Our present-day civilization is the result of a learning process that has taken thousands of years. Human beings have slowly developed their intelligence and utilized the possibilities offered to mankind by nature. This program covers the major advances of humankind throughout the ages. Beginning more than two million years ago, the program covers how people created the first tools, discovered fire, invented the wheel, created written language, and...

Under the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah, Iran experiences an oil-driven economic boom, but the government’s excesses and repressive tactics lead to increasing hostility towards the monarch and his closest ally: the United States. As religious cleric Ayatollah Khomeini grows in popularity, the Shah flees and the country becomes engulfed in revolution, endangering the U.S. embassy.

During the Cold War, the power blocs of the East and West vied to control the vast mineral resources of the former Belgian colony, The Congo. The CIA working with the British, French, and Belgian Secret Services feared that this newly independent African country had fallen under Soviet influence. So the Secret Services funded a rebellion in the mineral-rich province of Katanga-and installed a puppet President, Moishe Tchombe, whose first act was to...

When you think of America's immigration story, you think of Ellis Island New York... right? Think again, because over 2,500 miles away is Angel Island, where immigrants coming into the West Coast were processed for entry to the US, but it was an experience that was anything but welcoming.

The American industrial revolution of the late 19th century helped to create the modern America that exists today. Industries such as railroads, steel-making, and oil fueled an economic expansion, while the rapid population growth of many cities, from rural areas and overseas, literally changed the face of the nation. Inventions such as electricity provided modern conveniences, while innovations in agriculture and mining opened up the west. Problems...

When Kofi Annan asked Sergio Vieira de Mello to be his top envoy in Baghdad following the US-led invasion of Iraq, he knew that his request was highly unprecedented. There was no doubt that Vieira de Mello was the most skilled mediator at the UN, perhaps the only one who could balance the delicate intricacies that the situation presented, yet he was also the person that the UN could least afford to lose. On August 19th, 2003, a bomb exploded outside...

This is a timeline of the evolution of aircraft and aviation, from the early experiments with hot air balloons in 1783 to the advancements of modern-day aviation. From the Wright Brothers' historic flight in 1903 to the development of jet engines, supersonic passenger jets, and unmanned drones, aviation continues to push the boundaries of innovation and shape the way we travel and explore the skies.

An interview with Iran-Contra Select Committee senior members Congressman Richard Cheney of Wyoming and House Majority Leader Thomas Foley.

Though they would eventually hold him hostage, the Taliban granted Norwegian journalist Paul Refsdal permission to film their activities in a mountain hideout in eastern Afghanistan for this documentary about them. Refsdal focuses on commander Dari Dawat, who has a $400,000 American bounty on his head, capturing him leading the group in prayer and then advising them on battle tactics. Once a prosperous landowner, Dawat's strong convictions about ousting...

In 2018, the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal that it had helped negotiate in 2015. How will this change U.S.-Iran relations and geopolitics in the Middle East?