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.






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

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

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

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


What's in a Number? Some Research Shows That a Lower B.M.I. Isn't Always Better.

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


The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action




The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action

Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers

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

The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action

Coronavirus Reignites a Fight Over Rights of Detained Migrant Children

She Rocked the Pentagon


Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns


What Happens Next

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







Athletes vs. Injustice: Protests in Sports

'Why Hasn't Sexual Harassment Disappeared?'


Athletes vs. Injustice: Protests in Sports



Could We Geoengineer Ourselves Out of Climate Change?


A New Housing Program to Fight Poverty Has an Unexpected History


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


She Derailed the Fight for Equal Rights for Women

Atomic Vets


How Zero Tolerance Blurred the Lines Between Schools and Criminal Justice

Population Bomb: The Overpopulation Theory That Fell Flat

Atomic Vets

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


Lessons from Columbine About School Shootings and Media Misinformation

How Fear of the Measles Vaccine Took Hold

Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions


Lessons From the Challenger Tragedy

Lessons From the Challenger Tragedy

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

Thalidomide: Return of an Infamous Pill

Thalidomide: Return of an Infamous Pill


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