As the 21st century was getting underway, Hollywood released a series of films that were daring, entertaining, and absolutely unmissable.

Films like, 25th Hour, Bring It On, Zodiac, and No Country for Old Men.

They arrived during the George W. Bush era, a chaotic time in America.

Think 9-11, Katrina, the mortgage crisis. After the Bush era, a chaotic time in America. Think 9-11, Katrina, the mortgage crisis. After the

Bush years, the country would never be the same, and neither would Hollywood. I'm Brian Raftru,

and in my new limited series, Mission Accomplished, we're going to dive into some of the biggest

movies of the bush years.

And look at what they said about the state of the nation.

We'll go behind the scenes with filmmakers and experts.

And relive some of your favorite movies from the early 2000s.

From Donnie Darko to Michael Clayton, from Anchorman to Iron Man.

So slip on your sketchers, dig out your old Nokia, and join me from Mission Accomplished, starting August 12th on the Big Picture Feet.

Today, AI and Work.

In the year 1800, it took about six weeks to travel from New York City to Chicago. You were probably going by horse and carriage and the roads were correct.

So if you wanted one summary of what the canals and railroads did to America, you could say this.

They shrank the country.

One implication of a smaller country is that it was easier for companies based in New York to do business in the Midwest.

Just as the train made it possible to move goods and people across the country at faster speeds,

the telegraph accelerated the speed of information.

And together, the telegraph and the train collapsed space and time for American commerce.

But trains did something more.

They didn't just make it faster for companies to do business.

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