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The Best Episodes of American Experience Season 36

Every episode of American Experience Season 36 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of American Experience Season 36!

Binge this in 8h 17m•Peaking at 7.9/10

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    American Experience Season 36 Episode 1 - Nazi Town, USA
    7.6/10(225 votes)

    #1 - Nazi Town, USA

    S36:E1

    The story of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi group which in the 1930s had scores of chapters across the country, representing what many believe was a real threat of fascist subversion in the United States. They held joint rallies with the KKK and ran summer camps for children centered around Nazi ideology and imagery, melding patriotic values with virulent anti-Semitism.

    Director:Peter Yost
    Writer:Peter Yost

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  2. American Experience Season 36 Episode 2 - Fly With Me
    7.7/10(128 votes)

    #2 - Fly With Me

    S36:E2

    The story of the pioneering women who changed the world while flying it. Maligned as feminist sellouts, “stewardesses,” as they were called, were on the frontlines of a battle to assert gender equality and transform the workplace.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. American Experience Season 36 Episode 3 - The Cancer Detectives
    7.2/10(78 votes)

    #3 - The Cancer Detectives

    S36:E3

    The untold story of the first-ever war on cancer and the coalition of people who fought tirelessly to save women from cervical cancer: a Greek immigrant, Dr. George Papanicolaou; his intrepid wife, Mary; Japanese-born artist Hashime Murayama; Dr. Helen Dickens, an African American OBGYN in Philadelphia; and an entirely new class of female scientists.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. American Experience Season 36 Episode 4 - Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
    7.9/10(101 votes)

    #4 - Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal

    S36:E4

    The dramatic and inspiring story of the ordinary women who fought against overwhelming odds for the health and safety of their families. In the late 1970s, residents of Love Canal, a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, discovered that their homes, schools and playgrounds were built on top of a former chemical waste dump, which was now leaking toxic substances and wreaking havoc on their health. Through interviews with many of the extraordinary housewives turned activists, the film shows how they effectively challenged those in power, forced America to reckon with the human cost of unregulated industry, and created a grassroots movement that galvanized the landmark Superfund Bill.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. American Experience Season 36 Episode 5 - The Riot Report
    7.0/10(74 votes)

    #5 - The Riot Report

    S36:E5

    When Black neighborhoods across America erupted in violence during the summer of 1967, President Johnson appointed a commission to determine what happened, why it happened, and what could be done to keep it from happening again. The bi-partisan commission’s final report offered a shockingly unvarnished assessment of American race relations that would doom its finding to political oblivion.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. American Experience Season 36 Episode 6 - The American Vice President
    6.9/10(66 votes)

    #6 - The American Vice President

    S36:E6

    The American Vice President explores the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolution from a constitutional afterthought to a position of political consequence. Focusing on the fraught period between 1963 and 1974, when a grief-stricken and then scandal-plagued America was forced to clarify the role of the vice president, the film examines the passage and first uses of the 25th Amendment and offers a fresh and surprising perspective on succession in the executive branch.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. American Experience Season 36 Episode 7 - American Coup: Wilmington 1898
    7.5/10(101 votes)

    #7 - American Coup: Wilmington 1898

    S36:E7

    American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city — the only successful coup d’état in the history of the US. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government. Many Black residents were murdered, and thousands were banished. The story of what happened in Wilmington was suppressed for decades until descendants and scholars began to investigate. Today, many of those descendants — Black and white — are seeking the truth behind this intentionally buried history.

    Directors:Brad Lichtenstein, Yoruba Richen
    Writers:Brad Lichtenstein, Yoruba Richen, Peter Miller

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Season 36 Ratings Summary

"Nazi Town, USA" is the best rated episode of "American Experience" season 36. It scored 7.6/10 based on 225 votes. Directed by Peter Yost and written by Peter Yost, it aired on 1/23/2024. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Fly With Me".