American Experience - Season 26 (2013)

From PBS and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: In the early 20th century, the average American medicine cabinet was a would-be poisoner's treasure chest, with radioactive radium, thallium, and morphine in everyday products. The pace of industrial innovation increased, but the scientific knowledge to detect and prevent crimes committed with these materials lagged behind until 1918. New York City's first scientifically trained medical examiner, Charles Norris, and his chief toxicologist, Alexander Gettler, turned forensic chemistry into a formidable science and set the standards for...

The pivotal year that essentially ushered in the true 1960s is explored.

From pbs.org What is it like to be cut off from your faith and your family? The Amish: Shunned follows seven people who have chosen to leave their closed and tightly-knit communities for the outside world, knowing they can never return. Each has paid deeply for their decision. Estranged from loved ones, these former Amish find themselves struggling to make their way in modern America.

The historical account of outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, whose turn of the last century exploits made headlines, led them to be pursued by Pinkerton detectives hired by the railroads, and inspired a hit 1969 film.

In 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad successfully accomplished an enormous engineering feat: knitting together the entire eastern half of the United States by building tunnels under New York City's Hudson and East Rivers, connecting the railroad to New York and, eventually, to New England. The tunnels terminated in what was one of the greatest architectural achievements of its time, Pennsylvania Station. Designed by renowned architect Charles McKim, and inspired by the Roman baths of Caracalla, Pennsylvania Station covered nearly eight acres, extended two city blocks, ...

This documentary recalls the confrontational, violent summer of 1964 in Mississippi, when student volunteers from around the country joined with local activists in an effort to register to vote as many African-Americans as possible.