“Our job now, to land the plane, is repair, restoration, reconciliation,” Ken Burns tells David Leonhardt on The Opinions. Together, they explore what America’s next story should be, why the American Revolution has never really ended — and the greatest existential threat facing the country today.

On this day in 1990, the first episode of The Civil War premiered on @pbs.org A lot can change in 35 years.

For Episode 2 of Pursuit — a new podcast from @prx.org and @constitutionctr.bsky.social — Jeffrey Rosen and Ken Burns discuss the virtue Temperance.

Today, and for the next eleven weeks, we’ll be posting clips of our own Ken Burns and Jeffrey Rosen on Pursuit (a new podcast from @prx.org and @constitutionctr.bsky.social), discussing how the founders understood happiness as intimately connected to the idea of virtue.

Lyndon B. Johnson, one of the most colorful and consequential men to occupy the office of President of the United States, was born on this day in 1908. As President, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Learn more in this clip from THE CONGRESS.

Today in 1864, the Civil War reached a breaking point in Atlanta. Union General William T. Sherman had surrounded the city, cutting off food and supplies. Rather than risk a costly assault, he ordered his men to shell Confederate defenses and the city itself.

When we think of the American Revolution, we think of Yorktown, West Point, Bunker Hill—East Coast battles fought 75 years before the first West Coast state. For UNUM on the Road, Ken Burns explains why the revolution matters in every state.

Happy birthday to @kenlburns.bsky.social

“The rights of the individual are greater than the rights of the monarch.” Ken Burns and Fred Ryan discuss Ronald Reagan’s relationship to the American Revolution. #AmericanRevolutionPBS, a film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, premieres this November.

On this day in 1899, Ernest Hemingway was born. A journalist, novelist, and adventurer, Hemingway remained a major figure wherever he went. Listen to the Hemingway’s report from the frontlines of the Spanish Civil War.

“Shoeless Joe” Jackson was born today in 1887. Raised in a South Carolina mill town, he couldn’t read or write - but he could hit. He batted .408 his rookie year and .356 for his career, the third highest average in history. He once played barefoot and swung a 48-ounce bat named Black Betsy.

What better place to celebrate July 4th than Monticello with 74 newly naturalized citizens. This year we celebrated the 249th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Their guy wrote it—Thomas Jefferson.

What is the role of government? On this day in 1936, FDR gave his famous Rendezvous with Destiny speech and urged "a spirit of charity” over “a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference." Watch the clip from THE ROOSEVELTS.

This month UNUM on the Road was in Texas at @lbjlibrary.bsky.social, with President and CEO of @tjmonticello.bsky.social Jane Kamensky talking about the high ideals and heavy sacrifices behind American independence. Stay tuned for THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION this November. #unumontheroad

UNUM on the Road continued last week in Dallas, with author Rick Atkinson talking about the war’s most pivotal battle. Check out his new book THE FATE OF THE DAY from @crownpublishing.bsky.social and stay tuned for THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION this November. #unumontheroad #americanrevolutionpbs

Public media is at risk. Congress is considering deep funding cuts to PBS, threatening the shows, local coverage, and educational programming that have shaped generations. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org for more. #SavePBS

Getting ready for a summer road trip? Today in 1903, while stranded in Alturas, California waiting on new tires, Horatio Nelson Jackson made the best of a bad situation. Locals flocked to see his “horseless carriage” while cowboys promised him a Wild West show in exchange for a ride.

UNUM on the Road continued last week in North Carolina with historian @kathleenduval.bsky.social A featured voice in THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION and recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Professor DuVal explores how disputes over Native land helped ignite the Revolutionary War.

Today's UNUM Reads is from Jordyn Holman (@jholman.bsky.social) in The New York Times (@nytimes.com) www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/b...

160 years ago today, Private John J. Williams was killed in a skirmish at Palmito Ranch - after the war had officially ended. Williams was the last to die in the Civil War, but not the last to die because of it.

160 years ago today, Confederate president Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia. With his arrest, the Confederate government ceased to exist. Northern papers mocked him, and Southern elites blamed him. Learn more in our clip from The Civil War.

Born 225 years ago today in Connecticut, John Brown is best known for leading a raid on Harpers Ferry to spark a slave revolt. It failed, but forced the country to confront the reality of slavery. Learn more about Brown and his role as a catalyst in our clip from THE CIVIL WAR.

In the last few months, UNUM on the Road has gone all over the east coast—West Point, Williamsburg, Richmond, Yorktown, Boston, Lexington, Concord. Now, we’re heading further south to Raleigh, Charleston, and Atlanta. Join us at the link in our bio!

80 years ago today, Nazi Germany surrendered. Across Europe, the war ended, but across the world, it didn’t. Hear from @kenlburns.bsky.social and explore our new playlists, now on KenBurnsUNUM.com

On the night of April 24, 1862, Flag Officer David G. Farragut led a daring assault past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which guarded the Mississippi River approach to New Orleans. The maneuver cleared the way for Union forces to capture the city the next day.

For our next UNUM on the Road stop, Ken Burns visits Lexington and Concord to mark the 250th anniversary of the battles that began the revolution.

Today in 1790, Benjamin Franklin, a visionary statesman, inventor, and a Founding Father of the United States, passed away at the age of 84. Surrounded by his loved ones, Franklin's departure was marked by Philadelphia's largest-ever funeral procession.

573 years ago today, Leonardo da Vinci was born in a small Tuscan village. The illegitimate son of a notary and a peasant, his name alone evokes invention, observation, and imagination - traits he began shaping as a boy in Vinci. Watch our clip from LEONARDO da VINCI.

Mario Vargas Llosa was one of the towering figures of Latin American literature. In @kenlburns.bsky.social's 2021 film HEMINGWAY, he reflects on the meaning behind The Old Man and the Sea, not just as adventure, but as a meditation on age, defeat, and illusions that help us live.

100 years ago today, The Great Gatsby was published. The 20s were drunk on money, youth, and jazz. The war was over, the market was booming, and a new generation was rewriting the rules. It was Gatsby’s world—but F. Scott Fitzgerald saw past the party. Look back with this clip from JAZZ.

60 years ago today, the Houston Astros played their first game under a dome. Grass wouldn’t grow indoors, so they invented something new: Astroturf. It was the first domed stadium in Major League Baseball - a clear break from the past. The game was moving forward.

On April 8, 1903, Theodore Roosevelt reached the outskirts of Yellowstone. Roosevelt spent days in the national park, observing wildlife, sleeping under the stars, and thinking hard about conservation as a national responsibility. Watch our clip from THE NATIONAL PARKS. #onthisday #thenationalparks

#OTD in 1913, Ebbets Field opened in Brooklyn. Casey Stengel, a right-fielder nicknamed “the Ol’ Perfessor,” hit an inside-the-park home run to give Brooklyn the win. Over the next 45 summers, it would see some of the worst baseball ever played. And some of the best. Here's our clip from BASEBALL.

160 years ago today, Abraham Lincoln arrived in Richmond as Union forces were still securing the city. Escorted by a unit of Black cavalry, he walked a mile through streets lined with newly freed people—some laughing, some weeping, many trying to touch his hand. Watch our clip from THE CIVIL WAR.

UNUM on the Road continued in Colonial Williamsburg, where co-director David Schmidt returned to streets he once marched with the Fifes and Drums. Filming The American Revolution was a homecoming—and a reminder that history is everywhere. #UNUMOnTheRoad #AmericanRevolutionPBS

UNUM on the Road continued in Yorktown, VA, where @kenlburns.bsky.social stood on the very field where the British surrendered to George Washington on October 19, 1781. It marked the beginning of the end of the war, and the start of something entirely new. #AmericanRevolutionPBS #UNUMOntheRoad

UNUM is hitting the road with @kenlburns.bsky.social and co-directors Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt ahead of their upcoming film, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. First stop: West Point. George Washington called it “the most important post in America.”

William Leuchtenburg was a renowned historian and trusted voice on FDR and the New Deal. As key contributor to PROHIBITION and THE ROOSEVELTS, he shared stories that made history personal and vivid. He will be missed by many, but his work will continue to inspire. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/u...

#OTD in 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor which galvanized the U.S. to formally enter World War II. Former Senator Daniel Inouye describes what he saw in a clip from THE WAR.

Happy 10th anniversary to Christopher Nolan’s #Interstellar! To celebrate its re-release into theaters this weekend, we’re traveling back in time to remember the unexpected role of @kenlburns.bsky.social THE DUST BOWL through this piece by Alyssa Rosenberg: www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-fou...

Place has been an important theme in all of @kenlburns.bsky.social films. It’s also important for him personally, as Rukmini Callimachi of @nytimes.com has captured in this moving portrait of Ken’s family and home.

On this day of thanks, we applaud all who work to protect and sustain the land and nature. Here’s a short clip from THE AMERICAN BUFFALO that celebrates the land we inhabit. Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

Hope you had a chance to watch Leonardo da Vinci. Will be streaming on PBS. Curious about what's next? Our origin story. It's worth talking about. Take a look.

Technology writer and @nytimes.com columnist @kevinroose.bsky.social joins @kenlburns.bsky.social to discuss Leonardo da Vinci as a systems thinker. Roose explores how Leonardo’s first principles approach mirrors the big questions facing technology today—from AI ethics to our shared digital future.

@kenlburns.bsky.social conducted a special series of #UNUMChats exploring Leonardo da Vinci’s legacy with creative and intellectual leaders working today. Each chat dives into Leonardo’s lasting influence across art, science, and culture—exploring what his genius means for our world now.