Documentaries | APM Reports

[/] Illuminating Journalism from American Public Media Investigations Documentaries Podcasts About Donate DOCUMENTARIES The documentary unit of APM Reports (formerly American RadioWorks) has produced more than 130 programs on topics such as health, history, education and justice. September 2016 Rewriting the Sentence: College Behind Bars by Samara Freemark One of the best, most cost-effective ways to reduce recidivism is to offer inmates a college education. But, as the nation prepares for an increase in the number of released prisoners, there is very little being invested in prison higher ed. September 2016 What it Takes: Chasing Graduation at High-Poverty High Schools by Emily Hanford Nearly half of all black and Hispanic students in the United States go to a high-poverty school, where graduation rates lag far behind schools in higher-income areas. Schools in Miami and Pasadena are trying to help students overcome the effects of poverty and segregation. August 2016 Spare the Rod: Reforming School Discipline by Catherine Winter Kids who are suspended or expelled from school are more likely to drop out and wind up in prison. Schools are struggling to reduce suspensions and to find other ways to make sure classrooms are calm and safe. August 2016 Stuck at Square One: The Remedial Education Trap by Emily Hanford When students go to college, they expect to be in college classes. But nearly half end up in basic math and English, re-learning what they were supposed to learn in high school. The vast majority never get a college degree. May 2016 Thirsty Planet by Stephen Smith and Samara Freemark Scientists say most people on Earth will first experience climate change in terms of water — either too much or too little. This documentary explores some of the most pressing water problems and some innovative solutions by visiting two countries where water issues are critical: India and Israel. May 2016 Bought and Sold: The New Fight Against Teen Sex Trafficking by Sasha Aslanian The nation is changing the way it thinks about teen sex trafficking. States have decriminalized it for teens and offered help, and some are attacking the demand for commercial sex. September 2015 Beyond the Blackboard In the 1940s a British headmaster named Kurt Hahn set up a wilderness school called Outward Bound to teach young men the skills they needed to survive World War II — skills like leadership, persistence, and working together. Hahn believed these were skills conventional schools should focus on too. Fifty years later, Hahn's ideas about education inspired the founding of a network of public schools in the United States. September 2015 From Boots to Books The longest war in American history is drawing to a close. Now, the men and women who served are coming home, and many hope to use higher education to build new, better lives. They have help from the Post-9/11 GI Bill, a piece of legislation that many advocates say offers more support to returning veterans than any policy since the original GI Bill of 1944. August 2015 Teaching Teachers Research shows good teaching makes a big difference in how much kids learn. But the United States lacks an effective system for training new teachers or helping them get better once they're on the job. August 2015 The Living Legacy Before the civil rights movement, African Americans were largely barred from white-dominated institutions of higher education. And so black Americans, and their white supporters, founded their own schools, which came to be known as Historically Black Colleges and Universities. November 2014 The First Family of Radio When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, he and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt both used the new medium of radio to reach into American homes like never before. They rallied the nation to combat the Great Depression and fight fascism. The Roosevelts forged an uncommonly personal relationship with the people. This documentary explores how FDR and ER's use of radio revolutionized the way Americans relate to the White House and its occupants. September 2014 Ready to Work Vocational education was once a staple of American schooling, preparing some kids for blue-collar futures while others were put on a path to college. Today the new mantra is "college for all." But not everyone wants to go to college, and more than half of jobs don't require a bachelor's degree. Many experts say it's time to bring back career and technical education. September 2014 The New Face of College Just 20 percent of college-goers fit the stereotype of being young, single, full-time students who finish a degree in four years. College students today are more likely to be older, part-time, working, and low-income than they were three decades ago. Many are the first in their families to go to college. August 2014 Greater Expectations The United States is in the midst of a huge education reform. The Common Core State Standards are a new set of expectations for what students should learn each year in school. The standards have been adopted by most states, though there's plenty of controversy about them among activists and politicians. Teachers say Common Core has the potential to help kids who are behind, as well as those who are ahead. But they have big concerns about the Common Core tests. August 2014 The Science of Smart Researchers have long been searching for better ways to learn. In recent decades, experts working in cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience have opened new windows into how the brain works, and how we can learn to learn better. September 2013 Second-Chance Diploma The General Educational Development test (GED) is a second chance for millions of school dropouts. Each year, more than 700,000 people take the GED test. People who pass it are supposed to posses a level of education and skills equivalent to those of a high school graduate. Most test-takers hope the GED will lead to a better job or more education. But critics say the GED encourages some students to drop out of school. And research shows the credential is of little value to most people who get one. August 2013 One Child at a Time Learning with a personal tutor is one of the oldest and best ways to learn. Hiring a tutor for every student was never a realistic option. Now, new computer programs can customize education for each child. But adding computers to classrooms isn't likely to help unless teachers are willing to change their approach to teaching. September 2012 The Rise of Phoenix For-profit colleges have deep roots in American history, but until recently they were a tiny part of the higher education landscape. Now they are big players. More than one in 10 college students attends a for-profit. The rapid rise of these career-oriented schools has provoked heated debate, opening up new conversations about the costs, quality and purpose of higher education. September 2012 Keyboard College Digital technologies and the Internet are changing how many Americans go to college. From online learning to simulation programs to smart-machine mentors, the 21st-century student will be taught in fundamentally new ways. August 2012 Grit, Luck and Money More people are going to college than ever before, but a lot of them aren't finishing. Low-income students, in particular, struggle to get to graduation. Only 9 percent complete a bachelor's degree by age 24. Why are so many students quitting, and what leads a few to beat the odds and make it through? September 2011 Don't Lecture Me: Rethinking the Way College Students Learn College students spend a lot of time listening to lectures. But research shows there are better ways to learn. And experts say students need to learn better because the 21st century economy demands more well-educated workers. September 2011 Who Needs an English Major? The most popular college major in America these days is business. Some students think it doesn't pay to study philosophy or history. But advocates of liberal arts programs say their graduates are still among the most likely to become leaders, and that a healthy democracy depends on citizens with a broad and deep education. August 2011 Some College, No Degree: Getting Adults Back to School In an economy that increasingly demands workers with knowledge and skills, many college dropouts are being left behind. February 2011 Power and Smoke: A Nation Built on Coal The production of electricity in America pumps out more greenhouse gases than all of our cars, trucks, planes, and ships combined, and half of our electricity comes from burning coal. January 2011 Back of the Bus: Mass Transit, Race and Inequality Equal access to transportation was once a central issue of the Civil Rights Movement. But today, disparities still persist. January 2011 State of Siege: Mississippi Whites and the Civil Rights Movement Mississippi led the South in an extraordinary battle to maintain racial segregation. Whites set up powerful citizens groups and state agencies to fight the civil rights movement. Their tactics were fierce and, for a time, very effective. January 2011 Say It Plain: A Century of Great African-American Speeches Spanning the 20th century, this collection is a vivid account of how African Americans sounded the charge against racial injustice, exhorting the country to live up to its democratic principles. January 2011 Say It Loud: A Century of Great African-American Speeches Titled after the classic 1969 James Brown anthem, “Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud,” this anthology illuminates the ideas and debates pulsing through the black freedom struggle from the 1960s to the present. These arguments are suffused with basic questions about what it means to be black in America. August 2010 Testing Teachers Teachers matter. A lot. Studies show that students with the best teachers learn three times as much as students with the worst teachers. Researchers say the achievement gap between poor children and their higher-income peers could disappear if poor kids got better teachers. June 2010 War on Poverty When Lyndon B. Johnson became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he put the power of his presidency behind a remarkable series of reform initiatives. The legislation was geared toward boosting economic opportunity, a theme captured by his administration's catchphrase, the Great Society. June 2010 The Great Textbook War What should children learn in school? It's a question that's stirred debate for decades, and in 1974 it led to violent protests in West Virginia. Schools were hit by dynamite, buses were riddled with bullets, and coal mines were shut down. The fight was over a new set of textbooks. November 2009 Workplace U A new movement turns conventional wisdom on its head, and makes a job the ticket to an education. The idea is to turn workplaces into classrooms and marginal students into productive workers. November 2009 Rising By Degrees The United States is facing a dramatic demographic challenge: Young Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the population, and they are the least likely to graduate from college. October 2009 Early Lessons The Perry Preschool Project is one of the most famous education experiments of the last 50 years. The study asked a question: Can preschool boost the IQ scores of poor African-American children and prevent them from failing in school? May 2009 Bridge to Somewhere President Barack Obama wants to create jobs by building infrastructure. So did another president. Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to put people to work by building roads, bridges, dams, sewers, schools, hospitals and even ski jumps. The structures that New Deal agencies built transformed America. May 2009 A Better Life: Creating the American Dream The "American dream" has powered the hopes and aspirations of Americans for generations. But what exactly is the American dream? How did we come to define it? And is it changing? April 2009 Hard Times in Middletown For almost a century, Muncie, Indiana has been known as "Middletown," the quintessential American community. But now, as the rust-belt city grapples with deepening recession, many residents are losing their hold on the middle class. April 2009 Foreclosure City Until recently, Las Vegas was one of the few places where the American Dream still seemed widely possible. Each month, thousands of people flocked there, lured by the promise of good jobs and a chance to own a home. It was the fastest growing city in the country. But now, Las Vegas has a new distinction: the nation's highest foreclosure rate. October 2008 Campaign '68 The 1968 presidential election was a watershed in American politics. After dominating the political landscape for more than a generation, the Democratic Party crumbled. Richard M. Nixon was elected president and a new era of Republican conservatism was born. October 2008 What Killed Sergeant Gray Sergeant Adam Gray made it home from Iraq only to die in his barracks. Investigating his death, American RadioWorks pieces together a story of soldiers suffering psychological scars – because they abused Iraqi prisoners. October 2008 After the Projects Michael Whitehead lived in Chicago's Ida B. Wells housing project for nearly 50 years. In 2008, the Chicago Housing Authority closed down Wells, as part of its "Plan for Transformation," a city-wide public housing rehabilitation effort. September 2008 Pueblo, USA The nation's foreign-born population will soon surpass the 14.7 percent share reached in 1910, when the Statue of Liberty beckoned to Europe's "huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Most of the new immigrants are from Latin America. April 2008 Business of the Bomb In January 2000, a German engineer living in South Africa met with a friend and business partner to hatch a deal. Gerald Wisser, a 61-year-old broker, visited his friend's pipe factory outside Johannesburg to see if his friend wanted to make a bid on a manufacturing project. April 2008 Gangster Confidential Rene Enriquez was a leader in one of America's most violent gangs, the Mexican Mafia. He's serving 20 years to life in California for murders he committed for the gang. March 2008 King's Last March Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Four decades later, King remains one of the most vivid symbols of hope for racial unity in America. But that's not the way he was viewed in the last year of his life. November 2007 Design of Desire New research is lending insight into why we want stuff that we don't need. It also explains why some people are what are called tightwads, while other people are spendthrifts. Why do we buy? How are designers and marketers influencing what we buy? And how are individuals using market ideas, tricks, and tools to market themselves? November 2007 Wanted: Parents Advocates for kids are trying to persuade more families to adopt teenagers. If teenagers in foster care don't find permanent families, they face a grim future. They "age out" of foster care, usually when they turn 18 years old, and many wind up on the streets. Every year, more than 24,000 American young people age out of foster care. September 2007 An Imperfect Revolution In the 1970s, for the first time, large numbers of white children and black children began attending school together. It was an experience that shaped them for life. September 2007 Battles of Belief America seemed united in fighting "The Good War" but not everyone fought in the same way. September 2007 Put to the Test The effects of high-stakes testing on students, teachers, and schools. August 2007 Routes to Recovery To mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, American RadioWorks teams up with Nick Spitzer of American Routes to find out how culture might save New Orleans. August 2007 Green Rush From carbon offsets to biofuels, companies and investors are seeking riches in the fight against global warming. What happens when good deeds grapple with the realities of the free market? May 2007 A Burden to Be Well The effects of mental illness are well documented. But until recently, there has been little said about the siblings of the mentally ill. Now researchers are starting to look at the "well-sibling" syndrome. January 2007 Imperial Washington Explore the trappings of life in Congress, the pressure to raise campaign dollars and Washington's powerful world of lobbying. December 2006 Hearing America A century ago, the first radio broadcasts sent music out into the air. Since then, music has dominated America's airwaves and it's been a cultural battleground. December 2006 Urban Shakespeare A few "at risk" teens in Los Angeles are getting their first jobs, as working artists: studying Shakespeare and writing their own poetry and music, all while earning minimum wage. November 2006 Reports from a Warming Planet The early signs of climate change are showing up across vastly differing landscapes: from melting outposts near the Arctic Circle to disappearing glaciers high in the Andes; from the rising water in the deltas of Bangladesh to the "sinking" atolls of the Pacific. Reports from a Warming Planet takes you to parts of the planet where global warming is already making changes to life and landscape, and demonstrates how climate change is no longer restricted to scientific modeling about the future. It's happening now. October 2006 Japan's Pop Power To many people, global youth culture means rock and roll and other Western fashions. But for more and more young people across to world, the capital of pop culture is Tokyo. Over the past decade, Japanese video games, animation and comic books have caught fire in much of the world, including the United States. September 2006 The Sonic Memorial Project Peabody-award winning documentary that chronicles the sounds and voices of the World Trade Center and its surrounding neighborhood. September 2006 Rewiring the Brain A unique study of Romania's orphans reveals the profound effects of social deprivation on brain development. August 2006 Rebuilding Biloxi Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of thousands of Mississippi Gulf Coast residents. Rebuilding Biloxi tells the stories of several families in the coastal community of Biloxi, Miss., and their struggle to survive and then recover from the storm. June 2006 Vietnam and the Presidency Four American presidents tried to end the conflict in Vietnam. The lessons they learned echo sharply today. June 2006 Power Trips: Congressional Staffers Share the Road Public documents show that from 2000 through mid-2005, Capitol Hill staffers accepted nearly 17,000 free trips worth almost $30 million. Many of these trips clearly violate ethics rules designed to limit the abuse of power. May 2006 After Welfare In August 1996, landmark legislation fulfilled the promise to "end welfare as we know it." Congress gave the states money to run their own programs and required them to move many welfare recipients into the workforce. Supporters declared it a new day, the beginning of self-sufficiency for poor families. Others warned the action would push women and children into the streets, perhaps by the millions. April 2006 Bankrupt Americans are going broke in record numbers. In 2005 Congress overhauled the bankruptcy system to stem the tide of filings. What's behind the boom in going bust? March 2006 Logging On and Losing Out Internet poker has taken America by storm. Three-quarters of high school and college kids are gambling on a regular basis. But adolescents are far more vulnerable to getting addicted to gambling than adults. And with Internet companies making millions from online gamblers, there's little incentive or legal controls to restrict youth gambling. February 2006 Unmasking Stalin On February 25, 1956, former Kremlin leader Nikita Khrushchev revealed and denounced, for the first time in the history of the Soviet Union, the crimes of his predecessor, Joseph Stalin, dramatically shifting Soviet Russia's course, stirring a human rights movement, and opening the door to the eventual collapse of the USSR. January 2006 Intelligent Designs on Evolution How a rival concept about the origins of life is defying the cornerstone of biology. November 2005 Las Vegas Trace Las Vegas' evolution from a remote railroad town to a mobster metropolis, to its current incarnation as an adult-themed resort town that nearly two million people call home. October 2005 Finding Home More than 20,000 foreign children are adopted by Americans every year. Most come from poor and troubled parts of the world, and a life in America offers new hope. But it also means separation from their birth culture. Finding Home: Fifty Years of International Adoption explores the pull of adoption across lives and borders. October 2005 Power Trips: Pombo in the Gray Tax law prohibits members of Congress from taking international trips paid for by private foundations, but Republican Richard Pombo may have done just that. September 2005 No Place for a Woman In the 1970s, women began breaking into male-dominated professions as never before. Women took jobs as police officers, lawyers and steelworkers. Across the country, the first women in male bastions faced a hostile reception. In the iron mines of northern Minnesota, women were harassed, threatened and assaulted. Their fight to keep their jobs broke new legal ground and helped change the workplace forever. September 2005 Trauma and the Brain Terrifying events like the terrorist attacks of 9/11 trigger strong biological and psychological reactions. Most people can recover over time, but researchers are trying to understand why some never do. July 2005 Power Trips: Chilled Travel How has all the recent news about congressional travel changed the travel habits of those in Congress? July 2005 Married to the Military The United States is making huge demands on its military people, the toughest since the Vietnam War. But most soldiers during Vietnam were young, single men. Today, in the all-volunteer military, about half of all service people are married with children, so the burdens of fighting these wars are shared back home. June 2005 Power Trips: The Lobbyists' Loophole Over the past few years, private groups have payed for more than 4,800 trips by members of Congress at a cost of $14 million. May 2005 Global 3.0 For many, globalization has meant rich countries getting richer at the expense of the poor. Today, it's not that simple. May 2005 The Cost of Corruption Corruption skims billions from the global economy, locking millions of people in poverty. But a worldwide movement is fighting back. April 2005 A Mind of Their Own Most children can be volatile at some point in their development, with no particular cause for worry. But at what point do irritability, mood swings, and tantrums constitute a mental illness? Up to half a million children are believed to have bipolar illness. This is the story of three of those children, their families, and the professionals who work with them. March 2005 Locked Down The supermax prison was designed to incapacitate dangerous criminals by locking them down in stark isolation. But do they live up to their promise? January 2005 No Place To Hide President Bush has admitted ordering intelligence agencies to electronically spy on American citizens without court oversight since 9/11. Such monitoring of suspected terrorists affects thousands of people. But unknown to most people, the government has also turned to the nation's burgeoning data industry to track millions of people in the name of homeland security. So for most Americans, there is no place to hide. January 2005 The Surprising Legacy of Y2K Five years after the hoopla and warnings about Y2K, many still dismiss it as a hoax, scam, or non-event. But in reality, Y2K was not only a real threat narrowly averted, it also led to changes in how we look at technology and economic shifts that are still being felt today. For the fifth anniversary of Y2K, we look at the history and the legacy of the millennium bug. January 2005 Justice for Sale? Thirty-eight states have elections for state courts around the country. These days, those races are getting more expensive, and can even run into the millions of dollars. Much of that money comes from special interests trying to elect candidates to the courts. That raises alarms bells about the independence of the judiciary, and calls for reform. December 2004 Carving Up the Vote One hugely influential issue in the last election got little attention: gerrymandering. Politicians have been tinkering with the boundaries of their electoral districts for decades, but in the last five years, the practice has exploded, and it led to the least competitive race for the U.S. House of Representatives in memory. November 2004 Is Wal-Mart Good for America? They were the kings of corporate America, but over the past 25 years, American manufacturers have lost that position of power. Today, America's largest private sector employer is Wal-Mart, a retailer so large, it virtually dictates many decisions manufacturers make, and is pushing American production overseas. September 2004 Witnesses to Terror During an 18-month investigation, the 9/11 Commission heard extraordinary testimony about the terrorist attacks on America. Witnesses told stories of lucky breaks and deadly errors. The commission pieced together new evidence and new details to tell the most complete story to date of the al Qaeda plot. September 2004 Red Runs the Vistula Five years after the start of World War II, the people of Warsaw rose up against the German occupation of their city. The uprising was meant to last just 48 hours. Instead, it went on for two months. A quarter of a million people were killed and the Polish capital was razed to the ground. It was one of the great tragedies of World War II, and yet it is rarely talked about outside Poland. August 2004 Climate of Uncertainty Scientists have discovered that the Earth's climate is capable of changing abruptly. Could global warming bring the Earth to another such rapid change? August 2004 Suffering For Two More women than ever are taking antidepressant medication, including more pregnant women. For those trying to weigh the danger of fetal exposure to medication against the risk of a mother's relapse into depression, scientists offer mixed or even conflicting advice. July 2004 Mandela: An Audio History A decade ago, Nelson Mandela became president in South Africa's first multi-racial democratic election. Mandela's journey, from freedom fighter to president, capped a dramatic half-century long struggle against white rule and the institution of apartheid. June 2004 The Hospice Experiment The '60s were a time of social movements and big changes, but a quieter revolution was underway too -- one led by a few middle-aged women who wanted to change our way of death. They were the founders of the hospice movement. May 2004 Thurgood Marshall Before the Court In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Marshall had already earned a place in history, as the leader of an extraordinary legal campaign against racial segregation in America. April 2004 The Whole Thing Changed Meet two medics with the Army's 101st Airborne Division stationed in Mosul, Iraq who recorded their impressions of the situation around them. April 2004 The Few Who Stayed In April 1994, the central African nation of Rwanda exploded into 100 days of violence, killing 800,000 people. Most turned their backs to the bloodshed. Here is the story of those who stayed. February 2004 My Name Is Iran In 1927, Iran developed a legal code doing away with gruesome Islamic punishments such as stoning and lashing. That all changed during the Islamic revolution of 1979. NPR Producer Davar Ardalan and co-producer Rasool Nafisi look at Iran's long search for a lawful society. November 2003 The President Calling Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon left hundreds of hours of secretly taped telephone conversations. What can these tapes tell us about the presidency and the individuals that hold the office? November 2003 Whose Vote Counts? The newest voting machine technology may do little to lessen voter disenfranchisement or fraud, and it will do nothing for those that have lost the right to vote. September 2003 Iraq: The War After the War Even after the fall of Baghdad, the U.S. is still fighting. July 2003 Korea: The Unfinished War Examine the often-overlooked war that helped define global politics and American life for the second half of the 20th century. June 2003 Investigating Sierra Leone Former Liberian President Charles Taylor faces international war crimes charges arising from one of Africa's most brutal civil wars. American RadioWorks followed investigators as they built their case against Taylor. March 2003 Hard Time What impact has America's 30-year War on Crime had on communities and families? October 2002 Gunrunners Small arms pass from war zone to war zone through a global network of arms traffickers. This is a story about just one part of the illegal arms pipeline. September 2002 Nature's Revenge Every year, a chunk of land almost the size of Manhattan turns into open water in Louisiana, threatening the state's economy as well as vital American industries like seafood, oil and gas. September 2002 Days of Infamy Days of Infamy compares recordings of ordinary Americans reacting to Pearl Harbor and September 11. August 2002 New York Works Jobs that are slowly disappearing in New York City and the people that keep them alive. August 2002 Deadly Decisions How do jurors decide who should live and who should die? July 2002 Justice on Trial From the trials of Nazis at Nuremberg to the prosecution of war criminals in the former Yugoslavia, to people's courts in Rwanda--how effective is the machinery of international justice? June 2002 Fast Food and Animal Rights An unlikely corporation--McDonald's--has taken the lead in the campaign for animal welfare. June 2002 Kay Fulton's Diary The intimate diary of a woman who loses her brother to terrorism. April 2002 Corrections, Inc. How corporations, prison guard unions, and police agencies help to shape who gets locked up and for how long. March 2002 Who Bought the Farm? Is there still a place in America for a competitive and independent family farm? And is the use of popular antibiotics on livestock leading us toward a public health crisis? February 2002 The Promise of Justice American RadioWorks' award-winning documentary series examining the machinery and insidious legacy of war crimes, and the struggle for justice in societies convulsed by mass violence. December 2001 Roots of Resentment The United States inspires deep and conflicting emotions in other parts of the world. Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, America has been forced to pay closer attention. November 2001 Remembering Jim Crow For much of the 20th century, African Americans endured a legal system in the American South that was calculated to segregate and humiliate them. November 2001 With This Ring Follow the international diamond trail from the buckets of child miners in war-torn Western Africa to America's jewelry counters. October 2001 North Carolina Muslims For the estimated 6 million Muslim Americans, the new spotlight on Islam presents both hazards and opportunities. A Muslim congregation in Raleigh, North Carolina has taken September 11th as a 'wake-up call.' August 2001 A Russian Journey Follow Russian writer Aleksandr Radishchev's 200-year-old footsteps from St. Petersburg to Moscow, and discover the soul of a people and the character of a nation. June 2001 The Global Politics of Food The global economy is changing the way we think about food, from the kinds of things we eat, to the way food is grown and harvested. May 2001 America's Drug War After 30 years America's War on drugs costs U.S. taxpayers $40 billion a year with no victory in sight. Combatants from both sides of the drug war shed light on the U.S. government's fight against one of the world's most profitable industries. February 2001 Oh Freedom Over Me In the summer of 1964, about a thousand young Americans, black and white, came together in Mississippi for a peaceful assault on racism. It came to be known as Freedom Summer, one of the most remarkable chapters in the Civil Rights Movement. February 2001 Radio Fights Jim Crow During the World-War-II years a series of groundbreaking radio programs tried to mend the deep racial and ethnic divisions that threatened America. December 2000 Engineering Crops in a Needy World In Europe and the United States, the debate over genetically modified (GM) crops has focused on questions about the environment and food safety. But in developing countries, the possibility that GM crops could make things better--or worse--is a question of life or death. October 2000 Steve Schapiro: American Edge American RadioWorks contributing photographer Steve Schapiro traveled throughout America photographing and recording people and issues during the turbulent 1960s. August 2000 Nicaragua ‘Free Zone' Global companies fight unions on former Sandinista turf. July 2000 Jailing the Mentally Ill Why are so many mentally ill Americans behind bars? April 2000 Vietnam: A Nation, Not A War To most Americans, Vietnam is a nation frozen in time and memory. It seems a distant place where 58,000 Americans lost their lives. April 2000 25 Years from Vietnam Twenty-five years after the fall of Saigon, the legacy of the war affects lives on both sides of the Pacific. In this series of reports, American RadioWorks reveals how events fading into memory still influence our environments, institutions, and cultures. March 2000 Shadow over Lockerbie Two hundred seventy people died when Pan Am 103 was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. It was the worst-ever act of airline terrorism against the United States. It was also called the world's biggest unsolved murder. March 2000 Blood and Oil in Burma In a landmark legal case, human rights groups have sued the Unocal Corporation. This is the first time that anybody has sued an American corporation in an American court on the grounds that the company's violating human rights in another country. February 2000 Massacre at Cuska In 1999 Serb death squads attacked the ethnic Albanian village of Cuska and left 41 unarmed civilians dead. October 1999 Walking Out of History: The True Story of Shackleton's Endurance Expedition The true story of 28 men lost in Antarctica for almost two years, fighting ice and the ocean. It's the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Endurance, and the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914. September 1999 The Fertility Race A series about the social implications of infertility and the advanced reproductive techniques designed to correct the condition. September 1999 Evading the Virus A small but growing number of scientists and doctors are helping couples with HIV get pregnant using experimental medical techniques that promise to reduce the risk of passing on HIV. May 1999 The Forgotten 14 Million One in five American children is growing up poor. Critics of welfare and other social programs say government spending hasn't solved poverty. But neither has economic growth. February 1999 Hidden Agendas A Washington research group says that most states, including Minnesota, have inadequate laws to prevent financial conflicts among local lawmakers. January 1999 The Positive Life Teens with HIV face the challenge of preparing for an adulthood they may never reach. September 1998 Make Change, Not Money Nonprofits are being asked to step in to address some of America's most pressing social ills as government steps back. March 1998 The World Turned Upside Down An extraordinary moment: America in a rare period of price stability. February 1997 Frances Densmore, Song Catcher Frances Densmore spent her life gathering cultural artifacts of old Indian ways. September 1996 Face of Mercy, Face of Hate Predrag Bundalo was waiting for a cup of coffee when a bullet, fired at point-blank range, killed him. He was sitting on the enemy's couch. Investigations Documentaries Podcasts About Donate © 2017 Minnesota Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. 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