Frontline

This film chronicles the post-war lives of the members of Charlie Company’s Third Platoon, who were one of the more exceptional and cohesive fighting units in Iraq and thus, were in the thick of the battle at the height of the war. Many have adjusted well to civilian life, one becoming a police officer while others have gone to college. Others have struggled with post traumatic stress and the effects of traumatic brain injuries. And one sits in a Colorado prison, having pled guilty to the murder of another member of Charlie Company.

Public health scientists tout vaccines as one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine. But many parents are concerned that the current number of shots given to children (some 26 inoculations for 14 different diseases by age six) is actually the cause of some disorders such as ADHD and autism. Frontline takes a look at both sides of this now-controversial issue.

In Afghanistan, an ancient tradition that was banned when the Taliban were in power has re-emerged across the country. It involves hundreds of boys, often as young as ten, being lured off the streets on the promise of a new life, unaware that their real fate is to be used for sex and entertainment. They are trained to sing and dance for male audiences and then traded for favors among former warlords and powerful businessmen. Frontline investigates this illegal practice, talking with the boys and their masters.

Healthcare reform was the first big policy taken on by the Obama administration, and many think that the president has bet the mid-term elections on the outcome. Frontline goes behind closed doors at the White House, in Congress, and in the boardrooms of the giant healthcare lobby to examine the political battles and costly compromises that have defined Obama’s endeavor.

The devastating earthquake in Haiti left survivors without food, water, or shelter. Those responsible for handling the catastrophe, including the Haitian state and the United Nations, were crippled by the magnitude of the disaster and struggled to respond. Frontline takes a look at the ill-coordinated relief efforts and examines how the world could have done better in providing assistance.

The debate over the right to end one’s life has only intensified due to modern technology that allows us to live longer than ever before. Although several states have legalized physician-assisted suicide, many prefer to travel to Switzerland, where a non-profit company by the name of Dignitas has helped more than a thousand people die since 1988. This film provides a revealing look at a couple facing the difficult decision and follows a Chicago man as he makes the trip overseas for what will become the last day of his life.

This is the epic story of the rise of Christianity. Using historical evidence, the show looks the life of Jesus and explores the message that helped his ministry grow. Also examined is the period following Jesus’ death and how Christianity grew from a small Jewish sect to become the official religion of the Roman Empire.

encores Thursday April 1 at 8:00pm

The crash of Continental flight 3407 in Buffalo in 2008 is investigated by Frontline, as is the dramatically-changed airline industry, where regional carriers now account for half of the nation’s daily departures. Low-cost carriers may be a huge boon to consumers, but many insiders worry that the aviation system is being stretched beyond its capacity to deliver cheap and safe service.

The enormous effect that the Web and digital media have on our culture is examined in this Frontline installment. Covered are such areas as virtual worlds, wired classrooms of the future, and digital warfare.

Long before the financial meltdown in fall 2008, there were warning signs at Lehman Brothers that went unheeded. Frontline trades the largest bankruptcy in history back to the late 1990’s when Lehman decided to do business with a mortgage lender who was being sued for fraud. Through insider interviews, internal documents, and exclusive video, Frontline reveals how Lehman ignored warnings from its traders and entered into the mortgage and real estate business, which played out disastrously for themselves and the country.

This is the epic story of the rise of Christianity. Using historical evidence, the two-part series looks the life of Jesus and explores the message that helped his ministry grow. Also examined is the period following Jesus’ death and how Christianity grew from a small Jewish sect to become the official religion of the Roman Empire.

This documentary examines the future of the massive consumer loan industry and its impact on a fragile national economy. Insiders, lobbyists, politicians, and consumer advocates all weigh-in with opinions on the new regulations in the credit card industry, the possible creation of a consumer finance protection agency, and whether or not consumer loans will be at the center of the next crisis.

The image of a young woman shot and killed on the streets of Tehran during the protests following Iran’s controversial presidential election has become a subject of international outrage. Frontline investigates the life and death of this woman, and explores a number of unanswered questions in the aftermath of this protest movement.

The Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska is home to the last great wild Sockeye salmon fishery in the world. It is also home to enormous mineral deposits estimated to be worth some $300 billion. Two foreign mining companies want to extract this mineral wealth by digging a large open-pit mine, which will disrupt the fishery’s livelihood. Frontline travels to Alaska to probe the battle between the fishery and the mining company, and the political framework that will ultimately decide the outcome.

With advances in the medical field, people are living longer. Those in the 85-plus age group are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. But many suffer from chronic illness and require an enormous amount of care, which puts a burden on our healthcare system. This program examines these challenges and speaks with families living in this type of situation.

This program chronicles the plight of the middle class in the recession through stories of people that the producer came to know through the hair salon she has frequented for the past 20 years. Revealed are the struggles for the small business salon to stay afloat, as well as struggles of the regular-person customers.

The impact of the Internet on adolescence through the eyes of teens and their parents is the subject matter of this Frontline. Viewers are taken into the private worlds that kids are creating online, from those that are bullied and harassed to those who make virtual social connections despite few friends at school.