Editorial Staff

Bonnie Bertram

@BonnieBertram
Image from The Rise of SWAT: How Cops Became Soldiers
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The Rise of SWAT: How Cops Became Soldiers

As police have become more militarized, the role of SWAT teams has morphed – from use in emergency situations to fighting the drug war.

Image from Burden of Richmond Evictions Weighs Heaviest in Black Neighborhoods
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Burden of Richmond Evictions Weighs Heaviest in Black Neighborhoods

An eviction moratorium has slowed filings in cities like Richmond, but it hasn’t stopped them, and Black tenants are at highest risk.

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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 Tabletop to Tablet: Using Dungeons & Dragons to Combat Screen Addiction
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Tabletop to Tablet: Using Dungeons & Dragons to Combat Screen Addiction

The role-playing game ​D​ungeons ​&​ ​D​ragons​, once at the center of a moral panic, is now seen as a counterbalance to the problem of screen addiction.

Image from The Misunderstood McDonald's Hot Coffee Lawsuit
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The Misunderstood McDonald's Hot Coffee Lawsuit

Stella Liebeck was vilified when she was awarded millions after spilling McDonald’s coffee in her lap. Her complaint sounded frivolous. But the facts told another story.

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

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Suing the President: The Students Who Challenged the Travel Ban

With the release of Donald Trump’s new travel ban, a brief look at a Yale group that fought the original ban.

Image from 'Why Hasn't Sexual Harassment Disappeared?'
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'Why Hasn't Sexual Harassment Disappeared?'

From naming the problem in the 1970s, to bringing it out of the shadows in the 90s, to a growing accountability today – the evolution of sexual harassment in the workplace.

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Searching for Better Answers

On the heels of a national measles scare, Google announced that it is refining its search results for hundreds of medical conditions to show only vetted resources and web sites.

Image from Anita Hill Testified in 1991. But How Much Has Changed?
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Anita Hill Testified in 1991. But How Much Has Changed?

Accusations by Professor Christine Blasey Ford against Judge Brett Kavanaugh in his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, have us looking back at Anita Hill’s 1991 testimony in the hearing of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.

Image from Perp Walks: When Police Roll Out the Blue Carpet
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Perp Walks: When Police Roll Out the Blue Carpet

Perp walk: Unfair maneuver or a strong warning to would-be criminals?

Image from Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions
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Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions

More than 50 years after the Stonewall uprising marked the birth of a movement for LGBTQ+ rights, transgender activists continue to push for inclusion.

Image from How Fear of the Measles Vaccine Took Hold
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How Fear of the Measles Vaccine Took Hold

Skepticism and fear surrounding vaccines were fed by a flawed study done in 1998 linking the MMR vaccine to autism. The study was quickly discredited, we’re still dealing with the repercussions.

Image from Facing Eviction: Introduction (Excerpt)
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Facing Eviction: Introduction (Excerpt)

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

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Forever Prison

Guantanamo Bay has become a symbol of the war on terror, but its story actually begins a decade before, when it was first used to detain thousands of Haitians outside the reach of U.S. law. This story was created in collaboration with NPR and PBS, FRONTLINE.

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Combating the Myth of the Superpredator

In the 1990s, a handful of researchers inspired panic with a dire but flawed prediction: the imminent arrival of a new breed of “superpredators.”

Image from Growing up Gygax - The Son of D&D's Creator
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Growing up Gygax - The Son of D&D's Creator

Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax’s son explains what life was like in a household where D&D took center stage.

Image from New York Tenants Are Organizing Against Evictions, as They Did in the Great Depression
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New York Tenants Are Organizing Against Evictions, as They Did in the Great Depression

Activists concerned about pandemic-related homelessness are seeking rent relief. In the 1930s, tenants banded together against evictions.

Image from Hillary Clinton and the Superpredator
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Hillary Clinton and the Superpredator

Wondering what the Hillary Clinton/superpredator brouhaha is all about? Here’s the cliff notes…

Image from Junot Díaz and the D&D Revolution
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Junot Díaz and the D&D Revolution

Why Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Junot Díaz says playing Dungeons and Dragons was a revolution.

Image from Facing Eviction: Teresa (Excerpt)
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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 The Outrage Machine
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The Outrage Machine

In the digital age, where everyday people can suddenly become public enemy number one, how do we strike the balance between keeping free speech alive online and preventing a cyber mob from taking over?

Image from How a Standoff with the Black Panthers Fueled the Rise of SWAT
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How a Standoff with the Black Panthers Fueled the Rise of SWAT

S.W.A.T. teams, specially trained police teams, have been used increasingly in routine matters like serving drug warrants, sometimes with disastrous results.

Image from Trump, Measles, and a Study That Fueled Fear
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Trump, Measles, and a Study That Fueled Fear

President Donald Trump has long been a critic of childhood vaccines – but then he suddenly changed course, urging parents to vaccinate their children.

Image from How Decades of Housing Discrimination Hurts Fresno in the Pandemic
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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 History is Repeating Itself
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History is Repeating Itself

A law school professor is challenging Trump’s travel ban 25 years after he challenged the government as a student. For more, watch our collaboration with FRONTLINE, “Forever Prison.”

Image from Facing Eviction: Landlords and Law Enforcement (Excerpt)
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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
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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 Reproductive Rights and the Women Who Sparked a Movement
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Reproductive Rights and the Women Who Sparked a Movement

As the U.S. tightens restrictions on women’s reproductive health, the new season of The Handmaid’s Tale seems more relevant than ever. We look back on a group of women who broke sexual taboos in the 1970s, and how the fight over women’s bodies continues today.

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Stealing J. Edgar Hoover's Secrets

Long before Edward Snowden, there was the greatest heist you’ve never heard of. On March 8, 1971, a group of eight Vietnam War protestors broke into a Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Media, Pennsylvania and stole hundreds of government documents that shocked a nation.

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