This Is Actually America's First Small Town
Founded by Spaniards four whole decades before Jamestown, St. Augustine, Florida, is our oldest town.
Jan 18, 2016•3 min
Aerial America
Above the Everyday
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Episodes
The Heartwarming Story Behind the First Thanksgiving
The first pilgrims who settled in Plymouth suffered a brutal winter, facing disease and exposure in a new land. But the following spring, members of the Wampanoag tribe paid them a visit that would result in an enduring American holiday.
Dec 07, 2015•1 min
The Tragic Bad Axe Massacre of 1832
In 19th-century Illinois, tensions between settlers and local Native American tribes led to a series of escalating confrontations. The violent culmination of these conflicts drove Sauk leader Black Hawk and his tribe out of the state.
Nov 02, 2015•3 min
Paterson, NJ: Birthplace of U.S. Industry?
In 1791, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton needed to establish an "industrial city" to power the nation's economy. He found the perfect place in northern New Jersey.
Oct 26, 2015•2 min
Yellowstone Is Overdue for an Eruption?
Tall tales take on a life of their own when witnesses past and present begin to describe the grandeur of Yellowstone. But her imminent eruption is no stretch of the truth.
Sep 28, 2015•4 min
Michigan's Big House
The University of Michigan's football stadium is called the "Big House" because it's the biggest in the country, and even with 109,901 seats, its biggest games are always sold out.
Sep 07, 2015•2 min
The Bridge Capital of the World
Pittsburgh's glass industry put it on the map, but it's steel that makes it one of America's great industrial cities, and its 446 bridges that make it the bridge capital of the world.
Aug 17, 2015•2 min
Why Denver is an Art-Lover's Paradise
Originally just a lone saloon for worn out miners, Denver is now the state capitol and most populous city in Colorado, with a tradition of modern architecture and an iconic airport.
Aug 10, 2015•3 min
The South Carolina Statehouse
Adorned with over 44,000 pounds of copper, the South Carolina statehouse has a long and weathered past.
Aug 10, 2015•2 min
Why Wild Horses Are at Risk
Mustangs aren't native to the hills of the American west, but today they run rampant throughout Nevada.
Aug 03, 2015•2 min
The Surprising Link Between the Grand Canyon and Ancient Egypt
For centuries, travelers have visited popular Grand Canyon monuments like the Osiris Tower and the Temple of Ra. But where do these ancient Egyptian names come from?
Jul 13, 2015•1 min
The Heart of Charlotte
Ever since the first gold flakes were discovered nearby, Charlotte has been a bustling metropolis and the financial epicenter of North Carolina.
Jul 13, 2015•59 sec
You Can Find the Oak Tree From 'Shawshank Redemption' Here
In the 1940s and 50s, Hollywood's biggest stars considered Malabar Farm an ideal getaway.
Jul 06, 2015•3 min
The Home of the Wright Brothers
In their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, the Wright brothers made aviation history with their Model B flyer.
Jun 22, 2015•4 min
Al Capone and Chicago's Violent Mobster Past
In an already violent city, Al Capone stood apart. And he proved it in 1929, when his men executed a rival gang in what's now known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
Apr 27, 2015•3 min
This Irish Immigrant Prevented a Train Wreck
In 1881, 17-year-old Kate Shelley braved a stormy Iowa night to warn an incoming train about a bridge that had given away.
Apr 06, 2015•2 min
The Plane Crash that Claimed Three Rock Legends
The death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in an Iowa cornfield became known as "The Day the Music Died" after the 1971 Don McLean song.
Mar 30, 2015•3 min
How Francis Marion Became the Father of Guerrilla Warfare
The swampy, cypress-covered Francis Marion National Forest was once an escape route for a controversial figure in America's fight for independence.
Jan 12, 2015•2 min
How a Diphtheria Outbreak Spawned the Iditarod
Each year, mushers drive a pack of 16 dogs through the rough wilderness between Anchorage and Nome in honor of a famous Alaska medical emergency.
Jan 05, 2015•3 min
A Frigid Bootcamp for Scientists
To prepare for an 90-mile, 8-week research trip across Alaska, apprentices in Juneau's Icefield Research Program must first learn how to survive in the wild.
Dec 29, 2014•3 min
The Soul of Louisiana
Where the first American mafias, Louis Armstrong, and chef Emeril Lagasse started out, New Orleans remains the soul of Louisiana.
Dec 15, 2014•3 min
A New View of Vegas
Started by mobsters and ruled by Wall Street, the Las Vegas strip has become the capitol of extravagance...and bad behavior.
Nov 10, 2014•3 min
America's First Multimillionaire
In 1828, John Jacob Astor built a trading post on the Missouri River. Business was so profitable that it only took four decades for Astor to become America's first multimillionaire.
Sep 29, 2014•3 min
The Town that Gave us Oprah
As a precocious 3-year-old in small-town Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey learned how to entertain an audience when she was encouraged to recite bible passages to her church.
Aug 18, 2014•1 min
On the Shores of the Great Lakes
Surrounded by four of America's Great Lakes, Michigan has more freshwater shoreline than any other state. Each of its shores has its own unique landscape, from forests, to beaches, to giant walls of sand.
Aug 11, 2014•2 min
A Rare Look at the Secret Site of the Atomic Bomb
In 1942, one thousand families were pushed out of Oak Ridge, Tennessee as part of The Manhattan Project - the US government's top secret initiative to engineer an atomic bomb.
Jul 14, 2014•2 min
Alaska's Glaciers Take Up More Space Than All of West Virginia
There are about 30,000 square miles of glaciers in Alaska, many of which have been melting rapidly. The largest, the Bering glacier, deposits 6.5 trillion gallons of water a year into the Gulf of Alaska
Jul 07, 2014•4 min
A Volcano 10 Times More Forceful than Mount St. Helens
There are 50 active volcanoes in Alaska, two of which blow their tops every year. But nothing compares to the 15 cubic kilometers of magma that spewed from this volcano in 1912.
Jun 23, 2014•3 min
How Memphis Celebrates MLK Jr.'s Legacy
From the Smithsonian's Rock and Soul Museum, to the Stax Museum of American Soul, to the National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis is a city rich in music, art, culture.
Jun 23, 2014•2 min
How to Build a Windfarm
Every windmill in this huge windfarm will need to be put together piece by piece in a delicate procedure that takes the power of a machine and the precision of human hand.
Jun 16, 2014•2 min
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