MASTHEAD

Anne Checler

Anne Checler is an award-winning documentary editor with over 15 years of experience in long and short-form documentaries, television and web series which have covered a wide range of topics from Resistance fighters during WWII and the Black Panthers to slave labor in Brazil and the music of Charlie Chaplin. Her work has been featured on Independent Lens/PBS, NBC, France 2, TV Globo, Filmstruck.com, mlssoccer.com, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, DocNYC, and various other international film festivals. 

Image from Amazon Rainforest Defenders Confront Violence, Encroachment and Politics
Video

Amazon Rainforest Defenders Confront Violence, Encroachment and Politics

Debates over development in the world’s largest rainforest have led to deadly conflicts, threats to its indigenous people and harm to the global atmosphere.
 Image from Can Race Be a Factor in College Admissions? SCOTUS Reconsiders Affirmative Action.
Video

Can Race Be a Factor in College Admissions? SCOTUS Reconsiders Affirmative Action.

The Supreme Court considers new arguments challenging admissions practices that colleges use to select a diverse student body.
 Image from A New Housing Program to Fight Poverty has an Unexpected History
Video

A New Housing Program to Fight Poverty has an Unexpected History

Some cities are trying to help poor children succeed by having their families move to middle-income, so-called “opportunity areas” – an idea that was once politically impossible.
 Image from Facing Eviction: Teresa (Excerpt)
Video

Facing Eviction: Teresa (Excerpt)

Facing Eviction provides a rare and intimate look at U.S. housing policy during the Covid-19 pandemic in a way that hasn’t been seen before.
 Image from Facing Eviction: Landlords and Law Enforcement (Excerpt)
Video

Facing Eviction: Landlords and Law Enforcement (Excerpt)

While Facing Eviction emphasizes the tenant’s experience, it also shows how complicated it is for almost everyone involved.
 Image from Facing Eviction: Introduction (Excerpt)
Video

Facing Eviction: Introduction (Excerpt)

This excerpt is an introduction to Facing Eviction, taking viewers inside the unfolding housing crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic.
 Image from Facing Eviction
Video

Facing Eviction

Since the summer of 2020, we’ve documented the impact of the pandemic on housing and evictions. We followed tenants, landlords, lawyers, judges, sheriffs and social workers across the U.S. who were affected.
 Image from Facing Eviction Trailer
Video

Facing Eviction Trailer

Since the summer of 2020, we’ve documented the impact of the pandemic on housing and evictions. We followed tenants, landlords, lawyers, judges, sheriffs and social workers across the U.S. who were affected. Facing Eviction airs on PBS Frontline on July 26 at 10/9c.
 Image from How Watergate and Citizens United Shaped Campaign Finance Law
Video

How Watergate and Citizens United Shaped Campaign Finance Law

The Watergate campaign finance scandals led to a landmark law designed to limit the influence of money in politics. Decades later, some say the scandal isn’t what’s illegal, it’s what’s legal.
 Image from Covid Deaths Left Orphans. The Stress of That Loss May Carry Lifelong Risks.
Video

Covid Deaths Left Orphans. The Stress of That Loss May Carry With It Lifelong Risks.

Avion Simon and his siblings, C.J., and Momo, lost their mother to Covid-19. Science has some ideas about the health hurdles that Covid orphans could face in the future.
 Image from Extremism in America: Out of the Shadows
Video

Extremism in America: Out of the Shadows

According to experts who monitor the radical right, the white supremacist ideology that police say drove the Buffalo gunman has begun moving from the extremes into the mainstream. This is the fifth episode of a five-part series produced in collaboration with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative Exploring Hate.
 Image from Extremism in America: A Surge in Violence
Video

Extremism in America: A Surge in Violence

Violent attacks involving extremist ideology, like the Buffalo rampage, began to rise in the last decade, but officials were slow to recognize homegrown threats. This is the fourth episode of a five-part series produced in collaboration with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative Exploring Hate.
 Image from Extremism in America: Missed Warnings
Video

Extremism in America: Missed Warnings

In the years before Barack Obama was elected, many groups on the extreme right kept a relatively low profile. With the election of a Black president, that changed. This is the third episode of a five-part series produced in collaboration with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative Exploring Hate.
 Image from Extremism in America: The Oklahoma City Bombing
Video

Extremism in America: The Oklahoma City Bombing

Anti-government propaganda, military deployment and the F.B.I. raid in Waco, Texas, radicalized Timothy McVeigh and led to the Oklahoma City attack. This is the second episode of a five-part series produced in collaboration with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative Exploring Hate.
 Image from Extremism in America: Emergence of The Order
Video

Extremism in America: Emergence of The Order

The killing of radio host Alan Berg exposed a new kind of right-wing extremism. This is the first episode of a five-part series released in collaboration with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative Exploring Hate. This series was recognized with a 2022 Online Journalism Award for Best Digital Storytelling.
 Image from How Prop. 187 Transformed the Immigration Debate and California Politics
Video

How Prop. 187 Transformed the Immigration Debate and California Politics

Today’s immigration policies echo an anti-immigration movement from the 1990s in California.
 Image from Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers
Video

Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers

For care in pregnancy and childbirth, Black parents are turning to a traditional practice.
 Image from Why the Cold War Race for Nuclear Weapons Is Still a Threat
Video

Why the Cold War Race for Nuclear Weapons Is Still a Threat

Russian President Vladimir Putin controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, and his invasion of Ukraine is a reminder that Russia, the U.S. and many other countries have thousands of nuclear missiles, even as safeguards once in place have fallen away.
 Image from Shamed by Sex, Survivors of the Purity Movement Confront the Past
Video

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

A “purity” movement in the 90s led by evangelical Christians promoted a strict view of abstinence before marriage. Today, followers are grappling with unforeseen aftershocks.
 Image from How Decades of Housing Discrimination Hurts Fresno in the Pandemic
Video

How Decades of Housing Discrimination Hurts Fresno in the Pandemic

Decades of discrimination in Fresno laid the groundwork for a housing crisis today.
 Image from Tenants Facing Eviction Over Covid-19 Look to a 1970s Solution
Video

Tenants Facing Eviction Over Covid-19 Look to a 1970s Solution

An idea from a tenant rebellion in the 70s could help renters facing eviction.
 Image from The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action
Video

The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action

The ‘Burning Bed’ killing put domestic violence in the headlines.
 Image from How Black Women Fought Racism and Sexism for the Right to Vote
Video

How Black Women Fought Racism and Sexism for the Right to Vote

African American women played a significant and sometimes overlooked role in the struggle to gain the vote.
 Image from Coronavirus Reignites a Fight Over Rights of Detained Migrant Children
Video

Coronavirus Reignites a Fight Over Rights of Detained Migrant Children

Migrant children in federal custody have tested positive for Covid-19, reopening a legal battle over the rights of children in custody.
 Image from Our Appetite for Beef Is Growing. So Are Climate Worries.
Video

Our Appetite for Beef Is Growing. So Are Climate Worries.

Scientists warn that to slow climate change, we need to change how we farm and what we eat.
 Image from Meatless Burgers Are on Trend. Eating to Save the World Has a Long History.
Video

Meatless Burgers Are on Trend. Eating to Save the World Has a Long History.

Plant-based meats may be high tech, but the ideas behind them have been around for decades.
 Image from Teaching Teens About Sex: The Decades-Old Debate over Abstinence-Only
Video

Teaching Teens About Sex: The Decades-Old Debate over Abstinence-Only

A decades-old battle is re-emerging over abstinence-only sex education.
 Image from AIDS: From Ryan White to Today's Silent Epidemic
Video

AIDS: From Ryan White to Today's Silent Epidemic

While H.I.V. rates have fallen in many places, the AIDS crisis remains in some of the U.S.
 Image from Trump’s Immigration Rhetoric Echoes a Bitter Fight from the 90s
Video

Trump’s Immigration Rhetoric Echoes a Bitter Fight from the 90s

Today’s immigration policies echo an anti-immigration movement 25 years ago in California.
 Image from Hard Risks: Concussions in Sports, From the Boxing Ring to the Gridiron
Video

Hard Risks: Concussions in Sports, From the Boxing Ring to the Gridiron

As concussions plague football, are there lessons from earlier concerns about boxing?
 Image from Could a Simple Intervention Fight a Suicide Crisis?
Video

Could a Simple Intervention Fight a Suicide Crisis?

A simple intervention to reduce suicides – “caring letters,” messages of compassion and empathy – showed promise in the 1960s, but has been overlooked until now.
 Image from LSD Gets Another Look
Video

LSD Gets Another Look

LSD has long been associated with 1960s counterculture. Today, psychedelic drugs are back in the lab, providing hope for people who suffer from anxiety, depression and addiction.
 Image from Online All the Time? Researchers Predicted It.
Video

Online All the Time? Researchers Predicted It.

Our social media addiction is explained by theories pioneered by B.F. Skinner decades ago.
 Image from Israel Survived an Early Challenge With War Planes Smuggled by U.S. Vets
Video

Israel Survived an Early Challenge With War Planes Smuggled by U.S. Vets

In 1948, World War II aviators risked their lives in a secret operation to smuggle weapons and planes to the Israeli military.
 Image from Columbine at 20: Media Attention and Copycat Killers
Video

Columbine at 20: Media Attention and Copycat Killers

Twenty years after Columbine, we examine the impact the attack has had on today’s youths – and how the media has more recently shifted its coverage of school shootings.
 Image from Perp Walks: When Police Roll Out the Blue Carpet
Video

Perp Walks: When Police Roll Out the Blue Carpet

Perp walk: Unfair maneuver or a strong warning to would-be criminals?
 Image from Future of Gaming
Video

Future of Gaming

As gaming becomes the dominant form of entertainment this century, game developers increasingly track player behavior to tailor experiences that will keep people playing longer and spending more money.
 Image from The Roots of Evangelicals’ Political Fervor
Video

The Roots of Evangelicals’ Political Fervor

White evangelical Christians are among President Trump’s most important supporters. But more than 40 years ago, they were on the margins of American politics.
 Image from For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business
Video

For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business

An inmate population surge in the 1980s led to the growth of for-profit prisons. Today, despite their mixed record, private prison companies are overseeing the vast majority of undocumented migrants.
 Image from Where the Debate Over "Designer Babies" Began
Video

Where the Debate Over "Designer Babies" Began

Genetic technology is advancing, and critics are warning of a slippery slope. We speak with the scientists working at the forefront of the research, families who have benefited and the first-ever “test-tube” baby to understand the debate.
 Image from Old Attitudes on Addiction Are Changing. So Are Treatments.
Video

Old Attitudes on Addiction Are Changing. So Are Treatments.

Overdose deaths are skyrocketing, forcing researchers to find new ways to think about and treat addiction.
 Image from What History Can Teach Us About Mass Killings
Video

What History Can Teach Us About Mass Killings

A century ago, a culture rid itself of the problem of mass murder. How did that happen and what can the modern-day world learn from it?
 Image from Myths and Misperceptions about Eating Disorders
Video

Myths and Misperceptions about Eating Disorders

Thirty million people will suffer from eating disorders in their lifetime, yet decades after Karen Carpenter died from anorexia, myths about eating disorders continue.
 Image from How ISIS Resembles the Doomsday Cults of the 1970s
Video

How ISIS Resembles the Doomsday Cults of the 1970s

Can the lessons we learned from extremist cults decades ago be used to fight ISIS recruitment today?
 Image from Future of Work
Video

Future of Work

A remote Oregon mountainside offers a window into the workplace of the future.
 Image from Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago
Video

Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago

As deportations of unauthorized immigrants rose under President Donald Trump, some churches and cities declared themselves sanctuaries and shielded migrants from immigration enforcement.
 Image from Could You Patent the Sun?
Video

Could You Patent the Sun?

Decades after Dr. Jonas Salk opposed patenting the polio vaccine, the pharmaceutical industry has changed.  What does that mean for the development of innovative drugs and for people whose lives depend on them?
 Image from Activating a Generation: From Live Aid to the Ice Bucket Challenge
Video

Activating a Generation: From Live Aid to the Ice Bucket Challenge

Thirty years after “Live Aid” changed the face of charity fundraising, clicktivism has taken center stage. If you share, re-tweet and like, are you making the world a better place?
 Image from How Zero Tolerance Blurred the Lines Between Schools and Criminal Justice
Video

How Zero Tolerance Blurred the Lines Between Schools and Criminal Justice

Over the last 30 years, schools across the country have enacted tough new discipline policies. Some of those schools say they went too far.
 Image from A Change of Heart
Video

A Change of Heart

The artificial heart became a media sensation in the 1980s as it both raised hopes and spread controversy. Today its impact on medical science is still playing out in surprising ways.
 Image from Argentina's Stolen Babies, and the Grandmothers Leading the Search
Video

Argentina's Stolen Babies, and the Grandmothers Leading the Search

The Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a group of women dedicated to finding babies who were taken by Argentina’s military regime in the 1970s and 1980s, have reunited their 130th family.
 Image from Lessons from Columbine About School Shootings and Media Misinformation
Video

Lessons from Columbine About School Shootings and Media Misinformation

The killing of twelve students and a teacher at Columbine High School in 1999 continues to shape how we view and understand school shootings today.
 Image from Transgender Rights: A Decades-long Struggle for Equality
Video

Transgender Rights: A Decades-long Struggle for Equality

More than 50 years after Stonewall, many transgender people are still struggling for inclusion, even amongst the LGBT community.
 Image from He's the only CIA Contractor to be Convicted in a Torture-related Case
Video

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

The story of the first and only interrogator connected to the CIA to be convicted in a torture-related case.

For teachers: This video is part of a collection of resources including four short films, each accompanied by a lesson plan and student activity.
Return to Masthead