Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform was supposed to move needy families off government handouts and onto a path out of poverty. Twenty years later, how has it turned out?
Civics & Government
Free Speech VS Censorship: Warnings From Explicit Lyrics to Trigger Warnings
Offended by lyrics they deemed too sexual and violent, Tipper Gore and Susan Baker campaigned to put warning labels on albums in 1985. Years later, warning labels have ended up in some unexpected places.
How a Standoff with the Black Panthers Fueled the Rise of SWAT
S.W.A.T. teams, specially trained police teams, have been used increasingly in routine matters like serving drug warrants, sometimes with disastrous results.
Why Waco is Still a Battleground in the 2nd Amendment Debate
In 1993, federal agents raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and generated a legacy that continues to shape antigovernment groups today.
E. Coli Outbreaks Changed Food Production, But How Safe Are We?
A 1993 E. coli outbreak linked Jack in the Box hamburgers sickened 700 people and acted as a wake up call about the dangers of food-borne illness. Decades later, how far have we really come in terms of food safety?
He’s the only CIA Contractor to be Convicted in a Torture-related Case
The story of the first and only interrogator connected to the CIA to be convicted in a torture-related case.
For teachers: This video is part of a collection of resources including four short films, each accompanied by a lesson plan and student activity.
How Geography Drove MLK’s Fight for a Ferry in Alabama
Weeks before Selma’s Bloody Sunday in 1965, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. urged residents of Gee’s Bend, Ala., to vote, and fed a continuing fight over a small ferry that would last for decades.
The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse that Sounded the Alarm on US Infrastructure
At the height of rush hour on August 1, 2007 a bridge carrying eight lanes of I-35W traffic over the Mississippi River suddenly collapsed, sending cars and trucks plunging into the water below.
Toxic Waste in the Neighborhood: The Love Canal Disaster
In 1978, toxic chemicals leaking from an old landfill thrust an upstate New York community called “Love Canal” into the national headlines, and made it synonymous with “environmental disaster.”
Wrongly Accused of Terrorism: The Sleeper Cell That Wasn’t
Six days after 9/11, the FBI’s raid on a sleeper cell signaled America’s resolve to fight terrorism. But, despite a celebrated conviction, there was one problem–they were wrong.
For teachers: This video is part of a collection of resources including four short films, each accompanied by a lesson plan and student activity.