Audio Documentaries

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

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May 1, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Editing

ARW editor Peter Clowney talks with Stephen Smith about the processing of editing radio documentaries.

May 1, 2009

A Better Life: Creating the American Dream

The "American dream" has powered the hopes and aspirations of Americans for generations. But what exactly is the American dream? How did we come to define it? And is it changing?

April 24, 2009

Behind the Scenes: A Better Life, Part 2

ARW producers Ellen Guettler and Kate Ellis discuss the “American dream.” It began as a plain but revolutionary notion: each […]

April 17, 2009

Behind the Scenes: The Great Depression

ARW Executive Editor Stephen Smith hosts a panel discussion on the political, financial, and cultural sides of America during the […]

April 12, 2009

For almost a century, Muncie, Indiana has been known as "Middletown," the quintessential American community. But now, as the rust-belt city grapples with deepening recession, many residents are losing their hold on the middle class.

April 10, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Foreclosure City, Part 2

Producer Krissy Clark is moving on to the editing phase for her documentary on the devastating foreclosure crisis happening in […]

April 3, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Education and the Economy, Part 2

Last week, ARW producer Emily Hanford stopped by to talk about a trio of stories she’s been working on about […]

April 1, 2009

Foreclosure City

Until recently, Las Vegas was one of the few places where the American Dream still seemed widely possible. Each month, thousands of people flocked there, lured by the promise of good jobs and a chance to own a home. It was the fastest growing city in the country. But now, Las Vegas has a new distinction: the nation's highest foreclosure rate.

March 27, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Education and the Economy

The effects of the economic downturn are far and wide. While slowdowns used to be a good time to return […]

March 20, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Bridge to Somewhere

With the country’s economy in a tailspin, many Americans are calling for a new New Deal: an infusion of federal […]

March 13, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Stock Crazy

To understand the American fascination with the stock market, you have to look at the American Dream and how it’s […]

March 6, 2009

Behind the Scenes: A Better Life

Millions of Americans are slipping from the middle class, and it’s no longer certain that savvy, hard-working parents can pave […]

February 27, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Hard Times in Middletown

Muncie, Indiana, often thought of as the “typical American city,” has become a rust-belt city grappling with de-industrialization and deepening […]

February 20, 2009

Behind the Scenes: Foreclosure City

Producer Krissy Clark has been finding scenes, meeting characters, and gathering tape in Las Vegas for her upcoming documentary on […]

October 12, 2008

Campaign '68

The 1968 presidential election was a watershed in American politics. After dominating the political landscape for more than a generation, the Democratic Party crumbled. Richard M. Nixon was elected president and a new era of Republican conservatism was born.

October 1, 2008

What Killed Sergeant Gray

Sergeant Adam Gray made it home from Iraq only to die in his barracks. Investigating his death, American RadioWorks pieces together a story of soldiers suffering psychological scars - because they abused Iraqi prisoners.

October 1, 2008

After the Projects

Michael Whitehead lived in Chicago's Ida B. Wells housing project for nearly 50 years. In 2008, the Chicago Housing Authority closed down Wells, as part of its "Plan for Transformation," a city-wide public housing rehabilitation effort.

September 12, 2008

Pueblo, USA

The nation's foreign-born population will soon surpass the 14.7 percent share reached in 1910, when the Statue of Liberty beckoned to Europe's "huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Most of the new immigrants are from Latin America.

April 12, 2008

Business of the Bomb

In January 2000, a German engineer living in South Africa met with a friend and business partner to hatch a deal. Gerald Wisser, a 61-year-old broker, visited his friend's pipe factory outside Johannesburg to see if his friend wanted to make a bid on a manufacturing project.

April 1, 2008

Gangster Confidential

Rene Enriquez was a leader in one of America's most violent gangs, the Mexican Mafia. He's serving 20 years to life in California for murders he committed for the gang.

March 12, 2008

King's Last March

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Four decades later, King remains one of the most vivid symbols of hope for racial unity in America. But that's not the way he was viewed in the last year of his life.

November 12, 2007

Design of Desire

New research is lending insight into why we want stuff that we don't need. It also explains why some people are what are called tightwads, while other people are spendthrifts. This site is about buying and selling. About why we buy, how designers and marketers influence what we buy, and how individuals are using market ideas, tricks, and tools to market themselves.

November 1, 2007

Wanted: Parents

Advocates for kids are trying to persuade more families to adopt teenagers. If teenagers in foster care don't find permanent families, they face a grim future. They "age out" of foster care, usually when they turn 18 years old, and many wind up on the streets. Every year, more than 24,000 American young people age out of foster care.

September 12, 2007

Battles of Belief

America seemed united in fighting "The Good War" but not everyone fought in the same way.

September 12, 2007

An Imperfect Revolution

In the 1970s, for the first time, large numbers of white children and black children began attending school together. It was an experience that shaped them for life.

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