slowly trickled in and word of the bombing got out, panic gripped the White House. FDR's unique style of leadership enabled him to galvanize the American people in the wake of a grave and potentially demoralizing attack. The special features acclaimed historian Steven M. Gillon, author of the recently released Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation Into War. TVPG VL | CC

World War I was the bloodiest war the world had ever seen. A young Adolf Hitler served in the trenches and tunnels of Belgium's Western Front. Join host Don Wildman as he explores the subterranean web where 24,000 Allied soldiers waited to ambush the enemy, to the indestructible fortress that endured thousands of bombs daily. Discover the underground that made World War I one of the most brutal wars in history... and turned Hitler into the terrifying madman of World War II. TVPG VL | CC

The largest naval armada in U.S. history descended on the Japanese island of Okinawa in April of 1945. Instead of a swift victory for the American's it became the bloodiest battle of the Pacific. Much of the battle wasn't on land it was underneath it--from the beehive of combat tunnels to the caves where thousands of civilians hid. Join host Don Wildman as he discovers what it was like to live through the Battle of Okinawa. Watch as he delves into the subterranean tunnels, caves, and bunkers, and then dives to explore the lost naval destroyer sunken deep in the waters off Okinawa's coast. TVPG VL | CC

Hundreds of ghost stories lurk in the shadows of London, England, but behind every myth and legend is the terrifying truth that sheds light on one of the darkest periods of this city's history. In Victorian times, violent crimes, extreme poverty and lawlessness forced Londoners to band together to survive. In a time when science and medicine challenged the Church, and disease and overpopulation drove the poor to do jobs only the Devil himself could imagine, London set the stage for chaos. From body snatchers and serial killers to occult clubs and pagan rituals, Victorian Londoners lived by their own rules...both above and below ground. Don Wildman explores London from the bottom up and tells the stories most would rather remain buried. TVPG VL | CC

The San Andreas Fault runs roughly 800 miles through some of the most valuable real estate in the world. The southern section hasn't had a significant quake for over 300 years and is now primed and ready for another "big one." This new series takes a trip along the most famous fault line in the world and examine the geology that gives it its immense destructive power. It's an investigation given new urgency by recent warnings from 300 of America's leading scientists about the death and devastation that a major earthquake on the fault could unleash on Los Angeles. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most dangerous geological features on Earth. In trying to uncover the processes behind Yellowstone's main attractions like "Old Faithful," geologists came to the frightening realization that Yellowstone was in fact a vast hidden super-volcano--one that is overdue for a massive eruption. Yellowstone has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years but the last eruption was over 640,000 years ago, so the next is overdue. An eruption at Yellowstone could be 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens event. In the past 16.5 million years, the volcano has mysteriously moved hundreds of miles though Nevada across southern Idaho to reach its present location in Yellowstone. But even today it is still active. A swarm of 500 earthquakes hit the park early in 2009 and geologists found that the entire park is being pushed up into the air by hidden forces under the ground. Is this sleeping giant beginning to stir? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Is it possible that sightings of alien beings or UFOs may actually be evidence of time travelers from the future? And might ancient astronauts actually be time travelers from our future? Scientists explore the theoretical possibility of time travel. How can it be achieved? And what might people from 10,000 years in the future look like? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Myths and legends have long been regarded as fantastic stories that describe powerful gods, mutant giants and fearsome monsters. But why do so many different cultures, separated by vast distances, tell the same stories? Is it possible that myths and legends were really eyewitness accounts of ancient astronauts descending to Earth? Ancient texts are filled with stories of gods interacting with humans, offering wisdom, technology, and even impregnating women. Could the demigods of mythology have been the offspring of alien and human unions? If so, could aliens have supplied the Missing Link that accelerated human evolution, advancing our civilization and making us who we are today? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

If ancient aliens visited Earth, what was their mission, and is there evidence that points to when they will return? Ancient Sumerian tablets describe an alien race, known as the Anunnaki, who came to Earth to mine for gold. Egyptian hieroglyphs depict hybrid creatures that were part man, part animal. Mysterious crop circles and unexplainable crystal skulls are thought to contain messages that man has yet to decipher. Strange evidence may exist in multiple cultures throughout history suggesting that aliens came here to explore, excavate raw materials, experiment on human beings, and even for pure conquest. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Scientists offer insight into how and where a 10.0 megaquake could strike. This two-hour History special explores one of the most deadly and perplexing mysteries that surrounds planet earth: huge megaquakes. The largest quake ever recorded was a 9.5 earthquake off of Chile in 1960, but new research shows how even larger quakes close to 10.0 just might be possible. Through interviews with top earthquake experts and cutting edge scientific experiments, the special reveals that over 3 billion people on earth are in immediate danger from the next big one and how a real 10.0 might actually happen on US soil--in places you might not expect. TVPG VL | CC

Mother Nature unleashes a swarm of tornados on a group of storm chasers. A delivery driver in Japan gets swallowed by the deadliest tsunami in Japan's history. And finally, a massive avalanche barrels into a small town in Norway. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It is among the most versatile, nutritious, and varied foodstuffs in the world. The Potato is the ultimate comfort food. We'll travel from the Potato's mysterious origins in the South American Andes to the ethnic enclaves of New York's lower Eastside, for some tasty Potato Knishes. In Northern Maine we'll discover a farmer of exotic potatoes: blue, green, pink, and dark purple varieties. We'll reveal how large-scale potato producers in Idaho and Pennsylvania slice, dice, freeze, and dehydrate millions of pounds of spuds annually. We'll learn how to mass produce Tater tots and Kettle Potato Chips. Potato Vodka now scores near perfection in international tasting competitions--and we'll visit a Maine distillery at the top of their game. Finally, we'll pay tribute to the iconic Mr. Potato Head, now celebrating its 50th Anniversary, then round out the show with an explosive visit to the makers of some of the world's most sophisticated Spud Guns. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

160 million Americans visit a convenience store every day. Why? Because it's fast. But what you probably didn't know is how every detail of its design has been engineered to work that way. Step inside one of the busiest 7-11's in America and find out what makes it tick. And go behind the scenes to see how favorite innovations--like slurpees, turbo ovens, and beef jerky--are made. The science of convenience will amaze you! TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Two underdogs of American culture go head to head to prove how hillbillies and rednecks have shaped our states. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

America's most iconic rivalry was more than just a feud between families. The fight between the Hatfields and McCoys nearly launched a war between two states. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

The Battle of the Little Big Horn is one of the most iconic events in American history. It is an amazing story, but until now it has never been fully told. Many questions still remain but one question remains above all the others, did any of Custer's soldiers survive? New evidence suggests that a soldier named August Finkle was the lone survivor of "Custer's Last Stand," a battle that is practically synonymous with "no survivors." His tale of what actually went on in the battle may revise our interpretation of the events of the day. TVPG VL | CC

By the time Jesse James was killed in 1882, he'd stolen over a million and a half dollars according to some estimates--gold, coins and cash that could be worth over $50 million today. History often paints James as a clever outlaw who stole money to finance a lavish criminal lifestyle, a man whose sixteen year long crime spree came to a dramatic halt in 1882 when a fellow gang member betrayed him and shot him dead in the back of the head. But now, a treasure hunt may reveal a totally new story. Was Jesse really stealing for himself, or was he actually secreting away large sums of wealth, in order to finance one of the most clandestine secret societies in American history? Follow a team of treasure hunters searching for where he stashed his riches... and a new truth about Jesse James. Their discoveries may not only re-write the history of why Jesse stole, it could also raise new questions about his death. TVPG VL | CC

Africa's Sahara Desert is the size of the United States, making it the largest desert in the world. It's also the hottest place on the planet. But now an astonishing series of geological discoveries has revealed this searing wasteland hides a dramatically different past. Scientists have unearthed the fossils of whales, freshwater shells and even ancient human settlements. All clues to a story that would alter the course of human evolution and culminate in biggest climate change event of the last 10,000 years. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Home to the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, this lake holds more water than any other lake in Britain. It's only 10,000 years old, but billions of years in the making. Trace the extraordinary story of Loch Ness: from the three billion year old bedrock of Northern Scotland, to the giant glaciers that carved out the Loch. On this incredible journey we reveal that Loch Ness was once part of America, giant dinosaurs, suspiciously similar to the fabled monster once roamed the area, and that the entire region was engulfed by huge volcanic eruptions as Scotland was ripped from its birth place on the American continent. Could the mythical Loch Ness monster be a descendant of the dinosaurs, somehow surviving in the murky waters of the loch? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Deep in the Rust Belt the white collar and blue collar divide has shaped our cities and our states. How did this rivalry change the way we all bring home the bacon? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It's a rivalry that tears us apart every four years, but how did our nation divide into red states vs. blue states, and what happens to the states caught in the middle? TVPG VL | CC Show Site