FRONTLINE/World - Reports | PBS

Libya: Out of the Shadow

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 21:00:00 EST

Libya is not the first place that springs to mind as a hot-ticket destination. But much has changed in the country in recent years as Libya and its leader Colonel Gaddafi have returned to the diplomatic fold. Who better to explore the mysteries of present-day Libya than our roving world-music reporter Marco Werman? And what better way to get inside the country than to tag along with the 10,000 astronomy enthusiasts who descended on Libya earlier this year to watch the solar eclipse?

Italy: One-Way Ticket to Europe

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:00:00 EST

As Europe grapples with the rising numbers of migrants arriving to its shores, this week's Rough Cut/Fellows report travels to the small Italian island of Lampedusa, off the Libyan coast, where hundreds of African migrants arrive daily through the summer in search of a better life. The story offers an unsettling glimpse of life for these new immigrants and exposes how complex and divided the issue of illegal immigration has become.

India: A Pound of Flesh

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 21:00:00 EST

In this week's Rough Cut, Samantha Grant heads to Chennai in southern India to explore the illicit kidney trade. Traveling between India's high-tech center of Bangalore and the slums to the south, Grant spoke to government officials, doctors, kidney brokers and donors to try to find out why so many people are still getting paid to give up their kidneys even though a law was passed 12 years ago to heavily regulate the practice.

Zimbabwe: Shadows and Lies

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 21:00:00 EST

FRONTLINE/World goes undercover in Zimbabwe to reveal what has happened to a country once regarded as a beacon of democracy and prosperity in Africa. Posing as tourists, reporter Alexis Bloom and producer Cassandra Herrman find a population struggling with hunger and poverty, and living in fear of a government that has become a brutal dictatorship. (more)

Germany: Heart of Berlin

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 21:00:00 EST

In this week's Rough Cut, "Heart of Berlin," a struggle to leave the past behind unfolds. Filmmaker Jason Spingarn-Koff, who lived in Berlin 10 years ago, travels back to the city to look at a movement to save the Palace of the Republic -- a landmark building that has alternately been called a national treasure and a national eyesore. Find out why some want to raze and others want to redefine this Socialist icon.

Chile: Karina's Story

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 21:00:00 EST

If you didn't know what you were watching, the opening scenes of this week's Rough Cut might look like the rushes from a film by Pedro Almodovar. Our stories come in a variety of styles; this time around, we present a cinema verite piece, a "day in the life," narrated by its main character, a transgender hairdresser living in Santiago, Chile.

Palestinian Territories: Inside Hamas

Tue, 09 May 2006 21:00:00 EST

FRONTLINE/World correspondent Kate Seelye travels across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to investigate Hamas, the militant Islamist group responsible for scores of suicide bombings and missile attacks on Israel -- and the surprise winner of January's Palestinian elections. Gaining access to Hamas's political leadership and to its secretive military wing, Seelye builds a portrait of an organization teetering between a political awakening and a familiar cycle of bloody resistance. (more)

Poland: Chopin's Heart

Tue, 09 May 2006 21:00:00 EST

Filmmaker Marian Marzynski visits his native Poland to witness the 15th Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. "Like every child growing up in Poland, I was raised with the music of Chopin," says Marzynski, who survived the Holocaust in Poland as a young boy. Eight hundred contestants, from 19 countries, sign up for the nail-biting musical marathon, which provides exquisite music and plenty of surprises. (more)

Bolivia: On the Road With Evo

Thu, 04 May 2006 21:00:00 EST

In this week's Rough Cut, we present an insightful, and very timely, portrait of Evo Morales as he campaigned for the presidency last December. Like any good campaign film, "On the Road With Evo" combines public performance with private moments and helps to explain Evo's popular appeal.

Japan and China: The Unforgotten War

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 21:00:00 EST

All it took was a few sentences in a Japanese history textbook last year to spark the biggest protests China had seen since 1989. Why did a dispute over the history of a World War II era massacre trigger such outrage? Explore the growing rivalry between China and Japan in a new video by FRONTLINE/World Fellows Emily Taguchi and Lee Wang.

Bosnia: The Men Who Got Away

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:00:00 EST

Ten years after the end of the war in Bosnia, the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, FRONTLINE/World reporter Jennifer Glasse travels to Bosnia, Serbia and the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague looking for answers to why the two men most responsible -- former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic and histop general Ratko Mladic -- are still at large. (more)

Israel: The Unexpected Candidate

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:00:00 EST

In the wake of a stunning electoral victory by the militant Palestinian group Hamas and with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a deep coma, veteran producer Ofra Bikel travels to Israel on the eve of the March 28 elections to take the measure of Ehud Olmert, the man widely expected to succeed Sharon. (more)

France: Soundtrack to a Riot

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:00:00 EST

In this week's Rough Cut, producer Camille Servan-Schreiber and reporter Marco Werman go to Paris to talk to a multitude of rappers -- some successful, some rapping in their living rooms -- to find out what lay at the heart of last year's riots and how this anger has been expressed in today's rap rebellion.

Northern Ireland: Uneasy Peace

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:00:00 EST

In a journey to Belfast, once infamous for riots and bombs, Niall McKay finds that the hardwork of forgiving has begun. His Rough Cut video introduces Catholics and Protestants who are trying to heal their communities and find ways to talk to each other across old divides.

Pakistan: Cold Comfort

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 21:00:00 EST

In this week's Rough Cut, FRONTLINE/World reporter Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy travels to the center of the quake zone, where she talks with survivors and takes us into the makeshift hospitals and Islamic relief camps. Amid the already heated politics of the region, she finds a mix of medicine and religious ideology being dispensed.

Colombia: The Coca-Cola Controversy

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 21:00:00 EST

Citing charges that the soft drink company was complicit in the violent repression of a union at several of its bottling plants in Colombia, the University of Michigan and New York University recently canceled their contracts with Coke. FRONTLINE/World Fellows Rob Harris and Tovin Lapan travel to Colombia to investigate. Watch their video report. (more)

Iraq: Saddam's Road to Hell

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 21:00:00 EST

As Saddam Hussein faces trial for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the country he once ruled slides into potential civil war, veteran filmmaker Gwynne Roberts and a team of human rights investigators set off on a dangerous journey across Iraq to find out what exactly happened to 8,000 Kurdish men and boys who went missing in the early years of Saddam's rule. (more)

Brazil: Jewel of the Amazon

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 21:00:00 EST

Who should control what may become the richest diamond mine in the world? Join FRONTLINE/World reporter Mariana van Zeller as she journeys deep into the Amazon rain forest where an indigenous tribe, the Cinta Larga, and wildcat miners are fighting over the Amazon's latest treasure: diamonds. (more)

India: Calcutta Calling

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 21:00:00 EST

What happens when three teenage girls living in Minnesota decide to visit the land of their birth? All three were adopted as infants from an orphanage in Calcutta, India. In this week's Rough Cut video, Sasha Khokha follows the girls back to South Asia, as they explore their roots, with curiosity and trepidation.

Colombia: This Little Old Town

Tue, 03 Jan 2006 21:00:00 EST

Decades of violence -- much of it tied to the drug trade -- have ravaged Colombia. Fighting between leftwing guerillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and government soldiers has forced many civilians to flee their villages. But in this week's Rough Cut video, reporter Deborah Correa joins a group of refugees determined to reclaim their hometown, war or no war.

Norway: Reindeer Men

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 21:00:00 EST

For those raised on visions of Santa Claus and his flying reindeer, this week's Rough Cut offers a bracing reality check as we journey into the fabled Arctic land of reindeer herders. The modern world is closing in on these nomadic people with recreational snowmobilers, mining companies, even NATO military bases encroaching on their remote, centuries-old way of life.

Brazil: Cutting the Wire

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 21:00:00 EST

Nearly half of Brazil's farmland is owned by 1 percent of the population -- a glaring inequality in a nation known for its stark division between rich and poor. This week on Rough Cut, we travel to a dusty patch of rural Brazil where FRONTLINE/World Fellows Adam Raney and Chad Heeter witness a land occupation by a thousand poor people and activists who take over a strategic corner of a ranch about an eight-hour drive west of Sao Paulo.

Tuvalu: That Sinking Feeling

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 21:00:00 EST

There's trouble in paradise. A small island nation in the South Pacific, Tuvalu, is threatened by rising ocean levels believed to be caused by global warming. FRONTLINE/World reporter Elizabeth Pollock travels into the heart of Polynesia, just south of the Equator, to see if the people of Tuvalu will have to abandon the islands they have inhabited for 2,000 years.

Japan: The Slow Life

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 21:00:00 EST

Tokyo's "bright lights, big city" energy is a beacon to Japanese and foreign tourists alike, but some young Japanese are choosing to slow down, drop out and grow rice. FRONTLINE/World reporter Jason Cohn follows these urban refugees back to the land that others have abandoned.

The Curse of Inca Gold

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:00:00 EST

The Yanacocha gold mine in Peru is run by Newmont Mining Corporation of Denver, Colorado, the largest gold mining company in the world. FRONTLINE/World and New York Times reporter Lowell Bergman investigates a bitter ownership battle over the mine, environmental problems, and growing local opposition to the mine's expansion. The story provides, says Bergman, a case study of "how a multinational company does business in a developing country rife with corruption." (more)

Ukraine: A Murder in Kyiv

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:00:00 EST

Just a year ago, in November 2004, Ukranians poured into Kyiv's Independence Square, demanding democratic change. The nonviolent Orange Revolution ousted the old regime. Now a young widow returns from exile, hoping the new government will dare to arrest those who ordered the killing of her journalist husband -- even if the trail leads to former President Kuchma himself. (more)

South Africa: The Play Pump

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 21:00:00 EST

In rural villages across South Africa, some 5 million people don't have access to clean drinking water. In this week's Rough Cut, Africa correspondent Amy Costello brings us a surprisingly upbeat tale about Trevor Field, a canny entrepreneur who decided to tackle South Africa's water woes in his own novel and enterprising way.

Weight of the World

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 21:00:00 EST

In newly opened gyms in downtown Kabul, young men are rebuilding Afghanistan one muscle at a time. They are pumping iron and dreaming of Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is not what you'd expect to find in Afghanistan, a country that is still one of the poorest in the world and remains an unsettled and perilous place after 25 years of war. But some 35 gyms have sprouted in the capital city since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001.

Occupied Minds

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 21:00:00 EST

Occupied Minds is the personal odyssey of two journalists -- Jamal Dajani, a Palestinian American, and David Michaelis, an Israeli citizen -- who travel together to Jerusalem, where they were both born, "to face the hard realities of our shared land." Their journey is a road trip across a grim and divided landscape, but it is leavened by gallows humor and a heartfelt desire to find solutions.

Samurai Surfers

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 21:00:00 EST

Angel Rodriguez, aka "El Doctor," is a former accountant turned full-time surfer and coach of Puerto Rico's surf team. He's also a tenacious defender of his marine environment. Just ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that made the mistake of dumping harbor dredge on El Doctor's favorite surf spot. FRONTLINE/World reporter Sachi Cunningham, herself a surfer, ventures to the Caribbean island to tell the tale of El Doctor and his cadre of surfer activists.

This Land is Ours

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 21:00:00 EST

FRONTLINE/World reporter Sarah Colt travels to Namibia to take an intimate look at some of the black and white farmers struggling over who should own Namibia's farms and cattle ranches. The conflict over land reform in Namibia is a continentwide debate in microcosm: Given Africa's history of colonialism, and its ongoing disparities in wealth between blacks and whites, how is it possible to redress those inequities fairly without causing economic collapse?

Murder in St. Petersburg

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 21:00:00 EST

On Rough Cut this week, we present Kelly Whalen's report from St. Petersburg, Russia. "Murder in St. Petersburg" is the story of Nikolai Mikhailovich Girenko, a prominent defender of minority rights, who was gunned down in his home in the summer of 2004. His death was mourned by human rights defenders around the world. More than a year later, his murder remains unsolved.

Seeds of Suicide

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 21:00:00 EST

Suicide by pesticide: It's an epidemic in India, where farmers try to keep up with the latest pest-resistant seeds only to find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of pesticides that don't work, drought and debt. Since 1997, more than 25,000 farmers have committed suicide, many drinking the chemical that was supposed to make their crops more, not less, productive.

The Women's Kingdom

Tue, 19 Jul 2005 21:00:00 EST

On Rough Cut this week, you'll meet Lamu and several extraordinary Mosuo women as we travel to "The Women's Kingdom" in southwest China, not far from the Tibetan Buddhist city the Chinese have renamed Shangri-La. Reporter Xiaoli Zhou, who comes from Shanghai, told us she had always wanted to visit the Mosuo region to see for herself how much freedom a woman might enjoy in China.

Dark Shadows

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 21:00:00 EST

The 10th anniversary of the worst massacre in Europe since World War II has focused the world's skittering attention on the unfinished business of the Balkan war. Thousands gathered this week in Bosnia to commemorate the Srebrenica massacre, when Bosnian Serb soldiers killed at least 7,000 Muslim men and boys.

Cursed by the Gods

Tue, 05 Jul 2005 21:00:00 EST

FRONTLINE/World reporter Jonathan Jones and producer Krista Mahr journey to Sri Lanka's eastern coast, one of the most ravaged areas, to see how people are coping with twin disasters: the tsunami and a civil war that has wracked the country for decades.

Return to Kirkuk

Tue, 28 Jun 2005 21:00:00 EST

Karzan Sherabayani is a Kurdish exile living in Britain, an activist and an actor. Twenty-five years ago, when he was 19, Sherabayani escaped from Iraq, where he had been imprisoned and tortured by Saddam Hussein's secret police. In January 2005, he returned to his hometown, Kirkuk, to vote in the first national elections since the overthrow of Saddam's regime. Swiss producer Claudio von Planta went with him to film the story for the BBC. His 16-minute film, "Return to Kirkuk," has never been shown in the United States.

Nuclear Underground: Part 3

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:00:00 EST

The most elusive character in the case of the U.S. nuclear triggers shipped illegally to Pakistan is Islamabad businessman Humayun Khan. Khan has been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department but he remains free in Pakistan, where he insists he is innocent. His South African collaborator, Asher Karni, has already pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing in a Brooklyn prison.

Iran: Going Nuclear

Tue, 24 May 2005 21:00:00 EST

FRONTLINE/World and BBC reporter Paul Kenyon travels deep into Iran to investigate charges that Iran is secretly developing a nuclear bomb. With exclusive access to a U.N. inspection team, Kenyon visits Iran's most sensitive nuclear sites and reports on the escalating diplomatic tensions surrounding the discovery of the facilities. (more)

Mexico: The Ballad of Juan Quezada

Tue, 24 May 2005 21:00:00 EST

FRONTLINE/World reporter Macarena Hernandez travels to the Mexican state of Chihuahua to meet the man who brought fame and prosperity to Mata Ortiz, his rural village. As a young boy, 40 years ago, Juan Quezada discovered ancient painted pots in a cave in the rugged hills near his home. Quezada toiled to recreate the pottery methods of the Paquime Indians, a culture that died out centuries ago. After becoming an international pottery star, Quezada trained others in his village. Now, Mata Ortiz is home to several hundred master artisans, and Quezada is a local hero. (more)

Lebanon: The Earthquake

Tue, 17 May 2005 21:00:00 EST

Following the recent assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri -- and decades of Syrian hegemony over Lebanon -- hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Beirut, suspecting Syrian involvement in Hariri's murder and demanding the withdrawal of Syrian troops. It was an unprecedented display of Lebanese solidarity. FRONTLINE/World reporter Kate Seelye -- the daughter of an American diplomat who has lived in Lebanon and Syria for much of her life -- navigates the forces in play and asks whether democracy or war will be next for Lebanon. (more)

Liberia: No More War

Tue, 17 May 2005 21:00:00 EST

United Nations peacekeepers moved into Liberia in 2003 to help implement a peace deal and make the country secure both for civilians and for the transitional government that was put in place after President Charles Taylor was exiled. With unique access to the mission under Force Commander General Daniel Opande, FRONTLINE/World reporter Jessie Deeter, accompanies the charismatic Opande into the war-torn region as the mission faces one of its biggest challenges -- to disarm more than 100,000 former fighters and offer them an alternative to war. (more)

South Africa: Nuclear Underground -- Video Web Exclusive: Part 2

Sun, 17 Apr 2005 21:00:00 EST

Continuing our investigation of nuclear proliferation, FRONTLINE/World reporter Mark Schapiro and producer Cassandra Herrman travel to South Africa to find out how Asher Karni, an Israeli businessman respected in his Orthodox community in Cape Town, became the middleman in a black market operation to supply nuclear technology to Pakistan. Karni has pled guilty to violating U.S. export laws and is in jail awaiting sentencing.

Punk Rock in the Holy Land

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 21:00:00 EST

In Israel, a vibrant punk scene has emerged in a society torn apart by the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. In these four candid video interviews, FRONTLINE/World reporter and filmmaker Liz Nord talks to the musicians driving the movement.

South Africa: Nuclear Underground -- Special Report: Part 1

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 21:00:00 EST

In a joint investigation with the Center for Investigative Reporting and Mother Jones magazine, FRONTLINE/World correspondent Mark Schapiro probes the strange case of a South African businessman, Asher Karni, who attempted to export 200 nuclear bomb triggers from the United States to Pakistan via Cape Town. The importer was Humayun Khan, an Islamabad businessman with close ties to Pakistan's military.

Iraq: Reporting the War

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Nick Hughes visits the chaotic streets of Baghdad for FRONTLINE/World to find out how journalists survive in a war in which they have become targets. He travels with men and women whose quest for the story not only requires body armor as a tool of the trade, but also can lead to sudden death. (more)

Sudan: The Quick and the Terrible

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World reporter Amy Costello travels dangerous back roads into Sudan's war-torn Darfur region to learn about the roots of what many consider to be an ongoing genocide. Costello takes a close-up look at the plight of the Darfuris and examines the consequences of continued civil war. (more)

China: Silenced

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World reporter Serene Fang visits a remote Chinese province, Xinjiang, to investigate growing tensions between the government and the Muslim people known as the Uighurs. Her clandestine interview with a Uighur man turns into a reporter's nightmare when Chinese authorities arrest Fang and her source, confiscate her videotape, interrogate her for 24 hours, and take the Uighur man away to an unknown fate. In her story, Fang reveals the name of the man in an effort to bring attention to his plight. (more)

Dispatches From a Small Planet: Election 2004

Mon, 08 Nov 2004 21:00:00 EST

Join young "backpack" journalists and veteran correspondents around the world as they report international perspectives on the 2004 U.S. presidential race. How do people from countries such as Lebanon, Thailand, Canada and Venezuela view the U.S. election? And what issues are they dealing with in their own elections?

India: The Sex Workers

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World producer Raney Aronson reports from the coming epicenter of the AIDS epidemic as sex workers and their clients struggle to contain the crisis. In cities rife with sex trafficking, where as many as 60 percent of the people are infected with HIV, can their fight help keep the disease from exploding? (more)

Mexico: A Death in the Desert

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Follow FRONTLINE/World reporter Claudine LoMonaco as she retraces the tragic journey of Matias Garcia, a chili pepper farmer from a small Zapotec Indian village in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, who crossed the border looking for work and died in the Arizona desert. LoMonaco finds Garcia's family and interviews his surviving brother and others. Their responses to LoMonaco reveal the dangers faced by desperate migrants. (more)

China: Shanghai Nights

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World reporter Nguyen Qui Duc visits a changing boomtown on the edge of China's cultural frontier. Explore Shanghai's restless youth culture with pop novelist and literary "bad girl" Mian Mian, whose writing about sex, drugs and music rocked a generation. (more)

Pakistan: On a Razor's Edge

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Follow FRONTLINE/World reporter and producer Sharmeen Obaid to her native Pakistan as she investigates the clashes between President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally, and the increasingly powerful Islamic fundamentalists who oppose him. Obaid visits the scene of the most recent assassination attempt on Musharraf, meets with key military leaders and interviews a clandestine jihadi fighting a holy war in neighboring Kashmir. (more)

Kyrgyzstan: The Kidnapped Bride

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World reporter Petr Lom travels to Kyrgyzstan, where an ancient tradition of bride kidnapping, banned by the Soviets, is resurgent. Lom gets inside families to talk with kidnapped brides -- those who have managed to escape from their captors as well as those who are making homes with their new husbands. (more)

Kenya: Run Lornah Run

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Kenyan men have long ranked among the world's best long distance runners, but until recently, Kenyan women have been confined to traditional roles at home and on the farm. FRONTLINE/World reporter Alexis Bloom journeys to the mountain village of Iten in Kenya's northwest highlands, where one of Kenya's first great female marathoners, Lornah Kiplagat, using her prize money, established and operates a camp to train the next generation of women runners. (more)

Iran: Forbidden Iran

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. A harrowing report from inside Iran, where FRONTLINE/World reporter Jane Kokan risks her life to secretly film shocking evidence of the torture and murder of students and journalists opposed to the regime. Kokan, in disguise, escapes the constant surveillance of Iranian authorities to interview underground and jailed activists. (more)

Spain: The Lawless Sea

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. In November 2002, an aging oil tanker sank off the coast of Spain, causing one of Europe's worst environmental disasters. FRONTLINE/World reporter Mark Schapiro investigates what went wrong with the Prestige, and uncovers a largely unregulated maritime system that offers few safeguards against environmental disasters or terrorism. (more)

Belize: The Exile's Song

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Over four hundred years, the Garifuna people of Central America's Caribbean coast have evolved a musical tradition that blends the African rhythms of their ancestors with indigenous instrumentation. FRONTLINE/World sent PRI's The World reporter Marco Werman to Belize, where Garifuna music is being kept alive by a new generation. (more)

Afghanistan: A House For Haji Baba

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. After covering the U.S. war in Afghanistan, NPR reporter Sarah Chayes decided to give up her job as a journalist and remain in Afghanistan to help rebuild the country. "I feel like my destiny is tied up with the destiny of this place," says Chayes, who traded her tape recorder for a pickax and shovel to help reconstruct a village outside Kandahar. FRONTLINE/World's Brian Knappenberger chronicles Chayes's bumpy transformation from objective journalist to impassioned aid worker battling bureaucratic red tape, corruption and dangerous warlords. (more)

Moscow: Rich In Russia

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World's Sabrina Tavernise, a New York Times reporter who covered Russia for six years, meets the young capitalists who are remaking Moscow and she examines the rise of Russia's oligarchs -- the men who became wealthy during the wild privatization period after the fall of communism. She interviews Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the richest man in Russia, and principal owner of Yukos, Russia's largest oil company, now under investigation by Russian authorities. Tavernise also meets Boris Berezovsky, a billionaire who fled to London, where he has just been granted political asylum. (more)

Venezuela: A Nation on Edge

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. What accounts for the remarkable staying power of Hugo Chavez, the maverick, populist president of Venezuela? One year after Chavez was briefly toppled in a coup d'état, FRONTLINE/World travels to Caracas to investigate the highly charged, sometimes violent, class struggle that swirls around him. (more)

Hong Kong: Chasing the Virus

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. The SARS epidemic may be an early test of the ability of medical science to respond to a swiftly spreading, globalized infectious malady. FRONTLINE/World follows one distinguished researcher to Hong Kong, and China, as he scrambles to help his colleagues around the world grapple with SARS. (more)

India: Starring Osama Bin Laden

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. On a journey to India, a FRONTLINE/World crew comes across Osama bin Laden -- not the terrorist mastermind, but rather an actor starring in a popular community theater production torn from the headlines. Days later, after a four-hour-long portrayal of bin Laden before an enthusiastic, packed house in Calcutta, the actor turns to ask our reporter: "What did you think of my performance?" (more)

Philippines: Islands Under Siege

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Early this year, amidst military preparations for a war in Iraq, the United States announced it was sending 3,000 soldiers to Mindanao, the southernmost region of the Philippines. FRONTLINE/World sent PRI World correspondent Orlando de Guzman, a Filipino reporter from the north, on a journey to Mindanao, where Muslim rebels are fighting a guerrilla war against the Philippine government -- a war in which the United States may soon be embroiled. (more)

Iraq: The Road to Kirkuk

Thu, 01 May 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. In February 2003, FRONTLINE/World correspondent Sam Kiley went to Iraq to cover a war that everyone knew was coming. He was reporting from the northern front, an area controlled by the Kurds since the first Gulf War. In the weeks Kiley spent in Kurdistan, he would discover a land and a people haunted by Saddam Hussein. (more)

Vietnam: Looking for Home

Thu, 01 May 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. More than 30 years ago, the war in Vietnam shattered Nguyen Qui Duc's childhood. Over the years he has returned to his homeland as a journalist, reporting on the country's culture and establishing connections with writers and artists living in Vietnam. This year, Nguyen journeyed to Vietnam for FRONTLINE/World, looking, he says, "for home, for a bit of myself, for a country that always exists in my memory." (more)

France: Play it Again Maurice

Thu, 01 May 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Recently in Marseilles, a DJ put out a techno dance track that sampled the piano playing and singing of an older musician born and raised in Algeria. The track became an underground hit, capturing the attention of PRI World reporter Marco Werman. So in May 2003, FRONTLINE/World sent Werman on a journey to this cosmopolitan city, home to an intriguing blend of Africans, Arabs and Europeans, to meet the man at the source of this compelling old-meets-new sound, Maurice El Medioni. (more)

Lebanon: Party of God

Thu, 01 May 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. As the Bush administration presses Syria to sever its ties to terrorist groups, FRONTLINE/World offers a rare glimpse inside the radical Islamic movement that Syria has armed and trained for years: Hezbollah. Reporter David Lewis travels to Lebanon to find the group, known as the "Party of God," which some in Washington consider "the A-team of terrorists." (more)

Guatemala/Mexico: Coffee Country

Thu, 01 May 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. As a worldwide glut of coffee beans forces Central American farmers and their families off their land, FRONTLINE/World's Sam Quinones follows a group of gourmet coffee importers who advocate "fair trade" as a partial solution to the crisis. He meets tasters, buyers and indigenous farmers in remote coffee-growing regions. (more)

Nepal: Dreams of Chomolongma

Thu, 01 May 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Fifty years after the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, five young Sherpa women struggle to make history by summitting the peak whose name in Nepali is Chomolongma, which means "Mother Goddess of the Universe." FRONTLINE/World climbs with the team as they confront storms, sickness, fear and the obstacles facing women in traditional Sherpa culture. (more)

Israel/Palestinian territories: In the Line of Fire

Sat, 01 Mar 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World reviews the dilemmas and dangers reporters have faced covering the violence in the West Bank and Gaza over the past several years. Canadian TV producer Patricia Naylor interviews Palestinian cameramen and other journalists who say they have been shot by Israeli soldiers. (more)

Iceland: The Future of Sound

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. PRI World reporter Marco Werman flies into Iceland for FRONTLINE/World on a hunt to find some of the most innovative pop music on the planet. Around-the-clock pub crawls follow, naturally. (more)

Nigeria: The Road North

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World reporter and producer Alexis Bloom and co-producer Cassandra Herrman land in Nigeria just as the Miss World contest gets under way. A riot breaks out, hundreds die and the beauty contestants flee. In the aftermath, the plight of Amina Lawal, a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery, seems all the more telling. (more)

North Korea: Suspicious Minds

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 21:00:00 EST

FRONTLINE/World visits North Korea, which is among the most closed societies on the globe. Traveling as tourists, BBC reporter Ben Anderson and cinematographer Wills Daws peek past the sights planned for them on their guided tour and develop surprising rapport with their ideologically pure official minders. (more)

Colombia: The Pipeline War

Fri, 01 Nov 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Correspondent Saira Shah travels to the latest battleground in Colombia's prolonged civil war: a fight over a U.S.-owned oil pipeline. FRONTLINE/World reports how the oil has fueled warfare among leftist rebels, rightwing paramilitaries and the Colombian army -- with civilians caught in the middle. (more)

Cambodia: Pol Pot's Shadow

Tue, 01 Oct 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World reporter Amanda Pike follows a trail of mass graves to find "Brother Number Two," the former Khmer Rouge commander, living at liberty in the country he helped destroy. From 1975 to 1979, nearly 2 million people died -- and the survivors still live side by side with the perpetrators. (more)

Romania: My Old Haunts

Tue, 01 Oct 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Writer and NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu returns to his homeland, Romania, 13 years after the revolution that brought down dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. FRONTLINE/World explores a nation struggling with its new freedoms -- and hoping to attract tourists with the legend of Dracula. (more)

India: Hole in the Wall

Tue, 01 Oct 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. An Indian scientist embeds a high-speed computer in a wall bordering a slum, turns it on, and watches what happens as children begin to teach themselves to use the machine. (more)

Iraq: Truth and Lies in Baghdad

Sun, 01 Sep 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Reporter Sam Kiley goes inside Iraq to investigate Saddam Hussein's weapons program, the impact of sanctions on Iraqi civilians, and reports of shocking human rights abuses. FRONTLINE/World reveals what it's like for a journalist trying to gather information in a country hostile to the press. (more)

Bolivia: Leasing the Rain

Sat, 01 Jun 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. Privatization sparks a deadly protest in the town of Cochabamba when the Bolivian government sells off its water system to a private, multi-national consortium Aguas del Tunari. New Yorker writer William Finnegan travels to Cochabamba to learn why people took to the streets and what happens next. (more)

Sierra Leone: Gunrunners

Wed, 01 May 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World investigates the deadly business of international weapons dealers, whose guns, grenades and mortars have contributed to millions of deaths around the world. We follow a team of U.N. detectives as they track down the source of illegal arms used to massacre civilians in Freetown, Sierra Leone. (more)

Sri Lanka: Living in Terror

Wed, 01 May 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. The day after video journalist Joe Rubin landed in Sri Lanka, a suicide bomber attempted to kill the prime minister. The assassination attempt failed but six civilians were killed. Arriving at the scene, Rubin realized that he was standing in a sea of body parts. It was the beginning of a six-week journey exploring how an island paradise had become a killing ground. (more)

Bhutan: The Last Place

Wed, 01 May 2002 21:00:00 EST

Available for viewing online. FRONTLINE/World explores the impact of television on a remote Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. After centuries of self-imposed isolation, Bhutan legalized TV in 1999 -- the last country in the world to do so. Follow Rinzy Dorji, the local "cable guy," as he hooks up "an electronic invasion." (more)