The peaceful end to the Cuban Missile Crisis marked a new era for the Cold War, in which all sides understood the threat of nuclear annihilation. Fortunately, President Kennedy was savvy enough to manage the nuclear age—and was able to turn his attention to the civil rights movement. Here, delve into the world of segregation and political activism.

JFK entered office optimistic but naïve. Not only did he thread some political challenges, such as the split in the Democratic party between progressive New Englanders and southern segregationists, but he also confronted aggressive Cold Warriors who wanted to incite a war via the Bay of Pigs invasion.

In the 1950s, Kennedy was a sickly and relatively obscure senator, but his star quickly rose in the 1956 Democratic convention, when he mounted a spirited campaign to win delegates for the vice presidency. Gain an inside look at the backstabbing, backroom deals of a party that expected the young politician to pay his dues.

Although so much ink has been spilled about JFK, recent years have seen the public release of documents and interviews, shedding new light on this most charismatic president. In Reconsidering JFK, Professor Michael Shelden of Indiana State University delivers 12 captivating lectures to transport you back in time for a fresh angle on a multifaceted, always fascinating American president.

With his inexperienced background and his youthful vigor, JFK brought an intriguing new dynamic to Washington. After setting the stage of the foreign and domestic challenges Kennedy faced when entering office, Professor Shelden reflects on the role of speechwriters and aides in shaping Kennedy's approach to the job.

Kennedy's presidency involved one crushing challenge after another. While 1961 was a difficult year, 1962 was among the hardest any American president has faced. See how the president dealt with negotiations at home (against US Steel) and abroad (when the Soviets placed nuclear warheads in Cuba).

This follow-up to Dark Legacy presents jaw-dropping evidence of the Bush Family's involvement in the death of John Kennedy Jr., all based on official government documents.

Deadly traffic accidents involving large trucks have surged over the past decade. FRONTLINE and ProPublica examine one gruesome kind of truck accident — underride crashes — and why they keep happening. Trucking industry representatives and the government’s lead agency on traffic safety have said that their top priority is safety. Drawing on more than a year of reporting — including leaked documents and interviews with former government insiders,...

Shows how two antiwar protests in the fall of 1969 — the largest the country had ever seen — pressured President Nixon to cancel what he called his “madman” plans for a massive escalation of the U.S. war in Vietnam, including a threat to use nuclear weapons. At the time, protestors had no idea how influential they could be and how many lives they may have saved.

Like the UK, France struggled to hold on to its overseas territories. Explore the fight waged by Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh to establish a communist government in his country. Learn about the complicated, bloody history of Algerian independence, and see how each of these wars highlighted the costs of both colonialism and protracted involvement in local conflicts.