Jazz: Rhythm of Freedom

Jazz was born in America, in cotton fields and cities... in brothels and churches. In the opera house, and the night club... jazz was music of the people. It began as part of a quest for freedom among those who were disenfranchised. From their struggle, it became a platform for self-expression. For more than one hundred years, jazz has been played throughout America, and everywhere it has been played, it has been more than just a style. It has been more than just a technique. It has been a way of liberation through music. Produced and Written by Mike Welt.

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Al "Scarface" Capone: The Original Gangster

In the 1920s the sprawling, brawling, skyscraper-studded city of Chicago ruled the American heartland. And one man seemed to rule Chicago. A racketeer, pimp, bootlegger and cold-blooded killer named Al Capone. Capone's empire lasted just six blood-soaked years. But his image as the ultimate American mobster still survives, decades after his days of gangland glory. Produced by Mark Page and Jennifer Petrucelli. Written by Mark Page.

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Prohibition: America on the Rocks

On October 10th, 1919, for the first time in American history, lawmakers voted to change the Constitution and strip away one of people's personal freedoms. Prohibition, the 18th amendment, outlawed alcohol. Many Americans believed Prohibition --later called the Noble Experiment -- would last forever, bringing the country closer to God and family. Instead, the 14 years under Prohibition are remembered for binge drinking, illegal parties, promiscuity, organized crime, and reckless disrespect for morality and government. Produced and Written by Karena O'Riordan.

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On the Trail of Eliot Ness

In the late '20s, gangland killings were tearing Chicago apart, as mob leader Al Capone battled to be top dog. Valentine's Day 1929 was be a bad day to be in Chicago if you worked for the competition. Newly elected President Herbert Hoover was outraged, and declared a war on crime in his inaugural speech. Within months, an elite squad of federal investigators called the Capone Squad, AKA the Untouchables, hit the streets of Chicago. The man in charge was the hard-driving, bright-eyed, and squeaky clean 26 year old, Eliot Ness. Capone's path was clear. He was going straight to hell. But Ness's path took a series of unexpected turns. The man who could track down bad guys with ease, wouldn't always detect the secret malice in people's hearts. Produced by Written by Sharon Wood.

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Louis Armstrong: Ambassador of Jazz

At the height of his career, Louis Armstrong and his band toured Europe. The sextet had come to perform America's greatest export -- jazz -- but Armstrong's adoring audiences knew him as much more than a musician. He was known as the ambassador of goodwill. Armstrong's joyous stage presence electrified audiences, but many of them didn't know he was the father of jazz itself. He pushed music into the 20th Century by inventing a new way of playing. By doing so, he helped to change the world of music, and the culture we live in, forever. Produced by Written by David O'Dell.

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Ben Hecht: The Shakespeare of Hollywood

Chicago in the roaring twenties was a hotbed of activity -- mostly criminal. Mobsters controlled gambling and the flow of alcohol, and they brutally exacted their revenge on their rivals. It was a bloody way of life for gangsters, but newspapermen had a field day. Ben Hecht was a reporter who could find and tell great stories, bringing the harsh realities of Chicago life on to the front page with a human dimension. Exploring the human condition with words would always be important to Hecht, even when he traded the back alleys of Chicago for Hollywood's back-lots, becoming tinsel-town's most respected screenwriter. Produced by Written by David O'Dell.

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Hellfighters: Harlem's Heroes of World War I

On July 14, 1919, French, British and American troops paraded down the Champs-Élysées in Paris, celebrating their triumph in the bloody trenches of World War I. But one American regiment was missing from the Allied ranks. It hadn't been sidelined by injury or a poor service record. In fact, the 369th Infantry was one of the most decorated regiments in the war. The men -- nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters -- were excluded for one simple reason: they were black. Produced and Written by Jennifer Huang and Adam Sternberg.

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