The Legal Marijuana Industry Is Not Diverse. Here’s Why.
As marijuana legalization expands across the country, who is benefiting from the blossoming industry?
PBS Newshour
In Youth Court, teens are “the judge, jury, plaintiff and defendants”
How should efforts to implement criminal justice reform handle minor offenses committed by juveniles? Officials in Newark, New Jersey, are trying a new approach: municipal courts, public schools and police have aligned to develop an alternative sentencing program for teenagers:…
How Wisconsin is trying to head off a major worker shortage
In Wisconsin, "Help Wanted" is on virtually every restaurant window, store front and city bus. With an aging population and few immigrants, the state could have a shortage of 45,000 workers by 2024, which could pose a threat to business.…
How ‘the incarceration capital of America’ embraced criminal justice reform
For decades, the state of Louisiana has been known as the incarceration capital of America. But over the past year, the state has been trying to shed that reputation with new reforms that decrease the prison population and save money.…
Does a basic guaranteed income decrease the need for social services?
The idea of a basic guaranteed income is getting a trial run in a Canadian province for three years. Four thousand randomly selected Ontario residents will get thousands of dollars a year, and in exchange, they give up some social…
How these Alabama architecture students are improving lives with low-cost home designs
For decades, students and faculty from Auburn University's Rural Studio have been working, studying and living in Hale County, Alabama, and using architecture to serve the greater good. There, more than two dozen different homes that cost only $20,000 have…
Black families were pushed out of Portland. Can this program help more return?
In Portland, Oregon, a program called Right to Return aims to atone for the repeated displacement of thousands of African-American families from the city. Amna Nawaz and producer Mike Fritz explore how it's all playing out, as part of our…
How Oregon is helping workers save for retirement
The goal of retiring comfortably off the fruits of one's labor has become an increasingly elusive goal for many Americans. Now states are taking the problem into their own hands. In Oregon, a new state retirement program lets businesses hook…
Self-awareness is key to self-sufficiency at this job training program
For workers trying to break the generational cycle of poverty, keeping a job can be as important as getting the job in the first place. As part of our series Chasing the Dream, John Yang reports on a program called…
Why Anaheim’s Low-Wage Workers Struggle to Keep a Roof Over Their Heads
Away from the tourist attractions of Anaheim, California, housing is a daily challenge for minimum-wage workers who play a vital role in the region's booming economy. Even for those who work full-time, garages, spare bedrooms, motel rooms, cars and tents…