Retro Report has produced more than 250 short documentaries and video series in partnership with The New York Times, PBS, the New Yorker, VICE, Scientific American, NBC News, Politico, Time, The Guardian, Univision and others.

We combine reliable and compelling journalism with history, civics, and media literacy education. Our work illustrates the impact of the past on the present using documentary storytelling, combating the information crisis by

  • Revitalizing history and civics education
  • Providing nonpartisan journalism that is grounded in facts
  • Creating media literacy tools.

OUR PROGRAMS

Retro Report Education

  • Free resources for teachers in the format that most engages students: digital video
  • Lessons and activities to engage learners of all learning styles and socio-economic backgrounds
  • Professional development opportunities for educators (Browse our living library)

Retro Report Living Library

  • Free access to over 250 videos that are updated as stories develop
  • Tools and videos to teach media literacy skills

Retro Report on TV

  • Each year, Retro Report produces TV and film projects that tackle important issues
  • Our distribution partners include PBS Frontline, NewsHour, and VICE-TV (Explore our broadcasts)

OUR IMPACT

Retro Report videos have been viewed over 70 million times on RetroReport.org, The New York Times, PBS, YouTube and Facebook

Classroom resources reach 20,000 educators each month

Lesson plans have been viewed more than 400,000 times

Our journalism has been nominated for many awards including: 9 Emmy Awards, 11 Edward R. Murrow Awards, 3 Mirror Awards, 11 Webbys, and many others.

Our media literacy tools are working. A Retro Report video to teach search literacy was tested on 1,000 participants by M.I.T.’s Teaching Systems Lab and Stanford History Education Group. In a pretest, only 8 percent of participants could identify the source behind an unfamiliar website. After participants watched our 90-second video, we saw more than 150 percent improvement: 21 percent answered a similar challenge correctly.

OUR ORIGIN

Retro Report was founded by Christopher Buck, who drew up the blueprints for a living news library. The project was launched in 2013 by Buck, his partner Larry Chollet, Executive Producer Kyra Darnton and a team of producers, reporters and editors.

Retro Report has produced hundreds of short documentary videos, reaching tens of millions of viewers through longstanding partnerships with The New York Times, PBS, the New Yorker, Univision and many other national news outlets. We have produced two prime-time television series for PBS and VICE, and feature-length documentaries including the Emmy Award-nominated “Enemies of the People,” “American Reckoning” and “Facing Eviction” for Frontline.

In 2020, we began providing free educational resources to teachers and students across the country after hearing from teachers that our videos help solve a growing problem in the classroom: bringing history to life for their students.

Retro Report is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization under the Internal Revenue Code. We seek tax-deductible donations from foundations, institutions and individuals to support our work.

2023The News & Documentary Emmy Awards

American Reckoning

Outstanding Historical Documentary
2023Webby Awards

Extremism in America

Video: News & Politics
2023The Peabody Award

American Reckoning

Public Service
2022The Telly Awards

The Cold War

Education & Discovery
2022The Webby Awards

Shamed by Sex, Survivors of the Purity Movement Confront the Past

Honoree: Documentary - Shortform
2022Edwin M. Hood National Press Club Journalism Award

As Massacre Survivors Seek Justice, El Salvador Grapples With 1,000 Ghosts

Excellence in Reporting on Diplomatic and Foreign Policy
2022The Eppy Awards

As Massacre Survivors Seek Justice, El Salvador Grapples With 1,000 Ghosts

Best News or Event Feature Video
2022Hot Docs Festival
Premiering
2022The Webby Awards

9/11 Heroes: Surviving the Biggest Attack on U.S. Soil

Honoree: Video - News & Politics
2022Online Journalism Awards

Extremism in America

Best Digital Video Storytelling Series
2021The American Documentary and Animation Film Festival

The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action

Official Selection
2021The Mirror Awards
Finalist: John M. Higgins Award for In Depth/ Enterprise Reporting
2021The Telly Awards

The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action

Winner: Social Issues
2021The News & Documentary Emmy Awards
Nominated for Outstanding News Special and Best Story in a Newsmagazine
2021LA Shorts International Film Festival

The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action

Official Selection
2021The Nonprofit News Awards

Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers

Winner: Breaking Barriers Award
2021The Webby Awards

Racial Inequality Was Tearing the U.S. Apart, a 1968 Report Warned. It Was Ignored.

Video: Documentary Shortform, News & Politics, Science & Education
2020The Eppy Awards

The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action

Winner: Best News or Event Video
2020The Webby Awards

Coronavirus Reignites a Fight Over Rights of Detained Migrant Children

Honoree for best video: News and Politics
2020Military Reporters & Editors Journalism Award

She Rocked the Pentagon

Winner in Television: Large Market
2019The Edward R. Murrow Awards

What Happens Next

Winner for Feature Reporting
2019The Webby Awards

Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns

Nominated for Best News & Politics
2019The Webby Awards

Athletes vs. Injustice: Protests in Sports

Winner for Best Sports
2019The News & Documentary Emmy Awards

What Happens Next

Nominated for Outstanding Business, Consumer or Economic Report
2019The News & Documentary Emmy Awards

Operation Ceasefire: Inside a Community's Radical Approach to Gang Violence

Nominated for Outstanding Editing
2019The Webby Awards

What Happens Next

Nominated for Best Technology
2019The Webby Awards
Retro Report nominated for Best Film & Video - News & Politics Series
2018The Webby Awards
Retro Report winner of Best Overall News & Politics Series
2018Science Media Awards

The Code

Nominated for Best Short form series
2018The Society of American Business Editors and Writers

What Happens Next

Winner for Best Video
2018The Webby Awards
Nominated for Film & Video: Best Trailer
2018The News and Documentary Emmy Awards

Athletes vs. Injustice: Protests in Sports

Nominated for Outstanding Arts, Culture and Entertainment Report
2018The Webby Awards

'Why Hasn't Sexual Harassment Disappeared?'

Nominated for Best Film & Video: News & Politics
2018The News and Documentary Emmy Awards
Nominated for Outstanding Promotional Announcement
2018The Edward R. Murrow Awards

Athletes vs. Injustice: Protests in Sports

Winner for Best Sports Story
2018The Webby Awards

What Happens Next

Nominated for Best Film & Video: Technology
2018The Gerald Loeb Awards

What Happens Next

Winner of Best Video
2017The Edward R. Murrow Awards

Could We Geoengineer Ourselves Out of Climate Change?

Winner of Regional Breaking News
2017The Edward R. Murrow Awards
Retro Report winner of Regional Overall Excellence
2017The Webby Awards

A New Housing Program to Fight Poverty Has an Unexpected History

Nominated for News & Politics: Individual Episode
2017The Mirror Awards

The Outrage Machine

Nominated for Best Single Article/Story
2017The Edward R. Murrow Awards

Bush v. Gore: How a Recount Dispute Affects Voting Today

Winner of Best Regional Hard News
2017The Webby Awards
Retro Report honoree for Film & Video: News & Politics.
2017The Edward R. Murrow Awards

She Derailed the Fight for Equal Rights for Women

Winner of Best Regional Documentary
2017The Edward R. Murrow Awards

Atomic Vets

Winner of Best Regional Continuing and Investigative Coverage
2017The Webby Awards

Are Robots Really Taking Over?

Nominated for Film & Video: Technology
2017The Edward R. Murrow Awards

How Zero Tolerance Blurred the Lines Between Schools and Criminal Justice

Winner of Regional Continuing Coverage
2016The Edward R. Murrow Awards

Population Bomb: The Overpopulation Theory That Fell Flat

Winner of Best Regional Continuing Coverage
2016The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California

Atomic Vets

Winner for Explanatory Journalism
2016The Webby Awards

He's the only CIA Contractor to be Convicted in a Torture-related Case

Official Honoree for Online Video: News & Politics
2016The Edward R. Murrow Awards
Retro Report winner of Regional Overall Excellence
2016The Mirror Awards

Lessons from Columbine About School Shootings and Media Misinformation

Nominated for Best Single Story
2016The News and Documentary Emmy Awards

How Fear of the Measles Vaccine Took Hold

Nominated for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story
2016The Edward R. Murrow Awards

Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions

Winner of Best Regional Video News Documentary
2015The Webby Awards

Lessons From the Challenger Tragedy

Honoree for Best Editing
2015The News and Documentary Emmy Awards

Lessons From the Challenger Tragedy

Winner for Outstanding Editing
2015The FOCAL International Awards

Lessons From the Challenger Tragedy

Winner of best innovative use of archival footage
2015The Edward R. Murrow Awards

The Murder of US Churchwomen in El Salvador That Exposed a Government Coverup

Winner of Best National Continuing Coverage
2014The Gracie Awards

Thalidomide: Return of an Infamous Pill

Winner of Outstanding Original Online Programming
2014The News & Documentary Emmy Awards

Thalidomide: Return of an Infamous Pill

Nominated for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Magazine
2014The Mirror Awards

The Misunderstood McDonald's Hot Coffee Lawsuit

Nominated for Best Single Story
2014The Edward R. Murrow Awards

Wrongly Accused of Terrorism: The Sleeper Cell That Wasn't

Winner of Best Regional Video News Documentary
2014The Edward R. Murrow Awards
Retro Report winner of Regional Overall Excellence