Audio Documentaries

The APM Reports documentary unit, formerly American RadioWorks, produces programs about education, history, justice and more.

March 19, 2018

Ethics Be Damned, Part 1

More than half of Trump's 20-person Cabinet has engaged in questionable or unethical conduct since taking office. The nation's top ethics official says "these are perilous times." In the first installment of "Ethics Be Damned," APM Reports investigative journalist Tom Scheck joins Lizzie O'Leary of Marketplace Weekend to discuss whether the federal ethics system is broken.

September 11, 2017

Shadow Class: College Dreamers in Trump's America

President Trump is ending a program that allowed some young, undocumented immigrants to stay and work in the United States. For some, that may mean the end of a dream of going to college. APM Reports tells the stories of young immigrants fighting for a piece of the American Dream and examines the historical events that brought us to this moment.

September 11, 2017

Hard to Read: How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia

There are proven ways to help people with dyslexia learn to read, and a federal law that's supposed to ensure schools provide kids with help. But across the country, public schools are denying children proper treatment and often failing to identify them with dyslexia in the first place.

September 4, 2017

Shackled Legacy: Universities and the Slave Trade

As more schools begin to confront their participation in slavery, they also consider how to make amends.

August 28, 2017

Keeping Teachers

There may be nothing more important in the educational life of a child than having effective teachers. But the United States is struggling to attract and keep teachers.

February 17, 2017

Historically Black, Part 3

The Question of Black Identity, Black Love Stories

February 10, 2017

Historically Black, Part 2

Tracking Down a Slave's Bill of Sale, The Path to Founding an HBCU, The Fiddler who Charmed Missouri

February 3, 2017

Historically Black, Part 1

NASA's Human Computers, Harlem Through James Van Der Zee's Lens, The Spirit of the Million Man March

September 8, 2016

Rewriting the Sentence: College Behind Bars

After an abrupt reversal 20 years ago, some prisons and colleges try to maintain college education for prisoners.

September 1, 2016

What It Takes: Chasing Graduation at High-Poverty High Schools

The nation's high school graduation rate is at an all-time high, but high-poverty schools face a stubborn challenge. Schools in Miami and Pasadena are trying to do things differently.

August 25, 2016

Spare the Rod: Reforming School Discipline

A get-tough attitude prevailed among educators in the 1980s and 1990s, but research shows that zero-tolerance policies don't make schools safer and lead to disproportionate discipline for students of color.

August 18, 2016

Stuck at Square One: The Remedial Education Trap

A system meant to give college students a better shot at succeeding is actually getting in the way of many, costing them time and money and taking a particular toll on students of color.

May 12, 2016

Bought and Sold: The New Fight Against Teen Sex Trafficking

The nation is changing the way it thinks about teen sex trafficking. States have decriminalized it for teens and offered help, and some are attacking the demand for commercial sex.

May 12, 2016

Thirsty Planet

In much of India, getting enough water is a low-tech affair. In some places, women draw water by hand; in others suicide rates among farmers have risen because drought and dropping water tables make their lives difficult.

September 10, 2015

Beyond the Blackboard: Building Character in Public Schools

This documentary explores the "Expeditionary Learning" approach, traces the history of ideas that led to its inception, and investigates what American schools could learn from its success.

September 3, 2015

From Boots to Books: Student Veterans and the New GI Bill

The longest war in American history is drawing to a close. Now, the men and women who served are coming home, and many hope to use higher education to build new, better lives.

August 27, 2015

Teaching Teachers

Research shows good teaching makes a big difference in how much kids learn. But the United States lacks an effective system for training new teachers or helping them get better once they're on the job.

August 20, 2015

The Living Legacy: Black Colleges in the 21st Century

Before the civil rights movement, African Americans were largely barred from white-dominated institutions of higher education. And so black Americans, and their white supporters, founded their own schools, which came to be known as Historically Black Colleges and Universities.