The State of the Union is Not Good
That unlikely phrase is taken from President Gerald Ford's 1975 State of the Union address and reflects an America that careened from crisis to crisis in the second half of the decade. Richard Reeves, Lesley Stahl, Douglas Brinkley, and Rick Perlstein help us understand why.
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More from this season
S1 E1
Television Gets Real
The 1970s were known for extremes, perhaps nowhere more than on television. PBS and C-SPAN launched, but so did "The Love Boat" and "Three's Company." We talk with Norman Lear, Ed Asner, LeVar Burton and Vince Gilligan, among many others.
S1 E2
The United States vs. Nixon
How did a "third-rate burglary" lead to the only presidential resignation in American history? We trace the story of Watergate with, among others, John Dean, Pat Buchanan, Elizabeth Drew and Dan Rather.
S1 E3
Peace with Honor
The Vietnam War is one of the defining events of recent American history. It still exerts enormous influence on our military and foreign policy. Why did it end the way it did? Interviewees include: Neil Sheehan, Evan Thomas, Karl Marlantes, and Winston Lord.
S1 E4
Crimes and Cults
America suffered through one of its most violent decades as crime rates soared and Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, the Son of Sam and the Jim Jones made headlines. We hear from Vincent Bugliosi, Lawrence Wright, and James Wolcott.