American Experience

American Experience (1988- )

RunningDocumentary showHistory

American Experience is TV's most-watched history series and brings to life incredible characters and compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today. Acclaimed by viewers and critics alike, American Experience documentaries have been honored with every major broadcast award, including 30 Emmy Awards, 4 duPont-Columbia Awards, and 18 George Foster Peabody Awards.

Network
Scheduleevery Tuesday at 21:00 (60 min)

Last Episode

Kissinger: Part Two – The Opportunist
Season 37Episode 790 min

Kissinger: Part Two – The Opportunist

Nixon's secret plan to end the Vietnam War had shown itself to be a mirage, and body counts kept rising. Only a brave, secret gambit to visit Mao Zedong's China shifted the political conversation. In 1971, Kissinger secretly entered China via Pakistan, clandestinely organizing a summit for President Nixon and stunning the American public.  

The opening to China remade the global chessboard, sidelining the Soviet Union and deep-freezing the Cold War in a new "triangular diplomacy." But Kissinger's policies were often concerned with global stability rather than with human rights. When a genocide erupted in East Pakistan, perpetuated by the same leader who helped Nixon reach China, Kissinger looked the other way. His eyes were on Moscow, where Nixon would soon meet Brezhnev for a series of consequential weapons negotiations. 

Kissinger's policies continued to have far-reaching human implications across the globe. When Chileans democratically elected the socialist Salvador Allende, Kissinger funded an effort to prevent him from reaching office, then directed the CIA to destabilize his government. Allende was deposed in a coup that led to his death; Kissinger embraced the subsequent dictator, Pinochet, reassuring Nixon that America's "hand doesn't show." 

Kissinger managed a final act before leaving the Nixon administration, seizing the opportunity of the Yom Kippur War to push the Soviet Union out of the Middle East and negotiating peace deals between Israel, Egypt, and Syria. On the cover of Newsweek, Kissinger was heralded as "Super-K," the peacemaking celebrity in an administration collapsing beneath Watergate.  

It was the zenith of Kissinger's fame, and his 50 following years out of office were rife with debate. Today, his legacy is still being written.

Oct 28, 2025

Recent Episodes

EpisodeNameAirdate
S37E07Kissinger: Part Two – The OpportunistOct 28, 2025
S37E06Kissinger: Part One – The Necessity of PowerOct 27, 2025
S37E05Hard Hat RiotSep 30, 2025
S37E04Clearing the Air: The War on SmogAug 26, 2025
S36E17Mr. PolaroidMay 20, 2025
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  • The American Experience

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