The Machines That Built America - Season 1
1 - Tractor Revolution
Air Date: July 18, 2021
In the 1870s, harvesting crops is grueling, back-breaking work. Farmers must walk miles behind horse drawn plows to get food on American tables. But a group of dreamers--all of them rivals--has a vision that will change farming forever and create one of the world's most iconic machines: the tractor. Their quest to corner the market--worth 75 billion today--produces some of the greatest innovations and most iconic brands of all time: Caterpillar, John Deere, and Ford.
2 - Plane Pioneers
Air Date: July 18, 2021
In 1910, airplanes are a novelty, fragile wooden concoctions that float in the air--and crash. But that doesn't stop two young dreamers with a passion for this newfangled machine from imagining a very different future: one in which planes carry millions of passengers across the country, even across the seas. To realize that vision and create a lucrative new market, William Boeing and Donald Douglas take on automobile titan Henry Ford, infamous Dutch aviation giant Anthony Fokker--and each other.
3 - Titans of Television
Air Date: July 25, 2021
A ruthless mogul takes on a little-known inventor in a high stakes battle that will change the world forever, asking the question of whether a farm-boy can beat a titan with endless resources.
4 - Motorcycle Kings
Air Date: August 1, 2021
At the end of the 19th century, private travel means taking a walk or riding a horse. But scrappy upstarts William Harley and Arthur Davidson have a bold vision for a new form of transportation--connecting a motor to a bicycle. They'll take on George Hendee's Indian Motorcycle in a classic David Vs. Goliath battle, fighting to dominate a market valued at more than 7 billion dollars today, the rivals will push their machines to the limit and tap into the lure of the open road.
5 - Telephone Wars
Air Date: August 8, 2021
In the 1870s communicating with distant family requires sending a letter, and waiting days or weeks for a reply. The telegraph is faster, but too expensive for most people. When communication giant Western Union offers a colossal cash prize to anyone who can improve its network, two daring inventors go head-to-head in a fight that will forever change the way humans connect. Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray will stop at nothing to lay claim to the new technology and dominate the market.
6 - Power Tool Showdown
Air Date: August 15, 2021
7 - Tesla vs. Marconi
Air Date: August 22, 2021
Two rival inventors have the same idea for improving things: wireless communication.
8 - Home Tech Revolution
Air Date: August 29, 2021
With America plugging in to electric power, a flood of innovation is not only changing industry, it's revolutionizing the home; the new technology makes housework easier and gives women opportunities to work outside the home.