Think about the important icons in your community and in your life as an American.
Wednesdays, April 26 – July 17, and Tuesdays, July 11 – August 1.
Also available on streaming at PBS.org/iconicamerica or the PBS app.
ICONIC AMERICA: OUR SYMBOLS AND OUR STORIES WITH DAVID RUBENSTEIN explores American history through a close examination of iconic national symbols: indelible artifacts, places, and archetypes.
Hosted by co-founder of The Carlyle Group and patriotic philanthropist, David M. Rubenstein engages in conversation with historical thinkers, community members, and subject matter experts. Together, they dive deeply into each symbol’s history and how its meaning has changed over time, using these symbols as a gateway to understanding America’s past and present. Emmy-Award-winning production company Show of Force is also an executive producer.
The subjects of the series’ eight episodes are: Fenway Park, the Hollywood Sign, the Gadsden Flag, the American Cowboy, the Statue of Liberty, the American Bald Eagle, Stone Mountain, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
As we consider this series, we also are challenged to think about the symbols that endure that speak to what a society values and how people see themselves ─ and they help us to contextualize a nation’s shared past in the present moment.
Libraries across the country will partner with PBS Books and their local stations to offer programming in conjunction with ICONIC AMERICA. If you think your library might be interested in hosting a conversation about ICONIC AMERICA and icons in your community, then encourage them to sign up here:
Reading Challenges
Reading Challenge #1 – DAVID RUBENSTEIN
Wednesday, June 28 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with WETA, thrilled present ICONIC AMERICA’s Host and Executive Producer Davis M. Rubenstein, author of The American Experiment. Rubenstein’s book The American Experiment is part of the ICONIC AMERICA SUMMER READING Challenge and has been designated June’s book. Join us to learn about The American Experiment and David Rubenstein’s extraordinary work to explore America’s democracy, culture, innovation, and ideas.
Reading Challenge #2 – Jack Davis
Wednesday, July 26 at 8 PM
In The Bald Eagle, Jack E. Davis pays magnificent tribute to the national symbol, weaving a richly layered story that spans the centuries and bridges patriotism, Native spirituality, environment carnage and, against all odds, ecological redemption that brought the eagle back to America’s skies.