NOW | PBS
A weekly television news program on PBS
- Last build:
- Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:00:00 GMT
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- Torture Tactics: Interview with Alex Gibney
This year's Oscar-winning feature documentary, "Taxi to the Dark Side", tells the story of an innocent Afghan taxi driver who died while being interrogated and tortured by U.S. soldiers. NOW interviews the film's director, Alex Gibney, about torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, and how the issue is playing out in the presidential race. At the intersection of human rights, civil liberties, and national security, how should America respond?
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:00:00 GMT - Rewriting Campaign Rules
Within days of the crucial Texas and Ohio primaries, a Democratic veteran insider takes us inside the last-minute strategies of the Clinton and Obama campaigns. NOW's David Brancaccio talks with Joe Trippi, the former Senior Advisor to John Edwards who also headed up Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, about the political road ahead. Is this the final act for Clinton and Obama, or will the increasingly contentious fight go on?
Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT - Fighting Over Forests
Signed by President Bill Clinton in 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects nearly 60 million acres of the country's national forest lands from most road building, mining, and logging. Over the last seven years, the Bush Administration has tried to amend the landmark regulation to give states more flexibility. NOW travels to southeast Idaho to investigate how a proposed change in the rule threatens to open thousands of acres of pristine public lands to private development. In the report, NOW speaks to representatives from the ranching, environmental, and mining communities, as well an Administration official. Who gets to control the fate of Idaho's vast roadless forests? Find out how you can help shape the answer. Also this week, NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa talks to a prominent feminist and her daughter who agree on lots of womens' rights issues, but are totally opposed in their choices for President.
Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT - Benefits Denied
Temporary workers and independent contractors make up nearly a third of the U.S. workforce, and represent a growing asset to companies who rely on freelance flexibility. But corporations are using the designation "freelancer" to avoid paying health care and other benefits, even though many of these workers put in the same hours as their covered counterparts. NOW looks at the effect of this tactic on the lives and personal economy of freelance workers. We also examine an Enterprising Idea to help independent workers manage their personal needs, including benefits, networking, and investment help. Freelancers Union, founded by former labor lawyer and MacArthur grant recipient Sara Horowitz, provides a safety net for over 60,000 workers, but how is it viewed by the traditional labor movement?
Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT - Spinning Election Strategies 2008
Super Tuesday has come and gone, but what does it mean for the road ahead? NOW's David Brancaccio talks with Dan Schnur, John McCain's Director of Communications in 2000, to see how the McCain campaign might be planning to lock up the nomination, and new imperatives for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. What strategies will succeed, and what pitfalls await those with their eyes on the White House?
Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT - Middle Class Insecurity
Leading up to the Super Tuesday primaries, polls indicate that the economy ranks as the number one issue on the minds of Americans, beating out immigration, global warming, even terrorism. NOW on PBS travels to America's heartland -- Illinois -- to investigate rampant anxiety among America's middle class. How did families on the edge of financial collapse get to this point, and which presidential candidate do they think can restore economic hope and stability?
Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT - God and Politics 2008
No recent Republican President has won without the help of Evangelical Christian voters, and they are credited with Mike Huckabee's recent meteoric rise in the polls. But some in the Evangelical community, disillusioned by what they see as broken promises from the Bush Administration, are rethinking their political strategies. NOW on PBS travels to Wichita, Kansas to investigate how and why the movement is shifting away from hot button issues like abortion and gay rights to broader and less divisive issues like Global Warming and AIDS. Is the religious right forging a new path, and how will it affect their political clout?
Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:00:00 GMT - God and Politics 2008
With the primary season underway, America is focused on whether the next president will be Democrat or Republican. Meanwhile, within the Democratic Party another struggle is unfolding. NOW on PBS reports on a rift between progressives who believe the party has sold out its liberal values and centrists eager to capture a broad swath of the more conservative voters. It's a struggle that is taking place at all levels of government. In Maryland, six-term incumbent Al Wynn is facing a tough challenge from newcomer Donna Edwards. According to Edwards, Wynn has sold out to big business and the Bush agenda, including a vote for the war in Iraq and the 2005 Energy Bill. Wynn says his challenger is naive and doesn't understand that there are choices in politics between compromise and doing nothing. Fueling candidates like Edwards are the footsoldiers of the progressive battle -- bloggers and other political outsiders like Matt Stoller of OpenLeft.com who are drumming up national support on the Internet. Maria Hinojosa speaks with the candidates and Matt Bai, author of The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle To Remake Democratic Politics.
Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:00:00 GMT - The Latino Vote 2008
The booming Hispanic population in political swing states is creating opportunities and headaches in both political parties as they try to court the Latino vote. NOW on PBS travels to Florida just weeks before its important primary to examine Republican tactics to win over Hispanic Americans. A fifth of Florida's residents are Hispanic, and Republicans are scoring points on traditional issues of faith and national security. But at the same time, they're frustrating Latinos with what many of them see as harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric. Who has the winning approach?
Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:00:00 GMT - Dirty Politics 2008
Political mudslinging as a campaign tactic is as popular as it's ever been. Romney, Clinton, Huckabee, Giuliani, Obama--no one's managed to steer clear of targeted rumors and malicious gossip. NOW on PBS travels to South Carolina, the home of legendary no-holds-barred campaigner Lee Atwater, to see where negative stories come from, how they spread, and whether they can be effectively defeated with positive messaging. "In South Carolina, we know how to run negative campaigns," Rod Shealy, a veteran campaign strategist who was convicted for violating campaign laws, tells NOW. "Your challenge as a campaign is to damage your opponent without getting caught doing it." Will political smears influence the result of the 2008 election?
Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:00:00 GMT - How Green?
Can environmentalists and conservative lawmakers get along in the Idaho wilderness? That's the challenge Republican Rep. Mike Simpson took on when he sponsored compromise legislation with the help of the Idaho Conservation League to protect a vast swath of the state's natural environment. But the price is too high for some. NOW talks to residents, ranchers, off-road vehicle fans, and wilderness advocates -- including singer-songwriter and resident Carole King -- to unearth the truth behind a tug-of-war that is playing out not just in Idaho, but in other states and the halls of the U.S. Congress. "Some people thought I'd lost my mind when I said 'we'll try to solve this problem.' But you know, that's the reason you're here. You're elected to try and solve problems" Rep. Simpson tells NOW. Carole King is unconvinced, and says the Gem State's wilderness "is a rare and precious jewel. It's Idaho's Hope Diamond. And if you cut it up into little tiny pieces, just like the Hope Diamond, the little pieces aren't worth anything." Can the red state stay green? (First aired January 5, 2007)
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:00:00 GMT - Home At Last?
What do homeless people most need to reenter the fabric of society? Some say the answer is right there in the question: homes. NOW investigates a program that secures apartments for the long-term homeless, even if they haven't kicked their bad habits. If you think that sounds crazy, think again. Advocates say this approach reduces costs, encourages self-help and counseling participation, and restores self-esteem. The evidence seems to be with them, and the program is spreading to hundreds of cities across the country. NOW follows a man nicknamed 'Footie' who invited us to see this idea in action. (First aired February 2, 2007)
Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:00:00 GMT - Ron Paul and Internet Politics
At the intersection of the Internet and politics, presidential candidate Ron Paul's supporters are rewriting the rules of political campaigns. NOW explores how the Texas congressman and his supporters are using the Internet to attract voters -- and massive contributions -- from across the political spectrum. Supporters include anti-war progressives, anti-tax libertarians, civil libertarians, and even some white supremacists. The common theme is anger over where the country is heading. "Ron Paul's campaign is so extraordinary to many of us because even while it was getting massive online traffic, you'd be lucky to get a whisper of his campaign in a lot of media outlets," said Zephyr Teachout, Howard Dean's former online organizer and now a Duke University professor. That anonymity changed when, on November 5, Paul's campaign raised a record-breaking $4.2 million -- even though many of his followers have little political activism experience and were acting online without the help of Paul's official campaign. "I think the message should be the only thing that counts, but you can't get the message out without the money," Paul tells NOW. Can viral energy and passion in the virtual world translate into real world votes?
Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:00:00 GMT - Talking About War
On the very day Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese warplanes 66 years ago, David Brancaccio interviews filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick and the Rev. James Forbes Jr. about Burns and Novick's epic World War II documentary "The War". Looking to the past as a mirror to the present, the four discuss how the waging of war intersects with our notion of democracy. "It's incumbent upon a democratic society to evaluate what the arithmetic is -- the cost of war," Burns tells the group. Sharp insight about the year's must-see documentary, and the modern lessons contained therein.
Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:00:00 GMT - Will The 2008 Vote Be Fair?
How safe is your right to vote? This week NOW talks to David Becker, a former Justice Department official and voting rights activist who worked under both President Bush and President Clinton, who alleges a systematic effort to deny the vote to hundreds of thousands, even millions of people. In a revealing interview with NOW's David Brancaccio, Becker openly worries that the 2008 election will not be free and fair. And is our own government part of the solution, or part of the problem?
Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:00:00 GMT
