NOW
Democrats and the New Politics of AbortionFri, 05 Feb 2010 18:00:00 GMT - Haiti\'s catastrophic earthquake, in addition to leaving lives and institutions in ruin, also exacerbated a much more common and lethal emergency in Haiti: Dying during childbirth. Challenges in transportation, education, and quality health care contribute to Haiti having the highest maternal mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere, a national crisis even before the earthquake struck. While great strides are being made with global health issues like HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality figures worldwide have seen virtually no improvement in 20 years. Worldwide, over 500,000 women die each year during pregnancy. A NOW team that had been working in Haiti during the earthquake reports on this deadly but correctable trend. They meet members of the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), which operates a network of health agents in more than 100 villages, engaging in pre-natal visits, education, and emergency ambulance runs for pregnant women. The United Nations Population Fund, which trains midwives to share life-saving birth techniques, says that with proper funding, public support, and wider application of simple but scarce innovations, such deaths could be reduced by nearly 70%. As humanitarian attention on Haiti slowly fades, the issue of maternity mortality remains as imperative as ever. But with an estimated 63,000 women in Haiti currently pregnant -- and a main midwife training school devastated by the earthquake -- the mission of keeping mothers alive has never been more daunting.
Saving Haiti\'s MothersFri, 29 Jan 2010 18:00:00 GMT - Haiti\'s catastrophic earthquake, in addition to leaving lives and institutions in ruin, also exacerbated a much more common and lethal emergency in Haiti: Dying during childbirth. Challenges in transportation, education, and quality health care contribute to Haiti having the highest maternal mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere, a national crisis even before the earthquake struck. While great strides are being made with global health issues like HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality figures worldwide have seen virtually no improvement in 20 years. Worldwide, over 500,000 women die each year during pregnancy. A NOW team that had been working in Haiti during the earthquake reports on this deadly but correctable trend. They meet members of the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), which operates a network of health agents in more than 100 villages, engaging in pre-natal visits, education, and emergency ambulance runs for pregnant women. The United Nations Population Fund, which trains midwives to share life-saving birth techniques, says that with proper funding, public support, and wider application of simple but scarce innovations, such deaths could be reduced by nearly 70%. As humanitarian attention on Haiti slowly fades, the issue of maternity mortality remains as imperative as ever. But with an estimated 63,000 women in Haiti currently pregnant -- and a main midwife training school devastated by the earthquake -- the mission of keeping mothers alive has never been more daunting.
Who\'s Helping Our Wounded Vets?Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:00:00 GMT - The Pentagon estimates that as many as one in five American soldiers are coming home from war zones with traumatic brain injuries, many of which require round-the-clock attention. But lost in the reports of these returning soldiers are the stories of family members who often sacrifice everything to care for them. NOW reveals how little has been done to help these family caregivers, and reports on dedicated efforts to support them.
Saving American JournalismFri, 15 Jan 2010 18:00:00 GMT - Is good journalism going extinct? Fractured audiences and tight budgets have downsized or sunk many of the fourth estate\'s major battleships, including this very program. NOW\'s David Brancaccio talks to professor Bob McChesney and journalist John Nichols about the perils of a shrinking news media landscape, and their bold proposal to save noncommercial journalism with government subsidies. Their new book is \"The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again.\" Should public journalism get the next government bailout?
Targeting the TalibanFri, 08 Jan 2010 18:00:00 GMT - President Obama is sending as many as 30,000 more troops to combat Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan this year, but are we missing the true target? NOW reports directly from Pakistan\'s dangerous and pivotal border with Afghanistan, where Pentagon war planners acknowledge many of the enemy fighters and their leaders are based. The U.S. has been relying on Pakistan to act against Taliban militants there, but the Pakistani army\'s commitment is in question.
Soap Opera for Social ChangeFri, 01 Jan 2010 18:00:00 GMT - There are places in the world where the success of a soap opera is measured not just in TV ratings, but in human lives. NOW travels to Kenya, where ambitious producers and actors hope one such TV show, \"The Team\", can help foster peace amongst the country\'s 42 official tribes. During presidential elections two years ago, tribalism-influenced protests in Kenya left almost 1,500 dead and nearly 300,000 displaced. Tensions continue today over issues including extreme poverty and widespread corruption. In \"The Team\", soccer players from different tribes work together to overcome historic rivalries and form a common bond. The hope is that commonalities portrayed in fiction can inspire harmony in the real world. Early reaction to the show\'s inaugural season is promising. \"I was very surprised to see how Kenyans want change, how they want to live in peace and the way the responded to us,\" Milly Mugadi, one of the show\'s stars, noted during a local screening. \"There were people from different tribes talking about peace and how to reconcile with each other... they opened up their hearts.\" John Marks, whose organization Common Ground produces versions of \"The Team\" in 12 different countries, is cautiously hopeful. \"You don\'t watch one of our television shows and drop your submachine gun,\" explains Marks, who says he was inspired by the influence of \"All in the Family\" on American culture. \"But you can change the environment so it becomes more and more difficult to be in violent conflict.\" Can this soap opera for social change really make a difference in stopping violence?
Student Loan Sinkhole?Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:00:00 GMT - According to the Department of Education, the average amount of an undergraduate student loan in this country is now more than $22,000. And sudden changes in lenders\' terms and rates can quickly turn a personal debt into a financial sinkhole, grounding the dreams of many college graduates even before they\'ve started. NOW follows the story of a single mother in Baltimore trying to dig herself out of a $70,000 student loan debt. While issues of personal responsibility are debated, there\'s no question the high price of higher education is creating an ocean of student loan debt for people who can least afford it -- and yet another frustrating complication for America\'s economic recovery.
Africa: House Calls and Health CareFri, 18 Dec 2009 18:00:00 GMT - In rural Rwanda, the simple and time-tested idea of medical house calls is not only improving the health of the community, but stimulating its economy as well. NOW travels to the village of Rwinkwavu to meet the Rwandan doctors, nurses and villagers who are teaming up with Boston-based Partners in Health and the Rwandan government to deliver medicine and medical counseling door-to-door. Would such an innovation work in America? In the capital of Kigali, NOW\'s David Brancaccio sits down with Rwandan President Paul Kagame to talk about international aid and Kagame\'s ultimate vision for a healthy, financially-independent Rwanda.
The Marines Are LandingFri, 11 Dec 2009 18:00:00 GMT - Over the next four years, approximately 30,000 Marines and their families will move to the small island of Guam, nearly tripling its presence there. It\'s part of a larger agreement that the U.S. signed with Japan to realign American forces in the Pacific, but how will this multi-billion dollar move impact the lives and lifestyle of Guam\'s nearly 200,000 residents? This week, NOW on PBS travels to the U.S. territory of Guam to find out whether their environment and infrastructure can support such a large and quick infusion of people, and why the buildup is vital to our national security.
PBS Special Report: Health Care ReformFri, 04 Dec 2009 18:00:00 GMT - With health care reform now the most pressing and talked-about domestic issue in America, the hallmark PBS programs NOW ON PBS, TAVIS SMILEY and NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT are collaborating to provide a single timely and much-needed in-depth look at health care reform in America and the latest government proposals to address the issue. The program will include late-breaking news and analysis on the health care debate and also feature cultural, political and economic insight from each program: NOW ON PBS will examine how reform may change the way we live, especially for boomers who have their own coverage, but are also responsible for aging parents and grown children. NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT will investigate the costs and controversies of employer-provided health care and new coverage requirements many companies are adopting as a means of controlling health care. TAVIS will examine the causes and effects of childhood obesity, particularly within communities of color, and explore ways to address this health care crisis. An examination of one of the most far-reaching and controversial initiatives in decades, from the most trusted journalists in America. A PBS Special Report: Health Care Reform.
Climate CrisisFri, 27 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT - The Maldives, a nation of roughly 1200 low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean, could be underwater by the end of this century if climate change causes ocean levels to rise. On the eve of the big climate summit in Copenhagen, the country\'s president, Mohamed Nasheed, is warning of a massive exodus from the Maldives if drastic global action is not taken. NOW talks with President Nasheed about the climate crisis and why he compares it to genocide. Could the same calamity be coming to a coast near you?
Elizabeth Warren on the EconomyFri, 13 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT - What exactly is going on with the economy? Stocks are up and big bonuses are back, but while they\'re throwing parties on Wall Street, there\'s pain on Main Street. One out of every six workers is unemployed or underemployed, according to government statistics -- the highest figure since the Great Depression. NOW gets answers and insight from Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren, who\'s been heading up the congressional panel overseeing how the bailout money is being spent. NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa talks with Warren about how we got to this point, and where we go from here. What will it take to put both bankers and American businesses on the same road to recovery?
Interview: David SirotaFri, 06 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT - Only one year after a historic election rerouted the course of America\'s political culture, do the 2009 election results show momentum swinging in the opposite direction? NOW\'s David Brancaccio talks to political author and columnist David Sirota about populist anger, the Obama administration\'s successes and failures, and how this week\'s election results foreshadow the state of politics in 2010.
Electric Car DreamsFri, 30 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT - Home to a worldwide summit on climate change in early December, Denmark is setting a global example in creating clean power, storing it, and using it responsibly. Their reliance on wind power to produce electricity without contributing to global warming is well known, but now they\'re looking to drive the point home with electric cars. To do this, they\'ve partnered with social entrepreneur Shai Agassi and his company Better Place. NOW investigates how the Danish government and Better Place are working together to put electric cars into the hands of as many Danish families as possible. The idea is still having trouble getting out of the garage here in America, but Denmark could be an inspiration. Will so much green enthusiasm bring about a \"Copenhagen Protocol\"? This show is part of a series on social entrepreneurs at work that we call \"Enterprising Ideas.\"
Water WorldFri, 23 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT - Is climate change turning coastal countries into water worlds? NOW travels to Bangladesh to examine some innovative solutions being implemented in a country where entire communities are inundated by water, battered by cyclones, and flooded from their homes. Imagine you lived in a world of water. Your home is two-feet under. You wade through it, cook on it, and sleep above it. This is the reality for hundreds of thousands of people around the world, coastal populations on the front lines of climate change. Only weeks before world leaders meet in Copenhagen to discuss climate change, NOW senior correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels to Bangladesh to examine some innovative solutions -- from floating schools to rice that can \"hold its breath\" underwater -- being implemented in a country where entire communities are inundated by water, battered by cyclones, and flooded from their homes. The Denmark conference can\'t come soon enough. Scientists project global seas will flood 20 percent of Bangladesh by 2030, stranding some 35 million climate refugees. Some are proposing that industrial nations who contribute to global warming should open their doors to displaced Bangladeshis. Is a coastal catastrophe approaching, and what should we be doing about it?
Nurses NeededFri, 16 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT - By the year 2020, a nationwide shortage of up to 500,000 trained nurses could mean that hundreds of thousands of patients will receive less attention and substandard treatment. Just as alarming, fewer nurses are choosing to teach the next generation of professionals, resulting in tens of thousands of applicants being turned away from the nation\'s nursing schools. NOW on PBS takes a hard look at the strains this crisis is placing on the entire medical system, as well as innovative efforts to reverse the trend.
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