Lionsgate

A look at the recent deadly outburst of school violence in America, with special focus on Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden, two youngsters who killed four classmates and a teacher in 1998. Bill Kurtis talks to educators, family members, law enforcement officials, and experts about what needs to be done to prevent more violence.

In the early days of the railroads, as robber barons rushed to lay more track than their rivals and the lure of commerce pushed the rails further into the wilderness, accidents were commonplace. In 1890 alone, over 6,000 people were killed and 35,000 injured in train accidents. Today, rail travel is much safer, but a surprising number of train trips still end in disaster. GREAT TRAIN DISASTERS is a riveting, disturbing journey through the dark side of rail travel. Period reports and...

The maximum-security federal penitentiary Alcatraz sits on 12 acres in the middle of San Francisco Bay and was conceived by J. Edgar Hoover to house America's most dangerous criminals. It was built to be escape-proof and was until June 1962 when three men--Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin--did the unimaginable. How did they manage this extraordinary feat in a top-security environment? Did they survive or drown? Find out in this truth-is-stranger-than-fiction program.

She created a new kind of screen heroine, a liberated woman in a world dominated by men, and rose to be recognized as "first lady of the American screen." More bold than beautiful, more brazen than beguiling, Bette Davis starred in classics like Jezebel and All About Eve. She won two Academy Awards, was nominated for 10 more, and earned the adulation of generations of movie fans. Equally independent off-screen, her battles with studio brass were legendary. Here is her story, from her childhood...

It was the weapon no one wanted, until it fell into the wrong hands. It blasted its way into history as the favorite of history's most infamous gangsters. The Thompson submachine gun was the most powerful, fastest-shooting weapon of its time. Built for the military and the police, they resisted the new gun, preferring to stay with ones they were familiar with. Soon, though, they learned to regret their decision, for the "Tommy Gun" proved its worth in the hands of men like Al Capone. TOMMY GUN...

What if the Nazis had held out and the war in Europe lasted until 1946? We'll review the remarkable aircraft that Germany had in development at war's end, such as manned supersonic aircraft, manned V-2s, 100-ton intercontinental bombers, stealth bombers, and a fighter designed to shoot down B-29s at high altitude.

Touted as one of the "liveliest and peculiar places west of the Mississippi", in Deadwood speculators, misfits, and cold-blooded killers came together to stake their claim. Located in South Dakota's Black Hills, in this raunchy, rip-roaring town, primitive technology met bold innovations, commerce and corruption collided, and shootouts were as common as the filth that filled the streets. Host Keith Carradine examines the good, bad, and ugly technologies of the last and richest gold rush town,...

In 1961, President Kennedy set a goal for the nation: beat the Russians to the Moon and do it within the decade. In 1969, NASA met that goal--but no one defined what should happen next. As a growing number of political, social, and economic problems vie for the nation's attention and money, Congress, Presidents, and the public aren't certain if manned space flight is really worth the cost and risk. But for legendary flight director Gene Kranz and the men and women of Mission Control, there's...

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. But if you can't buy em, beat 'em. This was the idea behind one of the most remarkable road-going machines ever built-the stunning Ford GT-40. Henry Ford had hoped to buy Ferrari when the famed Italian manufacturer hit hard times in the 1960s. But when Fiat beat him to the punch, Ford decided to devote his energies to beating Ferrari on the track. The result was the GT-40--so named because it was only 40 inches high--and in 1966 it swept Ferrari from the...

The M-16 - the most powerful assault rifle ever used in combat. The M-16 could easily be called America's most unloved gun. It was Vietnam's gun, a symbol of a war that bitterly divided the country, a war we ultimately lost. Yet in the thirty years since it was first introduced, the M-16 has become a potent icon of U.S. military strength worldwide. The M-16 is the first - and only - military rifle developed by an outside designer in the two hundred year history of the Armory system and Army...

Explore the life and legacy of the immigrant who rose to become one of the world's richest men, a legendary philanthropist and the confidante of presidents.

Railroads built America into a world power, making legendary figures out of entrepreneurial men. Meet the robber barons, engineers, and inventors who made transportation history in the "Gilded Age". And, ride the rails with some of the most loved and hated men of their age--financiers Vanderbilt, Gould, and Morgan.