Weave together the many narratives of world history with our highly curated and expanding selection of diverse, fascinating resources designed to showcase the breadth and richness of Earth's story, from the earliest traces of human civilization to the dramatic developments of contemporary cultures.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
When the USSR dissolved in 1991, cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev was still aboard a space station—forcing him to remain in orbit for months longer than planned. This limited podcast series recounts the event, hosted by astronaut and pop star Lance Bass.
In 1972, Gene Cernan became the most recent person to walk on the Moon during Apollo 17. This video revisits why the mission flew, what it aimed to achieve, and includes archival footage and later interviews with lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt.
American History Tellers explores the Space Race across four episodes, tracing stories from Wernher von Braun’s push to turn missiles into rockets to the intrigue surrounding Apollo 11 and the Moon landing that symbolized the race’s end.
The fear of Soviet dominance prompted the US to invest heavily in space, but public support was also crucial. This video shows how marketing, media, and “soft power” framed spaceflight as peaceful, aspirational, and worth the cost—helping sustain the Space Race at home.
Technologies developed for space exploration produced lasting spinoff innovations—from camera phones to memory foam—displaying how the Space Race reshaped everyday life here on Earth
When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon on July 20, 1969, his first words, transmitted across the globe, became legendary. Decades later, historians still debate whether he meant to say “one small step for a man,” and where the phrasing may have originated.
On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy set forth this argument for the effort to land humans on the moon’s surface, casting the Apollo mission in terms of historic human ambitions.
After the Soviets took the lead in the Space Race, John Glenn’s three-orbit Friendship 7 mission on February 20, 1962, made him the first American to orbit Earth. This NASA anniversary piece delivers a minute-by-minute account—from launch delays to splashdown and recovery.
In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, deepening US fears of falling behind in the Space Race. Watch archival footage to see why the mission was such a historic turning point.
By the time the Mexica reached Teotihuacán, the vast city had been abandoned for centuries. First settled around 400 BCE, the inhabitants developed monumental temples, canals, and a carefully planned urban grid centered on the Avenue of the Dead.
