The Dust Bowl

2012•1h 58m•7.9/10

Documentary

Ratings

🎬TMDb

7.9/10(28)

Chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the Great Plow-Up, followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation.

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Language

Status

Ended

First Aired

November 18, 2012

Last Aired

November 19, 2012

Networks

PBS

Where to Watch

Region US · Lang EN

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Seasons & Episodes

Select a season to view episodes. Reddit links may contain spoilers.

Season

The Great Plow Up

Air date: 2012-11-18

The grasslands of the southern Plains were rapidly turned into wheat fields. Then following the early years of the drought, storms killed crops and livestock and literally rearranged the landscape. The worst storm of them all was on April 14, 1935—Black Sunday—a searing experience for everyone caught in it, including a young songwriter from Pampa, Texas, named Woody Guthrie.

Reaping the Whirlwind

Air date: 2012-11-19

Black Sunday was only halfway through the decade-long crisis. The storms continued. The Great Depression still affected people. Government programs were instituted to help. Learn what FDR’s administration did to try to keep the southern Plains from becoming a North American Sahara desert. Find out why some residents finally decided they had to give up and move somewhere else and how some held on.