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Bares Broncs and Bulls Part 1 of 2
Full Episode
S 2010 : Ep 20101114 - 11/14/10
We just got back from hanging out with a bunch of Navajo cowboy folks from Triple B Association—a bronc & bull riding league catering to the Indian community of the American Southwest. Over the course of a week, we tailed several of the Association’s best and up-and-coming riders from across New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. We take a peek into their incredible lives—from training for, traveling to and from, and competing in rodeos to hanging on the rez, dealing with fam, and just trying to make ends meet in some of the most impoverished parts of the country.moreless -
Bares, Broncs, and Bulls -- Trailer
Full Episode
S 2010 : Ep 20101025 - 10/25/10
We just got back from hanging out with a bunch of Navajo cowboy folks from Triple B Association—a bronc & bull riding league catering to the Indian community of the American Southwest. Over the course of a week, we tailed several of the Association’s best and up-and-coming riders from across New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. We take a peek into their incredible lives—from training for, traveling to and from, and competing in rodeos to hanging on the rez, dealing with fam, and just trying to make ends meet in some of the most impoverished parts of the country. As it’s received more and more mainstream exposure over the years, bull and bronc riding has become a big-buck industry, but at the level these young Navajo compete in the winnings are low, the press is scarce, and the risks of just getting in the saddle every day are terrifying.moreless -
The Muscle Shoals Sound
Full Episode
S 2010 : Ep 20100910 - 9/10/10
VBS recently travelled to the internationally acclaimed recording town of Muscle Shoals, AL, where host Ian Svenonius talked to some folks who helped establish it’s distinctive American R & B sound. American artists like Otis Redding & Bob Dylan found their groove in Muscle Shoals, while international groups like the Rolling Stones were drawn by the allure of the place and the music it created. We had a chance to sit down and talk to these legends about the history of FAME Studios, the factors that shaped the Muscle Shoals Sound, and the future of their recording industry in the digital age.moreless -
The Muscle Shoals Sound: Trailer
Full Episode
S 2010 : Ep 20100906 - 9/6/10
Recently VBS travelled to Muscle Shoals, AL, the birth place of R&B and home to some of the most celebrated recording studios in the history of American music. -
The Indy Mile 2 of 2
Full Episode
S 2010 : Ep 20100203 - 2/3/10
The Indy Mile is the oldest contest for motorcycle racing’s oldest discipline: dirt track. You’ve seen this stuff on TV before—it’s that extremely loud track party that has your dad and uncles screaming at the tube through the haze of Camel smoke and Old Milwaukee fumes and your mother annoyed or mortally frightened. In other words: it is fucking excellent. The race itself is physically grueling, with madmen looping around a mile-long oval track and sliding into turns at around 70 miles per hour—in general, looking like the trifling laws of physics don’t really apply. Competitors travel across the country all year competing for rewards that barely cover travel expenses, so in this episode of Americana we thought we’d take you to Indianapolis, Indiana, to investigate what motivates these beastly riders and to celebrate everything it is they do and stand for.moreless -
The Indy Mile 1 of 2
Full Episode
S 2010 : Ep 20100203 - 2/3/10
The Indy Mile is the oldest contest for motorcycle racing’s oldest discipline: dirt track. You’ve seen this stuff on TV before—it’s that extremely loud track party that has your dad and uncles screaming at the tube through the haze of Camel smoke and Old Milwaukee fumes and your mother annoyed or mortally frightened. In other words: it is fucking excellent. The race itself is physically grueling, with madmen looping around a mile-long oval track and sliding into turns at around 70 miles per hour—in general, looking like the trifling laws of physics don’t really apply. Competitors travel across the country all year competing for rewards that barely cover travel expenses, so in this episode of Americana we thought we’d take you to Indianapolis, Indiana, to investigate what motivates these beastly riders and to celebrate everything it is they do and stand for.moreless -
Norm's Militia Scrapbook
Full Episode
S 2009 : Ep 20091109 - 11/9/09
Norman Olson is the founder of the Michigan Militia, the most famous/notorious/we-think-maybe-oldest? group of the early-90s citizens’ militia movement. If you’re too young to remember, that was this thing where guys in camouflage got together to train with their guns and guys with cameras pretended they were scary and racist.moreless -
Slab City
Full Episode
S 2009 : Ep 20090828 - 8/28/09
VBS travels to Slab City, an ex-military base-cum-squatter haven in Southern California. With the help of two booze-guzzling sherpas, we traverse the Colorado desert to understand why so many call this wasteland home.moreless -
2nd Revolutionary War
Full Episode
S 2009 : Ep 20090702 - 7/2/09
As militia membership slowly creeps back to its early 90s levels, VBS parses the rising tide of paranoia to gauge whether the New World Order is past its sell-by date or arriving right on schedule.moreless -
In The Chutes With PBR
Full Episode
S 2008 : Ep 20080211 - 2/11/08
Professional bull-riding is the most intense and most intensely American sport we've ever been blown away by. -
Soapbox Derby
Full Episode
S 2008 : Ep 20080121 - 1/21/08
Chris Nieratko gets friendly with the competitors. -
The Firing Line
Full Episode
S 2007 : Ep 20070309 - 3/9/07
In this edition of Americana we take a little field trip out of the city to Pearl River, New York, home of our favorite shooting range/gun shop. -
The Taxidermist
Full Episode
S 2007 : Ep 20070207 - 2/7/07
Amy Ritchie is a true renaissance girl. She is a hunter, a piano prodigy, and a nationally recognized champion taxidermist.
