We traveled the Oregon Trail. We found the 'spirit of America'

More than 1% of Americans headed west in one of the largest voluntary mass migrations in human history. It helped define who we are as a nation.
Opinion

Thoughts on America's 250th birthday | The Excerpt

On July 4th, 2026, America will celebrate its 250th birthday. The United States is the world's oldest and still evolving experiment in democracy.

There’s Still a Shared American Story, and JD Vance’s Blood-and-Soil Vision Isn’t It

Nations are, as the Anglo-Irish historian Benedict Anderson put it, “imagined communities”; they only exist because we ...

TV Talk: Ken Burns recounts ‘The American Revolution’ for PBS

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming month. PBS may be worse for wear following federal defunding, but public TV documentarian Ken Burns remains at work with ...

51 Years Later, The "Greatest American Crime Thriller" Is Finally Streaming Again on Paramount+

There are some movies that just never lose their edge, and one such movie has just returned to streaming on Paramount+.

Ken Burns on America's origin story: "The most important event since the birth of Christ"

The documentary filmmaker, long a chronicler of the American experience, talks about his latest film for PBS, "The American ...