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Campaign Links Teen Girls Across the Globe

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PBS NewsHour



Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation campaign, is helping adolescent American girls make a difference in the lives of peers around the globe. Ray Suarez reports. Continue


Summer 2012 Reading List

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Washington Week



Looking for some good summer reading? Check out the books Gwen and the Washington Week panelists recommend for the beach, the car, the plane or the pool. From fiction to politics, history to biography, there is something for everybody. The smartest reporters in Washington, D.C. bring you their suggestions for the summer's best reads. Continue


American Voices: David Kipen

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Need To Know



David Kipen, essayist and former Director of Literature at the National Endowment for the Arts, talks about the value of volunteerism. Continue


TTC Extra - Are LEGOS for Girls Offensive?

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To The Contrary



LEGO releases a new line of toys designed just for girls. Continue


The Death of Jay Guilford

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FRONTLINE



When a cell tower climber dies on the job, who is ultimately held responsible? Continue


Salon.com founder David Talbot

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Tavis Smiley



The online journalism pioneer shares why he chose to write about San Francisco in his book Seasons of the Witch, how the city’s inhabitants pushed social progress and relates its 1960s values to current social issues. Continue


May 18, 2012

To The Contrary



For the first time in U.S. history, white newborns are outnumbered by babies of color; the U.S. Army recently made history by officially opening jobs in combat battalions to women, but direct ground combat roles are still exclusive to men; To The Contrary travels to China to explore the role the U.S. Foreign Service plays in diplomacy overseas. Continue


Interview: Gary Rivlin

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Need To Know



Anchor Jeff Greenfield interviews journalist Gary Rivlin, who has written extensively about extra charges placed on the poor. He says “it’s expensive” being poor. Continue


Minority Babies Make up Majority of U.S. Births

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PBS NewsHour



White babies account for fewer than half of newborns in the United States -- just 49.6 percent of last year's births, according to new Census data released Thursday. Margaret Warner discusses the tipping point and its implications with the Brookings Institution's William Frey and New York University's Marcelo Suarez-Orozco. Continue


Obama's Border Fence

NOW on PBS



NOW travels to Texas to meet border families who fear losing their property, their safety, and their way of life. Many question if the U.S.-Mexico border fence can keep people from sneaking in at all. An even greater worry may be the virtual fence the Obama administration is planning for the remaining 1,300 miles of border, at an estimated cost of nearly $7 billion. Continue


TTC Extra: Ex-Fiances Fight It Out

To The Contrary



A man is suing his ex-fiance for more than $60 thousand because they didn't get married. Continue


Gwen's Take: The Year Demographics Catches Up With Politics

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Washington Week



Christine Mastin, an immigration attorney whose Spanish-speaking grandmother emigrated from Chile to the United States, realizes that most of the Hispanics she knows are surprised she is a Republican. Barack Obama won two-thirds of the Latino vote in 2008, and no Republican has come close to winning a majority in 40 years. But she is working Colorado for Mitt Romney. Continue


Dan Savage on marriage equality

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Need To Know



Dan Savage talks about how marriage equality would change the lives of same-sex couples and why it’s become so important to the LGBT rights movement. Continue


Cell Tower Deaths

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FRONTLINE



To satisfy the ever-increasing demand for cell phone service, tower climbers install and service cell antennas, a job that requires them to ascend hundreds of feet. Across the country, some of these workers have fallen to their deaths from cell phone towers. FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate this hidden and deadly cost of the smartphone revolution. Continue


Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley

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Tavis Smiley



The best-selling author and former senator discusses his text We Can All Do Better, in which he assesses the state of the U.S., the toll placed on its people and what role each American can play to help the nation reach its full potential. Continue


Need to Know, Fri., May 18, 2012: Financial inclusion

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Need To Know



Stacey Tisdale travels to Missouri, where activists are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would cap payday loan rates at 36 per cent. Jeff Greenfield hosts. Continue


American Voices: Cy Richardson

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Need To Know



National Urban League Cy Richardson's on how to put money into the hands of those who've been historically shut out. Continue


TTC Extra: Future of the Violence Against Women Act

To The Contrary



The Violence Against Women Act stalls in Congress, with separate version of the bill passing in the Republican controlled House and the Democrat controlled Senate. See what our panelists think in this week's To the Contrary Extra. Continue


Meth Is On the Rise Again

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FRONTLINE



Excerpt: FRONTLINE's "The Meth Epidemic." How meth ravages individuals, communities. Continue


Could Facebook Be Charged Under Thai Computer Crime Law?

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MediaShift



Even allowing a Facebook or Twitter comment that's considered insulting to the Thai government could be a crime under Thai law. A case involving a Thai journalist accused of allowing anti-government comments on her independent news site could set a new precedent for internet freedom in Thailand and overseas. Continue


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