Show cover for American Experience

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!

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

Genre:Documentary
Network:PBS

Season 36 Ratings Summary

The best episode of "American Experience" season 36 is "Nazi Town, USA", rated 7.8/10 from 137 user votes. It was directed by Peter Yost and written by Peter Yost. "Nazi Town, USA" aired on 1/23/2024 and is rated 0.3 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Fly With Me".

  • Nazi Town, USA
    7.8/10 137 votes

    #1 - Nazi Town, USA

    Season 36 Episode 1 - Aired 1/23/2024

    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

  • Fly With Me
    8.1/10 82 votes

    #2 - Fly With Me

    Season 36 Episode 2 - Aired 2/20/2024

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Cancer Detectives
    7.9/10 14 votes

    #3 - The Cancer Detectives

    Season 36 Episode 3 - Aired 3/26/2024

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
    8.1/10 67 votes

    #4 - Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal

    Season 36 Episode 4 - Aired 4/22/2024

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Riot Report
    7.7/10 41 votes

    #5 - The Riot Report

    Season 36 Episode 5 - Aired 5/21/2024

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A