History Analyzed

Wars are never solely military questions. They always involve politics and the will of the people. This episode outlines America's war in Vietnam and explains why the U.S. lost, including the limitations imposed by the American public and the realities of the Cold War.

In the 1950s, U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy led a hunt for Communists in the American government. His brand of persecution based on lies, rumors, and innuendos ruined many lives but did not send a single subversive to jail. He set the standard for politicians who wish to be bullies and demagogues.

Polio was one of the scourges of the 20th century. And it mainly struck children. All of a sudden a person contracted polio and suffered terribly for several days; sometimes they recovered, sometimes they died, and sometimes they were left permanently disabled. The most famous polio victim of all time, Franklin Roosevelt, hid his disability from the public. But this story has a true hero: Jonas Salk, who developed a vaccine which led to the almost complete eradication of this dreaded disease. And Dr. Salk never patented the vaccine or earned any money from his discovery.

Often overshadowed by the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl was the worst man-made ecological disaster of the 20th century. Poor farming practices led to this catastrophe, which caused thousands of deaths and ravaged millions of lives. Discover how FDR's New Deal helped save the southern plains region.

Forget what you've seen in movies and discover the real history of Cleopatra! Her affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony are only the tip of the iceberg. Learn how she rose to power in a male-dominated world, ruled Egypt, and left her mark on history.