How America Works

Cameras follow the men and women of the Wilmington Police Department as they struggle to keep a lid on crime during the busy holiday season.

A team of modern-day cowpunchers work tirelessly to bring beef from a ranch in Southern Oklahoma to dinner tables across the country. But with branding day upon them, they must double their efforts to tend the herd and process calves before sundown.

Textile manufacturers in Stafford Springs, Conn., work long hours to keep the country clothed; with a last-minute order to fill in the middle of a staffing shortage, all of them are doubling down to hit their quotas by quitting time.

With supply chain issues the world over, demand for aluminum in the United States has never been higher; in Russellville, Ky., a thousand workers are laboring day and night to churn out the aluminum needed to keep the country running.

Corn growers and millers labor year-round to bring America's top crop to the masses. But with Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching- the peak day for corn consumption- mills like Lifeline Foods are racing to process a million pounds of product per day.

Building booms are springing up all over the United States, and the men and women at Volvo are working harder than ever to assemble the heavy equipment that makes all those projects possible, but creating multiple machines in a day is no easy task.

In 2022, the U.S. Navy will need more than a dozen new pilots to meet their deployment demands. And it's up to the USS George H.W. Bush to get them ready. Follow as we reveal how they're trained aboard one of America's most massive ships.

The men and women of U.S. Sugar work around the clock to harvest, mill and refine the sweet stuff we Americans so crave. But in the wake of an unseasonable cold snap, they have precious hours to salvage compromised cane before it all goes to waste.

From raw lumber to finished rolls, cameras follow as our leading paper producers race to keep the nation well supplied with this all-important product.

The literal foundation of our society, bricks are as important to life as we know it as they've ever been. And despite an overwhelming stack of backorders, one company still makes them by hand.