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Where to watch "The Dust Bowl"

4. The Hardy Ones

2012 - Season 1

With the dust storms still ravishing their land, their homes and their family, many of those affected had a tough decision to make; leave in search of a better life or stay and face the seemingly never-ending storms. By 1936, nearly a quarter of the people living in the southern Plains had begun to leave, driven from their homes by the Great Depression and the unrelenting drought. Many headed for California, a land supposedly full of jobs and opportunity. Nevertheless, around 75 per cent of those enduring intense hardship decided to stay put and retain their land even though the drought was already in its fifth year.

3. Reaping the Whirlwind

2012 - Season 1

As the Great Depression continued into 1935, the inhabitants of the southern Plains also had to contend with "black blizzards", violent dust storms that wiped out crops and livestock. They felt their plight had been forgotten by President Roosevelt as the drought intensified and many decided the only solution was to leave their homes and head for a land with plentiful water and work.

2. Episode 2: Reaping the Whirlwind

No release date yet

The crucible of dust, drought and Depression intensifies. Many people on the southern Plains give up and join a “migration of the defeated” to California. There they are branded as “Okies” and face vicious discrimination.

1. Episode 1: The Great Plow Up

No release date yet

In the early 20th century, homesteaders converge on the southern Plains, where wet years, rising wheat prices and World War I produce a classic boom. Then, in 1931, a decade-long drought begins, exacerbated by the Great Depression.

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