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AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

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Tuesday, March 3rd

9:00pm on
Runtime: 00:55:18
Widescreen

The Sun Queen

For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world's first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues - all men - at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. An unexpected and largely forgotten heroine, Telkes was remarkable in her vision and tenacity - a scientist and a woman in every way ahead of her time. Her research and innovations from the 1930s through the '70s continue to shape how we power our lives today.

Wednesday, March 4th

2:00am on
Runtime: 00:55:18
Widescreen

The Sun Queen

For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world's first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues - all men - at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. An unexpected and largely forgotten heroine, Telkes was remarkable in her vision and tenacity - a scientist and a woman in every way ahead of her time. Her research and innovations from the 1930s through the '70s continue to shape how we power our lives today.

10:00am on
Runtime: 00:55:18
Widescreen

The Sun Queen

For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world's first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues - all men - at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. An unexpected and largely forgotten heroine, Telkes was remarkable in her vision and tenacity - a scientist and a woman in every way ahead of her time. Her research and innovations from the 1930s through the '70s continue to shape how we power our lives today.

Saturday, March 7th

5:00am on
Runtime: 00:55:18
Widescreen

The Sun Queen

For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world's first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues - all men - at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. An unexpected and largely forgotten heroine, Telkes was remarkable in her vision and tenacity - a scientist and a woman in every way ahead of her time. Her research and innovations from the 1930s through the '70s continue to shape how we power our lives today.

Sunday, March 15th

10:00pm on
Runtime: 01:55:45
Widescreen
Watch Now!

Fly with Me NEW

Fly With Me is a story about new frontiers for working women and the constraints of traditional notions of femininity. It's about both exploitation and activism, and pitched battles within the courtrooms of the United States. Maligned as feminist sellouts and sluts, stewardesses, as they were called, knew different: They were on the frontlines of a battle to assert gender equality and transform the workplace. Fly With Me will rely on firsthand witness accounts, personal stories, and a rich and extensive archive to tell a lively, fun and important but neglected history of the women who, while flying the world, changed it.

Monday, March 16th

2:00am on
Runtime: 01:55:45
Widescreen
Watch Now!

Fly with Me

Fly With Me is a story about new frontiers for working women and the constraints of traditional notions of femininity. It's about both exploitation and activism, and pitched battles within the courtrooms of the United States. Maligned as feminist sellouts and sluts, stewardesses, as they were called, knew different: They were on the frontlines of a battle to assert gender equality and transform the workplace. Fly With Me will rely on firsthand witness accounts, personal stories, and a rich and extensive archive to tell a lively, fun and important but neglected history of the women who, while flying the world, changed it.

10:00am on
Runtime: 01:55:45
Widescreen
Watch Now!

Fly with Me

Fly With Me is a story about new frontiers for working women and the constraints of traditional notions of femininity. It's about both exploitation and activism, and pitched battles within the courtrooms of the United States. Maligned as feminist sellouts and sluts, stewardesses, as they were called, knew different: They were on the frontlines of a battle to assert gender equality and transform the workplace. Fly With Me will rely on firsthand witness accounts, personal stories, and a rich and extensive archive to tell a lively, fun and important but neglected history of the women who, while flying the world, changed it.

Tuesday, March 31st

9:00pm on
Runtime: 00:55:29
Widescreen
Watch Now!

The Cancer Detectives

In the 1950's, survival rates from cancer of any kind were low. Damaging surgery and unsophisticated radiotherapy were the main treatments, assuming the disease was detected in time for anything to be done. Cervical cancer was often asymptomatic until it was well advanced, and by that time, it was often a death sentence. This dramatic story of the fight against cervical cancer revolves around three main characters: Dr. Papanicolaou, a Greek immigrant whose single-minded pursuit of the development of a diagnostic test saved hundreds of thousands of women; Hashime Murayama, the exquisitely talented artist who became National Geographic's first inhouse illustrator, but because of his Japanese heritage, was fired, interned in a WWII camp, then released to work on the project; and Helen Dickens, a groundbreaking Black female surgeon, who overcame deep distrust between the Black community and medical professionals to save the lives of thousands of women. The work of these three true life savers slashed death rates of this previously unfightable cancer by more than 60 percent.