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The FRONTLINE Dispatch Profile

The FRONTLINE Dispatch

English, News media, 6 seasons, 106 episodes, 2 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes
About
An award-winning, original, investigative series made by the team behind the acclaimed PBS documentary show, FRONTLINE. From the long and deadly arm of 9/11, to a police shooting in West Virginia with a startling twist, to what life is really like for children living in a Kenyan refugee camp, each episode follows a different reporter through an investigation that sometimes is years in the making. The FRONTLINE Dispatch – because some stories are meant to be heard. Produced at FRONTLINE’s headquarters at WGBH in Boston and powered by PRX. The FRONTLINE Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation Journalism Initiative.
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Netanyahu, America, & the Road to War in Gaza (Full-length Film Audio Track)

FRONTLINE Film Audio Tracks are FRONTLINE documentaries, in audio form. Stream or download full-length recordings of film audio on Apple Podcasts or FRONTLINE's website. As the war in Gaza continues with devastating consequences, a major 90-minute documentary offers a sweeping examination of the critical moments leading up to this crisis over the course of the past three decades, and the pivotal role of a central player: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Starting with the Oslo peace accords and continuing through the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing war in Gaza, the documentary draws on years of reporting and is an incisive look at the long history of failed peace efforts and violent conflict in the region — and the increasing tensions between Israel and its ally, the U.S., over the war’s catastrophic toll and what comes next.This documentary originally aired December 19, 2023. An updated version was released May 28, 2024, and is now streaming online. 
6/6/20241 hour, 26 minutes, 47 seconds
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The ‘Dangerous Assignment’ That Sent a Venezuelan Journalist Into Exile

When Venezuelan journalist Roberto Deniz began investigating problems with a government food program with his colleagues at the investigative news site Armando.info, he didn’t know that the reaction to his reporting would one day drive him to flee his home country. For the past six years, he has been living and reporting in exile, helping to uncover a corruption scandal reaching from Venezuela to the U.S. and beyond. A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela is a new documentary from FRONTLINE and Armando.info that follows Deniz as he investigates the controversial businessman Alex Saab and his connections to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Together with Juan Ravell, the film’s director, Deniz joins Raney Aronson-Rath to talk about Saab’s indictment and subsequent release from U.S. custody, and the consequences of reporting on corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela. Stream A Dangerous Assignment on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, or the PBS App.Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
5/24/202422 minutes, 51 seconds
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Inside the Investigation into Police Use of Force

A new investigation reveals that over nearly a decade, more than 1,000 people died following encounters where police employed tactics known as “less-lethal force,” which ranged from Tasers or physical restraint to forced sedation and other methods meant to stop people without killing them. Police say they are often responding to volatile and sometimes violent situations, and deaths are rare.Drawing on police records, autopsy reports, and footage from cellphones and body-worn cameras, The Associated Press, in collaboration with FRONTLINE and the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism, compiled a database that serves as the most extensive accounting ever of deaths following such police encounters. Serginho Roosblad, director and producer of the joint documentary Documenting Police Use of Force, and Justin Pritchard, a reporter and editor with the AP, join host Raney Aronson-Rath on The FRONTLINE Dispatch to discuss their findings. The investigation also includes an interactive story and database.  Stream Documenting Police Use of Force on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, or the PBS App.Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
5/9/202418 minutes, 50 seconds
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The Search for Ukraine’s Missing Children

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine began, thousands of Ukrainian children have been taken and held in Russian-controlled territory. A new documentary from FRONTLINE, Children of Ukraine, examines the fate of some of these young Ukrainians, following families and investigators as they search for missing children and collect evidence of alleged abductions. Director Paul Kenyon joined The FRONTLINE Dispatch to talk about dueling Ukrainian and Russian narratives about what’s happened to the children, interviewing young survivors of war and trauma, and ongoing efforts to reunite Ukrainian families. You can watch Children of Ukraine on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel and the PBS App. Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
4/19/202423 minutes, 7 seconds
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Investigating a Massive Online Leak of Government Secrets

On March 4, 2024, Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty to charges related to one of the country’s largest leaks of classified information. How did Teixeira manage to go without notice for months as he leaked hundreds of pages of government documents on Discord, the online chat platform popular with teenage gamers? Shane Harris and Sam Oakford were part of a team of Washington Post reporters who set out to investigate, and who partnered with FRONTLINE director Tom Jennings. The FRONTLINE/Washington Post documentary The Discord Leaks investigates Teixeira’s online world, his massive leak of national security secrets and the role of platforms like Discord. The documentary also raises tough questions about the military’s vetting of applicants’ online behavior. Jennings, Harris and Oakford joined host Raney Aronson-Rath to talk about recent developments related to national security leaks, Teixeira’s case and what the documentary reveals.“What Jack's case shows is this huge vulnerability at the heart of the intelligence apparatus, of an insufficient system for vetting people, and a system that's built so that people can get access to secrets and share them with practically whomever they want,” Harris told Aronson-Rath. “And I think that is going to be a major challenge for the military and the intelligence agencies going forward.”You can watch The Discord Leaks on FRONTLINE’s website, the FRONTLINE YouTube Channel, and the PBS App. Read The Washington Post’s related reporting at washingtonpost.com.Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
4/6/202424 minutes, 2 seconds
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Stuck in a ‘Fractured’ System

Working as a health care reporter in North Carolina, WFAE’s Dana Miller Ervin heard about jail inmates living with serious mental illnesses who cycled for years between jails and psychiatric hospitals. The courts deem them too sick to stand trial – incapable to proceed or ITP – but they often wait months to get the care they need just so their cases can move forward.  Ervin detailed her investigation in an 11-part WFAE radio series, “Fractured,” made with support from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative. Now, a documentary by the same name follows Ervin as she chronicles the plight of ITP inmates. Fractured is directed by Débora Souza Silva, a 2023 recipient of the FRONTLINE/Firelight Media Investigative Journalism Fellowship. Ervin and Silva joined Raney Aronson-Rath on The FRONTLINE Dispatch to discuss making the film; how long waits for care affect these defendants as well as others in the criminal justice system; and potential solutions to the problem. The “Fractured” documentary is streaming on FRONTLINE’s website, YouTube, and the PBS App. Read and listen to more from WFAE and FRONTLINE’s series Fractured.
3/15/202419 minutes, 23 seconds
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Democracy on Trial, Part Four: Inside the White House on Jan. 6

FRONTLINE investigates the roots of the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump stemming from his 2020 election loss in a special audio version of the new documentary Democracy on Trial. In this final installment, the Jan. 6 Select Committee examines what happened inside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. What was former President Donald Trump doing for 187 minutes during the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when some in the crowd were chanting, “Hang Mike Pence”? What did Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to then-President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testify that she witnessed that day? Plus: As a potential criminal trial looms, how will it differ from the Jan. 6 Select Committee’s hearings? And what are the trial’s implications for democracy? Watch Democracy on Trial in full on FRONTLINE’s website, YouTube or the PBS App.
3/1/202430 minutes, 41 seconds
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Democracy on Trial, Part Three: An “Invitation” for Jan. 6

FRONTLINE investigates the roots of the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump stemming from his 2020 election loss in a special audio version of the new documentary Democracy on Trial.  In part three, the Jan. 6 Select Committee examines the pressures mounting on the Justice Department and then-Vice President Mike Pence to intervene on Trump’s behalf. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger recalls a phone call in which the former president tells him, “I just want to find 11,780 votes” — the number of votes needed to win the 2020 presidential election in the state. And the former president sends a now-famous tweet inviting supporters to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest the results of the 2020 election, saying it “will be wild.”  Tune in next week for the fourth and final installment of the audio-only version of the documentary here on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. Watch Democracy on Trial in full on FRONTLINE’s website, YouTube or the PBS App. 
2/23/202439 minutes, 34 seconds
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Democracy on Trial, Part Two: A Pressure Campaign and a Warning

FRONTLINE investigates the roots of the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump stemming from his 2020 election loss in a special audio version of the new documentary Democracy on Trial.  In part two, Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling issues a stark warning about the potential for violence. Rusty Bowers, former Arizona House speaker and a lifelong Republican, testifies in front of the Jan. 6 Select Committee about former President Donald Trump’s campaign of pressure on local officials. And two Georgia election workers, Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, face racist threats after being named in a conspiracy theory about stolen votes.  Tune in next week for the third installment of the audio-only version of the documentary here on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. Watch Democracy on Trial in full on FRONTLINE’s website, YouTube or the PBS App. 
2/16/202433 minutes, 42 seconds
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Democracy on Trial, Part One: A Blueprint For the Case Against Trump

With the 2024 presidential race underway, FRONTLINE investigates the roots of the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump stemming from his 2020 election loss. In this special audio version of Democracy on Trial, veteran political filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team examine the House Jan. 6 committee’s evidence, the historic charges against Trump and the threat to democracy. In this first installment, former President Donald Trump is charged with crimes in office — an unprecedented event in American history. The Jan. 6 Select Committee report starts to build a case against former President Donald Trump, which will go on to become a blueprint for special counsel Jack Smith. And a central question emerges for the committee: What did former President Trump know about the 2020 election results, and when did he know it? Tune in next week for the second installment of the audio-only version of the documentary here on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. Watch Democracy on Trial in full on FRONTLINE’s website, YouTube or the PBS App.
2/9/202445 minutes, 19 seconds
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‘Democracy on Trial’ Director on the Roots of Federal Charges Against Trump

Democracy on Trial is a 2.5-hour documentary special from FRONTLINE that examines the roots and implications of the unprecedented charges against former president Donald Trump in connection with the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Drawing on interviews with elected officials, former government lawyers, House Select Committee witnesses and former committee staffers, authors and journalists, the documentary — which is being released in audio form via The FRONTLINE Dispatch podcast in the coming weeks — shows how the work of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack forms a blueprint for the federal indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Director Michael Kirk, a longtime FRONTLINE filmmaker, joins host Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE, to talk about the case against Trump; the defense strategy of the former president, who has pleaded not guilty; and reporting this story in a deeply divided country. As this unusual election year unfolds, watch Democracy on Trial in full on FRONTLINE’s website, YouTube or the PBS App, and listen to the multi-part audio version of the documentary starting today on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
2/9/202419 minutes, 3 seconds
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Reconstructing the Uvalde Shooting Response

The May 2022 gun massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas left 19 children and two teachers dead. It was one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Inside the Uvalde Response, a recent documentary from FRONTLINE, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, probes the chaotic police response to the shooting and sheds new light on law enforcement’s thoughts and actions as the tragedy unfolded. Among the revelations: Students and teachers at the school had practiced active shooter drills and knew what to do, but scores of law enforcement officers who responded that day did not. Lomi Kriel, a reporter with the ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Unit, and director Juanita Ceballos join The FRONTLINE Dispatch to discuss how they used hundreds of hours of body cam footage and officer interviews to reconstruct one of the most criticized mass shooting responses in recent history, and examine what went wrong. “I think one thing that makes this very different is that for prior mass shootings — Parkland, Pulse, others — we just don't necessarily… have this kind of information, both body camera footage, 911 calls, interviews with officers — to actually know how those responses happened.” Kriel says that while the Uvalde community awaits fuller answers from the district attorney investigating the law enforcement response, FRONTLINE, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s  reporting provides at least “one comprehensive accounting of what happened that day” You can watch Inside the Uvalde Response on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube Channel, and the PBS App. Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
1/4/202417 minutes, 14 seconds
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Underage Workers in New England’s Seafood Processing Industry

Journalists with The Public’s Radio, a station serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, spent two years investigating teen labor in the local seafood processing industry. Their investigation, supported by FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism initiative, reveals flaws in systems designed to protect migrant teens, who’ve arrived at the U.S. southern border in unprecedented numbers in recent years. The investigative team interviewed migrant teens and their families, and uncovered that the U.S. Department of Labor was investigating at least two New Bedford, RI, seafood processors, as well as a Rhode Island staffing agency, for possible child labor, overtime pay, and anti-retaliation violations. In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, reporters Nadine Sebai and Nina Sparling from The Public’s Radio join FRONTLINE editor-in-chief and executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath to discuss their findings. Sebai and Sparling say they sought to illustrate the complexities of what happens to underage migrants after they arrive on the nation's southern border — especially the challenges they face.  Sebai says, "We've all seen... the waves of kids migrating to the border, unaccompanied minors coming to the border. But they actually end up somewhere in the U.S.” For more, read and listen to The Public Radio’s investigation “Underage and Unprotected,” supported by FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative. Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
12/14/202323 minutes
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Documenting the Siege of Mariupol (re-release)

20 Days in Mariupol is an unflinching, first-hand account of the early days of Russia’s invasion of the port city of Mariupol, which remains under Russian occupation to this day. Ukrainian-born director and journalist Mstyslav Chernov and his colleagues from the Associated Press were the last international journalists to remain in Mariupol as Russian troops attacked. His new film, from FRONTLINE and the AP, draws on Chernov’s news dispatches and his reflections as he documented the devastation of his home country for the world to see. Chernov sat down with FRONTLINE editor-in-chief and executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath and editor and producer Michelle Mizner in February 2023, as we marked the grim anniversary of the war in Ukraine. In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, recorded at the Boston Public Library, Chernov recounts the decision to go to Mariupol, how he and Mizner created a documentary feature from his Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, and what he hopes people will take away from the film — today, and in years to come. “I know that we form our understanding of the current events of the world around us by watching news and consuming news,” Chernov said. “ But [we] form our understanding of our past with documentary films… Film is a medium which carries meaning across time, for generations to come.” An earlier version of this episode was published in July. You can watch 20 Days in Mariupol on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube Channel, the PBS App, and the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel. Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
11/30/202322 minutes, 1 second
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The Big Dig, Part 1: We Were Wrong (GBH News)

The FRONTLINE Dispatch presents The Big Dig, Part 1: “We Were Wrong.” The Big Dig is a new 9-part podcast series from GBH News, hosted by Ian Coss. There is a cynicism that hangs over the topic of American infrastructure — whether it’s high-speed rail or off-shore wind — it feels like this country can’t build big things anymore. No one project embodies that cynicism quite like Boston’s Big Dig. Infamous for its ever-increasing price tag, this massive highway tunneling effort became a symbol of waste and corruption. Yet the project delivered on its promise to transform the city. So how did the narrative go so horribly wrong? And what lessons can the Big Dig offer for the ambitious projects of today? You can listen all nine episodes of The Big Dig at GBH News, or wherever you get your podcasts.
11/23/202353 minutes, 55 seconds
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Shattered Dreams of Peace: The Road From Oslo (Full-length Film Audio Track)

FRONTLINE Film Audio Tracks are FRONTLINE documentaries, in audio form. Stream or download full-length recordings of film audio tracks on Apple Podcasts or our website. Listen to the Film Audio Track for FRONTLINE’s seminal 2002 documentary on how the Israeli-Palestinian peace process begun at Oslo was derailed and ultimately undone by the dynamics of politics and violence on both sides. Shattered Dreams of Peace: The Road From Oslo traced how cautious optimism in the aftermath of Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin agreeing to the 1993 Oslo Accord was undermined in the following years by violence and major setbacks. It explored the growing threat to the peace process posed by radical nationalist factions among both Jews and Palestinians — groups, including Hamas, that opposed all compromise between the two peoples. The documentary also examined the U.S. role in the peace process, including the U.S.-brokered negotiations at in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Shattered Dreams of Peace: The Road From Oslo includes interviews with key figures from both sides of the negotiating table, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Saeb Erekat, and Ehud Barak.
11/9/20231 hour, 58 minutes, 24 seconds
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The Disconnect: Season 2, Episode 1: The Toll

In the first episode of Season 2 of The Disconnect, a podcast all about the Texas blackout of February 2021 from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative partner, the Texas Newsroom, and Austin public radio station KUT, host Mose Buchele and colleagues examine the blackout’s impact on one Texas family, and the accuracy of the state’s official death count.  The Disconnect Season 2 is a project of The Texas Newsroom, the collaboration among NPR and the public radio stations in the state. It received support from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
9/8/202236 minutes, 20 seconds
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Coming soon: The Disconnect, Season 2

Coming August 4, 2022 from FRONTLINE's partners in the Local Journalism Initiative, KUT/KUTX Studios, season two of The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout. In February 2021, days-long blackouts in Texas left millions of people shivering in the dark. Hundreds died. And it exposed the failures of the nation's only independent power grid. More than a year later, the lights have stayed on, but problems persist. So how has the Texas grid changed? And how has it changed how people think about this infrastructure that used to be invisible to them? Available August 4th on KUT.org and wherever you get your podcasts.
7/18/20223 minutes, 32 seconds