Women's Rights Protests & The Match That Sparked a Movement
In the 1970s, when #abortion was illegal in most states, a group of young women came together to share stories and break sexual taboos. Their revolutionary book, “Our Bodies, Ourselves” helped dispel myths and empower women to have agency over their own bodies. As Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri introduce strict anti-abortion legislation, the fight for women’s rights remains at the center of American politics, and troubling myths still exist worldwide.
Life After Columbine
Sean Graves was told he would never walk again after being shot during the attack at Columbine High School. This is the story of what happened next.
Columbine at 20: Media Attention and Copycat Killers
Twenty years after Columbine, we examine the impact the attack has had on today’s youths – and how the media has more recently shifted its coverage of school shootings. Click below to watch!
Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation on Guns
In the 1980s, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan sparked a call for gun control. Are there lessons from that fight that can inform our gun debate today?
#WhatHappensNext: The Future of Gaming
Video games are the world’s most dominant form of entertainment, but developers are increasingly tracking data to keep gamers playing longer—and spending more.
From our #WhatHappensNext series, in collaboration with Quartz.
Migrant Children in Custody: The Long Battle for Protection
For our latest story, we went to a detention center for immigrant children to take a closer look at the issue of detaining migrant kinds. The number of immigrant children held in federally contracted shelters reached record levels last year, leading to lawsuits over the Trump
Administration’s treatment of minors. Those challenges have roots in the Flores settlement, a decades-old agreement reached in a federal lawsuit over the physical and emotional harm done to children held in jail-like settings, dating back to the 1980s.
Migrant Children in Custody: The Long Battle for Protection
The number of immigrant children held in federally contracted shelters at the Southern border reached record levels last year, leading to lawsuits over the Trump Administration’s treatment of minors policy.
Those challenges have roots in the Flores settlement, a decades-old agreement reached in a federal lawsuit over the physical and emotional harm done to children held in jail-like settings.
Our latest story, on migrant children in custody and the long battle for protection.
Today the U.S. announced plans to suspend its compliance with the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). The move was a response to an alleged violation by Moscow, and could lead to permanent U.S. withdrawal from the agreement.
We covered the creation and significance of #INF, which was a response to the escalation of tensions before the end of the Cold War. @princeton’s Bruce Blair talked to Retro about negotiating with the Soviet Union to reduce the risk of war.
Perp Walks: When Police Roll Out the Blue Carpet
What happens when the police roll out the ‘blue carpet’? The ritual is the bane of defense attorneys, but a boon for journalists and tabloid photographers. How did it start?
The Future of College
Increasing student loan debt and online classrooms are disrupting college as we know it. But, surprisingly, the future might be filled with the need for lifelong learning, meaning more college, not less, as automation changes the workplace.
The latest installment of our What Happens Next series with Quartz examining the future of society.
Victor Jara was a legendary Chilean folk singer and political activist, whose brutal killing during a military coup in 1973 went unsolved for decades. Now, a quest for his killers has led to a Florida courtroom and his family may finally get justice.
Check out our latest -- Victor Jara was a legendary Chilean folk singer and political activist, whose brutal killing during a military coup in 1973 went unsolved for decades. Now, a quest for his killers has led to a Florida courtroom and his family may finally get justice.
How ISIS Resembles the Doomsday Cults of the 1970s
Suicide, Veterans and How a Simple Idea Is Trying to Combat a Crisis
For our latest video, we've partnered with HuffPost Highline. As the nation continues to confront an epidemic of suicide, we explore the promising work of Dr. Jerry Motto, who in the 1960s, pioneered a simple, yet surprisingly successful method of treatment that is being implemented today.
The Future of Water
The latest installment of our #WhatHappensNext series looks at the increasing scarcity of drinking water and the innovative solution found in one of the planet's driest places. We traveled to Windhoek, Namibia — a city near the world's oldest desert — where they've tapped into a radical and unlikely source of water to set their community up for a more sustainable future.
A collaboration with Quartz
Why Bush v. Gore Still Affects Our Elections Today
As we head into the #midterms where some races are razor close, it's imprtant to remember that a few votes can make all the difference. Here's a look back at Bush v. Gore and why it still matters so much today.
The Future of Gaming: Your data, your wallet
Video games are more artistic, interesting, and immersive than ever before. As gaming becomes the dominant form of entertainment in the 21st century, developers increasingly track player behavior to tailor experiences that will keep people playing longer—and spending more money.
Our latest collaboration with Quartz as part of our #WhatHappensNext series.
The Future of Gaming: Your data, your wallet
Video games are more artistic, interesting, and immersive than ever before. As gaming becomes the dominant form of entertainment in the 21st century, developers increasingly track player behavior to tailor experiences that will keep people playing longer—and spending more money.
Our latest collaboration with Quartz as part of our #WhatHappensNext series.
The Roots of Evangelicals’ Political Fervor
White evangelical Christians are among President Trump’s most ardent and important supporters. 40 years ago, they were on the margins of American politics. How did they transform into the powerhouse political bloc they are today?
Tommie Smith made a surprise appearance with @ava last night at #TidalXBrooklyn. His iconic protest at the 1968 Olympics was the subject of our Emmy-nominated documentary, “The Black Athlete in America.” Check our our website to watch that, as well as the rest of our library!
Genetic Screening: Controlling Heredity
Every advance in prenatal genetic screening improves the ability to prevent suffering, but also raises challenging questions about what is considered a "disease" versus a "difference."
Our latest story, in collaboration with American Experience | PBS and The Atlantic, looks at how and why we could be in danger of wiping out segments of the population. #RetroReport
Genetic Screening: Controlling Heredity
Every advance in prenatal genetic screening improves the ability to prevent suffering, but also raises challenging questions about what is considered a "disease" versus a "difference".
Our latest story, in collaboration with American Experience | PBS and The Atlantic, looks at how and why we could be in danger of wiping out segments of the population. #RetroReport
Abortion Was Illegal. This Secret Group Defied the Law
In our latest video, we tell the story of a little known chapter in American history, before Roe v. Wade, when a clandestine group provided thousands of women with illegal abortions in Chicago.
For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business
Check out the latest Retro Report -- An inmate population surge in the 1980s led to the growth of for-profit prisons. Today, despite their mixed record, private prison companies are overseeing the vast majority of undocumented migrants. Watch below!
Retro Report & The New Yorker Present: OPERATION CEASEFIRE
Retro Report teamed up with The New Yorker for #OperationCeasefire, which tells the story of cops, pastors, gang members, and academics who worked together in the 1990s to tackle Boston’s crime problem, and how other cities have tried to follow suit.
The Future of Cities
In the latest installment of our What Happens Next series examining
the future of society, we visit #Medellín, #Colombia, which has
reinvented itself in recent decades and turned its violent past into a sustainable future by uniquely transforming its slums.
A collaboration with Quartz
#RetroReport
#WhatHappensNext
#FutureOfCities
Anita Hill Testified in 1991. But How Much Has Changed?
Anita Hill testified in 1991 during Clarence Thomas’s SCOTUS confirmation hearings, and we’re all having a bit of a déjà vu moment. Christine Blasey Ford is supposed to testify in SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. Hill claimed Thomas sexually harassed her; Ford alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. Both men categorically deny the accusations, and the women are accused of playing politics.
A Trusted Pill Turned Deadly. How Tylenol Made a Comeback
We're back with a new season. First up is our latest with The New York Times. How do some companies regain public trust after something goes seriously wrong, while others fail? A look at how Tylenol responded after someone spiked its pills with poison in the 1980s sheds some light. Watch -- then let us know what you think.
How Supreme Court Confirmations Became So Bitter: From Bork To Kavanaugh
During the Brett Kavanaugh hearing today, Senator Chuck Grassley said that Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork was treated "shamefully" 30 years ago. That's up for debate, but this is what he's referring to -- and the ramifications are still with us today.
Will the Overpopulation of Wild Horses Force Drastic Action?
The decades-long quest to save wild horses has run amok, creating a problem that even swooping helicopters, aging cowboys, camera-savvy activists, and millions of dollars can’t solve.
Biosphere 2: A Faulty Mars Survival Test Gets a Second Act
NASA isn’t the first organization to experiment with living on Mars – in 1991 eight people sealed themselves inside a giant glass biosphere to practice space living. By the time they emerged two years later, they had “suffocated, starved and went mad.”
Why MLB and NBA Free Agents Should Thank Curt Flood
The drama of modern free agency has become as much a part of professional sports as the games themselves. But it wasn’t always that way.
From Y2K to 2038, Lessons Learned from First Computer Crisis
Have you heard of the Year 2038 Bug? It sort of reminds us of Y2K, but will it wreak as much havoc? That remains to be seen, but while we wait, let's take a look back at Y2K.
Trump Administration Sued for Torpedoing Enforcement of Landmark Housing Law
Ben Carson, President Trump's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is being sued for not enforcing the Fair Housing Act, a landmark piece of legislation that was passed 50 years ago during the Civil Rights era.
It's wildfire season and crews in Northern California are already fighting a fast-moving fire that has claimed at least one life. Increasingly, wildfires affect populated areas. But 30 years ago, it was a huge fire in Yellowstone National Park that stoked media attention and political controversy -- but ultimately it gave us all an education in fire.
What the Infamous Yellowstone Fire Taught Us About Fighting Wildfires
Increasingly, wildfires affect populated areas. But 30 years ago, it was a huge fire in Yellowstone National Park that stoked media attention and political controversy.
Future of Money
If you haven't already watched our Loeb Award winning story, now's your chance! "The Future of Money" was released in collaboration with @Quartz and examines Bitcoin, blockchains and how the future of money can be explained using the ancient stones on the tiny Pacific island of Yap.
He Predicted Overpopulation Would End the World Decades Ago
The Berkeley City Council recently declared a "climate emergency" and said the world needs to "humanely stabilize population."
But look what we found when we examined over population fears.
Life as the World's First Test Tube Baby
On July 25, 1978, Louise Brown became the first ever so-called “test-tube baby,” the first human being ever to be conceived outside of the womb. Her birth was one of the biggest media stories of the 20th century, and she became famous just by being born.
Today, IVF is a common practice in most developed nations, but Brown’s birth was extremely controversial. It sparked a heated ethical debate about the ramifications of creating human life in a laboratory, but it also offered hope to millions of infertile women around the world. Today, more than 6 million people have been born through IVF, and Brown still generates headlines, drawing audiences across the globe. In this Retro Report, she reflects on how her exceptional beginning has helped to shape an otherwise very normal life.
Retro Report is an independent nonprofit news organization critically examining major news coverage of the past to see how it impacts us today.
