FRONTLINE: Storm Over Everest Series

Lectures curated around FRONTLINE: Storm Over Everest, which reflects on the fateful storm that killed five climbers three years earlier.

In May 1996, the world-renowned climber and filmmaker David Breashears was making his third ascent up Mount Everest, leading an IMAX film team, when a swift and ferocious storm unexpectedly hit the mountain, trapping three exhausted climbing teams near the top of the world's highest peak.

In this program, Breashears returns to summit Everest and to reflect on that ominous storm that resulted in the deaths of five climbers on the south side of the mountain. Interviews with climbers who survived the harrowing ordeal recount the events that occurred, and the decisions that were made, that resulted in seasoned mountaineers losing their lives alongside less experienced climbers drawn to the mystique of Mount Everest.

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Audio-only
Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge and Hope
Broughton Coburn
December 1, 2006
00:59:16
Coburn delivers a concise presentation on the book, on issues facing the Himalaya, and on the charitable activities of the American Himalayan Foundation. A question and answer period with the audience follows.
Jennifer Jordan: Women of K2
Jennifer Jordan
January 29, 2003
00:57:13
Award-winning journalist and filmmaker Jennifer Jordan shares stories from her research expeditions on The Women of K2. In 2000, Jordan joined an American expedition of women climbers attempting to summit K2 on the Pakistan-China border.
Audio-only
Exploration to the Ends of the Earth: Roald Amundsen
James P. Delgado
October 9, 2005
01:06:40
In 1905, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen completed the first ever transit of the fabled Northwest Passage, culminating a centuries long quest that had claimed ships and lives.
One Family's Epic Journey to the North Pole
Dave Martin
December 13, 2004
01:14:44
Dave and Jaja Martin share photographs and stories from their experiences after they and their children abandoned their conventional lifestyle in June of 1996 and headed off to pursue their dreams.
Audio-only
American West: Lewis and Clark Expedition
Clay S. Jenkinson
March 18, 2004
01:19:01
Clay S. Jenkinson employs the Chautauquan methodology of a stand-up, unscripted monologue in his first-person portrayal of Meriwether Lewis.
Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Forgotten French-Canadians
Richard Hetu
March 15, 2007
00:57:43
Richard Hetu argues that French-Canadians have been the forgotten heroes of the Lewis and Clark expedition, one of the defining journeys in American history. Yet they provided crucial help as boatmen, hunters, interpreters and guides.
Audio-only
William Clark and the Shaping of the West
Landon Y. Jones
April 23, 2004
00:53:10
Landon Jones discusses the life of William Clark, and describes the dark and bloody ground of America's early West, describing how the West was won and what we gained and lost by winning it.
Sea of Glory: The US Exploring Expedition (1838-1842)
Nathaniel Philbrick
January 13, 2005
01:04:38
Nathaniel Philbrick explains for the first time why the US Exploring Expedition vanished from the national memory. Using new sources, including a secret journal, Philbrick reconstructs the darker saga that official reports, which focused on the "Ex Ex"' accomplishments, never told.
Audio-only
Storm Warriors: Shipwrecks and Survivors in Boston Harbor
Ed McCabe
May 21, 2003
00:49:13
Ed McCabe and Lory Newmyer of the Hull Lifesaving Museum share the stories of the Storm Warriors of the US Life Saving Service.
Stephen Decatur: American Naval Hero
Robert J. Allison
June 9, 2006
01:01:48
Historian Robert Allison tells the story of Stephen Decatur's eventful life at a time when the young republic was developing its own identity. Born to a prominent Philadelphia family in 1779, Decatur became the youngest man ever to serve as a captain in the US Navy at age 25.
Exploring Space with Humans and Robots
Jeffrey Hoffman
April 26, 2006
01:12:31
Jeffrey Hoffman, a former space shuttle astronaut, discusses personal experiences of space flight and shares his thoughts on the synergy between human and robotic exploration of space.
Audio-only
Harriet Tubman: Bound for the Promised Land
Kate Clifford Larson
February 10, 2004
00:52:38
Historian Kate Clifford Larson discusses her new book, Bound for the Promised Land, which draws on a trove of new documents and sources as well as extensive genealogical research and reveals Harriet Tubman as a complex woman who was brilliant, shrewd, deeply religious, and passionate in her p
Epic Journeys of Freedom
Cassandra Pybus
February 22, 2006
01:09:28
Historian Cassandra Pybus traces the lives and adventures of the runaway slaves who absorbed the dreams of liberty from their masters during the American Revolution and fled to the British to find fre
This Far By Faith: Francis Bok Speaks Out
Francis Bok
April 21, 2003
00:50:08
Francis Bok speaks to Harvard Law School students and community members about the horrors of slavery from his own experience, and shares how his faith helped to keep him alive.
Forgotten 5th: African Americans in the Age of Revolution
Gary Nash
June 15, 2006
00:38:18
Gary Nash, professor of history emeritus at UCLA, explains how revolutionary fervor spiraled into the largest slave rebellion in American history. When the United States gained independence, a full fifth of the country's population was African American.
Patriots of Color: Revolutionary Heroes
Byron Rushing
June 16, 2003
01:16:08
State Representative Byron Rushing and James Horton, an historian at George Washington University, salute Native American and African American war heroes. This event includes performances and authentic music from the Revolutionary War.
Audio-only
Rough Crossings: Blacks and the Revolutionary War
Simon Schama
May 11, 2006
01:14:26
Simon Schama discusses his book Rough Crossings, which turns on a single huge question: if you were black in America at the start of the Revolutionary War, whom would you want to win? Tens of thousands gave their answer, voting with their feet for Britain and King George.
Audio-only
Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
Enoch Woodhouse
February 26, 2004
00:53:54
Enoch Woodhouse, attorney and veteran Tuskegee Airman, explains how the heroic deeds of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II were an important factor in ending racial segregation in the US military by 1948.
Audio-only
Hero at the Great Boston Fire of 1872
Bruce Twickler
September 21, 2004
01:10:41
Bruce Twickler, writer and director of the film Damrell's Fire, explains why Boston can credit its deliverance from Chicago's fate to John Damrell, its courageous fire chief.
Heroes Among Us: Billy Bean and Robert Dover
Billy Bean
April 29, 2003
00:40:42
Are you a high school or collegiate athlete who aspires to be a professional athlete?
American Experience: Buffalo Bill Series
American Experience: Buffalo Bill Series
1 Lecture
Lectures curated around American Experience: Buffalo Bill, which examines William Cody's legendary exploits that helped create the myth of the American West.
American Experience: Kit Carson Series
American Experience: Kit Carson Series
1 Lecture
Lectures curated around American Experience: Kit Carson, which profiles the legendary trapper, scout, and soldier of the western frontier.