November 24, 2025

Best of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting

Since 2013, the Library of Congress and the WGBH Educational Foundation have created the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. This online digital archive now features over 150,000 works from public television and public radio programs dating from 1940 to the present. You can search, browse, and learn more about the archive at their website: americanarchive.org.

We recently spent a fair amount of time browsing the entire archive of over 150,000 titles and picked out about 60 of their best offerings to add to our LearnOutLoud Free Audio & Video Directory. You can browse what we added here:

Over 50 of the Best Programs from the American Archive of Public Broadcasting

Much of the archive features local public TV and radio programs and dated news programs (like over 16,000 episodes of the PBS NewsHour). So, sifting through it all, we tried to pick out programs that would still be interesting to a wider audience. We selected programs and series featuring authors and thinkers who are still popular today. Most of the titles we selected are on video, while some are public radio programs on audio. One of the best collections from the archive is the Bill Moyers Collection featuring over 800 programs produced by public television giant Bill Moyers (who passed away earlier this year at the age of 91). We’ve selected many titles from that collection. For each title, we’ve embedded their audio/video player so you can play them through our site or click through to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. So here are the titles that we added in no particular order. We’ll start with the series and collections and move on to the individual programs.

Series and Collections:

Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers – We’ve blogged about this 1993 series previously, which is a 5-part documentary on various aspects of the mind-body connection.

Prospects of Mankind – Eleanor Roosevelt’s public TV show from 1959 to 1962 covering global politics.

The Evolution of Jazz – Public radio series from the 1950s covering the history of jazz to that point.

A Word on Words – John Seigenthaler’s author interview show for Nashville Public Television from 1972 through 2013, featuring 900 episodes.

From Socrates to Sartre: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy – History of philosophy public TV show from 1978 with 30 episodes featuring Dr. Thelma Z. Lavine.

Dwight Macdonald on Film – Audio lectures from film critic Dwight Macdonald from 1967.

Self Encounter: A Study in Existentialism – Dr. Hazel E. Barnes leads this course on existential philosophy.

Archaeology and the Bible – Biblical archaeologist Dr. Nelson Glueck leads this course.

Great Ideas – Dr. Mortimer J. Adler discusses the “basic ideas fundamental to man’s everyday life” in 1957.

Six Great Ideas – Dr. Mortimer J. Adler join Bill Moyers in 1982 to discuss Western civilization’s greatest philosophical concepts: truth, beauty, goodness, liberty, equality, and justice.

Bill Moyers Journal – Over 120 episodes of the Bill Moyers Journal.

Genesis: A Living Conversation – 10-hour documentary on Genesis with Bill Moyers.

The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith – Religion scholar Huston Smith explores the six major faiths with Bill Moyers in this 5-hour series.

Exploring the Universe – Popular science series hosted by Dave Garroway from 1963.

The Public Mind: Image and Reality in America – Bill Moyers hosts this four one-hour program series exploring how public opinion is formed through the mingling of fact and fiction in a society saturated with images.

On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying – 6-hour series from Bill Moyers on dying.

Individual Programs:

Leo Buscaglia: Teach Love

Isaac Asimov on The Future

Creative Person: Fred Rogers – Short 1967 documentary on Mr. Rogers.

Joseph Campbell: Myths to Live By, Part 1

Joseph Campbell: Myths to Live By, Part 2

Facing Hate with Elie Wiesel

Interview with Coretta Scott King – 90-minute interview with Coretta Scott King for the Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement documentary.

Interview with Reverend Ralph Abernathy

Interview with Rosa Parks

Pauline Kael and Woody Allen on Film in the 1970s

Woman: Betty Friedan

Ray Bradbury: The Fantasy Maker – Interviewed by Maya Angelou.

Conversation with a Native Son – James Baldwin talks with Maya Angelou in 1975.

USA: The Novel with Vladimir Nabokov

USA: Writers with John Updike

USA: Writers with Philip Roth

Marianne Williamson on A Woman’s Worth

Bill Bryson on One Summer: America, 1927

Garrison Keillor on Wobegon Boy

John Callaway Interviews Dr. Jonas Salk

John Callaway Interviews Howard Cosell

Jung Speaks of Freud – Half-hour interview from 1958 with Carl Jung talking about Sigmund Freud.

Roger Ebert Interviews Arthur C. Clarke About 2001

A Second Look: Maya Angelou – Bill Moyers travels to Maya Angelou’s childhood home in Stamps, Arkansas.

Waiting for Beckett – 1993 documentary about author Samuel Beckett.

Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason with Pema Chodron

A Conversation with Howard Zinn

A Conversation with Susan Sontag

20 Years of Listening to America – This is a 20-year compilation of Bill Moyers’ work that features documentary segments and a wide range of guests, from average Americans to lauded scholars, artists, heroes, and leaders.

Leo Braudy on The Frenzy of Renown

Deepak Chopra on The Path To Love

James Redfield on The Celestine Vision

David McCullough on Truman and Character

Shakti Gawain on Transformations

Stephen E. Ambrose on Eisenhower and Character

A Conversation with Eudora Welty

Kaleidoscope: Christopher Isherwood

Kaleidoscope: Robert F. Kennedy

Conversation with Ingrid Bergman

The World of Henry Miller – 1 hour portrait of American author Henry Miller.

Poet at Large: A Conversation with Robert Bly

A Conversation with Robert Penn Warren

A World of Ideas: Joseph Heller

A World of Ideas: Peter Drucker

A World of Ideas: Chinua Achebe

Sports for Sale – Documentary from Bill Moyers on the commercialization of college sports.

Dick Gregory is Alive and Well

Lots to enjoy from the American Archive of Public Broadcasting!