Smithsonian TV Guide — Sunday TV Listings & Schedule

Browse the full Smithsonian TV guide for Sunday, 9 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

Atomic Age Declassified

S1 · E3 · Filming the Bomb True

Filming the Bomb

An in-depth look at how films featuring Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe and other Hollywood artists prepared soldiers for the Cold War.

01:00 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.

02:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S19 · E4 · Borderline Tactics True

Borderline Tactics

At the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, investigators search for an invisible culprit after a cargo plane crashes just a few thousand feet from the Cuban border.

03:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S16 · E9 · Seconds From Touchdown True

Seconds From Touchdown

Facing a cascade of failures and an engine fire, a turboprop is just seconds from the tarmac in Montreal when it flips over and crashes to the ground.

04:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S12 · E6 · Grand Canyon Disaster Documentary

Grand Canyon Disaster

In 1956 two commercial airliners are found in pieces on the floor of the Grand Canyon; the experts' conclusions change every air voyage that follows.

05:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S12 · E13 · Air France 447: Vanished True

Air France 447: Vanished

An Air France Airbus A330 went down over the Atlantic Ocean, and the aircraft's cockpit voice recorders were found on the ocean floor two years later.

Morning

06:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S3 · E6 · Mistaken Identity True

Mistaken Identity

In July 1988 the crew of the U.S.S. Vincennes mistakes an Iranian commercial airliner for an attacking warplane and takes it down with a surface-to-air missile.

07:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E32 · Montana Travel

Montana

The fertile prairies and rugged mountains of the Treasure State are home to the fastest land mammals in North America, and it has seen many historic events.

08:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E34 · Minnesota Travel

Minnesota

Along with its fabled "10,000 Lakes," the North Star State contains the headwaters of North America's longest river and its largest shopping mall.

09:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E29 · Oklahoma Travel

Oklahoma

An aerial tour of the former Indian Territory includes views of the homes of Will Rogers, Brad Pitt and Geronimo, buffalo herds and Native American settlements.

10:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E33 · Ohio Travel

Ohio

The Buckeye State has served as a haven for Revolutionary War veterans and runaway slaves and the home of a bicycle shop that gave birth to something bigger.

11:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E49 · Illinois Travel

Illinois

An aerial tour of the state in which Abraham Lincoln became a man includes the stories of the 1871 Great Fire of Chicago and the 20th-century Great Migration.

Daytime

12:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E14 · Washington Travel

Washington

The Evergreen State has a rugged, rainy west coast and a dry, flat eastern sector, and it has high-tech firms as well as North America's oldest history.

13:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E64 · The Great Plains Travel

The Great Plains

An aerial exploration is taken of a massive region of grassland that stretches from the tip of Texas across ten states to the Canadian border.

14:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E28 · Alabama Travel

Alabama

A flight over the Cotton State reveals much more than cotton fields, with a popular NASCAR speedway and the historic sites of many civil rights battles.

15:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E11 · South Carolina Travel

South Carolina

With prominent Civil War and Revolutionary War landmarks as well as Sullivan Island, the point of entry for slaves, the Palmetto State is full of history.

16:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E61 · Roadside Attractions Travel

Roadside Attractions

A road trip in the air soars above the Oregon Trail, the fields of Gettysburg, Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon and other popular sightseeing destinations.

17:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E59 · New England Travel

New England

An aerial tour of New England passes over the Massachusetts harbors where America's first acts of rebellion took place and the pristine lakes on Maine's border.

Evening

18:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E13 · Georgia Travel

Georgia

Viewed from the sky, the Empire State of the South offers views of natural wonders such as the Appalachian Mountains as well as the imposing skyline of Atlanta.

19:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S22 · E2 · Time Critical True

Time Critical

Three separate flight crews skip critical procedures in a rush to finish their flights, ignoring signs of danger.

20:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S17 · E1 · Killer Attitude Documentary

Killer Attitude

On December 1, 1993, Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 crashed into two ridges while on approach to Hibbing Airport in Minnesota, killing 16 passengers.

21:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S25 · E6 · Cabin Chaos Documentary

Cabin Chaos

After a Chinese airplane lands at a top-secret U.S. Air Force base, the search is on for the cause of a deadly rollercoaster ride in the sky.

22:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S5 · E10 · Phantom Strike Documentary

Phantom Strike

A Boeing 737 leaving Manaus, Brazil collides with an Embraer business jet over the Amazon rainforest, and investigators disagree about the accident's causes.

23:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S25 · E6 · Cabin Chaos Documentary

Cabin Chaos

After a Chinese airplane lands at a top-secret U.S. Air Force base, the search is on for the cause of a deadly rollercoaster ride in the sky.