EVERY WEDNESDAY World Events

Discover the real story behind the rise and fall of empires, from historic to holy. Witness the seismic events that created shockwaves spanning continents and centuries.

WEDNESDAY ON STORY

August 6, 2025

All times Eastern
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8:00A

4:00P

12:00A

Cities of the Underworld

A-Bomb Underground

Tokyo, Japan is a city straight out of the future, above ground... and below. We'll go beneath the busy streets to see the latest technology that will save the city from the many natural disasters ready to strike. From there, we head back in time to World War II to see how Hiroshima's underground offered protection from the most powerful bombs... and get an inside look at the secret life of the Ninja. Don Wildman hosts.

9:00A

5:00P

1:00A

Lost Worlds

Secret Cities of the A-Bomb

In 1939, a group of scientists--Albert Einstein among them--warned FDR of the possibility that Hitler's Germany might be close to producing an atomic bomb. Roosevelt issued an order--the US had to be the first to develop an atomic bomb.

10:00A

6:00P

2:00A

Battleline

The Bombing of Japan

First the B-29, then the atomic bomb, spelled doom for the Japanese. Soldiers from both sides recall the victories and defeats of WWII.

10:30A

6:30P

2:30A

Tech Effect

Hiroshima

In 1942, the U.S. government embarked upon an endeavor it hoped would put a quick and definite end to WWII.

11:00A

7:00P

3:00A

Story Feature

Japan's Atomic Bomb

A revealing look at the untold story of Japan's atomic bomb, and how they may have detonated a nuclear device just two days before surrender. Since the end of WWII, conventional wisdom claimed that Imperial Japan was years away from building an atomic weapon--this special shatters this view. Using once secret Japanese wartime documents, we provide evidence that Japan had world-class nuclear physicists, access to uranium ore, and cyclotrons to process it. They devised an innovative way to deliver the bombs using 400-foot long Sen Toku submarines, capable of carrying and launching airplanes. Most startling--just six days after Hiroshima, Japan tested its own atomic device on a small island 20 miles off the Korean coast. The sobering conclusion is that Japan may have been just weeks behind the US in the race for the bomb.

12:00P

8:00P

4:00A

Story Feature

Scorpions in a Bottle: The Story of the Atomic Bomb

Starting with the immigration of scientists who fled Nazi Germany to America, this documentary unfolds the development of the Manhattan Project.

1:00P

9:00P

5:00A

History's Raiders

Hitler's A-Bomb

On the night of February 28, 1943, a group of Norwegian raiders--fewer than a dozen men--set out on a covert mission to sabotage the Nazi-controlled Norsk Hydro factory in Telemark, Norway. Their target--the production cells of heavy water, a vital component in the development of Hitler's atomic bomb. Their bold mission successfully set back Hitler's atomic program by many months and allowed the Allies more time to build their own and win the race for the atomic bomb.

2:00P

10:00P

6:00A

Spy Web

Atom Spies

In WWII, U.S. technical and economic superiority allowed the West to stay ahead of the Soviet Union in the race for the atomic bomb. But Soviet genius for espionage allowed them to acquire atomic secrets.

3:00P

11:00P

7:00A

Story Feature

Ultimate World War II Weapons

This countdown special reveals the weapons, inventions, and vehicles that shaped and decided World War II, from the humble Studebaker to the shock and awe of the A-Bomb.

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