Days That Shaped America

One of the most tragic and shocking images ever broadcast to the American people, the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion left our country in mourning. The loss of seven astronauts became more heartbreaking as we learned that the incident could have been avoided if protocols had been different. Hear the emotional recollections of the Challenger commander’s wife, two astronauts who were involved in the launch preparation, an engineer for the rocket boosters that failed, and a reporter who thought this would be a routine workday, as they relive the controversial moments that lead to the most notorious day in NASA’s history.

The 1993 siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas was the deadliest single event in the history of the ATF. Hear from two agents who were wounded, a shell-shocked reporter, a law enforcement officer, Koresh’s would-be lawyer, the coroner, and the FBI agent who oversaw the 51-day standoff until the compound burned down with many of the Davidians still inside.

The most prestigious race in the country is also Boston’s most popular event. Crowds turn out by the thousands to cheer on the runners of the Boston Marathon. The day had always brought the city together, until the one year two suspects tried to tear it apart. When the Tsarnaev brothers planted bombs at the 2013 race, their horrific act killed three people, and maimed many more. Hear from one of the wounded, an on-scene medic, a trauma surgeon, and law enforcement officers who experienced the sudden terror of this cold-blooded act, and the pursuit of justice that followed.

What began as a calm spring morning in Oklahoma City erupted into the largest terrorist act our country had ever experienced. The truck bomb left by Timothy McVeigh at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building killed 168 people, and altered the lives of hundreds more. Hear the dramatic stories of an office worker trapped in the rubble, a mother who’s one-year-old daughter was in the building, a firefighter, a news reporter, and the head of the local FBI tasked with finding the perpetrator, and see how this act that was meant to stoke anti-government rage instead brought a shaken city together.

The largest terror attack in our nation’s history left images seared into our conscience that will never be forgotten. But for those caught in the middle, the memories are as strong today as they were in 2001. Hear the harrowing experiences of a trader who worked in the World Trade Center, a firefighter, a Port Authority officer, an ER doctor, an NYPD rescue worker, and a news reporter who were at Ground Zero, as well as a Pentagon contractor, an Airfone operator communicating with Flight 93, and the head of FAA operations as they experienced the tragic unfolding of a day none had dreamed possible.