Cincinnati: Great, Near Great and Not So Great Moments in Cincinnati History

Take another trip through yesterday's Cincinnati, and its people, places, and events, which includes highlights of Cincinnati's Bicentennial Celebration.

The Big One is an investigative documentary from director Michael Moore who goes around the country asking why big American corporations produce their product abroad where labor is cheaper while so many Americans are unemployed, losing their jobs, and would happily be hired by such companies as Nike.

"Youngstown Boys" explores class and power dynamics in college sports through the parallel, interconnected journeys of one-time dynamic running back Maurice Clarett and former elite head coach Jim Tressel. Clarett and Tressel emerged from opposite sides of the tracks in Youngstown, Ohio, and then joined for a magical season at Ohio State University in 2002 that produced the first national football championship for the school in over 30 years. Shortly thereafter, though, Clarett was suspended from college football and began a downward spiral that ended with a prison term. Tressel continued at Ohio State for another eight years before his career there also ended in scandal.

In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.

Danny fulfilled his great ambition to play and record in his native Cincinnati's King Records studio. On this unique video, he illegally enters the derelict King building in order to commune with the spirits of the great King Records artists from the past -- and, in so doing, becomes the last musician to ever record at the original studio on Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati's Evanston neighborhood. Video ncludes tracks written by Danny and others that were inspired by his King heroes such as "Cincinnati' Fatback"

A portrayal of the early Latter-day Saints' joys, sacrifices, hopes, and trials; their epic journey to the Salt Lake Valley; and their legacy of faith in Jesus Christ.

Steeped in a rich tradition dating back to their inaugural meeting in 1897, this rivalry extends beyond the pursuit of a Big Ten title, and is renewed each year through the pageantry and colliding cultures that distinguish the two schools.

Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.

Struggling with fear, tension, and anxiety amid the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a high school student reflects upon what really matters.

The Great Black Swamp was a wetland in northwest Ohio and extreme northeast Indiana that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation period until the late 19th century. The Story of the Great Black Swamp is a folklife documentary that investigates the Black Swamp area from its creation during the glacial ages to its transformation into farmland.

James Brown was the jewel in the crown, but the throne of Cincinnati’s King Records always belonged to its irascible founder, Syd Nathan. This is the 70th anniversary of the legendary record label and studio. It closed shop nearly 40 years ago, in a now long-neglected warehouse on the neighborhood border of Evanston and Walnut Hills, but its impact still reverberates across today’s music.

Ohio is the Midwest's eastern gateway, a vast land originally controlled by the Iroquois Indians. An important rail link, Ohio is bordered by the Allegheny Mountains to the east and the farmlands of the Great Plains to the west. A century ago, Ohio's most famous residents, Orville and Wilber Wright, were two bicycle mechanics who ended up leaving their mark in aviation.

Kevin Jerome Everson and his collaborator Kahlil I. Pedizisai filmed the comings and goings in front of a trap house on Empire Street in Cleveland, Ohio. Loosely inspired by Andy Warhol's 1964 film "Empire," which also runs for eight hours.

In 2004 a group of friends took the stage at a small coffee house in Dekalb Illinois with the sole purpose of pissing off everyone. Surprisingly, enough people liked what the band was doing that they continued to play music under the name Weekend Nachos. This documentary simply tells the story of Weekend Nachos.

The Ashtabula train disaster and bridge collapse was the worst train disaster of the 19th century, claiming the lives of 97 people. The engineering and structural failures that caused the collapse of a bridge that stood for over a decade, also took down the most luxurious train of the day, “The Pacific Express #5.” The accident happened in Ashtabula, Ohio on December 29, 1876 during a raging blizzard, sending the luxury train crashing 70-feet into a river gorge and costing the lives of 97 people. The disaster shocked the nation, yet it’s a story that’s been lost in the pages of history. In a strange twist of fate and intrigue, the bridge disaster also became the backdrop to the still unsolved murder of Charles Collins, the railroad’s chief engineer. It also contributed to the eventual suicide of millionaire Amasa Stone, the president of the railroad and the designer and builder of the bridge.

Highlights include Dan Ransohoff's "Cincinnati Algorithm," the Great Flood of 1937, the Taft political dynasty, a profile of Cincinnati Reds player Ival Goodman, the 1946 Cincinnati Bearcats football team, the last days and rebirth of the Albee Theater, controversy surrounding the Cincinnati bicentennial mascot "Cincinnatus," the walking metal men of Crosley Field fame, saving cash with Kash D. Amburgy, and a shopping trip through Swallen's.

For 16 months the doors of Music Hall are closed as an historic renovation process ensues. CET is documenting this complex undertaking with compelling interviews and stunning visuals that provide the audience a seat at the table where decisions are made and progress is monitored. It all leads to the much-anticipated grand re-opening of Music Hall on October 6.

When the immigrants came to America, their cultures entered the "great melting pot." In Michigan's Upper Peninsula Finnish immigrants mixed their musical traditions with many other cultures, creating a sound that was unique to the "Copper Country."

In the 1960s the cattle mutilation phenomenon became a widespread concern across the American west. Cases erupted around states like Wyoming, South Dakota and Colorado of livestock being preyed upon in ways that puzzled even established scientists. Today, cattle mutilations are thought to go hand in hand with mysterious objects in the skies (commonly referred to as UFOs or UAPs) and that’s what first brought indie documentary crew Small Town Monsters and investigator Shannon LeGro to the Miller Ranch in southern Colorado.

Before its economic decline, Detroit was a major metropolis. Now, in the 2000s, the young people of the Motor City are making it their own DIY paradise where rules are second to passion and creativity. Johnny Knoxville tours the city to meet some of the people who are creating a new Detroit on their own terms, against real adversity.