By sharing fascinating stories from the past - stories of genius and folly, compassion and cruelty - we learn about our very human aspirations and challenges.

This is the second episode of a two-part series that relates the story of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the most important sea battle of the American Civil War.

This is the first episode of a two-part series that relates the story of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the most important sea battle of the American Civil War.

In the 1850s, the notorious filibuster William Walker recruited hundreds of followers and launched multiple campaigns to seize power in Nicaragua, Mexico, and Honduras.

As a dictator with almost unlimited power, Bokassa declares himself Emperor of Central Africa. He adopts not one but two young Vietnamese women named Martine, both of whom claim to be his daughter.Tragically, they become ensnared in the violence and instability of his regime.

Orphaned as a boy in colonial Central Africa, Bokassa joins the French army, and serves in Vietnam, where he fathers a daughter named Martine. Returning to his homeland, he launches a successful coup. (Visual storytelling debut on YouTube.)

During World War I, Germany sends a covert expedition all the way to Afghanistan to convince the Muslim emir of that land to launch a jihad against British India.

Under the threat of war with the United States, nineteenth century Japanese officials must decide whether to end their nation's long isolation from the West.

In the early 15th century, Poggio Bracciolini sets out on a quest to rediscover lost knowledge, and in doing so helps to ignite a revolution in European thought.

As a dictator with almost unlimited power, Bokassa declares himself Emperor of Central Africa. He adopts not one but two young Vietnamese women named Martine, both of whom claim to be his daughter. Tragically, they become ensnared in the violence and instability of his regime.

Orphaned as a boy in colonial Central Africa, Bokassa joins the French army, and serves in Vietnam, where he fathers a daughter named Martine. Returning to his homeland, he launches a successful coup.

Gibson moves to Honolulu, and presents himself as a savior to the Hawaiian people. He rises to the very pinnacle of political power, and sets in motion his dream of establishing a Pacific island empire. 

Gibson conceives a plan to lead all the Mormons of Utah on an exodus to Papua New Guinea. He then travels to the independent Kingdom of Hawaii, where he temporarily succeeds in establishing his own religious community.

In the 1850s, Gibson sets out on a quest for power and adventure that takes him eventually to the Dutch East Indies, where he tries to incite an insurrection. Escaping from a Dutch prison cell, he returns penniless to the States, publishes a memoir, and tries to convince the US to go to war against the Dutch.