American Experience, Ruthless: Monopoly’s Secret History

PBS WESTERN RESERVE (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Monday, Feb. 20, at 9 PM
Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 2 AM

Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):

Saturday, Feb. 25, at 4 PM
 

For generations, Monopoly has been America’s favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and—for better or worse—the impulses that make our free-market society tick. But behind the myth of the game’s creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing.

Contrary to the folksy legend spread by Parker Brothers, Monopoly’s secret history is a surprising saga that features a radical feminist, a community of Quakers in Atlantic City, America’s greatest game company and an unemployed Depression-era engineer. 

Learn about America’s complicated relationship with its favorite board game and the true story of its creator, Lizzie Magie, one of the most creative and outspoken women of the early 20th century.