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The first Letter from America 1946

Alistair Cooke re-presents his first American Letter.

• 15 mins

Perot, Buchanan and Dole

The battle for the Republican presidential candidacy.

• 15 mins

Euthanasia and the terminally ill

Should the terminally be helped to die, and the trials of doctors who have done so.

• 15 mins

The Montana Freemen

The rise of the Montana Freemen and the opposition of the FBI.

• 15 mins

The South Florida University bomb

America's anti-terror legislation and the South Florida University bomb.

• 15 mins

Erma Bombeck

Memories of columnist Erma Bombeck (1927 -96).

• 15 mins

Diplomacy and the Star Wars defence program

The Star Wars defence program and the response to overseas elections.

• 15 mins

The debate over assisted suicide

The moral and legal debate over assisted suicide.

• 15 mins

Single issue groups

President Clinton's stance on gay marriage and the power of single issue groups.

• 15 mins

Memorial Day, 1996

Remembering the military dead, from picnics to serious parades in Waterloo, New York

• 15 mins

Timothy Leary (1920 -1996)

Timothy Leary, psychologist and writer and advocate of psychedelic drugs, remembered.

• 15 mins

Bob Dole to run for president

Bob Dole resigns from the Senate to run for president.

• 15 mins

Max Factor Jr and make-up (1904 - 1996)

Max Factor Jr, make-up artist and American businessman, remembered.

• 15 mins

1996 Russian presidential elections

Boris Yeltsin wins the 1996 Russian presidential election.

• 15 mins

Melvin Belli (1907-1996)

Lawyer Melvin Belli, whose clients included Mohammed Ali, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Mae West.

• 15 mins

The Helms-Burton Bill

Trade with Cuba, and the importance of tobacco to the American south.

• 15 mins

The TWA Flight 800 crash

The aftermath of the TWA flight 800 crash.

• 15 mins

The welfare and healthcare reform debate

The prominence of the welfare debate in presidential campaigns.

• 15 mins

Atlanta Olympics 1996

The economy of sport and the 1996 Olympic Games.

• 15 mins

The 1996 Republican convention

The move away from the convention as a way of choosing a presidential candidate.

• 15 mins

The return of Ross Perot and US social concerns

Third tri-mester abortions and the resurgence of Ross Perot.

• 15 mins

Chicago and the Democratic convention

The history of Chicago as the host city for the Democratic Party convention.

• 15 mins

Cruise missile strike in Iraq

The "unfinished" Gulf War and the use of cruise missiles.

• 15 mins

The Defense Of Marriage Act 1996

The implications of the Defence of Marriage legislation to domestic partnerships.

• 15 mins

OJ Simpson's civil trial

O J Simpson's very different trials.

• 15 mins

Boris Yeltin's heart surgery

A history of governance of by gravely ill leaders.

• 15 mins

The 1996 presidential debates

The beginning of the debates between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole.

• 15 mins

Vice-presidential responsibilites

Bob Dole, Jack Kemp and Dan Quayle are profiled.

• 15 mins

The science of electoral predictions

The difficulty in predicting the outcome of presidential elections.

• 15 mins

Forest fires, tornadoes and earthquakes

An examination of extreme weather in America.

• 15 mins