Kit R. Roane

“Massacre in El Salvador,” a collaboration with Frontline and ProPublica, tells the story of the worst massacre in recent Latin American history, and why a final reckoning is at risk.

The Supreme Court considers new arguments challenging admissions practices that colleges use to select a diverse student body.

In 1978, voters passed Proposition 13, lowering taxes for millions of California homeowners. Decades later, what has it meant for California?

In the 1980s, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and the shooting of his press secretary, Jim Brady, led to the Brady Bill. Decades later, are there lessons from that fight for the Parkland students?

Catastrophic accidents at power plants have heightened fears about the safety of nuclear energy, but environmentalists and others are giving it renewed attention as a way to fight global warming.

Our social media addiction is explained by theories pioneered by B.F. Skinner decades ago.

Driven by fears of the rise of communism, the United States adopted a policy of containment, intervening in the politics of countries across the globe. In Latin America, the consequences of those efforts are still unfolding.

Donald Trump has used populist politics to appeal to voters who are fed up with the status quo. We look at another politician who tapped into America’s divisions decades ago: George Wallace.

In the heat of the Cold War, Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade became a media sensation.

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.

In the 1960s, fears of overpopulation sparked talk of population control. So what happened?

Biased ideas about a link between body size and health have led many people to dismiss unexpected scientific findings.

In 1988, the nation learned the truth about the alleged crimes against Tawana Brawley, but the shocking story was far from over.

After past outbreaks, workers with proof of antibodies were in demand. But history urges caution.

A Soviet blockade around Berlin cut the divided city off from the West. But in 1948 U.S. and British pilots began to fly food, fuel and medicine to the Allied sectors.

Efforts to clamp down on White House leaks to the press follow a pattern that was set during the Nixon era after the publication of the Pentagon Papers.

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.

How a pill that led to drug safety guidelines became a case study for rising drug prices.

Author Rachel Carson’s strike against the pesticide DDT turned her into both an environmental hero and a foil for those who believe regulation has gone too far. That fight is more relevant than ever.

In the 1980s, images of tiny, jittery “crack babies” caused social outcry – crack-addicted pregnant mothers were prosecuted and the media warned that a generation of “crack babies” would plague our country. Turns out… they were wrong.

The rise of special operations units today can be traced to two historic military missions: one a legendary success, the other a spectacular failure.

Is geo-engineering the climate an answer to global warming? Cold War science has some lessons.

After the Soviet Union sent the first human safely into orbit, the U.S. government doubled down on its effort to win the race to the moon.

Nelson Rauda, an independent journalist, told us that El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, is putting the squeeze on press freedom.

Newborns today are tested for genetic and immune disorders that might not be apparent at birth. The tests evolved from the treatment of a patient with a rare diagnosis who became known as “the Boy in the Bubble.”

In the 1980s, many government officials, scientists, and journalists warned that the country would be plagued by a generation of “crack babies.” They were wrong. More than 25 years later, the media is sounding a similar alarm.

The murder of four American churchwomen focused attention on the United States’ involvement in El Salvador. Decades later, the case continues to take surprising turns.

COVID-19 attacks the lungs. Past research shows that smoking and vaping may amplify the coronavirus.

While H.I.V. rates have fallen in many places, the AIDS crisis remains in some of the U.S.

A skepticism of science has seeped into the classroom, and it’s revived attacks on one of the most established principles of biology – evolution.

In the Cold War, North Korean Communists invaded South Korea. President Truman’s decision to intervene had consequences that shape the world today.

How do some companies regain public trust after something goes seriously wrong, while others fail? A look at how Tylenol responded after someone spiked its pills with poison in the 1980s sheds some light.

In Ukraine, elderly Jewish citizens threatened by the war with Russia are being evacuated. As children, they escaped the Nazi invasion. Now some are finding refuge in a most unlikely place: Germany.

A story of America’s school integration and what happened when the buses stopped rolling.

More than 40 years ago, Pierre Sprey set out to build the ultimate fighter jet.

The use of the defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War continues to cast a dark shadow over both American veterans and Vietnamese citizens.

A look at how a bias on body size affects care of heavier patients, something the medical community is beginning to recognize, and do something about.

In the late 1990s, Princess Diana brought public attention to land mine victims. But, more than two decades after her death, how much progress has been made in the worldwide fight against leftover munitions?

A whistleblower case from 2010 reveals the peril faced by whistleblowers seeking to expose wrongdoing.

Catastrophic accidents at power plants have heightened fears about the safety of nuclear energy, but environmentalists and others are giving it renewed attention as a way to fight global warming.

The curious origin of a political metaphor.

Like cigarette manufacturers decades ago, e-cigarette makers have pitched their products as fun and safe. But nobody knows what the risks are.

For decades the United States has been on a quest to perfect stealth technology, but development of the F-35 fighter jet shows just how complicated dreams can become.

Ancient methods of collecting and storing rainwater are being used to address severe drought today.

Before DNA testing, prosecutors relied on less sophisticated forensic techniques, including microscopic hair analysis, to put criminals behind bars. But how reliable was hair analysis?