Smithsonian TV Guide — Saturday TV Listings & Schedule

Browse the full Smithsonian TV guide for Saturday, 8 August 2026. 24 programmes listed , including 6 tonight. US listings updated daily — scroll down to tonight's highlights or use the day tabs above to browse the weekly schedule.

Early Morning

00:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S4 · E2 · Falling from the Sky True

Falling from the Sky

On June 24, 1982, all the engines on British Airways Flight 009 mysteriously stop working, terrifying the passengers as the plane begins to fall from the sky.

01:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S4 · E10 · Ghost Plane True

Ghost Plane

An improperly set cabin pressurization control on a 2005 Helios Airways flight causes passengers and crew to run out of oxygen, rendering them unconscious.

02:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S17 · E7 · Caught on Tape Documentary

Caught on Tape

On February 4, 2015, TransAsia Airways Flight 235 crashes into the Keelung River in Taiwan shortly after taking off from Taipei Songshan Airport.

03:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S20 · E4 · Cabin Catastrophe True

Cabin Catastrophe

A Boeing 737 is rocked by a midair explosion that challenges its pilots and nearly ejects a passenger out of a blown-out window.

04:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S13 · E10 · Titanic in the Sky True

Titanic in the Sky

One of an Airbus A-380's engines explodes soon after taking off from Singapore, and the pilots have to hold the plane together and return to the airport.

05:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S19 · E6 · Fatal Climb Documentary

Fatal Climb

When TAROM Flight 371 crashes after taking off from Bucharest, Romania, on March 31, 1995, investigators must determine if it was an accident or murder.

Morning

06:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S22 · E5 · Double Trouble Documentary

Double Trouble

Trans-Air Service Flight 671 suffers an in-flight separation of its two right engines while enroute to Kano, Nigeria, and making an emergency landing.

07:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E66 · The South Travel

The South

An aerial tour of America's South encompasses the site of an infamous prisoner-of-war camp and the home of a colony of English settlers who vanished.

08:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E45 · Best Small Towns Travel

Best Small Towns

An aerial tour from coast to coast captures the charm of America's most interesting small towns, from California to Florida with many visits in between.

09:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E175 · Dazzling Destinations Travel

Dazzling Destinations

A tour of America's most popular destinations from above includes the Badlands, Nantucket, the National Mall and more.

10:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E9 · Maine Travel

Maine

A flyover reveals picturesque Maine's rugged coastline, remote islands and vast, densely forested central wilderness and shows the state's beauty.

11:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E3 · Virginia Travel

Virginia

A flyover of the Old Dominion provides stunning views of America's capital city and its first European settlement as well as the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.

Daytime

12:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E50 · Indiana Travel

Indiana

The sights of the state in which Abraham Lincoln came of age include one of the world's iconic racetracks, a university with a golden dome and a vibrant city.

13:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E72 · Great Cities Travel

Great Cities

An in-depth look at how major cities across the country run day and night as an aerial crew share footage of the beauty and famous landmarks from each city.

14:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E71 · Dallas-Fort Worth Travel

Dallas-Fort Worth

An aerial view of the fourth largest metropolis in America is presented as the history and landmarks in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex are explored.

15:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E24 · Mississippi Travel

Mississippi

The Magnolia State is explored for everything from civil rights locales to the birthplaces of literary minds like William Faulkner, and everything in between.

16:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E56 · Southern California Travel

Southern California

An aerial tour of Southern California reveals towering mountains, a valley with Earth's hottest recorded temperatures, and some of the world's largest cities.

17:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E62 · Man-Made Marvels Travel

Man-Made Marvels

Aerial views of iconic American landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, New York City's Central Park and the Gateway Arch reveal their impressive beauty.

Evening

18:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E40 · Kentucky Travel

Kentucky

America's 15th state, Kentucky, is explored, with its rich history and breathtaking beauty, from Daniel Boone's wilderness trail to the Country Music Highway.

19:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E51 · Iowa Travel

Iowa

An aerial tour of John Wayne's home state reveals farmhouses, barns, towering silos, rows of crops for miles and a county known for its covered bridges.

20:00 1h

A-Bombs Over Nevada

Documentary Special

On a stretch of desert just 65 miles from Las Vegas, the U.S. tested its new thermonuclear bombs as tourists came to Nevada to watch.

21:00 1h

The Day the Bomb Dropped

True Special

People telling stories from the first day of the atomic age include scientists, a bomber pilot and citizens of Hiroshima who survived their city's obliteration.

22:00 1h

Atomic Age Declassified

S1 · E1 · Born with the Bomb True

Born with the Bomb

Radiation experiments on civilians and Ethel Rosenberg's framing are investigated as the U.S. government's secrets and explosive events are revealed.

23:00 1h

Atomic Age Declassified

S1 · E2 · Spies in Space True

Spies in Space

After being hidden from the world for decades, an in-depth look is taken at a military space program that was designed to photograph Soviet weapon systems.