The History Channel

Southerners have a certain style, language and way of life. But what many people don't know is that America itself was made in the South. This two-hour special journeys to the real South for an informative and sometimes lighthearted look at its distinctive cultures, characteristics and influences on our country's history. Narrated by Charlie Daniels, well-known Southerners--Jeff Foxworthy, Trace Adkins, Ty Pennington, James Carville, Ricky Scaggs, Michael Waltrip, Bobby Bowden, Lyrnyrd Skynryd, Herschel Walker, Al Bell, and others--weigh in on cornerstones of Southern life: barbecue and moonshine, hunting and fishing, college football and the Grand Ol' Opry. We'll unearth surprises and misconceptions dating back to the earliest days of American history.

We may be a law-abiding nation but we also admire the outlaw, and the clash between rebels and the rules has shaped our states. Which states like to make their own rules, and which do the heat have on lockdown?

Americans have a lot of vices and they don't just stay in Vegas. From drugs to gambling, the state you live in may shape how bad you can be.

It's the glue that holds our map together and feeds America, but the Midwest is more than just state fairs and flyover country.

Get behind the wheel and take control of the some of the largest, fastest, most powerful machines on the planet. These aren't your average vehicles--and handling one of these rides is unlike anything else. But you need more than just a learner's permit to take control of these vehicles...you need training, experience, and above all, guts--if you plan to sit in the Driver's Seat.

Some activities only occur when the world is dark. We stay up late off the coast of California to hunt some slippery and slimy nocturnal creatures: squid by the tens of thousands. Fishermen show us how they lure them into their net by mesmerizing them with the boat's powerful lights. We also visit Toronto, Canada, the self proclaimed "worm capitol of the world", where an army of pickers pluck countless night crawlers emerging from their burrows. In Tennessee, we put a night vision lens on our camera to capture the action as military trainees try their hand at the latest night vision gear. And we'll experience how hard it is to evade a police helicopter's blindingly bright Spectrolab spotlight, or powerful noses and sharp teeth when the cops deploy their K-9 units. For some after hours fun, we'll see how more than six hundred, 2,000 watt lights can turn night into day inside the Pittsburgh Pirates' new state-of-the-art stadium.

Just the whiff of a foul odor can make your head spin, your eyes water, your stomach turn--it can even send you hurling. From cesspools, military stink bombs, and rancid rotting meat... to cow farms and landfills... to bad breath, B.O and beyond, the world is full of stink--and we've spent centuries battling the funk. So how do we deal with these horrific odors? Hold your breath `cause these sensational stories are gonna STINK!

We live in a highly mechanized world in which billions of products are made by machines--but there are some things that can be built only by using an even more sophisticated tool--the human hand. In New Mexico, a pilot who builds his own jet-powered glider takes to the skies--his very life depending on his handiwork. Canoe makers in Montana, and a knife maker in Washington, handcraft items so unique that customers are willing to pay significantly higher prices than if they were machine made. In the farmlands of Central California, craftsmen keep alive the ancient art of weapon making--see their gleaming suits of armor in action, as weekend warriors do battle. Ever wonder how those impressive animal skeletons in museums are constructed? The artists of Skulls International in Oklahoma City share their secrets. And in Hollywood, the Chiodo brothers reveal how handmade special effects have a charm and character that today's computer animators can't duplicate.

Ancient Astronaut theorists believe aliens have been visiting earth for thousands of years. If so, might we find evidence of this even in the stories of America's Old West? In Aurora, Texas, the local cemetery claims to hold the body of an alien whose ship crashed there in 1897. In Utah, petroglyphs depict strange beings wearing what look like space suits. In southern California, 19th century ranchers reported seeing an otherworldly creature emerge from Elizabeth Lake. And even in Tombstone, Arizona, the home of Wyatt Earp and the site of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, cowboys claimed to have shot at a giant, metallic bird Are these simply campfire tales, or did the cowboys and native people of America's Wild West actually come in contact with alien beings from another--much more distant--frontier?

Centuries ago the prophet Nostradamus had visions of the end of our modern world. Now, scholars decipher his mysterious predictions and learn of terrible tragedies and catastrophic events that threaten to annihilate global populations. Nostradamus has successfully predicted the rise of Hitler, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the detonation of the atomic bomb, and countless other events. Many fear that the remaining unfulfilled prophecies of Nostradamus will manifest before our very eyes. At Radius Engineering in Texas, Walton McCarthy shows state of the art underground shelters to a concerned family and in South Florida, Billy Carson of Fort Terra Nova meets with a prospective client interested in joining an underground shelter community large enough to house over 350 people.

December 21, 2012: a prophetic date delivered in stone by the ancient Maya. Revered by scientists for their extremely accurate calendars, the Maya are also known for their mysterious ability to predict unsettling events so many are taking the December date seriously. On this date a rare galactic alignment will take place and coincidentally, as the alignment happens, our sun will be entering its most violent solar storm cycle. And, all of this comes at a time when scientists believe Earth s magnetic defense shield, which protects us from dangerous solar radiation, may be compromised. Our planet may become paralyzed. People are heeding the warning and getting prepared, including a group of everyday Americans learning how to fend for themselves and live off the grid.

This island in the middle of San Francisco Bay has a forbidding reputation. Native Americans believed it to be a place of evil spirits. When it became a federal prison in 1934, only the most violent and difficult prisoners in the U.S. were sent there. It was reputed to be escape proof; only three men have ever managed to get off the island. They left in 1962 and have never been found. MysteryQuest investigates to determine whether they could have survived the icy waters of San Francisco Bay.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Most consider the Israelite Exodus out of Egypt an act of Divine intervention. Whether inspired by God or not, the Exodus is not merely a migration of slaves, but a military maneuver by a group of combat-hardened mercenaries. An enraged Pharaoh releases his army to hunt the Israelites down after they sack an Egyptian town as they make their exit. But Moses's sharp military mind and intimate knowledge of the terrain prove more than the massive, heavily armed Egyptian army can handle. While the Israelites perform a complicated night water crossing, Moses lures the Egyptians to a watery grave in the Sea of Reeds.

In this bloody first battle of the conquest of the Promised Land, Joshua's special operations forces secretly infiltrate and destroy Jericho from the inside out. The walls of Jericho are believed to be impenetrable. But Joshua's spies find a defector in Jericho named Rahab. As Joshua's army parades around the walled city for six days, the Israelites sneak special ops forces into Rahab's house. Once they amass forty soldiers inside, Joshua and his army outside the city blow their horns and attack. The forty troops inside catch the city completely unaware, and the city falls. Only Rahab is spared from the massive bloodletting that is the taking of Jericho.

In 327 BC, Greece goes head-to-head with India in Alexander the Great's final campaign. As Alexander leads his armies into India, he faces one of the most difficult tactical challenges any ground commander can confront--a forced river-crossing, a raging thunder storm and a vicious enemy. Alexander is able to deceive the Indian General Porus into believing that they would not attempt a crossing, instead he maneuvers his infantry across the river at night--catching the Indian Legions unaware. Victory is at hand thanks to this strategic brilliance.

Get an unprecedented look at the most extreme missions of the most extreme job in the world. You have one shot, one scoped sight, one controlled breath, one squeeze of a honed trigger. In a fraction of a second, you will either be a hero who took out an enemy commander, or a lone hunter who has suddenly become the hunted. This special deconstructs and analyzes the most dangerous feats undertaken in the history of military warfare. The legendary snipers who are still alive will share never-before-told stories about their classified missions. What techniques were used by these sharpshooters? What roles did the weather conditions, terrain, weapons systems, and snipers' physiological states play in the success of each operation? Examine the painstaking process perfected by the expert marksmen who live by the credo, "One shot, one kill."