Documentaries
Filter by topic:
Video
The Weight of Stigma: Heavier Patients Confront a Bias
A look at how a bias on body size affects care of heavier patients.
medicine
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.
criminal-justice
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.
criminal-justice
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.
criminal-justice
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.
criminal-justice
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 in collaboration with The WNET Group’s reporting initiative Exploring Hate.
criminal-justice
Video
How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees
What obligation does the United States have toward people who are uprooted by war?
law-policyimmigration
Video
Why Supreme Court Confirmations Have Become So Bitter
The defeat of Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987 changed the way justices are confirmed today.
politics
Video
Dictators and Civil Wars: The Cold War in Latin America
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.
militarycriminal-justice
Video
American Reckoning Trailer
An untold story of the civil rights movement. American Reckoning is produced in collaboration with PBS Frontline.
criminal-justicecivil-rights
Video
American Reckoning
An untold story of the civil rights movement.
criminal-justicecivil-rights
Video
American Reckoning: The Bombing (Excerpt)
After civil rights leader George Metcalfe was severely injured in a car bombing, the Black community in Natchez, Miss., organized their response.
civil-rightscriminal-justice
Video
American Reckoning: Black Resistance (Excerpt)
In the face of threats from the Ku Klux Klan, a group known as the Deacons for Defense helped to protect the Black community.
civil-rightscriminal-justice
Video
American Reckoning: The Boycott (Excerpt)
The N.A.A.C.P. of Natchez, Miss., issued 12 demands for racial justice and organized a boycott of area businesses.
criminal-justicecivil-rights
Video
American Reckoning: The Legacy (Excerpt)
In 1967, N.A.A.C.P. official Wharlest Jackson was killed in a car bombing. Nearly 60 years later, his family is still looking for answers.
civil-rightscriminal-justice
Video
Presidents v. Press: How the Pentagon Papers Leak Set Up First Amendment Showdowns
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.
politics
Video
In El Salvador, a Journalist Faces New Limits. ‘We Want to Continue Shedding Light.’
Nelson Rauda, an independent journalist, told us that El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, is putting the squeeze on press freedom.
criminal-justice
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.

Video
What's in a Number? Some Research Shows That a Lower B.M.I. Isn't Always Better.
Biased ideas about a link between body size and health have led many people to dismiss unexpected scientific findings.
medicine
Video
As Massacre Survivors Seek Justice, El Salvador Grapples With 1,000 Ghosts
“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.
criminal-justicemilitary
Video
Gerrymandering Tilts Political Power. Here’s How Redistricting Affects Democracy.
Both parties play the redistricting game, redrawing electoral boundaries to lock down power.
Are you a teacher? Check out our teaching resources for this video.
PoliticsCivil Rights
Video
Black Swimmers Overcome Racism and Fear, Reclaiming a Tradition
Today, drowning rates are disproportionately high among Black children. What’s being done?
civil-rights
Video
9/11 Heroes: Surviving the Biggest Attack on U.S. Soil
First responders who survived 9/11 don’t want the day to be forgotten.
For teachers: This video is part of a collection of resources including four short films, each accompanied by a lesson plan and student activity.

Video
How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan
Officials who drove the decades-long war in Afghanistan look back on the strategic mistakes and misjudgments that led to a 20-year quagmire.
For teachers: This video is part of a collection of resources including four short films, each accompanied by a lesson plan and student activity.
politicsmilitary
Video
Special Education: The 50-Year Fight for the Right to Learn
Today’s special education system was shaped five decades ago, when parents fought for disabled children’s right to learn.
education
Video
Bringing Midwifery Back to Black Mothers
For care in pregnancy and childbirth, Black parents are turning to a traditional practice.
civil-rightsmedicine
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.
MilitaryPolitics
Video
Covid-19 Changed the Way We Watch Movies. The 1918 Pandemic Set the Stage.
The 1918 flu pandemic helped to usher in the Hollywood studio system. Could Covid-19 transform the industry?

Video
How the Korean War Changed the Way the U.S. Goes to Battle
In the Cold War, North Korean Communists invaded South Korea. President Truman’s decision to intervene had consequences that shape the world today.
military
Video
The Cold War on TV: Joseph McCarthy vs. Edward R. Murrow
In the heat of the Cold War, Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade became a media sensation.
politics
Video
How the Cold War Arms Race Fueled a Sprint to the Moon
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.
popular-culturescience-technology
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.
sex-genderpopular-culture
Video
How a Cold War Airlift Saved Berlin With Food, Medicine and Chocolate
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.
politicsmilitaryVideo
Racial Health Disparities Didn’t Start With Covid: The Overlooked History of Polio
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted racial disparities with roots in the past.
civil-rights
Video
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.
covid-19housing
Video
We’re Catching More Diseases From Wild Animals, and It’s Our Fault.
Scientists who venture into rainforests and bat caves explain how viruses, like Covid-19, spill over from animals to people, and what we must do to stop the next pandemic.
covid-19environment
Video
How Decades of Housing Discrimination Hurts Fresno in the Pandemic
Decades of discrimination in Fresno laid the groundwork for a housing crisis today.
covid-19housing
Video
Trump and Biden Both Want to Repeal Section 230. Would That Wreck the Internet?
Today’s heated political arguments over censorship and misinformation online are rooted in a 26-word snippet of a law that created the Internet as we know it.
law-policyscience-technology
Video
Health Risks of Vaping: Lessons From the Battle With Big Tobacco
Like cigarette manufacturers decades ago, e-cigarette makers have pitched their products as fun and safe. But nobody knows what the risks are.
science-technology
Video
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.
covid-19housing
Video
How to Fact-Check History
Meet Joseph Hogan, Retro Report’s fact-checker who explains what methods and processes he employs to verify the information in our stories.

Video
Poll Watchers and the Long History of Voter Intimidation
President Trump has called on supporters, including law enforcement officers, to monitor election sites. Voter intimidation tactics have a long history.
politics
Video
Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press (Media Mistakes Excerpt)
In this Emmy Award-nominated film, top national political reporters admit mistakes in their reporting on the 2016 election campaign.
politicsmedia-criticism
Video
Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press (CNN's Missteps Excerpt)
In this Emmy Award-nominated film, CEO Jeff Zucker acknowledges missteps in CNN’s 2016 campaign coverage, when many media outlets covered Donald Trump’s campaign as a spectacle.
politicsmedia-criticism
Video
Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press (False Equivalency Excerpt)
This Emmy Award-nominated film looks at how the journalistic instinct for “balanced” reporting on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016 played out.
politicsmedia-criticism
Video
Bush v. Gore: How a Recount Dispute Affects Voting Today
The dramatic controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election led to sweeping voting reforms, but opened the door to a new set of problems that continue to affect elections today.
politics
Video
Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press (Historical Excerpt)
This Emmy Award-nominated film explores tensions between the press and presidents, charges of liberal media bias and the decline in public trust in journalism. Watch the documentary.
media-criticismpolitics
Video
Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press (Trailer)
In this Emmy Award-nominated film, journalists who covered the 2016 presidential campaign now offer a candid analysis of their role in President Trump’s rise to power.

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.
covid-19housing
Video
Political Debates: What the Unforgettable Moments Reveal
High-stakes debates put candidates in the hot seat. But are they helpful to voters?
politics
Video
Working Sick During Covid: What We Learned from Swine Flu
‘Stay home if you’re sick’ is time-tested advice. But not all workers can afford it.
medicinecovid-19
Video
The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action
The ‘Burning Bed’ killing put domestic violence in the headlines.
sex-gendercriminal-justicelaw-policy
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.
sex-genderpolitics
Video
What the Bungled Response to HIV Can Teach Us About Dealing With Covid-19
Politics, public health and a pandemic. What we didn’t learn from HIV.
covid-19politicsmedicine
Video
Racial Inequality Was Tearing the U.S. Apart, a 1968 Report Warned. It Was Ignored.
Anger over policing and inequality boiled over in 1967 in protests and violence across the United States. A landmark report warned that without major changes, it would happen again.
law-policycivil-rights
Video
From Women’s Suffrage to the ERA, a Century-Long Push for Equality
The Equal Rights Amendment, proposed nearly 100 years ago, sparked debate from its very beginning, even among many of the women who had worked together for suffrage.
sex-genderlaw-policy
Video
Why History Urges Caution on Immunity Testing
After past outbreaks, workers with proof of antibodies were in demand. But history urges caution.
covid-19medicine
Video
American Samoa Dodged a Pandemic in 1918. Here’s What We Learned
Two territories, two wildly different outcomes as a pandemic terrorized the world.
covid-19popular-culture
Video
Coronavirus Has a Playlist. Songs About Disease Go Way Back.
Coronavirus songwriting has gone as global as the pandemic itself, creating a new genre called pandemic pop. It’s a tradition with a long history.
covid-19popular-culture
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.
covid-19law-policyimmigration
Video
Coronavirus, Smoking, Vaping: Studies From the Past That Alarm Scientists
COVID-19 attacks the lungs. Past research shows that smoking and vaping may amplify the coronavirus.
covid-19
Video
Coronavirus: Lessons From Past Epidemics
Dr. Larry Brilliant, who helped eradicate smallpox, says past epidemics can teach us to fight coronavirus.
covid-19medicine
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.
popular-cultureenvironment
Video
Do Whistleblower Protections Work? Ask This One.
A whistleblower case from 2010 reveals the peril faced by
whistleblowers seeking to expose wrongdoing.
law-policypolitics
Video
From Napster to Netflix: The History and Impact of Streaming Services
After Napster, many consumers got used to entertainment on demand. There was no turning back.
popular-culture
Video
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.”
civil-rightscriminal-justice
Video
Teaching Teens About Sex: The Decades-Old Debate over Abstinence-Only
A decades-old battle is re-emerging over abstinence-only sex education.
educationsex-gender
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.
medicine
Video
Lessons From the Challenger Tragedy
Normalization of deviance, the process of becoming inured to risky actions, is a useful concept that was developed to explain how the Challenger disaster happened.
science-technology
Video
Send In the Special Ops Forces
The rise of special operations units today can be traced to two historic military missions – one a legendary success, the other a spectacular failure.
military
Video
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.
popular-culturemedia-criticism
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.
law-policyimmigration
Video
Population Bomb: The Overpopulation Theory That Fell Flat
In the 1960s, fears of overpopulation sparked talk of population control. So what happened?
environment
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?
sports
Video
The Surprising Legacy of the Boy in the Bubble
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.”
popular-culturemedicine
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.
housing
Video
Could We Geoengineer Ourselves Out of Climate Change?
Is geo-engineering the climate an answer to global warming? Cold War science has some lessons.
science-technology
Video
Lingering Peril From Lead Paint
About half a million children have dangerously high lead levels in their blood, mostly from exposure to peeling paint and contaminated dust. The fight over who should clean it up has lasted for decades.
law-policyenvironment
Video
Born by Surrogate: New Paths to Parenthood
Parenthood through surrogacy has become accepted in the United States, but it’s relatively unregulated compared with other countries – something that can be traced back to case of Baby M.
sex-gender
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.
militarymedicine
Video
Horses: Wild, But Not Free
There are now so many wild horses on public land – nearly 100,000 – that they have become caught in a battle between the government, ranchers and environmentalists.
environment
Video
The Birth of Free Agency
The drama of modern free agency has become as much a part of professional sports as the games themselves. But it wasn’t always that way. Today’s free agents owe a big debt of gratitude to Curt Flood.
sportscivil-rights
Video
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.
medicinemedia-criticism
Video
The Garbage Barge That Helped Fuel a Movement
In the 1980s, rising public awareness about waste was fueled by a bizarre news story about a meandering New York City garbage barge.
environment
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.
popular-culturemedicine
Video
She Rocked the Pentagon
After a sexual assault scandal at the Tailhook convention rocked the Navy in 1991, one female officer, Paula Coughlin, launched a campaign to change military culture.
sex-gendermilitary
Video
The Modern Bystander Effect
Why don’t people intervene when they encounter violence streaming live online?
criminal-justicepopular-culture
Video
DNA Clues Solve Crimes . . . With a Privacy Cost
DNA information that is available on genealogy websites is doing more than satisfying curiosity – it’s solving crimes.
law-policycriminal-justice
Video
Are Robots Really Taking Over?
Humans are wary that robots could replace them. So what can we learn from the legendary chess match between a supercomputer and Garry Kasparov?
science-technology
Video
Tabletop to Tablet: Using Dungeons & Dragons to Combat Screen Addiction
The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, once at the center of a moral panic, is now seen as a counterbalance to the problem of screen addiction.
media-criticismpopular-culture
Video
Thalidomide: Return of an Infamous Pill
How a pill that led to drug safety guidelines became a case study for rising drug prices.
medicine
Video
Athletes vs. Injustice: Protests in Sports
When N.F.L. players, starting with Colin Kaepernick, took a knee during the National Anthem to protest they ignited an uproar over injecting politics onto the playing field.
sportscivil-rights
Video
Online All the Time? Researchers Predicted It.
Our social media addiction is explained by theories pioneered by B.F. Skinner decades ago.
science-technology
Video
Sexual Misconduct at Work, Again
The #MeToo movement is shedding renewed light on sexual harassment at work. The fight has a decades-long history.
sex-gender
Video
This Snake Is Eating the Everglades
Burmese pythons released into the wild by well-meaning pet owners have created a reptilian nightmare in the Everglades.
environment
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.
militarypolitics
Video
Can We Teach Cars to Drive? It's an Uphill Challenge.
Autonomous vehicle technology has gotten better, but how close are we really to a time when a robot chauffeur will be able to safely drive us?
science-technology
Video
The Moon’s Lasting Pull
Our moon has winked from the heavens as a symbol and anchor, reminding us not only the cycle of life, but also of danger and death. Scientists have brought the moon into sharper focus, and astronauts have left the first footprints there. But will we ever be able to explain its lasting, mesmerizing power of attraction?
science-technology
Video
Space Law: The Next Generation
An international treaty laid out the basics of space law in 1967. But without a lot of case history to go on, lawyers today have looked to maritime law and Arctic exploration as they lay the groundwork for how space will be governed.
science-technologylaw-policy
Video
Future of Aging
Across the globe, more and more people are living longer lives and that’s redefining what it means to be over 65, and what the future might mean for retirement.
popular-culturehousing
Video
Perp Walks: When Police Roll Out the Blue Carpet
Perp walk: Unfair maneuver or a strong warning to would-be criminals?

Video
The Future of College
Online learning is indeed disrupting college as we know it – but not in the way you might think.
science-technologyeducation
Video
How a Folk Singer’s Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past
Víctor Jara was a legendary Chilean folk singer and political activist, whose brutal killing during a military coup in 1973 went unsolved for decades. Now, his family may finally get justice.
militarycriminal-justice
Video
Future of Water
The increasing scarcity of drinking water is beginning to capture the world’s attention – but surprisingly, an innovative solution might just be found in one of the Earth’s driest places.
science-technologyenvironment
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.
science-technologypopular-culture
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.
politicslaw-policy
Video
Genetic Screening: Controlling Heredity
With every new advance in prenatal genetic screening, the ability to prevent suffering has also sparked difficult questions about what should count as “a disease” versus “a difference,” and whether we’re in danger of wiping out certain segments of the population. This story was produced in collaboration with PBS, American Experience.
science-technologymedicine
Video
Abortion Was Illegal. This Secret Group Defied the Law
We tell the story of a little known chapter in American history, before Roe v. Wade, when a clandestine group provided thousands of women with illegal abortions in Chicago.
law-policymedicine
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.
criminal-justiceimmigration
Video
Operation Ceasefire: Inside a Community's Radical Approach to Gang Violence
This is the story of cops, African-American pastors, gang members, and academics coming together to create positive change for Boston, while upending notions of traditional policing in a way that is especially pertinent today.
criminal-justicecivil-rights
Video
Future of Cities
In the latest installment of our “What Happens Next” series examining the future of society, we visit Medellín, Colombia—a city that has reinvented itself over the past few decades, turning its violent past into a sustainable future by transforming its slums.
environment
Video
A Trusted Pill Turned Deadly. How Tylenol Made a Comeback
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.
popular-culturemedicine
Video
Biosphere 2: A Faulty Mars Survival Test Gets a Second Act
NASA isn’t the first organization to experiment with living on Mars – in 1991 eight people sealed themselves inside a giant glass biosphere to practice space living. By the time they emerged two years later, they had “suffocated, starved and went mad.”
science-technology
Video
From Y2K to 2038, Lessons Learned from First Computer Crisis
The Y2K bug threatened to wipe out computers and disrupt modern society at the end of the 20th century. We all remember the doomsday hype, but what really happened?
science-technology
Video
Trump Administration Sued for Torpedoing Enforcement of Landmark Housing Law
Ben Carson, Secretary of HUD, is being sued for not enforcing the Fair Housing Act – landmark legislation that was passed 50 years ago during the Civil Rights era.
civil-rights
Video
The Wildfire That Burned Yellowstone and set off a Media Firestorm
Increasingly, wildfires affect populated areas. But 30 years ago, it was a huge fire in Yellowstone National Park that stoked media attention and political controversy.
environmentmedia-criticism
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.
science-technologymedicine
Video
She Derailed the Fight for Equal Rights for Women
Even in the #MeToo era, many people don’t know that the Equal Rights Amendment never passed…because of one woman. Her name is Phyllis Schlafly.
politicssex-gender
Video
Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns
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?
politicslaw-policy
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.
science-technologymedicine
Video
Selling the Code: Can Genetic Testing Services Really Predict Your Future?
Today, companies market genetic tests for everything from cancer to diet and exercise. But how much can tests like 23andme really predict?
science-technologymedicine
Video
Fixing the Code: Genetically Engineering Your DNA to Cure Disease
For the past 20 years, scientists have been trying to cure disease by altering DNA. We examine how with CRISPR Cas-9 gene editing and the revival of gene therapy, they’re closer than ever.
medicinescience-technology
Video
The NFL Draft 20 Years After Manning-Leaf: How Teams Try to Pick a Winner
After the 1998 NFL draft produced one of the greatest busts in history, what have we learned about the science of evaluating human talent – on and off the field?
sports
Video
Finding the Code: The Race to Sequence the Human Genome and What It Means
One of biology’s most spectacular achievements – the race to sequence the human genome – was billed as a way to end disease. Here’s where it led.
medicinescience-technology
Video
Us vs. Them: from George Wallace to Donald Trump
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.
politics
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?
criminal-justice
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.
medicine
Video
Raising Doubts about Evolution… in Science Class
A skepticism of science has seeped into the classroom, and it’s revived attacks on one of the most established principles of biology – evolution.
science-technologyeducation
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?
criminal-justice
Video
Future of Work
A remote Oregon mountainside offers a window into the workplace of the future.
science-technology
Video
Future of Money
Future of Money, the first in a 5-part series, looks at what ancient stones on a tiny Pacific island can teach us about Bitcoin, blockchains and the future of money.
science-technology
Video
Future of Home
Guatemalan homesteaders and a Michigan contractor are riding a wave that could change how our lives are wired.
science-technology
Video
Future of Fact
Online manipulation and immersive media have begun to eradicate our shared notion of authenticity and trust. How will society change when we can no longer believe what we see, hear, or think?
science-technology
Video
Future of Food
A small South Dakota farm holds lessons for feeding a crowded and less predictable world.
science-technology
Video
'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.
sex-gender
Video
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.
sex-gender
Video
Conspiracy Theories and Fake News from JFK to Pizzagate
Retro Report explores decades of conspiracy theories – from the John F. Kennedy assassination to Pizzagate – and what they can tell us about how we view the world today.
popular-culture
Video
Lobotomy: A Dangerous Fad's Lingering Effect on Mental Illness Treatment
From the 1930s to the 1950s a radical surgery – the Lobotomy – would forever change our understanding and treatment of the mentally ill.
medicine
Video
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.
immigration
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.
immigration
Video
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.
law-policyimmigration
Video
DDT, Malaria, and the Book That Changed Environmental Debate
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.
Environment
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?
medicine
Video
Violence in the Amazon: Why Protecting the Rainforest is Still a Fight
In 1988, the murder of Chico Mendes fueled a movement of activists, celebrities and indigenous peoples that helped to make the rainforest a household name. But what happens now?
environment
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?
popular-culture
Video
Princess Diana Brought Attention to Land Mines, but Their Danger Lingers
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?
Environment
Video
The Populist Politician and California's Property Tax Revolt
In 1978, voters passed Proposition 13, lowering taxes for millions of California homeowners. Decades later, what has it meant for California?
politics
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.
civil-rightseducation
Video
Upheaval at the 1860 Democratic Convention: What Happened When a Party Split
Some issues are too fundamental for a party to withstand, and the consequences can last for a generation.
Politics
Video
Lessons from the 2004 Democratic Convention: Obama's Speech
Sometimes the most important speech at the convention isn’t delivered by the nominee.
politics
Video
Lessons from the 1924 Democratic Convention: An Immigration Debate's Impact
Immigration has been a defining issue in a campaign before, and the consequences transformed the Democratic Party.
immigrationpolitics
Video
Lessons from the 1912 Republican Convention: Birth of the Modern Primary
The animosity between William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt changed the primary process forever.
politics
Video
How It Started (1831): Conventional Wisdom
In 1831, a radical third party had a new idea for selecting a presidential candidate, and it’s still in use today: the national nominating convention.
politics
Video
Lessons From the 1964 Republican Convention: Declaring War on the Establishment
Donald Trump’s candidacy wasn’t the first time the Republican Party was split by an outsider declaring war on the establishment elite.
politics
Video
Lessons from the 1968 Democratic Convention: Under the Shadow of Protests
There are important lessons to be learned from the Democrats’ 1968 Chicago convention.
politics
Video
Lessons from the 1976 Republican Convention: Why Ronald Reagan Lost the Nomination|
In 1976, Ronald Reagan found owning the soul of a party isn’t the same as taking home its nomination.
politics
Video
Smoking Man: Political Ads That Changed the Game
In the 2012 Republican primary, Herman Cain’s campaign produced an unusual video featuring Cain’s chief of staff, Mark Block, giving a pep talk while smoking a cigarette.
politics
Video
The Rock: Political Ads That Changed the Game
In 2007, long-shot Democratic candidate Mike Gravel released one of the strangest ads in political history.
politics
Video
Willie Horton: Political Ads That Changed the Game
The infamous Willie Horton ad placed a nail in the coffin of Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential run.
politics
Video
Morning in America: Political Ads That Changed the Game
Future “warm and fuzzy” ads can trace their lineage to this one. For his reelection campaign, Ronald Reagan employed a team of advertising all-stars, resulting in one of the most famous catchphrases in American politics.
politics
Video
It's 3 AM: Political Ads That Changed the Game
After a string of critical losses in the 2008 Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton’s campaign put out a hard-hitting ad that questioned Barack Obama’s readiness for the White House.
politics
Video
Daisy: Political Ads That Changed the Game
Perhaps the most famous political ad of all time, this early television spot ran on air just once, but generated enough media coverage to become a real factor in the 1964 presidential election.
politics
Video
The Mommy Wars
The Mommy Wars were billed as the nastiest fight in American parenting, and actually fueled by a decades-old blunder. This story was produced in collaboration with Quartz.
sex-gender
Video
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?
popular-culturemedia-criticism
Video
Atomic Vets
The story of the veterans who witnessed secret atomic testing and how their decades-long struggle for recognition affects soldiers today. This story is a coproduction with Reveal, from The Center for Investigative Reporting.
military
Video
Welfare and the Politics of Poverty
Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform was supposed to move needy families off government handouts and onto a path out of poverty. Twenty years later, how has it turned out?
civil-rightslaw-policy
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.
medicine
Video
Runaway Plane
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.
science-technologymilitary
Video
What Is a Healthy Diet? The Answers Are Unsatisfying
Thirty-five years after the first dietary guidelines, how much do we really know about the science behind a healthy diet?
science-technology
Video
How Heroin Addiction's Rural Spread Changed the War on Drugs
From time to time over the past 40 years, efforts were made to treat heroin addiction as a public health instead of a crime problem. But they were not successful.
law-policy
Video
Free Speech VS Censorship: Warnings From Explicit Lyrics to Trigger Warnings
Offended by lyrics they deemed too sexual and violent, Tipper Gore and Susan Baker campaigned to put warning labels on albums in 1985. Years later, warning labels have ended up in some unexpected places.
popular-culture
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.
criminal-justice
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.
media-criticismcriminal-justice
Video
The Nanny Murder Case: Shaken Baby Syndrome on Trial
In 1997, a young British nanny charged with murder brought shaken baby syndrome into the national spotlight, and raised a scientific debate that continues to shape child abuse cases today.
medicine
Video
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.
law-policy
Video
From Crack Babies to Oxytots: Lessons Not Learned
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.
media-criticismlaw-policy
Video
Why Waco is Still a Battleground in the 2nd Amendment Debate
Twenty-six years ago, federal agents raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and generated a legacy that continues to shape antigovernment groups today.
law-policy
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.
sex-gender
Video
E. Coli Outbreaks Changed Food Production, But How Safe Are We?
A 1993 E. coli outbreak linked Jack in the Box hamburgers sickened 700 people and acted as a wake up call about the dangers of food-borne illness. Decades later, how far have we really come in terms of food safety?
law-policy
Video
Fire Safety and Chemicals in our Clothes
There are over 80,000 chemicals in use today. The story of TRIS, removed from children’s pajamas in the 1970s, illustrates just how hard it is to regulate chemicals, or to even know if they’re safe.
science-technology
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.
military
Video
A Right to Die?
Should doctors be allowed to help suffering patients die? In 1990, with his homemade suicide machine, Dr. Jack Kevorkian raised that question. It’s an issue Americans still struggle with today.
medicine
Video
How Geography Drove MLK's Fight for a Ferry in Alabama
Weeks before Selma’s Bloody Sunday in 1965, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. urged residents of Gee’s Bend, Ala., to vote, and fed a continuing fight over a small ferry that would last for decades.
civil-rights
Video
Power Line Fears
News media coverage in the 1980s and early 1990s fueled fears of a national cancer epidemic caused by power lines and generated a debate that still lingers today.
Science & Technology
Video
Is Multiple Personality Disorder Real? One Woman's Story
In the 1970s, the TV movie “Sybil” introduced much of the nation to multiple personality disorder and launched a controversy that continues to resonate.
popular-culturemedicine
Video
A Mother, a Dingo and an Australian Media Frenzy
In 1982, an Australian mother was convicted of murdering her baby daughter. She was later exonerated, but soon fell victim to a joke that distracted the world from the real story.
Criminal JusticeMedia Criticism
Video
The Murder of US Churchwomen in El Salvador That Exposed a Government Coverup
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.
criminal-justice
Video
Reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone was a Success. That's When Trouble Began.
In the 1990s, the federal government reintroduced the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park. It was considered a big success. And that’s when the real fight began.
law-policyenvironment
Video
How the Shootout at Ruby Ridge Resonates in the Gun Debate Today
When armed suspects stand off against the law today, one event continues to cast a shadow on both sides of the police line: the 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge.
criminal-justice
Video
Campaign Finance from Watergate, to Soft Money and Citizens United
The Watergate campaign finance scandals led to a landmark law designed to limit the influence of money in politics. Forty years later, some say the scandal isn’t what’s illegal, it’s what’s legal.
Politics
Video
Bees: Colony Collapse Disorder Is More Complicated Than You'd Think
The mystery of Colony Collapse Disorder has pushed honeybees into the public eye. But the story of their plight – and its impact – is much more complicated.
environment
Video
How Prozac Turned Depression Medication into a Cultural Phenomenon
When Prozac was introduced in 1988, the green-and-cream pill to treat depression launched a cultural revolution that continues to echo.
Popular CultureMedicine
Video
The Surprising Technological Revolution Launched by the Air Bag
How did cars become “computers on wheels,” so automated that some are about to start driving themselves? The story begins forty-five years ago with a quest to make cars safer and the battle over the air bag.
science-technology
Video
Flawed Evidence: The Limits of Science in the Crime Lab
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?
criminal-justicescience-technology
Video
Agent Orange: Last Chapter of the Vietnam War
The use of the defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War continues to cast a dark shadow over both American veterans and Vietnamese citizens.
politicsmilitary
Video
Nuclear Power's Public Opinion Rollercoaster from Three Mile Island to Fukushima
Four decades after the accident at Three Mile Island cast a shadow on the atomic dream, is America again ready to give nuclear energy a chance?
science-technology
Video
Her Vegetative State Caused Congress, President Bush and Even the Pope to Weigh In
The controversy over Terri Schiavo’s case elevated a family matter into a political battle that continues to frame end-of-life issues today.
law-policymedicine
Video
Earthquake Readiness: How the San Franciso 1989 Quake Shook Awareness
The 1989 earthquake that shook San Francisco sent out a wake up call that continues to echo across the country.
Environment
Video
The Shame of the Church
Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has been making headlines for years. Some priests have been punished, but what about the bishops who shielded them?
Criminal Justice
Video
The Fly That Quarantined California and Pitted Environmentalists Against Farmers
In the summer of 1981, the Mediterranean fruit fly spread through California’s Santa Clara Valley, infesting backyard fruit trees and threatening the state’s $14 billion agricultural industry.
environment