How often does a great story dominate the headlines, only to be dropped from the news cycle? How often do journalists tell us of a looming danger or important discovery – only to move quickly to the next new thing? What really happened? How did these events change us? And what are the lingering consequences that may affect our society to this day? These are the questions we are answering at Retro Report, an innovative documentary news organization launched in 2013 as a timely online counterweight to today's 24/7 news cycle. Combining documentary techniques with shoe-leather reporting, we peel back the layers of some of the most perplexing news stories of our past with the goal of encouraging the public to think more critically about current events and the media. Retro Report is founded on the conviction that without a smart, engaging and forward-looking review of these high-profile events – and the news coverage surrounding them – we have wasted an opportunity to understand the lessons of history. The accelerating information age makes reversing this trend only more crucial. With journalistic success increasingly measured in page views, retweets and Facebook likes, there is dwindling interest or ability among news organizations to follow up on the stories they cover. Complicating matters, the first draft of history can be wrong. When news organizations fail to invest the time and money required to correct the record or provide context around what really happened, myth can replace truth. The results are policy decisions and cultural trends built on error, misunderstanding or flat-out lies. Retro Report is there to pick up the story after everyone has moved on, connecting the dots from yesterday to today, correcting the record and providing a permanent living library where viewers can gain new insight into the events that shaped their lives.
Mission: Combining documentary techniques with shoe-leather reporting, we peel back the layers of some of the most perplexing news stories of our past with the goal of encouraging the public to think more critically about current events and the media.
Colin Kaepernick has been criticized for taking a knee in protest against police brutality and systemic racism. George Floyd's death has brought that protest back into the spotlight. Kaepernick is just the latest in a long list of athletes who have spoken out.
When N.F.L. players, starting with Colin Kaepernick, took a knee during the national anthem to protest police mistreatment of African-Americans, their action...
One of the fast-tracked vaccines for Covid-19 uses what’s called Gene Therapy. Retro Report tells you what it is and who some of the players are. 🧬
The race to sequence the human genome was billed as a way to end disease. Here's where it led. "Finding the Code" is a three-part series in collaboration wit...
Today marks the beginning of Pride month 🏳️🌈 Transgender activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are being remembered for their roles in another struggle for civil rights. Retro Report explored the origins of that fight.
Transgender issues today are rooted in a decades-long struggle for equal rights that took shape in the 1960s, and included a little-known uprising at Gene Co...
Teachers have been using our Retro Report videos in class for years, so we decided to make things easier for them: We developed a free educational resource, with lesson plans for our award-winning mini-docs. 👩🏻🏫
It’s still a prototype, which we will be tweaking purely based on the feedback from teachers so we can launch it in the Fall. Please help us put this in front of high school and college educators who will benefit from this service! We want to know what they think.
🔵 Look for the blue button to provide feedback.
Bring history to life for your students! Retro Report is building a free, easy-to-use education site for high school teachers and college professors based on our archive of 200+ short documentaries. Each lesson plan includes an engaging 10-15 minute video that connects a chapter from history to stud...
We're thrilled to have won a Military Reporters & Editors Journalism Awards for our story, "She Rocked the Pentagon." Congratulations to our producer Karen Sughrue!
𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 the winning entry 👇🏽
After a sexual assault scandal at the Tailhook convention rocked the Navy in 1991, one female officer, Paula Coughlin, launched a campaign to change military...
The incident involving Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper (not related) evokes a little known chapter from the racial history of New York’s Central Park: In the mid-1800s, a settlement called Seneca Village, largely made up of African-Americans, was set up on land that later became the park. According to Central Park, “Andrew Williams, a 25-year-old African-American shoeshiner, bought the first three lots for $125.” Historian Cynthia Copeland wrote that, for its more than 200 residents, including some Irish immigrants, life in the refuge of Seneca was healthier than in the tenements downtown, where they faced considerable racism. In the 1850s, NYC began mapping out plans for an 800-acre public space. Seneca property owners fought for their land but park advocates went on the offensive, calling the area a “shantytown” and accusing the residents of being “vagabonds and scoundrels.” Eventually the residents were bought out by the city or forced out through eminent domain. The Ramble, the area of Central Park where the 2020 incident took place, is a short walk from the Seneca Park area. #LessonsFromHistory
What are you up to this weekend? Now that everyone has finished Tiger King, it looks like Waco is the next Netflix series to catch on. Our doc revisits the 1993 standoff, and how it became a rallying cry for militia groups like those run by Cliven and Amon.
More than two decades after federal agents raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, the siege has become a rallying point for antigovernment group...
Smallpox showed that the success of a vaccine hinges on its delivery. With several vaccines in development for Covid-19, what can the fight against smallpox teach us about worldwide vaccine distribution? We have the story.
Dr. Larry Brilliant, who helped eradicate smallpox, says past epidemics can teach us to fight coronavirus. Subscribe to our newsletter for the history behind...
Have you ever taken DNA tests from Ancestry or 23andMe? Both companies are mining their databases for mutations that make some Covid-19 victims sicker. We have the backstory on direct-to-consumer gene tests, and how much we truly know about mutations.
Lifesaving genetic tests was a goal for scientists who sequenced the human genome in the 1990s. Today, companies market genetic tests for everything from can...
The wonderful history of the N95 mask, inspired by a bra 😷
Design expert Sara Little Turnbull was consulting for 3M in 1958 when she was tasked with creating a better bra cup. Eventually, her design would inspire the N95 mask.
Anti-vaccine activists aren’t the only threat to preventing childhood diseases. The novel coronavirus is the latest.
Vaccinations worldwide have dropped as the fight against the coronavirus continues.
The contrast: When America’s death toll from AIDS passed 100,000 in 1991, The New York Times ran an Associated Press story on Page 18, below the fold.
The lessons have been in the history books all along. #LessonsFromHistory
John M. Barry compares the two events and reflects on the many differences.
In the latest Retro Report newsletter:
🔸 How soon can we expect a Covid-19 vaccine? History has some clues.
🔸 The history of the word ‘quarantine.’
🔸 And more!
Subscribe today at https://www.retroreport.org!
In this time of isolation, gardening is helping people to escape from feelings of alienation 🌱 Americans have long turned to the soil to deal with anxiety in moments of disruption.
What drives people to garden isn't the fear of hunger so much as hunger for physical contact – and a longing to engage in work that is real.
History has shown that without a vaccine, antibody tests for Covid-19 could create an incentive for people to expose themselves to the virus in hope of gaining immunity.
More in our collaboration with Scientific American: bit.ly/3fILxVn
Empathy inspired by history: Irish people send donations to Native Americans, returning a Great Famine-era favor, via USA TODAY.
Irish people have donated about half a million dollars to a campaign raising money for the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation amid the coronavirus.
The H3N2 virus, aka the Hong Kong Flu of 1968, shares many parallels with Covid-19. Trust in the scientific community and international cooperation got us through it.
What the 1968 Hong Kong flu teaches us about international coordination.
Some experts warn that relying on Covid-19 antibody testing could lead to a two-tier social system, where some people can get back to work and some can’t. Our collaboration with Scientific American looks at smallpox and yellow fever outbreaks in the past, and how those who survived found social status as “acclimated citizens.”
As Covid-19 slows meat production, consumers can expect higher prices, less selection. Will shoppers try plant-based "meat?" Meatless burgers have the sizzle, aroma, and taste of the animal kind. It’s an idea with roots in the 70s. We have the story.
Plant-based meats may be high tech, but the ideas behind them have been around for decades. Retro Report’s newsletter explores the history behind the headlin...
The whole world is desperate for a Covid-19 vaccine, but before we get ahead of ourselves, here’s some important context from STAT: Vaccine experts say Moderna, Inc. didn’t produce data critical to assessing its Covid-19 vaccine.
While Moderna blitzed the media, it revealed very little information — and most of what it did disclose were words, not data.
Pet owners worldwide are fretting over the possibility of their furry friends catching Covid-19. During the 1918 influenza epidemic, people put masks on their pets, fearing that animals could transmit the disease to humans. Have you considered putting a mask on your pet yet? 🐶🐱
Yancia the bulldog even made the local paper: "This Seattle Dog Wears Flu Mask."
Lawyers who represent migrant kids, including many who have tested positive for Covid-19, say the Trump administration won’t release them to sponsors. The situation has reopened a long legal battle over the rights of children in custody. It all started in the 1980s.
The number of immigrant children held in federally contracted shelters has reached record highs during the Trump Administration, leading to lawsuits over the...
“When medical systems fail, so do logic and reason, clearing a path for contagions of fear and blame.”
From the Illuminati to “COVID-19 is a lie,” how pandemics have produced contagions of fear.
Babies born in Ukraine to surrogates, some with American biological parents, are stranded because of coronavirus.
Surrogacy has long been a wild world, as Retro Report found when looking at the legacy of America's most famous surrogate child, Baby M.
Parenthood through surrogacy has become accepted in the United States, but it’s relatively unregulated compared with other countries. It’s an issue that most...
A big thanks to Hawaii Public Radio for inviting producer Matt Spolar to talk about our recent story on American Samoa and its successful efforts to sidestep the Spanish Flu and the coronavirus pandemics.
In case you missed it, here is the story: https://youtu.be/FkNG15P3ia8
2020 Legislative session resumes; Pedestrian and traffic safety awareness; Scant details about HECO's new solar farm projects; Samoan history teaches
It's not all about us: Just as we can get sick from animal viruses, they can catch ours, with terrible consequences.
> Science's COVID-19 coverage is supported by the Pulitzer Center. Seven years ago, a respiratory virus swept through 56 chimpanzees in a community at Kibale National Park in Uganda, where researchers have studied chimp behavior for 33 years. More than 40 apes were sickened; five died. “Chimpanzee...
*Update*: WA state health officials now say the “coronavirus parties” they claimed caused multiple infections were not intentional, “just innocent endeavors.”
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"We were at a COVID party:" At least 25 people in Washington State got sick after mingling with an infected person at coronavirus parties. It's not the first time Americans have experimented with self-infection to try to attain "natural immunity." Before a vaccine came along in 1995, there were "chickenpox parties." But later, there were news reports of anti-vaccination parents allowing kids to share sippy cups, whistles, and lollipops to expose their children to the virus. #LessonsFromHistory
U.S. schoolchildren and teachers are in the midst of a massive experiment in education via the internet. There are parallels to 1937, when a polio outbreak closed Chicago schools and teachers turned to technology: radio. Classes were broadcast by teachers on at least six stations: 15-minute lessons in four subjects for grades 3 through 8. In lieu of textbooks, lesson plans and assignments were published in newspapers! #LessonsFromHistory
Will some people refuse a Covid-19 vaccine if one becomes available – despite nearly 300,000 deaths worldwide? From the anti-vaxxer movement that grew around the MMR vaccine, it seems possible. We have the story of how fear of the measles vaccine took hold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KSD-HFSq3Y&feature=youtu.be
Skepticism and fear surrounding vaccines were fed by a flawed study done in 1998 that suggested a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The study was quic...
For people who need treatment for opioid addiction during the pandemic, the government has loosened restrictions on medications. 💊 Ever wondered how these drugs work and how efficient they are? Retro Report explores:
Overdose deaths are skyrocketing, forcing researchers to find new ways to think about and treat addiction. CONNECT WITH RETRO REPORT Newsletter: https://www....
"Stuck with u" is the latest quarantine-inspired song to drop. Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande sing to benefit First Responders Children's Foundation. Want more pandemic pop? From Cardi B to Wu-Tang Clan, Retro Report has got you covered.
Tunes about hard times during disease outbreaks have a long history. Subscribe to our newsletter for the history behind the headlines: https://www.retrorepor...
𝐍𝐄𝐖! Desperate people once “bought the pox” to remain employed. Survival after yellow fever was a resume enhancement. Workers with proof of Covid-19 antibodies may be in demand, but history urges caution. Check our latest collaboration with Scientific American.
𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-history-urges-caution-on-coronavirus-immunity-testing/
𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇: https://youtu.be/9qa8R-fa8mc
In the rush to re-open the world’s economies, an idea has been taking shape: field a workforce of survivors who can be shown to have Covid-19 antibodies. But...
Is the Covid-19 crisis making you wish we had other planets we could live in? In 1991, eight people isolated themselves for two years with dreams of one day colonizing space. We looked into this strange experiment 🚀
With dreams of one day colonizing space, eight people sealed themselves inside a giant glass biosphere in the Arizona desert in 1991. By the time they emerge...
Artists have always tried to make sense of tragedy. Here's a look at the Spanish Flu.
The outbreak magnified the absurdity of the moment, according to art historians
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Some experts warn that relying on Covid-19 antibody testing could lead to a two-tier social system, where some people can get back to work and some can’t. Our collaboration with Scientific American looks at smallpox and yellow fever outbreaks in the past, and how those who survived found social status as “acclimated citizens.”
Can you find American Samoa on a map? The oft-overlooked island is the only US territory with no confirmed cases of Covid-19. This is not the first time Samoa has staved off an epidemic; Thanks to a combination of advance warning, swift action, and a fair amount of luck, the island made it through the 1918 flu pandemic without a single confirmed case.
If you have vapers in your family, show them our latest collaboration with Scientific American. We talk to scientists reviewing past research that suggests nicotine may amplify the lethal power of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus has a playlist. The genre is pandemic pop. Tunes about hard times during disease outbreaks have a long history.
As part of our living library we're updating stories as news develops. Recently, migrant children in federal custody have tested positive for Covid-19, reopening a legal battle over the rights of children in custody. #coronavirus #migrantchildren
Verbal and physical attacks on Asian-Americans are on the rise as the new #coronavirus, which scientists believe originated in China, spreads across the globe. Scapegoating immigrant groups in times of disease outbreak has a long history. #COVID19 This video was created with support from a Brown Institute for Media Innovation (@MadeatBrown) grant recognizing a need for accurate information about the COVID-19 virus.
Dr. Larry Brilliant, who worked to eradicate smallpox across the globe, says there are important lessons to learn from past epidemics as we confront the coronavirus. #COVID19 #Smallpox
Health officials are urging Americans to prepare for the spread of COVID-19, leading to runs on hand sanitizer, toilet paper and most important, medical masks. During World War 2, the government used rationing as a way to share food and other consumer goods in high demand. Hoarding was stigmatized as helping Hitler. #coronavirus #COVID19
#BernieSanders and #JoeBiden are the icons of an ideological divide among today’s Democrats. That echoes a split in the Republican party of 1964 when moderate #Republicans faced off against ultra-conservatives. If you're a Democrat, who do you plan on voting for, and why?
Americans put away over 50 pounds of beef per person each year. What’s that doing to the planet? @RetroReport has the story. #climatechange #globalwarming Would you give up meat if you knew it would help slow down global warming?
Despite little media attention, "Diet for a Small Planet" by Frances Moore Lappé, became a counterculture best seller, inspiring readers in the 1970s with the message that individual actions could make a difference. The book is the inspiration behind some of the companies producing today's alternatives to meat. #meatless #fakemeat #beyondmeat #veganeating #alternativemeat #plantbased #climatechange Check out our latest Retro Report.
Our latest video! Coronavirus has public health officials scrambling to put quarantines into effect. The 2014 Ebola outbreak may have some lessons. #quarantine #coronavirus #COVID19 #Ebola
In the new @RetroReport video below, we explore how the #Oscars have become a way for Hollywood actors to air their views and trumpet a cause. Watch our latest video and then take the Oscars QUIZ -- can you match the declaration to the actor who made it? https://bit.ly/39bM7a1
Check out our latest video -- Political memes, today's version of editorial cartoons, are a way to broadcast opinions on social media channels, often with a dose of sly humor. #memes #politicalmemes
34 years ago to the day, Americans watched in horror as the space shuttle #Challenger go up in flames on live television. Our report looks at how loosened safety regulations and tight deadlines lead to one of the biggest disasters in the history of space travel.
This week, President Trump’s impeachment trial kicks off in the senate. In our newest video, we compare how Trump and Clinton have handled their trials in the public eye.
Check out our latest -- How can a president continue to govern with an impeachment trial looming? President Clinton and President Trump adopted very different strategies. #ImpeachmentTrial https://www.retroreport.org/video/impeached-how-presidents-handled-it-trump-vs.-clinton./
Check out our latest mini doc -- Sexual harassment. Discrimination. Workplace inequity. Google’s employees demonstrated against unfair practices. One year later, has anything changed?
Harvey Weinstein's rape trial is getting a lot of attention, but Anita Hill, who famously testified about being subjected to sexual harassment, says the answer to sexual harassment and assault isn't just in the hands of the law.
Heading in to the Democratic debates tomorrow, we take another look at the tell-all moments that are embedded in political folklore -- from knockout one-liners to astonishing gaffes. The high-stakes debates put candidates in the hot seat. But are they helpful to voters? WATCH!
Check out our latest! Breaking with party unity can be costly. In the 1950's, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine faced backlash after she condemned Joseph McCarthy, a fellow Republican.
For many boxers, once the punches stop, the real fight starts. Here, we meet two fighters who remain sidelined years after leaving the ring. @ring10ny We also explored the danger of concussions in football and whether there are lessons to be learned from the fate of boxing. https://youtu.be/u1nRAkPipnE
During the impeachment hearing today Rep. Devin Nunes tried to get Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman to reveal the identity of the whistleblower. So far we don't know his identity, but the story of Thomas Drake gives us an idea of what may be in store for him. #whistleblower #impeachment #impeachmenthearings https://youtu.be/vaFH12GlEW0
Check out our latest mini doc! When it comes to the future of self-driving cars, how do we code driverless technology to predict human's behavior in the streets?
As concussions plague football, are there lessons from earlier concerns about boxing? Stream full episodes or individual stories of Retro Report on PBS on pbs.org/retroreport or the PBS Video app. #RetroReportPBS
A decades-old battle is re-emerging over how sex is presented in the classroom. Stream or watch all 8 episodes of Retro Report now on the PBS Video app: https://to.pbs.org/2qF91Wd
On tonight's SEASON FINALE(!) of Retro Report on PBS: A decades-old battle over how sex is taught in schools. Why states are reconsidering life sentences of people convicted as juveniles. How the AIDS crisis is still affecting some parts of the country. And, Napster shook up the record industry and shaped how we consume entertainment in the streaming era. Plus, Andy Borowitz tackles bullying on TV. Tune in at 9/8c or stream on pbs.org/retroreport. #RetroReportPBS
On TONIGHT'S ALL NEW Retro Report on PBS: How current immigration controversies echo past anti-immigration backlash, a misunderstood lawsuit over McDonald’s coffee, the origins of Special Ops forces, and the regrettable decisions that led to the Challenger disaster. Plus, Andy Borowitz examines Anita Bryant’s unintended influence. Join us to explore the history behind the headlines at 9/8c or stream at pbs.org/retroreport or the PBS Video app. #RetroReportPBS
Retro Report on PBS returns on Monday! We’re looking at how current immigration controversies echo past anti-immigration backlash, a misunderstood lawsuit over McDonald’s coffee, the origin of Special Ops forces, and the regrettable decisions that led to the Challenger disaster. Plus, Andy Borowitz examines Anita Bryant’s unintended influence. Explore the history behind the headlines with us on PBS at 9/8c or stream at pbs.org/retroreport or the PBS Video app. #RetroReportPBS
From the latest #RetroReportPBS: As concussions plague football, are there lessons from earlier concerns about boxing? Stream or watch full episodes o Retro Report on PBS on pbs.org/retroreport or the PBS Video app.
Retro Report is an Emmy Award-winning independent, objective, nonprofit news organization founded in 2013. We are dedicated to uncovering the surprising ways that news of the past continues to resonate today. Our documentary videos blend investigative reporting and rare archival footage to give viewers meaningful context and perspective on current events.
We operate with the conviction that an engaging and forward-looking review of high-profile events, and the news coverage surrounding them, is critical to understanding the lessons of history and developing robust civic literacy. And, since the stories we report on continue to evolve, we are committed to providing a permanent, living library where each story is tracked and updated so that viewers can gain new insights as events develop and history unfolds.
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