FRONTLINE investigates the inside history of how Washington has failed to solve the country’s problems of debt and deficit. Drawing on interviews with key players in Congress and the White House, FRONTLINE shows how a clash of politics and personalities has taken the nation’s economy to the edge of the "fiscal cliff," and now to a second round of standoffs over the debt ceiling and sequestration.

Are the CEOs of mega-banks too big to jail? Though fraudulent practices at banks contributed to America’s financial meltdown, to date no Wall Street titan has been convicted of a crime connected to the crisis. FRONTLINE investigates why Wall Street's leaders have escaped prosecution.

As Barack Obama is sworn in for his second term, FRONTLINE takes a probing look at the first four years of his presidency.

FRONTLINE was granted unprecedented access to Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington, DC public schools during her tumultuous three-year tenure as she attempted to fix a broken school system. As Rhee returns to the national stage, FRONTLINE examines her legacy in Washington, DC, including her battles with the teachers' union and her handling of a cheating scandal in the District.

Document the rise of Christianity from a small Jewish sect to an official religion of the Roman Empire.

FRONTLINE spent months following three young girls who are growing up against the backdrop of their families' struggles against financial ruin. At a time when one in five American kids lives below the poverty line, "Poor Kids" is an is an intimate portrait of the economic crisis as it's rarely seen, through the eyes of children.

FRONTLINE spent months following three young girls who are growing up against the backdrop of their families' struggles against financial ruin. At a time when one in five American kids lives below the poverty line, "Poor Kids" is an is an intimate portrait of the economic crisis as it's rarely seen, through the eyes of children.

Eleven-year-old Sera, her sister and her mother moved to San Francisco in 2009. But when the economy collapsed, her mother lost her job and the family now survives on her $600 monthly unemployment checks. They live in a one-room rent subsidized apartment but are one missed payment away from returning to a homeless shelter.

In this groundbreaking 90-minute film FRONTLINE explores the shadow world of assisted suicide and takes viewers inside one of the most polarizing social issues of our time – told not only by the people choosing to die, but also by their “assisters,” individuals and right-to-die organizations at risk of prosecution for their actions to hasten death.

FRONTLINE reveals the anatomy of campaign finances on steroids, taking us to the newest battleground in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling: the state of Montana. Airing October 30, “Big Sky, Big Money” explores the increasingly dysfunctional campaign finance system caught between the conflicting needs to protect political speech and prevent corrupting influence.

Four years ago, climate change was a hot issue and politicians from both sides seemed poised to act. Today public opinion on the climate issue has cooled considerably. Politicians either ignore it or proclaim their skepticism. What’s behind this massive reversal? On Oct 23, FRONTLINE goes inside the organizations that fought the scientific establishment to shift the direction of the climate debate

It didn't take long for "An Inconvenient Truth" -- the 2006 documentary about former Vice President Al Gore's crusade to draw attention to the threat of global warming – to galvanize the public around the issue of climate change. But the film also helped make Gore the cause's public face. So when the backlash against climate change gained traction, it quickly became a personal one.

"PBS Newshour" correspondent Hari Sreenivasan, reporting for FRONTLINE, goes deep inside the Romney and Obama campaigns to uncover how data collected from millions of Americans is being used by both camps to target their messages, get out the vote and shape the election.

In 1986, Mitt Romney was two years into his tenure at Bain Capital and starting to feel the pressure. His partners had invested millions to help launch the firm, and while Bain had made a few modest deals, it had yet to hit its stride. That all changed when a former supermarket executive went to Romney with a pitch for an office supplies chain called Staples.

Un viaje a los lugares, personas y momentos decisivos en la formación de los dos hombres que compiten por la presidencia. Cientos de horas de investigación y decenas de entrevistas revelan nuevos ideas y detalles sobre los dos candidatos – y nuestra decisión este noviembre.

In "The Choice 2012," acclaimed FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk ("Money, Power and Wall Street," "Top Secret America") documents the places, people and decisive moments that made the men who are competing for the presidency. Watch on air and online beginning October 9 at 9 pm ET on PBS.

In this preview from "The Choice 2012," airing tonight, FRONTLINE explores how Mitt Romney and Barack Obama's early public failures could have ended their political careers. Instead, both candidates went on to learn from their losses – lessons that would help them both pursue the presidency.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have crafted their campaign narratives, telling you who they are, what they've done, and how they wouldlead America. But there’s more to their stories.On October 9 acclaimed FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk presents The Choice 2012, a two-hour documentary that journeys into the places, people and decisive moments that made the men who are competing for the presidency.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have spent millions of dollars to tell their own stories. FRONTLINE’s top political reporting team spent the last year gathering the rest of the story. More than 100 interviews with those who know the men best contribute to the most ambitious television biographies of the candidates ever created. "The Choice 2012" debuts Oct. 9 on PBS (check local listings).

Obama took on a giant of the Chicago political scene — and lost. Badly. Watch a clip from one of his first debates.