NOW shines a light on corporate and government policies to expose their effects on society and democracy. Using expert reporting, interviews, and analysis, the show goes behind the headlines to provide insight on some of today's most pressing issues.
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?
...MOREOnly 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.
...MOREHome 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."
...MOREIs 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?
...MOREBy 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.
...MOREHow did private discussions between seniors and their doctors about end of life choices for the very ill or dying become a flash point in the national health care debate? NOW travels to Wisconsin to sit in on some of these sessions and see how health care reform could profoundly affect the lives of American seniors. The not-for-profit Gundersen Lutheran Hospital has two decades of experience in this area. Their "Respecting Choices" initiative has become one of the most comprehensive end of life planning programs in the country. Two families grappling with the most difficult and complex life and death issues gave NOW on PBS extraordinary access to their discussions and their decisions.
...MOREAmerica thought it had won the war in Afghanistan six years ago, but a recent escalation in violence and instability -- including the death of nine U.S. soldiers this past weekend -- has given rise to the question: Have we allowed the Taliban to come back? NOW Correspondent Bill Gentile reports from Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province, where he was embedded for nearly three weeks in May and June with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU). The 24th MEU are among 60,000 foreign troops on the ground in Afghanistan -- more than half of them American. They face an ominous challenge as the Taliban attempts a return to power, in some cases merging with other insurgent groups, and potentially providing safe haven for Al-Qaeda and other anti-American terrorists. Reporting from the front lines, NOW provides a soldier's-eye look into what some consider America's "forgotten war." Are we still winning it?
...MOREWith 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.
...MORECommercial surrogacy -- when women are paid to carry and deliver babies for people who cannot conceive them biologically -- is banned in almost every developed country in the world except the United States, making it a land of opportunity for parents around the world. In June, celebrity parents Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker announced publicly they had twins delivered via surrogate. But surrogacy services and their oversight vary from state to state, creating a strong potential for deceit and fraud. NOW's Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa follows the surrogate pregnancy of a single mother over the course of several months. When she was 14 weeks pregnant, the surrogate agency that brokered the deal between her and the future parents vanished, leaving the woman stranded without health insurance and nowhere to turn. NOW investigates how shady surrogacy services and a lack of regulation in the U.S. may be defrauding hopeful couples and victimizing mothers trying to help them.
...MOREIn 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.
...MORECopyright info: Copyright 2008 JumpStart Productions. All rights reserved.
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