APM Reports Documentaries

Scientific research has shown how children learn to read and how they should be taught. But many educators don't know the science and, in some cases, …

You might think apprenticeships are a relic from an earlier era, but a growing number of Americans are using them as a way into the middle class.

They bet that college would help them move up. Did it pay off?

Colleges have long offered a pathway to success for just about anyone. But new research shows that with the country growing ever more economically …

At the end of 1944, the U.S. government lifted the order barring people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. Many people freed from camp faced racism and poverty as they tried to rebuild their lives.

At the beginning of World War Two, Japanese Americans not already in the military were declared ineligible for service. The government said it doubted their loyalty. But as the war dragged on, the need for manpower grew …

Japanese warplanes bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Hours later, the FBI began rounding up people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a major investor in Neurocore, a company based in Michigan that claims to help kids with various attention deficit disorders. Since taking office, she's kept her stake in the company …

It all started with a fur coat and an expensive rug. It ended with the resignation of President Eisenhower's chief of staff. That incident led to the government ethics system of today. In the second installment of our …

More than half of Trump's 20-person Cabinet has engaged in questionable or unethical conduct since taking office. The nation's top ethics official says "these are perilous times." In the first installment of "Ethics Be …

The Question of Black Identity, Black Love Stories

Tracking Down a Slave's Bill of Sale, The Path to Founding an HBCU, The Fiddler who Charmed Missouri

NASA's Human Computers, Harlem Through James Van Der Zee's Lens, The Spirit of the Million Man March

Public schools are denying children with dyslexia proper treatment and often failing to identify them in the first place.

President Trump is ending DACA, which allowed some 800,000 undocumented young people to stay and work in the United States. For some, that may mean …

A growing number of colleges and universities in the eastern United States are confronting their historic ties to the slave trade. Profits from …

There may be nothing more important in the educational life of a child than having effective teachers. But the United States is struggling to attract and keep teachers.

After an abrupt reversal 20 years ago, some prisons and colleges try to maintain college education for prisoners.

The nation's high school graduation rate is at an all-time high, but high-poverty schools face a stubborn challenge. Schools in Miami and Pasadena …

A get-tough attitude prevailed among educators in the 1980s and 1990s, but research shows that zero-tolerance policies don't make schools safer and …

A system meant to give college-bound students a better shot at succeeding is actually getting in the way of many, costing them time and money and …

Scientists say most people on Earth will first experience climate change in terms of water — either too much or too little.

Advocates for kids are pushing for a new approach to combating underage prostitution: treating young people caught up in sex trafficking as victims, not delinquents.

This documentary explores the "Expeditionary Learning" approach, traces the history of ideas that led to its inception, and investigates what …

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.

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.

Before the civil rights movement, African Americans were largely barred from white-dominated institutions of higher education. And so black …

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.

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. …

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 …

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 …

Researchers have long been searching for better ways to learn. In recent decades, experts working in cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience …

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. …

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 …

Digital technologies and the Internet are changing how many Americans go to college. From online learning to simulation programs to smart-machine …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

In an economy that increasingly demands workers with knowledge and skills, many college dropouts are being left behind.

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.

Equal access to transportation was once a central issue of the Civil Rights Movement. But today, disparities still persist.

Mississippi led the South in an extraordinary battle to maintain racial segregation. Whites set up powerful citizens groups and state agencies to …

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 …

Spanning the 20th century, this collection is a vivid account of how African Americans sounded the charge against racial injustice, exhorting the …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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.

The United States is facing a dramatic demographic challenge: Young Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the population, and they are the least …

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 …

President Barack Obama wants to create jobs by building infrastructure. So did another president. Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to put people to …

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?

For almost a century, Muncie, Indiana has been known as "Middletown," the quintessential American community. But now, as the rust-belt city grapples …

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 …

The 1968 presidential election was a watershed in American politics. After dominating the political landscape for more than a generation, the …

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 …

Sergeant Adam Gray made it home from Iraq only to die in his barracks. Investigating his death, American RadioWorks pieces together a story of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. This site is about buying and selling. …

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 …

In the 1970s, for the first time, large numbers of white children and black children began attending school together. It was an experience that …

America seemed united in fighting "The Good War" but not everyone fought in the same way.

The effects of high-stakes testing on students, teachers, and schools.

To mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, American RadioWorks teams up with Nick Spitzer of American Routes to find out how culture might …

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?

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.

Explore the trappings of life in Congress, the pressure to raise campaign dollars and Washington's powerful world of lobbying.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

A unique study of Romania's orphans reveals the profound effects of social deprivation on brain development.

Peabody-award winning documentary that chronicles the sounds and voices of the World Trade Center and its surrounding neighborhood.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of thousands of Mississippi Gulf Coast residents. Rebuilding Biloxi tells the stories of several families in …

Public documents show that from 2000 through mid-2005, Capitol Hill staffers accepted nearly 17,000 free trips worth almost $30 million. Many of …

Four American presidents tried to end the conflict in Vietnam. The lessons they learned echo sharply today.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

How a rival concept about the origins of life is defying the cornerstone of biology.

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 …

Tax law prohibits members of Congress from taking international trips paid for by private foundations, but Republican Richard Pombo may have done just that.

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 …

In the 1970s, women began breaking into male-dominated professions as never before. Women took jobs as police officers, lawyers and steelworkers. …

The United States is making huge demands on its military people, the toughest since the Vietnam War. But most soldiers during Vietnam were young, …

How has all the recent news about congressional travel changed the travel habits of those in Congress?

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.

For many, globalization has meant rich countries getting richer at the expense of the poor. Today, it's not that simple.

Corruption skims billions from the global economy, locking millions of people in poverty. But a worldwide movement is fighting back.

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, …

The supermax prison was designed to incapacitate dangerous criminals by locking them down in stark isolation. But do they live up to their promise?

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 …

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 …

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 …

One hugely influential issue in the last election got little attention: gerrymandering. Politicians have been tinkering with the boundaries of their …

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 …

Two candidates for President, offering two directions for America. They are men of the same generation, Yale graduates from privileged New England families. But they took starkly different paths as they formed their …

Two candidates for President, offering two directions for America. They are men of the same generation, Yale graduates from privileged New England families. But they took starkly different paths as they formed their …

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 …

During an 18-month investigation, the 9/11 Commission heard extraordinary testimony about the terrorist attacks on America. Witnesses told stories of …

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 have discovered that the Earth's climate is capable of changing abruptly. Could global warming bring the Earth to another such rapid …

A decade ago, Nelson Mandela became president in South Africa's first multi-racial democratic election. Mandela's journey, from freedom fighter to …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The end of major combat in Iraq did not bring an end to the fighting. American troops trying to rebuild the country found themselves surrounded by unknown dangers and escalating hostility from Iraqis whom they once …

In 1927, Iran developed a legal code doing away with gruesome Islamic punishments such as stoning and lashing. That all changed during the Islamic …

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 …

Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon left hundreds of hours of secretly taped telephone conversations. What can these tapes tell us about the presidency and …

Even after the fall of Baghdad, the U.S. is still fighting.

Examine the often-overlooked war that helped define global politics and American life for the second half of the 20th century.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor faces international war crimes charges arising from one of Africa's most brutal civil wars. American …

What impact has America's 30-year War on Crime had on communities and families?

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.

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.

Days of Infamy compares recordings of ordinary Americans reacting to Pearl Harbor and September 11.

How do jurors decide who should live and who should die?

Jobs that are slowly disappearing in New York City and the people that keep them alive.

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?

An unlikely corporation -- McDonald's -- has taken the lead in the campaign for animal welfare.

The intimate diary of a woman who loses her brother to terrorism.

How corporations, prison guard unions, and police agencies help to shape who gets locked up and for how long.

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 …

Examining the machinery and insidious legacy of war crimes, and the struggle for justice in societies convulsed by mass violence.

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.

Follow the international diamond trail from the buckets of child miners in war-torn Western Africa to America's jewelry counters.

For much of the 20th century, African Americans endured a legal system in the American South that was calculated to segregate and humiliate them.

Follow Russian writer Aleksandr Radishchev's 200-year-old footsteps from St. Petersburg to Moscow, and discover the soul of a people and the …

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.

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 …

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 …

During the World-War-II years a series of groundbreaking radio programs tried to mend the deep racial and ethnic divisions that threatened America.

Global companies fight unions on former Sandinista turf.

Why are so many mentally ill Americans behind bars?

To most Americans, Vietnam is a nation frozen in time and memory. It seems a distant place where 58,000 Americans lost their lives.

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 …

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 …

In 1999 Serb death squads attacked the ethnic Albanian village of Cuska and left 41 unarmed civilians dead.

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.

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.

A series about the social implications of infertility and the advanced reproductive techniques designed to correct the condition.

One in five American children is growing up poor. Critics of welfare and other social programs say government spending hasn't solved poverty. But …

Teens with HIV face the challenge of preparing for an adulthood they may never reach.

Nonprofits are being asked to step in to address some of America's most pressing social ills as government steps back.