American Experience (season 27)

Season twenty-eight of the television program American Experience aired on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States on January 19, 2016.

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Categories	Original air date
309	1	"Bonnie & Clyde"[1]	John Maggio	Biographies, Popular Culture	January 19, 2016
A documentary about the origins, notoriety, and demise of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, members of a Depression era criminal group - the Barrow Gang. After undeveloped film of the couple was discovered by the police and circulated by the media, the couples crime spree and playful images began to capture the attention of the American public.[2][3]
310	2	"The Mine Wars"[4]	Randall MacLowry	Popular Culture, The Natural Environment	January 26, 2016
A chronicle of coal mine workers in southern West Virginia and their efforts to form a labor union during the West Virginia coal wars. The film is in part based on the book, The Devil Is Here in These Hills, by James Green.[5]
311	3	"Murder of a President"[6]	Rob Rapley	Biographies, Presidents	February 2, 2016
The film chronicles the life and death of President James A. Garfield, the fourth president to die while in office. He was shot twice by Charles J. Guiteau due to a delusional belief he could secure a patronage position from Garfields' successor - Vice President Chester A. Arthur. Garfield died two months later by infections from his injuries and poor medical care by physician Doctor Willard Bliss. The film is in part based on the book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard.[7]
312	4	"The Perfect Crime"[8]	Cathleen O'Connell	Popular Culture	February 9, 2016
A film about Jazz Age murderers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, their defense attorney Clarence Darrow, and the "Trial of the Century". The two 19-year-old men met while attending the University of Chicago and discovered they possessed similar backgrounds and experiences. Both young men were intelligent, of Jewish descent, and born into wealthy families that resided in the affluent Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Influenced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and his concept of supermen (Übermenschen), they kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Frank for the thrill of the kill in 1924. After clues began to implicate them, the two young men confessed their entire plot to State's Attorney Robert E. Crowe. In court, the trial became a debate between Crowe and Darrow about the death penalty. Among the American public, the high profile case became a debate about human nature.[9][10][11]
313	5	"Space Men"[12]	Amanda Pollak	Technology	March 1, 2016

References

1. "American Experience | Bonnie & Clyde". PBS. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
2. Genzlinger, Neil (January 14, 2016). "‘American Experience’ Looks Back at Bonnie and Clyde". New York Times. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
3. Keough, Peter (January 16, 2016). "Meet the Real Bonnie and Clyde". Boston Globe. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
4. "American Experience | The Mine Wars". PBS. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
5. Feeney, Mark (January 26, 2016). "‘The Mine Wars’ Looks at Labor Strife a Century Ago". Boston Globe. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
6. "American Experience | Murder of a President". PBS. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
7. Genzlinger, Neil (January 29, 2016). "Review: ‘American Experience’ Traces President Garfield’s Assassination". New York Times. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
8. "American Experience | The Perfect Crime". PBS. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
9. Lowry, Brian (February 8, 2016). "TV Review: Frontline's 'The Fantasy Sports Gamble,' American Experience's 'The Perfect Crime'". Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
10. Rothman, Lily (February 9, 2016). "The ‘Affluenza’ Defense Is Older Than You Think". Time. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
11. Metz, Nina (February 8, 2016). "PBS' 'American Experience' Puts Chicago's Teen Killers Leopold and Loeb Under Examination". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
12. "American Experience | Space Men". PBS. Retrieved March 2, 2016.