Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Dionne Warwick and actor Danielle Brooks break down the barriers imposed by slavery to learn the names and stories of their ancestors who endured bondage. Facing one of the greatest genealogical challenges, Gates uses his detective skills to piece together the lives of women and men who survived unimaginable ordeals--but emerged to forge families that thrived.

Henry Louis Gates takes actors Claire Danes and Jeff Daniels on a journey into their roots, uncovering primal scenes from our nation’s past. Weaving together stories of soldiers and settlers, immigrants and entrepreneurs, Gates travels from World War One battlefields to Civil War prison camps to America’s most infamous witch hunt—offering his guests insight into what made them who they are today.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with film director Ava DuVernay, actor S. Epatha Merkerson, and musician Questlove to the unexpected places where their ancestors were scattered by slavery, upending their notions of African American history—and their own family trees.

When the media gets wind of Mary Thorn’s alligator story, she’s characterized as just another crazy “Florida Man.” Florida Woman peels back the curtain on the media’s portrayal of a nurturing woman –– an ex-pro wrestler turned animal lover, who challenges the state in order to save her pet alligator. Mary and her gator Rambo reveal the humanity and complexity behind the viral headlines.

Coverture severely restricted women’s political, financial, and personal rights and was imported to the American colonies as a part of English common law. It affected the lives of all American women and although it has been diminished over time vestiges of it remain even today.

In the late-19th century, with the American Civil War in full swing, millions of Americans relied on the written word, illustrations and engravings for news about the conflict; until the groundbreaking work of New York photographer Mathew Brady, brought the harsh realities of war home for the very first time.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, is considered the most powerful woman in American politics. Pelosi was the first female Speaker of the House and the first woman to be third in line for the presidency. Among her greatest accomplishments in government was the passage of the Affordable Care Act/Obama Care, providing millions of Americans access to medical insurance. She shares what it was like wielding such political...

False or misleading information can easily be mistaken for truth, so the importance of fact checking and verifying cannot be overstated. This program teaches practical strategies for verifying information. It discusses cross referencing using multiple sources, investigating sources, checking primary sources, using fact-checking websites, assessing supporting evidence, and evaluating bias and objectivity. It also looks at how to identify fake or manipulated...

Native innovators lead a revolution in music, building, and space exploration. From the surface of Mars to the New York City hip hop scene to the Pine Ridge Reservation, Native traditions are transforming life on Earth and other worlds.

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shares the family histories of director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, iconoclastic performance artist Marina Abramovic and painter Kehinde Wiley. These visionary artists find their identities challenged—and affirmed.