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Thoreau Challenges Justice with His Essay "Civil Disobedience"

After refusing to pay four years of poll taxes, Thoreau is briefly imprisoned. Thoreau is adamantly opposed to supporting a state that is involved in enslavement and wars of aggression. Thoreau begins to write in earnest about society's obligations to freedom and justice culminating in the essay "Civil Disobedience," which influences the later work of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Gandhi
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Clip Season 1 Episode 2 Length 07:14 Premiere: 03/30/26

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Season 1 Episodes

Several More Lives to Live
S1 E3 Length 1:01:51 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Being Alive
S1 E2 Length 56:54 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Who are We?
S1 E1 Length 54:19 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Henry David Thoreau Moves to Walden Pond
Clip Length 11:14 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Thoreau Tells the Stories of the Black Community in Concord
Clip Length 05:50 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Thoreau Challenges Justice with His Essay "Civil Disobedience"
Clip Length 07:14 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Journey to Mount Katahdin and Untamable Nature
Clip Length 09:22 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Official Trailer
Preview Length 00:30 Premiere Date 03/30/26

Making Henry David Thoreau
Clip Length 01:50 Premiere Date 03/30/26

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Who Are We? - S1 E1

As the nation struggles with its ideals and industry reshapes the land, Henry David Thoreau pursues a career as an author. But, unsuccessful and disheartened, he retreats to a cabin in the woods to live simply, deliberately - and write.

  • Sunday August 23, 2026 8:00 pm ET on KET2
  • Sunday August 23, 2026 7:00 pm CT on KET2
  • Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00 am ET on KET2
  • Tuesday August 25, 2026 1:00 am CT on KET2

Being Alive - S1 E2

At Walden Pond, Thoreau finds solace in nature and writes two books, including a classic about his time there. Over his two-year stay, an expedition to Maine and an act of civil disobedience protesting slavery reshape his idea of freedom.

  • Sunday August 23, 2026 9:00 pm ET on KET2
  • Sunday August 23, 2026 8:00 pm CT on KET2
  • Tuesday August 25, 2026 3:00 am ET on KET2
  • Tuesday August 25, 2026 2:00 am CT on KET2

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