https://www.route80documentary.com/film daily 1.0 2026-07-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/a94384a2-ed40-4f8b-a149-05716a59d3f0/I-80+title+%28updated%29.jpeg Film https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/0e421a96-932b-4ab7-8e04-df9b4f454d60/SF_.pic_hd.jpg Film - Make it stand out Photos courtesy Nafen Wu The term “interstate highway” usually conjures up images of concrete, asphalt and steel. But it is the people who travel these roads, and those whose lives are connected to it, that give it vitality and life. America once saw itself as a nation of small towns, each of which was anchored by a main street, inevitably called “Main Street.” Sprawling suburbs, along with shopping malls and big-box stores, erased much of that. Remarkably, the 21st century has seen interstate highways emerge as America’s new “Main Streets,” stitching together a fragmented nation. America's Main Street: I-80 offers a snapshot of America and Americana, a look at the variety of its people and places, stretching from coast to coast. It includes original on-location footage shot in California, Nevada, Utah, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, as well as rare archival film unseen for decades. America’s Main Street: I-80 will premiere on Public TV stations across the United States during November 2026, just prior to Thanksgiving, as nationwide millions of Americans get ready to drive “home for the holidays.” It’s anticipated it will also be available on VOD platforms, like the free PBS App. Click on the “Where to Watch” tab above for details. Tell Us Your I-80 Story! Share your I-80 story; good, bad, funny, sad or just plain strange… Stories should be submitted through our email address. A selection of them will be posted on this website! Click on the “Contact Us” tab. Educators: Don’t Miss Out On Free Educational Resources Click on the Educational Resources tab above to access classroom ready materials, including short clips from the full program suitable for use during standard instructional periods. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/2970417b-3e6f-43c8-88e1-8190f2195b3d/Iowa+80+entrance.jpeg Film - Make it stand out Photo courtesy Iowa 80 Group https://www.route80documentary.com/ali-protests daily 0.75 2026-07-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/dbd11611-713c-4df1-8ca3-ee04c68cb334/SF_.pic_hd.jpg Asking Questions, Getting Answers - Make it stand out photos courtesy Nafen Wu Discover the history of a famous San Francisco Chinatown bakery, through interviews with its owner and customers. (click to see video) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/4f105193-2afc-45b3-bc13-101e8771d8d2/red-1968-ford-mustang-10th-ann+104936278.jpeg Asking Questions, Getting Answers - Make it stand out Photo courtesy of Pond5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/66ba210c-72d8-4e81-82fc-a388a8d1d79a/NARA+film+library.jpeg Asking Questions, Getting Answers - Make it stand out Photo courtesy Paradox Communications, Inc. https://www.route80documentary.com/production-team daily 0.75 2026-05-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419101315-588G799F6HHDJZCOZ9RV/Genia.JPG Production Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419101323-RW41MJZ1NFRCYGJTM23G/Loong_Headshot_purple.jpg Production Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419101331-EQ0M0FLGG72WMIT57QY5/Helen+Wang.JPG Production Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419101338-78ZU1OXAPQAHAEE3QQ2K/Syd+Golston_2.jpeg Production Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/dbc1ae7d-fb4a-4cd4-bbaa-c6b35342f707/BE+VO+2026.jpeg Production Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/5f964d9c-95b6-4dce-8a34-10b372e17b42/DanielPortrait_crop.png Production Team https://www.route80documentary.com/trailer daily 0.75 2026-07-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/373b0890-e9eb-4cfa-8d78-c75d0b197c4d/I-80+title+%28updated%29.jpeg https://www.route80documentary.com/distribution daily 0.75 2026-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/f42177df-23bd-4425-b7d5-3d2699a668d2/NETA_Program_Service_%282021%29_%28A%29.png Distribution Image courtesy NETA https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419103617-5IMN3PQ8PE5EI8IP1C40/Ed+White+NASA_resize.jpeg Distribution Image courtesy NASA https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419103625-W5NEY68JCP7DHGMOF3V4/2+Century+Masters.png Distribution Image courtesy Paradox Communications, Inc. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419103633-ITI4U69GONYWS0BAB3ZH/3+Shanghai+1937.png Distribution Image courtesy Paradox Communications, Inc. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/2ee3609b-4f35-4a80-8558-8d7e522ed07d/Kenny_van_Weeghel_2006_World_Championship.jpg Distribution Image of Dutch athlete Kenny van Weeghel courtesy Wikipedia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419103650-M66II5XG6UJRAVNY6DGH/5+Beyond+Beijing.png Distribution Image courtesy Paradox Communications, Inc. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419103658-YP9YBOK773JFXCU3SKFW/6+Invisible+Love.png Distribution Image courtesy Paradox Communications, Inc. https://www.route80documentary.com/paradox-communications daily 0.75 2026-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419105149-FLHLQ3H824DV5I5F82YI/Ed+White+NASA_resize.jpeg Paradox Communications https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419105156-APYWETN1T2GOZ02NEXIR/2+Century+Masters.png Paradox Communications https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419105165-5OCIJFO8RA9XAHN7ZHFO/3+Shanghai+1937.png Paradox Communications https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419105173-L3L5L1YAUZUG3M9N2U35/4+People+in+Motion.jpg Paradox Communications https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419105181-Z42QOOE85V86OPJB15G1/5+Beyond+Beijing.png Paradox Communications https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1777419105188-Q5ZHIOYFWRWT3VSL2QGZ/6+Invisible+Love.png Paradox Communications https://www.route80documentary.com/participants daily 0.75 2026-07-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/53cd6315-41df-4784-994c-8a6d61b21257/Harry+Chan.jpeg Participants HARRY CHAN, immigrant, baker, entrepreneur “We start at four thirty in morning. We close at six thirty at night now. So, we are every day, with the preparing or cooking or steaming.” Discover the history of a famous San Francisco Chinatown bakery. (Click to see video) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/ab5bea4e-c5f8-4b6a-a54f-5949c1ae2c9c/Waddie+Mitchell.jpeg Participants - Make it stand out WADDIE MITCHELL, Cowboy Poet “I'd hear these old stories that cowboys, that worked for my dad on his ranch, and they were constantly entertaining themselves with their stories of guys they knew, or outfits they'd been on. Every once in a while, one of them would recite a poem. Their rhymes were very impactful on me.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/6723399c-af64-4494-b037-55fe14656979/Sarah+Mullins.jpeg Participants - Make it stand out SARRAH MULLINS, equestrian and educator “We start everyone from basics of someone who's never been around horses, how to work safely around the horses, how to lead them, brush them, that kind of thing, all the way up through international competition.” At Meadow View Farms in Nevada, they don’t just like horseback riding, they love it. (Click to see video) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/ad518b44-b503-47f6-97fc-40f3def42d99/Screenshot+2026-06-27+at+11.24.36%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg Participants - Make it stand out FIONA ROBINSON, ghost tour guide “Folklore is good, people like folklore, it is an important part of communities. But we want to make sure that, if we are telling folklore, what is the truth behind the folklore. Where did it come from? I do it so we can be as honest to our customers as possible.” Some say in Salt Lake City you can still meet “spirits” from the past. (Click to see video) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/1a3db14d-fe36-4c4d-b5cb-4eb01f02774b/Screenshot+2026-06-27+at+11.35.08%E2%80%AFAM.jpg Participants - Make it stand out LEE MEIER, Marketing Director, Iowa 80 Group “My grandfather, Bill Moon, loved truck drivers and he loved the trucking industry. He just thought it was really unique and it is uniquely American. And he wanted to create a place where truck drivers could come and have anything they needed, anything they wanted.” The Iowa 80 Truckstop is a world unto itself, a welcome break from long distance driving. (Click to see video) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/256852d1-d1bd-4ed0-9608-23d4c089cf3e/Screenshot+2026-06-28+at+9.35.09%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg Participants - Make it stand out KEVIN RICHARDSON, professional driver “I'm a truck driver. I've been driving now for like; I guess about 38 years or so. Hauling steel, you know, I use the Ohio Turnpike on a regular basis, just about five days a week. So I have good experiences. it's not bad at all. Plenty of rest areas, good food. So it's a pretty good road to travel.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/3b76418f-2932-4396-9dfe-832281439b75/Screenshot+2026-06-28+at+10.15.51%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg Participants - Make it stand out R.J. SAPONARI, tow truck driver “ I was driving my tow truck one day and I had a person get into an accident, three or four car lengths in front of me. I ended up using the tow truck to block the lanes of traffic so it wouldn't get hit again, and then I ended up stopping the bleeding, before paramedics arrived on scene.” Modern highways don’t build and maintain themselves, nor do the services we’ve come to expect magically appear whenever we need them. (Click to see video) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/6daf1553-3407-472d-a7f7-22516fff9685/Screenshot+2026-06-28+at+10.22.05%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg Participants - Make it stand out STAFF LT. RICHARD REEDER, Ohio State Highway Patrol “You have to be ready because the next second, you could go from ‘I don't have a call for service’ to ‘someone's fighting for their life,’ because they just rolled their car over, or crashed their car. It's imperative that you keep that focus throughout the night.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/eec86a11-8b8b-4ca2-8cf5-231a8a7c3a44/Screenshot+2026-06-28+at+10.33.22%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg Participants - Make it stand out CHIEF BRIAN RICCI, New Jersey volunteer firefighter “There's a lot of stuff that comes through the town that we don't know about. We're not really told about any of it. Truck traffic has obviously increased over the years. Freight, all that. We deal with a lot of unknown tractor trailers, you know. What's in them? Have they rolled over? Has that spilled? What kind of hazard does that present?” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/01723735-0798-4d65-9ed3-924f447286bb/Screenshot+2026-06-28+at+10.37.51%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg Participants JOSE GOMEZ, restaurateur “Dominican food is a mixture actually of Taino, which is Indian, the original people from the Dominican Republic, Spanish and African. So, it's a very unique mixture of flavors. Very seasoned flavor. Not spicy, but very seasoned and it's very fresh, always, and very local.” Immigrants from the Dominican Republic have established a culinary outpost in New York City. (Click to see video) https://www.route80documentary.com/contact-us daily 0.75 2026-07-24 https://www.route80documentary.com/olympic-boycotts daily 0.75 2026-07-28 https://www.route80documentary.com/where-to-watch daily 0.75 2026-07-12 https://www.route80documentary.com/american-basketball-brings-the-world-together daily 0.75 2026-07-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/348cfb77-f2bf-4b59-af00-f2f0555e2901/A_public_school%2C_high_school_classroom_in_the_United_States_02+Harrison+Keely.jpg The History of Your School: an Educators Guide - Make it stand out Photo courtesy Harrison Keely, Wikimedia Commons How do you arrange interview excerpts to tell a story? (click to see video) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/493f2f50-f303-4ed2-bc68-4105c3427190/Hoover_High_School_electronic_sign_Fresno_CA_2023-07-17_17-39-18+Lorax.jpg The History of Your School: an Educators Guide - Make it stand out photo courtesy Lorax, Wikimedia Commons https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69f143581a9a65011094e320/74cd4d2d-74a0-4f23-9850-c474f197f98f/Northeast_High_School_smuckola%282023%29.jpg The History of Your School: an Educators Guide - Make it stand out photo courtesy Smuckola, Wikimedia Commons