See America

Last week we talked about Elvis’s major failure at the Grand Ole Opry, and this week, we thought it would be a good idea to let him redeem himself. The Opry might be the mother church of country music, but Graceland is the palace of rock & roll.

This week, we take you behind the scenes of the world's longest-running radio show and country music's pinnacle of achievement, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. 

St. Louis, Missouri. Along the mighty Mississippi. Home of the Arch, the Cardinals, and Budweiser beer. Whatever you feel about a “Bud,” the Anheuser-Busch Family revolutionized the brewing industry and distribution of beer to America and the world. And they made a fortune doing it. Here, in the Gateway to the West, you can visit the fruits of their labor, at the estate that is featured in dedicat...

Hollywood, California. Land of make-believe. If you’ve ever been, you know that a lot of what is glitters, isn’t actually gold. A trip down Hollywood Boulevard these days is chock full of cheap costumed look-sort-of-alikes. The Hollywood walk-of-fame has somehow become the major symbol of this once harrowed place, and it’s a giant pay-to-pay scam. Does anyone really need to get their picture taken...

Bricktown. Oklahoma city. A museum in this vibrant city tells the story of the only real, truly American musical instrument. It wasn’t just developed in America, it was borne through the struggle for freedom, and tells the story of our country through its percussive draw, its rapid-fire playing style, and it’s expressive and exquisite construction.

As anyone who’s visited Colorado Springs can tell you, it sits in the shadow of an ominous mountain - it’s is an amazing sight to behold. The 14,115-foot summit rises over the plains with a sort of ancient majesty. It predates humanity by millions of years and was here long before anyone first settled the region. For centuries and even millennia, it’s been recognized by people of all cultures as o...

A glowing white stone castle shines like a beacon of hope to weary travelers in the southeast corner of Wisconsin...but no knights in armor or kings and queens live here. This is a castle of another type, one that enshrines Wisconsin’s most prized product. Cheese. This Week, Kenosha Wisconsin’s Mars Cheese Castle

Amidst the hustle and bustle of America’s largest city sits an incredible greenspace that just happens to be one of the most filmed locations in the world, appearing in over 350 films and counting over the years. It’s been home to dozens of iconic concerts and is the second most visited tourist destination in America. Yet it’s so big, it never really feels too crowded. It also happens to be Americ...

This week, we journey to the "rollercoaster capital of the word" to hear the history of the second-oldest theme park in America — Sandusky, Ohio's Cedar Point.

On the eastern edge of New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains, a few miles west of the rolling dunes of White Sands National Park sit the remains of two unassuming cabins in a place called Dog Canyon. If you walked by them today, you probably wouldn’t realize they sparked a famous conflict that would have ramifications for years to come.  Today, on See America, Oliver Lee State Park

Season 4 is here! We kick it off with one of the most American places you could imagine. Nestled in the city of Boston is what is often called "America's Most Beloved Ballpark.” A place where dreams are made, traditions are celebrated and baseball is forever. It’s the home of Red Sox Legends, and a looming Green Monster which has befuddled pitchers for a century: Fenway Park, home of the Boston Re...

Combined with the surrounding mesas, buttes, and desert environment, Monument Valley Tribal Park truly is one of the natural wonders of the world. Set aside by the Navajo Tribal Council in 1958, the park covers almost 92,000 acres in northern Arizona and southern Utah and lies entirely within the Navajo Nation reservation.

Rock Island is one of those towns that pops up in nostalgic culture over and over, but not a lot of people know where it is or much about it. It's almost mythical in a way, due especially to the Rock Island Line, a real train route, short for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, memorialized in the folk song of the same name. But Rock Island's story is steeped in real history — especially...

A 100-year old building that stands as a symbol of community. It's the place generations have gone to eat to celebrate life's joys - before prom, on Mother's day, a rehearsal dinner. It's part of the fabric of a town that has witnessed disaster and rebirth. And it's been reinvented for today's refined palate. This week, the White Pillars restaurant in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In the summer of 1971, a Minnesota Junior High School guidance counselor took a severe fall from a friend's roof. While recovering from his injuries, he set out to build a dream. A replica of a ship from his ancestral Viking heritage. One that would sail him all the way to Norway. This week, the Hjemkomst, the Viking ship that inspired a community.

During the coronavirus pandemic, heroes of all stripes have emerged to keep our country healthy, fed, and supplied. Doctors, nurses, retail workers, delivery drivers and all sorts of other essential workers deserve our respect and support in this difficult time. Perhaps one of the most overlooked groups of these heroes is truck drivers. Without truck drivers, we wouldn't have most of the essential...

During the twentieth century, few military organizations played a more crucial role than Naval Aviation. In war at sea, eclipsing the battleship as the decisive weapon, aircraft carriers projected their powerful air wings over vast expanses of water, striking with surprise at enemy fleets and land bases, then disappearing with equal swiftness. In times of peace, the carrier and her battle group pr...

High in the hills overlooking Arizona's Verde Valley, a tiny town filled with history sits, like a mother bird over nesting over her eggs. Except this egg is a billion-dollar deposit of copper. And the mother bird - a brave and raucous mix of miners, smelter workers, freighters, gamblers, bootleggers, saloon keepers, prostitutes and preachers. This week, the mining town of Jerome, Arizona.

June 1974, Hot Springs, South Dakota. Landowner Phil Anderson is preparing open space on the edge of town for a new housing development. Heavy equipment operator George Hanson was grading a small hill when his blade struck something that shone white in the sunlight, changing the destiny of the little town for years to come. This week, the Mammoth Site museum, in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Pork, Salt, Water, Sugar, Potato Starch, and Sodium Nitrate. 6 simple ingredients, cooked in a can, make up the world's most polarizing meat product. When it first came off the production line in 1937, it won over the hearts of soldiers, world leaders, celebrities, chefs, kids, and parents. Some scorn its very existence, but it's more than likely they never tried it. It was born in a small Minneso...

In the heart of the rolling Great Plains, thousands of one of the largest flying birds on earth rest and feed in the light of the setting sun. They jump into the air, flap their wings, and dance after filling their bellies with corn and insects. Their calls echo across the river plains like bones rattling in the wind. Incredible as this scene is, it's just one stop along an awe-inspiring journey....

Durham, North Carolina. Home to possibly the most famous Minor League team in all of sports - the Durham Bulls. Durham has witnessed a massive revitalization in recent years, as it turned the scars of an industry in free-fall into new life and prosperity. This week, the American Tobacco Campus.

In the western suburbs of Denver colorado, lies a unique music venue that many consider the finest in the world. With Mother Nature as the architect, this acoustically perfect amphitheater has hosted some of the greatest performers in the world for over a century and is the location of some of the most famous live albums ever recorded. This week, Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater.

There's one room on this earth that I have walked into that left me more humbled than any other. More proud and inspired. More happy and afraid and joyful. In one, oval-shaped room, the full weight of our nation and the American experience takes hold of you and doesn't let go. No. Not that oval room. This week, the hallowed Rotunda at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

Chicago, Illinois. The Windy City. The City of Big Shoulders. The City in a Garden. The City That Works. This week, three sculptures that define three different stages of Chicago, and indeed America.