Ken Burns Believes in our American Experiment

Listen to this episode from The Best People with Nicolle Wallace on Spotify. Ken Burns is America’s documentarian: From the Civil War to Vietnam, baseball to the Brooklyn Bridge, his films are gospel for generations of Americans curious about the world and our history. This November, in a new six part, 12-hour documentary series Burns turns his attention to the American Revolution – and the counterintuitive revelation that democracy was *not* on the table when the fighting first broke out. Burns says what this film showed him is that the tension we feel today in 2025 arcs back to and mirrors the tension that gave birth to our nation. And Burns believes the American story boils down to a simple choice – a question posed in the timeless Frank Capra classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”: Do you want to live in Pottersville or Bedford Falls? (HINT: Ken Burns only wants to live in Bedford Falls) Tickets are still available for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25. Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.