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We go into caves, onto boats, and up mountain trails to meet people, hear their stories, and of course, play some music, all to reconnect to nature.

Listen to Our Common Nature from WNYC, wherever you get podcasts.

This is fresh air. I'm Terry Gross.

Divisions in our country are often traced back to the civil war,

but the divisions go all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

It wasn't just a war against the British.

It was a bloody civil war in the

colonies, between the revolutionaries, who call themselves the patriots, and the loyalists who wanted

to remain under British rule. The Revolutionary War is the subject of a new documentary series

made by America's best-known documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, along with

Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt. Burns describes the Revolutionary War as the most

consequential revolution in history. The series tells the story not only from the perspectives

of the founding fathers, the generals, and the fighters,

it includes the stories of people left out of the declarations statement,

all men are created equal.

That's women, Native Americans, enslaved people, and free black people.

Making this film, Berne says,

led him to new perspectives on the fundamental questions about the founding. This 12-part series premieres on most public TV stations Sunday, November 16th, with two

hour-long episodes on six consecutive nights. The subjects of Byrne's other documentaries shown on

public TV include the Civil War,

the War in Vietnam, baseball, jazz, country music, and our national parks.

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