HISTORY This Week

May 3, 1995. The Hunley has been missing for over 100 years. This Civil War submarine and all eight of her crew disappeared after completing the first successful submarine attack ever. When a team of divers finally locates the wreck in the mid ‘90s, it...

Hope, Through History with Jon Meacham explores some of the most trying times in American history, and how we came through these moments a unified nation.

April 22, 1970. Nearly 20 million Americans come out in solidarity for one of the largest mass movements of the century: Earth Day. How did Earth Day 1970 bring Americans from across the political aisle out into the streets? And can we unite again?

April 14, 1970. Apollo 13 is a quarter million miles from Earth, speeding towards the Moon, when a sudden explosion rocks the ship. Against all odds, the astronauts pull off one of the most remarkable survival missions in NASA history. On the 50th anni...

April 6, 1924. Eight American pilots begin a dangerous mission: to be the first to fly around the world. This will change our future in a way few could predict. What did it take to complete this historic flight? And what were its unintended consequences?

April 5, 1918. The first mention of a new influenza outbreak in Kansas appears in a public health report. That strain, later called the Spanish Flu, would go on to kill at least 50 million people worldwide. In a time before widespread global travel, ho...

March 28, 1939. Two teams are facing off for the final game of World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago, the first professional tournament to feature both white and black basketball teams. This is several years before the start of the NBA, a...

March 19, 1931. Las Vegas is a small town of a few thousand. It’s not doing so well. It might turn into a ghost town. But then Nevada legalizes gambling and the ground shifts beneath the city. But no one knows it, at first. How did Vegas become Vegas?

The Ides of March, 44 BC. Ancient Rome’s most powerful dictator, Julius Caesar, is running late to a senate meeting. When he arrives, senators surround him and stab him 23 times. The assassination of Caesar has been told and re-told for centuries, but ...

March 7th, 1985. “We Are the World” hits the shelves. It makes music history. It featured 45 of the biggest singers of the era and raises millions of dollars for charity. What did it take to make it happen? And did it actually make a difference?