Fri, Jan 12, 2007
Can America grow its way out of its dependence on foreign oil? Country music legend Willie Nelson thinks so, and has a new twist on a 100 year-old idea that just may get us there. Nelson has introduced a new kind of crop-based diesel fuel he calls "BioWillie." Not only does BioWillie burn more cleanly than regular diesel, but it could give farmers a brand new market for their crops. NOW talks with Neslon about this new trend in biofuels that is attracting the attention of farmers, environmentalists, and even some of the big energy giants as well. "There's other places in the world [that] have already made it happen, and you say, duh, why can't we do it here?" Nelson tells NOW. "Anywhere things can be grown that you can turn into fuel, do it.
Fri, Jan 19, 2007
As President Bush seeks to add to the U.S. military presence in Iraq, NOW asks: are we asking too much of our soldiers, many of whom are on their second or third tours of duty? This week, NOW follows troops from Georgia's Fort Stewart as they prepare to leave their loved ones and head back into harm's way. Through their personal stories, we witness the strains both the war and our expectations are placing on America's military. Michael Murphy is one of the Fort Stewart soldiers deploying to Iraq for a second tour. "I think my biggest hope for this next year is just for it to go quickly and smoothly. I don't want anything major to happen to any of my guys or the rest of the squad or platoon," Murphy tells NOW. "But my biggest concern also is just to make it home with ten fingers and toes."
Fri, Feb 9, 2007
The average American owes an estimated $9200 on credit cards. And while recent changes to bankruptcy laws may put a smile on the face of some banks and credit card companies, they're making it hard for average Americans to dig themselves out of debt. NOW returns to Waterbury, Connecticut, where it first began reporting about these laws, and revisits a family struggling with bankruptcy. Also this week, NOW review the case of Anthony Graves and explores whether the justice system is condemning innocent men and women to death. Graves was sentenced to Texas' death row in 1994 mainly on the testimony of a lone eyewitness who later recanted. After six appeals, Graves has finally been granted a new trial. But will justice kick in for Graves as quickly as it turned against him?
Fri, Feb 16, 2007
Is the government reading your e-mail? NOW reports on new evidence suggesting the existence of a secret government program that intercepts millions of private e-mails each day in the name of terrorist surveillance. News about the alleged program came to light when a former AT&T employee, Mark Klein, blew the whistle on what he believes to be a large-scale installation of secret Internet monitoring equipment deep inside AT&T's San Francisco office. The equipment, he contends, was created at the request of the U.S. Government to spy on e-mail traffic across the entire Internet. Though the government and AT&T refuse to address the issue directly, Klein backs up his charges with internal company documents and personal photos. Criminal Defense Lawyer Nancy Hollander, who represents several Muslim-Americans, feels her confidential e-mails are anything but secure. "I've personally never been afraid of my government until now. And now I feel personally afraid that I could be locked up tomorrow," she tells NOW. Who might be eyeing the hundreds of millions of e-mails Americans send out each day, and to what end?
Fri, Mar 2, 2007
Can an Afghan woman, armed with only a strong voice and a fierce loyalty to her homeland, overcome entrenched views and death threats to help bring democracy to Afghanistan? David Brancaccio talks with Danish filmmaker Eva Mulvad about her upcoming documentary "Enemies of Happiness." The film follows the outspoken and successful campaign of Malalai Joya, a 28 year-old Afghan woman running in the country's first democratic parliamentary elections in 35 years. The elections represented a special milestone for Afghan women, who had endured second-class citizenry their entire lives. During the campaign, Joya's life was threatened multiple times because of her vocal and fearless opposition to the presence of warlords in the nation's government. But Joya's dedication also inspired many Afghanis to join her in the cause of real reform. "Enemies of Happiness" won the World Cinema Jury Prize in Documentaries at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
Fri, Apr 6, 2007
NOW travels to Egypt for an international perspective on America, Americans, and the war in Iraq. Among those profiled is a thoughtful, educated young woman who boycotts American goods and represents a new generation of Egyptians familiar with Western culture, but turning toward Islam. From Arab streets to corporate settings, NOW uncovers outrage at America's foreign policy in the Middle East and investigates what America needs to do to regain the trust of one of our closest allies in the region. "There is a book, you know, how to lose your marriage in 30 days?" Emad Eldin Adib, an Egyptian media tycoon tells NOW. "The Bush Administration should write a book: how to lose your allies in the Middle East in 30 months.
Fri, Apr 13, 2007
NOW takes a close look at hedge funds -- secretive, unregulated, and often very risky investment accounts that have brought incredible wealth and power to some, but with the potential to spell dire consequences for ordinary Americans. Hundreds of billions of dollars are invested in hedge funds, and there's a good chance some of your retirement money's in one. But many hedge fund managers say they won't tell anyone how they make their money -- not even the government. NOW talks to former SEC lawyer-turned whistleblower Gary Aguirre, who investigated hedge funds and says he was banned from probing a Wall Street titan with close ties to the Bush Administration. "I was just following an evidence trail, and it led to that door," Aguirre tells NOW. "The logical thing was to knock on the door and try to find out what was behind it."
Fri, May 11, 2007
When veteran government auditor Bobby Maxwell learned oil giant Kerr McGee was not paying the $10 million he says it owed in oil royalties, he prepared an order to Kerr McGee to pay up. Making sure the government gets its money from energy companies was Maxwell's job in the Minerals Management Service (MMS), a division of the Department of the Interior. But Maxwell claims his bosses at the MMS quashed that order. After filing a lawsuit under the False Claims Act, which protects and encourages whistleblowers, Maxwell lost his job. This week, NOW talks with Maxwell about the personal and professional price he says he paid in pursuit of fairness, and examines an industry under fire for keeping too much of the enormous revenue it makes for drilling on land and waters owned by us all. Are oil and gas companies being protected -- and even feted -- by the government agency charged with regulating them? "I felt very strongly that the American taxpayers just had $10 million stolen out of their pocket," Maxwell tells NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa. "And that that needed to be remedied." Also on the show, a look at growing -- and novel -- nationwide efforts to force action on global warming. Is humor part of the solution?
Fri, May 25, 2007
Can the quality of healthcare in developing nations be transformed by the same principal that makes fast food such a success here? NOW travels to Kenya to investigate an enterprising idea: franchising not burger and donut shops, but health services and drugs in rural Africa. American businessmen are teaming with African entrepreneurs to spread for-profit clinics around the country in the hopes of providing quality, affordable medical care to even Kenya's poorest people. But can they overcome obstacles like extreme poverty, corruption, cheaper fraudulent services, and long distances to establish a sustained solution to a chronic problem? "If we had as many franchise outlets delivering health care in developing countries as Subway has sandwich shops, we've estimated that we could serve about 120 million people a year," Businessman Scott Hillstrom, who conceived the idea, told NOW's David Brancaccio. This is part of a new beat on NOW and NOW Online called "Enterprising Ideas" that focuses on innovative solutions to social problems around the world. For the next two years, NOW will devote time to examining how people are applying business skills toward a new kind of bottom line: making the world a better place.
Fri, Jun 1, 2007
The number of inmates in American prisons is outpacing the system's ability to hold them all. In one startling example, California prisons hold 70,000 more inmates than they're designed for, even though the state has built a dozen new prisons in the last 15 years. One of the biggest reasons is rampant recidivism. "Right now, 7 out of every 10 inmates that leaves this prison comes back," California Warden Mike Poulos tells NOW. "We need to stop that revolving door." NOW goes inside an Illinois prison that may have the answer to California's problems. With its innovative plan to keep released inmates from coming back, the Sheridan Correctional Center is trying to redefine "tough on crime" by being the largest fully dedicated drug prison in the country. The approach involves aggressive counseling, job training...and following the convicts after they get out. Can their novel approach keep convicts out of jail for good? NOW looks at the lives of three different men -- all in different stages of the system -- to find out.
Fri, Jun 8, 2007
In 2006, Americans spent at least $14 billion dollars on procedures involving coronary stents -- little tubes that open clogged arteries to the heart. But according to the FDA, there's no evidence that stents significantly reduce the risk of future heart attacks. Now, a major study from a top cardiologist is suggesting many of the procedures prescribed for chest pains are overused. NOW investigates the facts behind coronary procedures and finds -- to no surprise -- that money is as much an issue as medicine. "There's no question that coronary intervention is big business. There is a lot of money involved in this," Researcher Dr. James Ferguson tells NOW. "And this gets everybody very nervous. And very upset. And very passionate." With big medical device makers so vested in the sale and marketing of their equipment, are some putting profits above patients?
Fri, Jun 15, 2007
In the 1970s and 80s, Land Developer Gary Bradley worked to transform Austin, Texas' pristine hill country into lucrative residential subdivisions, making both headlines and lots of money. When local residents learned of new plans to develop 4,000 acres over nearby Barton Creek, they rose up to stop Bradley and his partners in their tracks. Whereas the developers had strong connections in the Texas legislature -- and a powerful ally in eventual Governor George W. Bush -- the city had an even stronger connection to their unspoiled home. NOW's David Brancaccio talks with filmmaker Laura Dunn about her documentary, "The Unforeseen," which captures the drama, passion, and heartfelt convictions on all sides of the conflict without making easy targets of any of them.
Fri, Jul 6, 2007
While 45% of all children in the United States are receiving some form of public medical assistance, 9 million children are not covered by either public or private health care. The State Children's Health Insurance Program -- or SCHIP -- is a block grant from the federal government to cover those low-income children, but the fund is running out of money. NOW investigates how SCHIP's future is caught up in a battle between those who think the government insures too many kids, and those who think it's not doing enough.
Fri, Jul 13, 2007
A California Assemblywoman's personal environmental mission to reduce auto emissions inspired her colleagues to act and other states to follow suit. Supported by favorable federal court decisions, encouraged by an iconic Governor, and armed with new laws, her state is now on the cutting edge of efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of everything from American power plants to automobiles. NOW investigates not only California's aggressive stance against global warming, but also strong political opposition standing in the way of its expansion. Are California and the EPA headed for a showdown? Also on the show, "The Algebra Project," an inspiring program to uplift low-income schoolchildren with the power of math.
Fri, Jul 20, 2007
Does abortion cause long-term emotional and psychological problems for women? NOW introduces viewers to a new front in the effort to end abortions in the United States: claims of extreme negative effects on a woman's mental health. Once focusing primarily on the unborn child, anti-abortion advocates see new hope in an argument that focuses on the women who've made or are about to make a fateful decision. All sides of the debate have been listening and weighing in, including the Supreme Court.
Fri, Aug 3, 2007
A strong blow to the Bush Administration's detainee policy, and the military lawyer who dealt it. David Brancaccio talks with Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, whose Supreme Court victory on behalf of his client, a Guantanamo Bay detainee, successfully challenged the Bush administration's detainee policy. It also laid the foundations for the current Congressional debate over how to try those accused of terrorism. Will this development in the war on terror deliver swifter justice or false hope?
Fri, Aug 10, 2007
In America, the top one-tenth of one percent of earners makes about the same money per year collectively as the millions of Americans in the bottom fifty percent combined. This is putting a tight squeeze on the middle class, while leaving millions of others in the cold. This week, David Brancaccio talks with Pulitzer prize-winning financial reporter David Cay Johnston, as well as author and advocate Beth Shuman about the state of our country's vast income divide and how it's hurting those just trying to make ends meet.
Fri, Aug 10, 2007
Was there a White House plot to illegally suppress votes in 2004? Is there a similar plan for the upcoming elections? NOW examines documents and evidence that points to a Republican Party plan designed to keep Democrats from voting, by targeting people based on their race and ethnicity. Congress is investigating, and so are we. We speak with David Iglesias, one of eight fired U.S. Attorneys, who says he lost his job because he refused to go along with the White House plan to suppress votes.
Fri, Aug 17, 2007
In the fall of 2003, one of the largest recorded wildfires in California's history destroyed over 2,200 houses and killed fifteen people. Soon after, many who'd lost their homes had a rude awakening: their insurance did not nearly cover their losses as expected. The insurance industry, which claims to cover "more property, more lives, more liability-related risks than any time at history," is busy fighting allegations that customers are receiving smaller payouts than what they were promised. This week, NOW collaborates with Bloomberg Markets magazine to investigate tactics some insurance companies may be using to reduce, avoid, or stall homeowners' claims in an effort to boost their own earnings. "The insurance industry...is purposely misleading customers," California Lieutenant Governor and former Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi tells NOW. "The first commandment of the insurance industry is, 'Thou shalt pay as little, as late, as possible.'...You go to financial heaven if you can carry out that commandment." The insurance industry is enjoying record-breaking profits, but who's paying the price?
Fri, Aug 24, 2007
Choosing to go to war is both a government's decision and one made by individual enlistees. But changing your mind once you're in the army is a risky decision with serious consequences. NOW talks to two soldiers who went AWOL and eventually left the Army, but who took very different paths. NOW captures the moment when one man turns himself in, and when another applies for refugee status in Canada, becoming one of the 20,000 soldiers who have deserted the army since the War in Iraq began. Each describes what drove him to follow his conscience over his call to duty, and what penalties and criticism were endured as a result. "I see things differently having lived through the experience," former army medic Agustin Aguayo tells NOW. "When I returned from Iraq, after much reflection I knew deep within me I could never go back."
Fri, Sep 7, 2007
Roughly one in seven of America's active duty military soldiers is a woman, but a NOW investigation found that sexual assault and rape is widespread. One study of National Guard and Reserve forces found that almost one in four women had been assaulted or raped. Last year alone, almost 3,000 soldiers reported sexual assault and rape by other soldiers. In one of the only national television broadcasts of the issue, NOW features women who speak out for the first time about what happened. One woman recounts her ordeal of rape by her superior officer. Many more don't report the incidents for fear of how it will affect their careers. The shocking phenomenon has a label: military sexual trauma, or MST. NOW meets women courageously battling to overcome their MST, bringing light to an issue that's putting the army in shame. A NOW exclusive investigation.
Fri, Sep 14, 2007
On the heels of a much-anticipated progress report in Washington, NOW travels to Iraq for an exclusive, hard look at the war through the telling eyes of U.S. soldiers on the ground, and of the families they left behind. We also examine first-hand the so-called "Anbar Awakening," a controversial partnership between U.S. soldiers and Sunni tribal leaders, many of whom who had previously been fighting the Americans. Some--including President Bush--are calling this a significant step forward in reestablishing peace and order in Iraq. Hear what soldiers on the ground have to say. We first met the Third Infantry's First Brigade from Georgia's Ft. Stewart in a NOW show broadcast last January, only weeks before they headed back to Iraq for the third deployment in four years. As the long months of the "surge" unfold, we see them fighting an elusive enemy that prefers roadside bombs to pitched battles, while back at home their newborns become toddlers, and birthdays and anniversaries come and go. With the personal and political effects of constant redeployment and re-strategizing apparent everywhere, are we at a turning point or a breaking point?
Fri, Sep 21, 2007
Microfinancing has been hailed as a breakthrough in combating global poverty by giving small loans to impoverished people in the hopes of transforming their lives. But one very profitable Mexican lending program is now under intense scrutiny. This week, NOW continues its "Enterprising Ideas" series with a look at Compartamos bank, which started as a nonprofit organization lending small sums of money to poor indigenous Mexican women to help them start their own businesses. Today, it's a for-profit bank with more than 600,000 Mexican clients. Interviewing both grateful loan recipients and vocal critics -- like Nobel prize-winning microfinance pioneer Mohammed Yunus -- NOW investigates if Compartamos is truly serving the poor, or exploiting them.
Fri, Sep 28, 2007
Explores issues surrounding Post Traumatic Stress in veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars. David Brancaccio interviews Iraq War veteran Michael Zacchea, a Marine lieutenant colonel who trained Iraqi troops and fought in the battle of Fallujah. Haunted by the violence he saw there, Zacchea and other soldiers and diagnosed with PTSD he now faces a lifelong struggle to leave the horrors of war behind and reclaim his life.
Fri, Nov 9, 2007
NOW investigates the latest Congressional maneuvers to determine the fate of a children's health care program. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, is a block grant from the federal government to cover children whose family incomes exceed that which would make them eligible for Medicaid, but are too low to afford private insurance. But the fund is quickly running out of money. President Bush vetoed a bipartisan SCHIP reauthorization bill on October 3, claiming it would attract recipients who could otherwise afford private insurance. Now, the issue has become a political free-for-all, with family lives hanging in the balance. As part of its investigation, NOW interviewed Graeme Frost and his parents. Graeme is a twelve year-old boy whose family has been using SCHIP to pay for his medical expenses following a car accident. After Frost told his story as part of the Democratic weekly radio address at the end of September, he and his family became the targets of right wing attacks. Many are now asking: Did Congressional Republicans assist in a smear campaign?
Fri, Nov 16, 2007
NOW travels to North Minneapolis to investigate the mortgage meltdown that's left the city scarred with boarded-up and abandoned houses. What's happened in communities like this one has investors everywhere shaken. Wall Street firms are stumbling and markets around the globe are reeling. Economists worry the mortgage bust may even lead to a recession. By one estimate, investors could eventually see as much as 400 billion dollars go down the drain--losses almost twice as big as the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s. NOW connects the dots to reveal the extent to which recklessness, corruption and greed created the subprime mess that now threatens to undermine our entire economy. David Brancaccio talks to Rep. Keith Ellison, who grew up in North Minneapolis and who has pushed legislation to address the crisis. He also talks to Ameriquest whistleblower Mark Bomchill, who explains the competitive "boiler room" culture that encouraged brokers to aggressively push mortgage products they knew clients would be unable to repay.
Fri, Nov 23, 2007
NOW shines a bright light on the scandalous connection between VECO Corporation -- an Alaska-based oil services company -- and Alaska's old-boy Republican network. Two state legislators have been convicted in Federal court for accepting bribes from VECO, while one more awaits trial. The FBI has video and audio evidence that reveal VECO executives shockingly handing out cash to those legislators in exchange for promises to roll back a tax on the oil industry. But that may only be the tip of the oily iceberg. NOW's Maria Hinojosa learns that dozens more lawmakers are being eyed in the growing scandal, including one of the country's most powerful politicians, Alaska U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. NOW investigates the bribes, the connections to Big Oil and the payoffs to obtain friendly tax policies.
Fri, Dec 7, 2007
On the very day Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese warplanes 66 years ago, David Brancaccio interviews filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick and the Rev. James Forbes Jr. about Burns and Novick's epic World War II documentary "The War". Looking to the past as a mirror to the present, the four discuss how the waging of war intersects with our notion of democracy. "It's incumbent upon a democratic society to evaluate what the arithmetic is -- the cost of war," Burns tells the group. Sharp insight about the year's must-see documentary, and the modern lessons contained therein.
Thu, Dec 13, 2007
At the intersection of the Internet and politics, presidential candidate Ron Paul's supporters are rewriting the rules of political campaigns. NOW explores how the Texas congressman and his supporters are using the Internet to attract voters -- and massive contributions -- from across the political spectrum. Supporters include anti-war progressives, anti-tax libertarians, civil libertarians, and even some white supremacists. The common theme is anger over where the country is heading. "Ron Paul's campaign is so extraordinary to many of us because even while it was getting massive online traffic, you'd be lucky to get a whisper of his campaign in a lot of media outlets," said Zephyr Teachout, Howard Dean's former online organizer and now a Duke University professor. That anonymity changed when, on November 5, Paul's campaign raised a record-breaking $4.2 million -- even though many of his followers have little political activism experience and were acting online without the help of Paul's official campaign. "I think the message should be the only thing that counts, but you can't get the message out without the money," Paul tells NOW. Can viral energy and passion in the virtual world translate into real world votes?