Retro Report is an independent, nonprofit news organization.
Retro Report Education
Short documentaries, classroom resources and professional development programs for middle school, high school and introductory college educators.
Retro Report Living Library
Free access to a growing library of 350 new and updated short documentaries that place current events in historical context.
Retro Report On TV
Feature-length and broadcast documentaries and series distributed by PBS and other broadcasters, reaching national audiences through trusted outlets.
Impact Metrics
Journalism in the service of education and the public.
Retro Report was founded by Christopher Buck, who envisioned a living library of news built on rigorous reporting and historical inquiry. The organization launched in 2013 with Buck, his partner Larry Chollet, Executive Producer Kyra Darnton and a team of veteran producers, reporters and editors.
Our work is grounded in archival research, primary sources and a rigorous fact-checking process. We present multiple perspectives clearly and transparently, so educators, students and viewers can examine evidence and draw their own conclusions. Our short docs, primetime series and feature-length films have reached tens of millions of viewers through longstanding partnerships with The New York Times, PBS, the New Yorker, Univision and other national outlets.
In 2020, after hearing directly from teachers, we expanded our mission to provide free educational resources for classrooms nationwide. That partnership continues to shape how we produce and present our journalism, with careful attention to accuracy, clarity and classroom usefulness.
Support for Retro Report is an investment in informed civic engagement.
As a nonprofit organization, Retro Report relies on philanthropic support to sustain and expand our work. Contributions from foundations, institutions and individuals make it possible for us to produce independent journalism and provide free educational resources to teachers and students nationwide.
Retro Report is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization under the Internal Revenue Code.
