Retro Report on PBS

News and Public Affairs Series / 1 Season

Retro Report makes sense of the present by revealing the past. Join journalists Celeste Headlee and Masud Olufani as they connect the present to the past through four distinct and varied stories, and New Yorker humorist Andy Borowitz adds his signature wit.

Watch Latest: S1 E8

10m 27s / TV-14

New Clues From Old Evidence | Full Report

S1 E2 / 14m 32s / TV-14

DNA information that is available on genealogy websites is doing more than satisfying curiosity. Data collected from consumer DNA tests is helping the police to close cold case files, including a long-unsolved murder from the 1980s. But their use to solve cold cases is raising new concerns about privacy protection.

Return of an Infamous Pill | Full Report

S1 E2 / 11m 31s / TV-14

Strict prescription drug safety regulations in place today resulted in part from the devastating consequences of a pill prescribed during pregnancy that was originally thought to be harmless. F.D.A. safety guidelines were developed after thalidomide left a trail of severe birth defects. Today, it has become a case study for rising drug prices.

Athletes vs. Injustice | Full Report

S1 E1 / 11m 51s / TV-14

When N.F.L. players starting with Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest police mistreatment of African-Americans, their actions ignited an uproar over injecting politics onto the playing field. Their protest had surprising ties to the silent black-power salute by two sprinters at the 1968 Olympics.

Online All the Time? Researchers Predicted It. | Full Report

S1 E1 / 10m 39s / TV-14

Social media’s power over consumers is not by chance, it is by design. Theories pioneered decades ago by B.F. Skinner lie at the root of today’s multi-trillion-dollar “attention economy."

Episode 1

S1 E1 / 53m 47s / TV-14

Social media’s addictive power is by design. Colin Kaepernick’s protest has ties to 1968. Women on Wall Street fought harassment decades before #MeToo. Pythons threaten the Everglades. Andy Borowitz wants to treat political ads like cigarettes.

Warning: These Ads Contain Politicians | Andy Borowitz

S1 E1 / 3m 52s / TV-14

Andy Borowitz, the New Yorker magazine humorist, has come up with a simple solution to the political ads that litter our TV landscape. His short comedy videos cap every episode of Retro Report on PBS, a new series that shines a light on today by uncovering the past.

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