Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio

Overview

Radio once reigned as America’s foremost mass medium, shaping public consciousness for half a century. Ken Burns delves into the lives of three pivotal figures behind this revolutionary invention in Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio. The documentary showcases the intertwined fates of Lee de Forest, an audacious inventor who created the audion tube; Edwin Howard Armstrong, a reclusive genius who advanced FM technology; and David Sarnoff, a tenacious Russian immigrant who built a communications empire. Their stories of innovation, rivalry, and tragedy unfold against the backdrop of radio's ascent.