American Genius

Synopsis

Behind every great genius was a great rival - an unstoppable adversary whose incredible vision, determination, and ambition is their match. Out of their struggles came the world's most brilliant inventions, the spoils of the heated battle between competitors.

First Air Date: 2015-06-01

Last Air Date: 2015-06-22

Number of Seasons: 1

Number of Episodes: 8

Networks: National Geographic

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Jeff Wilburn as Narrator (voice)
Mark Falvo as NASA Official
Johnna Leary as New York City Woman
Evan I. Schwartz as Self
Chuck Taber as Apple Employee
Don Meehan Jr as Horace Smith (2015)
Nicholas Chase Applegate as Race Official
John Hawthorne Smith as Larry Tesler
Vaughn Bullard as Edison Electric Board Member
Vince Eisenson as Young Xerox Suit

Seasons

Season 1 (2015)

No overview available for this season.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Jobs vs. Gates (2015-06-01)

In the 1980s, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs break out in a heated battle to bring the personal computer to the masses.
Ep. 2: Wright Brothers vs. Curtiss (2015-06-01)

The Wright Brothers build and fly the world’s first airplane, but they keep it a secret, leaving an opening for motor designer, Glenn Curtiss, to swoop in and compete to be the first to fly in public.
Ep. 3: Farnsworth vs. Sarnoff (2015-06-08)

A young Midwestern farm boy creates an innovation that forever changes the future of communication, only to have it stolen away by one of America's greatest media moguls.
Ep. 4: Hearst vs. Pulitzer (2015-06-08)

The newspaper redefined the way America tells its stories, but its rise to prominence was born out of a bitter rivalry between a man who built himself up from nothing and the wealthy son of a business tycoon. Follow William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer as they push the limits of journalism in unthinkable ways, forever changing the media landscape.
Ep. 5: Space Race (2015-06-15)

America and the Soviet Union, deadlocked in the Cold War, set their sights on the final frontier — space. Go inside the more than decadelong struggle between the two superpowers as they both set out to conquer the moon. German scientist Werner Von Braun leads the charge for the U.S. and Sergei Korolev for the Soviets, but in the race to space, only one side can get there first.
Ep. 6: Colt vs. Wesson (2015-06-15)

Samuel Colt and partners Edwin Smith & Daniel Wesson become locked in the first true “arms” race, as they compete to perfect the world’s first revolver.
Ep. 7: Oppenheimer vs. Heisenberg (2015-06-22)

J. Robert Oppenheimer and Werner Heisenberg are in the world's largest arms race to build the first atomic bomb.
Ep. 8: Edison vs. Tesla (2015-06-22)

Celebrated inventor Thomas Edison goes to war with his former assistant, Nikola Tesla, to determine who will power the world with electric light.