Secrets of the Dead

From PBS – Spied upon by MI19 in a bugging operation of unprecedented scale and cunning, 4,000 German POWs revealed their inner thoughts about the Third Reich and let slip military secrets that helped the Allies win WWII. The film tells the story of how those conversations were recorded and how they can now reveal, in shocking detail, the hearts and minds of the German fighter. Only now have more than 100,000 hours of these secret recordings been declassified, researched and cross referenced. The documentary includes intense, full-dialogue dramatic reconstructions that use the verbatim transcripts of these bugged conversations to reveal the dark heart of the Nazi regime as never before.

From PBS – A classic story involving foul play, cover ups, a murder mystery and a voyage of discovery explains what happened to a group of Irish men who immigrated to America. In 1832, railroad contractor Philip Duffy hired 57 Irish immigrants to lay railroad tracks in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Less than two months after their arrival, all 57 were dead. Did they all die — as was widely believed — from cholera? Or were some murdered? In 2003, twin brothers who discovered a secret file among their grandfather’s papers investigated the deaths of these men and found the location of their final resting place. Using the latest forensic and scientific investigative techniques, DNA, forensic analysis, facial reconstruction and historical detective work in Ireland and the U.S., modern detectives and experts unravel this extraordinary story.

Ben Franklin’s Bones solves a modern mystery born in the dark fringes of the Age of Enlightenment, showing how illegal grave robbing practices—taking place right beneath Benjamin Franklin’s feet—proved invaluable to the advancement of medical science.

In many ways, President Lyndon B. Johnson was the most unlikely champion of Civil Rights. But his actions in the White House told a different story when he dared to champion two laws that changed America and the world—the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Now, fifty years later, JFK and LBJ: A Time for Greatness sheds light on the fascinating story of a president who knew how to harness the nation's grief over John F. Kennedy's assassination, twist arms, and get his way. The film includes rarely seen footage, secret White House tapes, and personal testimony from LBJ's advisors, biographers, friends, and family.

The tale of the Trojan Horse is one of the most captivating stories in Greek mythology. Immortalized in the literary blockbusters of Homer and Virgil, it features some of the most famous faces in Greek legend, from Helen of Troy to Aphrodite and Achilles. Since the 19th-century discovery of the site of Troy in modern-day Turkey, historians have searched tirelessly for evidence of a real Trojan War, Troy's demise, and the truth behind this world famous myth. Now, archaeological evidence is mounting that suggests a Trojan War did indeed happen. What's more, the city's defenses were so impenetrable, that some historians are asking whether the Trojan Horse - generally thought to have been a myth - could actually explain how the enemy got inside the walls. Now, scientists explore how discoveries of charred bones and arrowheads point toward a violent showdown around 1200 BC, exposing the true scale of Troy's defenses and supplies, and investigate the real possibility that a Trojan Horse could have been used to trick Troy into defeat.

A team of archaeologists excavating the site of an early American colony discovers something surprising: the remains of a young woman, dating back to 1609, buried in the trash layer of a cellar. She was one of the early settlers sent over from England to Jamestown with the intention of establishing a thriving settlement that would enact lucrative trade systems with the local Powhatan tribe. Unfortunately, the alliance was precarious and provisions were in short supply. As winter fell, the colony quickly crumbled. The Powhatan Indians were unwilling to help the settlers, killing anyone who ventured outside the fort to forage. Trapped behind their wooden palisades, supplies quickly dwindled - leading to tactics that were disgustingly primeval yet necessary for survival. Now, 400 years later, a cellar excavation has uncovered numerous bone fragments - all belonging to this adolescent female. More surprising than their location are the interesting cut marks on the lower jaw and front of the cranium. With the help of forensic anthropologists, the extraordinary and frightening story of this young woman comes to life.