United Shades of America

Years of prolonged drought and extreme heatwaves in California have seen wildfires grow in frequency, intensity, and size. It is a complex crisis fueled by mismanagement of the land, corporate greed, and climate change. There's no quick or easy fix to any of this, so in the meantime, how do we learn to coexist with wildfire?

W. Kamau Bell takes us on a personal journey as he discusses representation with some of his Asian American friends in the film and television industry, examining the commonality between his own experience and theirs. In the wake of Black Lives Matter Protests and anti-Asian hate, Bell discusses the need for Asian Americans to have a greater voice in bridging divides and helping shape a more equitable future for Black and Asian communities.

W. Kamau Bell travels to the Black Hills of South Dakota – a place known for centuries to the Indigenous peoples of the area as "the heart of everything that is." Bell dives into the leading edge of one of the most profound campaigns of Native self-determination to date with the LANDBACK campaign. Native leaders are demanding that the United States honor its treaties and return all public lands, starting with the Mount Rushmore monument, to the management and stewardship of Indigenous peoples.

The word aloha has come to define Hawaiian hospitality: a warm, open-armed welcome. But on his second trip to Hawaii, W. Kamau Bell learns how that word has been commodified and corrupted to benefit transplants and how an exploitative tourism industry has left local Hawaiians protesting to get their jobs back, competing with tourists for space in the water and struggling for housing. Bell will explore how Hawaii can sustain its tourism economy while supporting local Hawaiians.