NOW - PBS Podcast
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
A weekly PBS television news program.
About Podcasting:
For those of you new to podcasting, Click Here to read our "Introduction to Podcasting" Article.
 Be the First to Review NOW - PBS Podcast
| Podcast Feed URL: |
Podcast Website:
http://www.pbs.org/now/podcast.html
Subprime Solution?
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, June 27, 2008
After the subprime mortgage debacle, have we learned that quick-turnaround mortgages to customers with low credit scores are always too good to be true? One enterprising entrepreneur says NO, and he has some success to back it up. NOW on PBS takes a look at the non profit organization "Just Price Solutions" and the man behind it, Brian Cosgrove. Cosgrove created a new mortgage model that, in his view, marries the speed and efficiency of the subprime model to safe lending practices including homeownership counseling and fixed rate mortgages. Cosgrove says the new system helps prevent foreclosures and safely protects individuals from predatory subprime lenders, but not everyone agrees. Some feel home ownership is oversold in America and that this mortgage enterprise is still risky business. Can Just Price Solutions place and keep people in affordable homes, or is this another cautionary tale in the making?
 Download File - 7.9 MB
 Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
India Rising
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, June 20,
11:00:00 2008, EST
The global middle class is expected to swell by more than 1 billion people over the next decade, with the biggest increases in China and India. While millions are being lifted out of poverty as a result, the booming middle class is also consuming more global resources. As a result, prices for everything from steel to gasoline to food are soaring. NOW reports from Pune, India, where college graduates are getting tech jobs, traditional families are flocking to the new mall, and professionals are hoping their new-found economic might will make their country an even bigger global player. But can America's middle-class -- and the rest of the world -- afford this unprecedented shift in the global economy? The world is buying like never before, but who's paying the price?
Download File - 7.9 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Fighting the Army
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, June 13, 2008
Thousands of U.S. troops are getting discharged out of the Army. Many suffer from post traumatic stress disorders and brain injuries and aren't getting the care they need. The Army claims these discharged soldiers have pre-existing mental illnesses or are guilty of misconduct. But advocates say these are wrongful discharges, a way for the army to get rid of "problem" soldiers quickly, without giving them the treatment to which they're entitled. NOW travels to Texas' Fort Hood to meet traumatized soldiers fighting a new battle, this one with the army they served. NOW also interviews the army's top psychiatrist, Col. Elspeth Ritchie.
Download File - 8.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Dialogue with Dictators?
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, June 6, 2008
NOW talks with the former head of U.S. Central Command, Admiral William J. Fallon, who resigned in March after a year of duty. Fallon had sharp disagreements with the Bush Administration's Middle East policy toward Iranian President Ahmadinejad. The former commander of all U.S. military forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, Fallon was portrayed in Esquire magazine as the man in the military preventing the administration from going to war with Iran. Also, we talk with political columnist and "The Uprising" author David Sirota about the populist movement spreading through the country. Can organizations that operate at the grassroots level create real political change?
Download File - 7.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Fighting Child Prostitution
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, May 30, 2008
Living in the shadows of contemporary American society are hundreds of thousands of underage prostitutes -- desperate, exploited kids robbed of their childhood and of hope. The Department of Justice estimates that each day at least 300,000 American children are at risk -- on the streets, through escort services and increasingly on the internet. But while the underage sex trade is spreading, some leaders are taking strong measures to stand in its way. NOW on PBS goes to Atlanta, where Mayor Shirley Franklin has created aggressive awareness and crackdown campaigns that target pay-for-sex customers, or "Johns." NOW also meet with activists and crusaders working to help young people escape exploitation and get off the street. But getting out is an uphill battle with a very long road to recovery. Can we stop a child prostitution epidemic in our own country?
Download File - 7.5 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Rape in the Military
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, May 23, 2008
There are more women serving in the military than ever before, and they're in danger -- but not just from combat. Last year, nearly 1400 women reported being assaulted and raped by their fellow soldiers, in some cases by their commanding officers. The shocking phenomenon has a label: military sexual trauma, or MST. NOW on PBS returns to the subject for an updated report and talks to women who've been raped and assaulted while serving in the military. Also on the show, NOW investigates how a hard-hitting Montana program to keep young people away from methamphetamines is working in neighboring Idaho. The Enterprising Idea of using shocking media campaigns was created by billionaire "venture philanthropist" Tom Siebel. NOW talks to Idaho's First Lady, Lori Otter, who, along with the Governor, has dedicated herself to the fight against meth abuse. We also meet a local Idaho mayor whose oldest daughter had been addicted to the drug. Can Montana's success be duplicated in Idaho and elsewhere?
Download File - 8.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Education City
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, May 16, 2008
While America's reputation in the Middle East is hovering at historic lows, the demand for American university-branded education has never been greater. NOW on PBS takes a look at the unprecedented boom of American university campuses in an area where American military and cultural exports are typically viewed with suspicion. In the tiny oil-rich nation of Qatar, American universities like Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, and Virginia Commonwealth are warmly embraced and enthusiastically attended by local residents and students throughout the region. But are some of these schools trading their good name for a big check? NOW travels to Qatar's Education City, the largest collection of American universities in the Middle East to investigate.
Download File - 8.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Prisons for Profit
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, May 09, 2008
A grim new statistic: One in every hundred Americans is now locked behind bars. But in this explosion of inmates some private companies are seeing opportunity. NOW on PBS investigates the government's trend to outsource prisons and prisoners to the private sector. While companies like Corrections Corporation of America say they're doing their part to solve the problem of inmate overflow, critics accuse private prisons of standing in the way of sentencing reform and sacrificing public safety to maximize profits. NOW travels to Colorado, where the controversy is boiling over, to find out. Should incarceration be incorporated?
Download File - 7.7 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Election 2008: What to Expect
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, May 02, 2008
Few predicted how competitive the race for President would be at this point, and no one knows how it will all turn out, but some insiders have the advantage of their own experience to provide a seasoned perspective. NOW on PBS host David Brancaccio shares a table with outspoken former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown and former McCain strategist Dan Schnur for an insider's look at what may happen next, and what the candidates each must do to win.
Download File - 8.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
College Summit
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Apr 25, 2008
While many kids from rich families take going to college for granted, poor kids face a harsher reality. According to one source, only 7% of low-income kids earn a college degree by the age of 25. NOW shares a year-long investigation of an innovative program trying to level that playing field. College Summit is hoping to close the gap by helping students from low-income families select schools, complete college applications, write personal statements, and navigate financial aid. After months of documenting student participants in Denver, it's now time for a reality check: Can poor children get the same shot at college as those on the opposite end of the economic scale, or will rich students always have the advantage? As rejection and acceptance letters arrive in the mail, see who comes closer to achieving their dreams.
Download File - 8.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Health Care Meltdown
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Apr 18, 2008
As the political campaigns gear up for Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, the candidates are trumpeting positions on one of the state's -- and the country's -- thorniest and most pressing issues: health care reform. With health care costs in the Keystone State 11% higher than the national average and rising twice as fast as the average wage, it's a problem Pennsylvania is desperately trying to fix on its own. The state legislature is debating a plan backed by Governor Ed Rendell to provide benefits to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians, but there's disagreement over who's going to foot the bill. NOW gets insight on the problem and its proposed solution from a wide range of Pennsylvanians, including small business owners, legislators, a suburban family, and a packaged dessert company headquartered in Philadelphia that employs over 800 people. But the problem is bigger than Pennsylvania. With 47 million Americans uninsured and so many feeling the pinch of soaring coverage costs, can this Philadelphia experiment make a difference in the national crisis?
Download File - 8.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Taxing the Poor
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Apr 11, 2008
This month, millions of Americans are filing their taxes and hoping for the best, but are rich people actually paying a smaller percentage of taxes than the poor? NOW looks at plans in many states to raise sales taxes and lower property taxes in an effort to generate revenue. But those changes may come at an even bigger price. Anti-poverty advocates say this shift would place the heaviest tax burden on the poorest households--and benefit higher-income Americans. Despite the charge, it's a model many states have long embraced. NOW travels to one of these states, Alabama, to document the personal impact of regressive tax policies on three very different families. They include a working Mom who shows us how a ten percent sales tax on groceries makes a significant difference in what her family eats; a couple living in a ramshackle house in the backwoods who've always held jobs but still face hunger; and a well-to-do suburban couple who benefit from huge tax breaks.
Download File - 7.9 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Daughters for Sale
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Apr 04, 2008
Unable to make ends meet, many families in western Nepal have been forced to sell their daughters, some as young as six, to work far from home as bonded servants in private homes. With living conditions entirely at the discretion of their employers, these girls seldom attend school and are sometimes forced into prostitution. NOW travels to Nepal during the Maghe Sankranti holiday, when labor contractors come to the villages of the area to "buy" the children. There, we meet the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation, which is trying to break the cycle of poverty and pain with an Enterprising Idea. They're providing desperate families with an incentive to keep their daughters: a piglet or a goat that can ultimately be sold for a sum equivalent to that of their child's labor. The organization says it has brought thousands of girls home to live with their families, but many cultural and political challenges still stand in their way.
Download File - 11.1 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Regulators Fail Investors
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Apr 04, 2008
Listen to David Brancaccio's web-exclusive interview with Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Levitt describes an "almost total failure of present regulatory institutions" at the root of the crisis sweeping financial markets, a crisis he assesses as even worse than those involving Enron and Worldcom. "Investors have been sorely, grievously hurt, and our system has been seriously endangered," Levitt said. He goes on to describe regulators as "cheerleaders" for the banks rather than acting in the interest of investors.
Download File - 4.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Save Energy, Save Money, Save the Planet
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Mar 28, 2008
Could a new effort to fight global warming save money and create jobs at the same time? NOW looks at a city-wide plan in Cambridge, Massachusetts to make all their buildings more energy efficient. Up to 80% of emissions in many urban cities comes from buildings. Cambridge hopes that this unprecedented effort to "green" its buildings will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ten percent in just five years, the equivalent of taking 33,000 cars off the road. If every major city in America took the same approach, it would have a significant impact on the carbon footprint of the U.S. -- and it would generate tens of millions of new "green" jobs. The Cambridge Energy Alliance, a non-profit group, will help clients cut their energy use 15-30%, which translates into a lower utility bill. The Alliance will then help clients secure loans to pay for the building retrofits, loans designed to pay themselves off by the savings on those utility bills. Retrofitting thousands of buildings could also create a new green job market in Cambridge. It's a bold new experiment, but the Alliance hopes to become a national model that puts green thinking on display, as well as more green in people's pockets. Will this entrepreneurial effort bring new converts to the environmental movement?
Download File - 8.3 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Toxic Toys?
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Mar 21, 2008
Why does the United States remain one of the few developed countries to allow children to play with toys that some scientists say may cause infertility in boys? The toys in question contain substances called phthalates. While the European Union has banned these substances in products meant for children, there is powerful resistance from the chemical and toy industries to doing the same here.
NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels from California, where citizens have successfully gotten the state to pass a ban on phthalates in children's toys, to New York City's prestigious Toy Fair, and to Washington, D.C., to uncover some answers.
Phthalates help make plastic toys like some rubber ducks and teething rings soft and pliable. But scientific evidence suggests that exposure to phthalates (which are also used in dozens of other consumer items like, makeup, shampoos and shower curtains) may interfere with the sexual development of boys. Last year, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban phthalates in toys. The toy and chemical industry sued the city to block implementation, claiming there's not enough evidence to warrant any action. A similar ban is set to take effect throughout the state of California in 2009.
Investigative Journalist Mark Schapiro, author of "Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power," tells NOW, "By refusing to close the loopholes in EPA laws that regulate chemicals in toys (and other products), the U.S. government is jeopardizing our health, alienating us from the global market, and erasing our role as a world leader in environmental protection."
Is the US falling behind the European Union in regulating chemicals found in products we give our children?
Download File - 8.5 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Economy on the Edge
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Mar 21, 2008
After a tumultuous week on Wall Street and for the economy as a whole, David Brancaccio talks with noted economic forecaster Allen Sinai about what lies ahead. Brancaccio and Sinai discuss the nation's economic crisis and what can be done to stabilize the financial system. Sinai is an economist who has advised both Republican and Democratic administrations. Sinai tells David, "I don't think Americans quite realize the danger we're in economically and financially.
Download File - 10.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Wiretap Whistleblower
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Mar 14, 2008
Should telecommunication companies receive retroactive immunity for their role in helping the government eavesdrop on American phone calls and e-mails? As the Congress and President Bush duel over the answer to that question, NOW on PBS interviews a whistleblower with exclusive insight into the role played by one of those companies. AT&T technician-turned-whistleblower Mark Klein tells David Brancaccio about the "secret room" set up by the National Security Agency inside his AT&T office in San Francisco. He also describes in remarkable detail -- with documents to back him up -- how wires were split and extra equipment was brought in to essentially suck up and store e-mails from all over the country. Klein claims this activity is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Download File - 7.1 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Torture Tactics: Interview with Alex Gibney
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Mar 07, 2008
This year's Oscar-winning feature documentary, "Taxi to the Dark Side", tells the story of an innocent Afghan taxi driver who died while being interrogated and tortured by U.S. soldiers. NOW interviews the film's director, Alex Gibney, about torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, and how the issue is playing out in the presidential race. At the intersection of human rights, civil liberties, and national security, how should America respond?
Download File - 7.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Rewriting Campaign Rules
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Feb 29, 2008
Within days of the crucial Texas and Ohio primaries, a Democratic veteran insider takes us inside the last-minute strategies of the Clinton and Obama campaigns. NOW's David Brancaccio talks with Joe Trippi, the former Senior Advisor to John Edwards who also headed up Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, about the political road ahead. Is this the final act for Clinton and Obama, or will the increasingly contentious fight go on?
Download File - 7.6 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Fighting Over Forests
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Feb 22, 2008
Signed by President Bill Clinton in 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects nearly 60 million acres of the country's national forest lands from most road building, mining, and logging. Over the last seven years, the Bush Administration has tried to amend the landmark regulation to give states more flexibility. NOW travels to southeast Idaho to investigate how a proposed change in the rule threatens to open thousands of acres of pristine public lands to private development. In the report, NOW speaks to representatives from the ranching, environmental, and mining communities, as well an Administration official. Who gets to control the fate of Idaho's vast roadless forests? Find out how you can help shape the answer. Also this week, NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa talks to a prominent feminist and her daughter who agree on lots of womens' rights issues, but are totally opposed in their choices for President.
Download File - 7.8 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Benefits Denied
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Feb 15, 2008
Temporary workers and independent contractors make up nearly a third of the U.S. workforce, and represent a growing asset to companies who rely on freelance flexibility. But corporations are using the designation "freelancer" to avoid paying health care and other benefits, even though many of these workers put in the same hours as their covered counterparts. NOW looks at the effect of this tactic on the lives and personal economy of freelance workers. We also examine an Enterprising Idea to help independent workers manage their personal needs, including benefits, networking, and investment help. Freelancers Union, founded by former labor lawyer and MacArthur grant recipient Sara Horowitz, provides a safety net for over 60,000 workers, but how is it viewed by the traditional labor movement?
Download File - 7.8 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Spinning Election Strategies 2008
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Feb 08, 2008
NOW's David Brancaccio talks with Dan Schnur, John McCain's director of communications in 2000, to see how the McCain campaign plans to unite the Republican Party, and new imperatives for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. What strategies will succeed, and what pitfalls await those with their eyes on the White House?
Download File - 8.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Middle Class Insecurity
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Feb 01, 2008
Leading up to the Super Tuesday primaries, polls indicate that the economy ranks as the number one issue on the minds of Americans, beating out immigration, global warming, even terrorism. NOW on PBS travels to America's heartland -- Illinois -- to investigate rampant anxiety among America's middle class. How did families on the edge of financial collapse get to this point, and which presidential candidate do they think can restore economic hope and stability?
Download File - 8.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
God and Politics 2008
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Jan 25, 2008
No recent Republican President has won without the help of Evangelical Christian voters, and they are credited with Mike Huckabee's recent meteoric rise in the polls. But some in the Evangelical community, disillusioned by what they see as broken promises from the Bush Administration, are rethinking their political strategies. NOW on PBS travels to Wichita, Kansas to investigate how and why the movement is shifting away from hot button issues like abortion and gay rights to broader and less divisive issues like Global Warming and AIDS. Is the religious right forging a new path, and how will it affect their political clout?
Download File - 8.1 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Democrats Divided 2008
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Jan 18, 2008
With the primary season underway, America is focused on whether the next president will be Democrat or Republican. Meanwhile, within the Democratic Party another struggle is unfolding. NOW on PBS reports on a rift between progressives who believe the party has sold out its liberal values and centrists eager to capture a broad swath of the more conservative voters. It's a struggle that is taking place at all levels of government. In Maryland, six-term incumbent Al Wynn is facing a tough challenge from newcomer Donna Edwards. According to Edwards, Wynn has sold out to big business and the Bush agenda, including a vote for the war in Iraq and the 2005 Energy Bill. Wynn says his challenger is naive and doesn't understand that there are choices in politics between compromise and doing nothing. Fueling candidates like Edwards are the footsoldiers of the progressive battle -- bloggers and other political outsiders like Matt Stoller of OpenLeft.com who are drumming up national support on the Internet. Maria Hinojosa speaks with the candidates and Matt Bai, author of The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle To Remake Democratic Politics.
Download File - 8.2 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
The Latino Vote 2008
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Jan 11, 2008
The booming Hispanic population in political swing states is creating opportunities and headaches in both political parties as they try to court the Latino vote. NOW on PBS travels to Florida just weeks before its important primary to examine Republican tactics to win over Hispanic Americans. A fifth of Florida's residents are Hispanic, and Republicans are scoring points on traditional issues of faith and national security. But at the same time, they're frustrating Latinos with what many of them see as harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric. Who has the winning approach?
Download File - 8.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Dirty Politics 2008
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Jan 04, 2008
Political mudslinging as a campaign tactic is as popular as it's ever been. Romney, Clinton, Huckabee, Giuliani, Obama--no one's managed to steer clear of targeted rumors and malicious gossip. NOW on PBS travels to South Carolina, the home of legendary no-holds-barred campaigner Lee Atwater, to see where negative stories come from, how they spread, and whether they can be effectively defeated with positive messaging. "In South Carolina, we know how to run negative campaigns," Rod Shealy, a veteran campaign strategist who was convicted for violating campaign laws, tells NOW. "Your challenge as a campaign is to damage your opponent without getting caught doing it." Will political smears influence the result of the 2008 election?
Download File - 8.5 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
How Green?
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Dec 28, 2007
Can environmentalists and conservative lawmakers get along in the Idaho wilderness? That's the challenge Republican Rep. Mike Simpson took on when he sponsored compromise legislation with the help of the Idaho Conservation League to protect a vast swath of the state's natural environment. But the price is too high for some. NOW talks to residents, ranchers, off-road vehicle fans, and wilderness advocates -- including singer-songwriter and resident Carole King -- to unearth the truth behind a tug-of-war that is playing out not just in Idaho, but in other states and the halls of the U.S. Congress. "Some people thought I'd lost my mind when I said 'we'll try to solve this problem.' But you know, that's the reason you're here. You're elected to try and solve problems" Rep. Simpson tells NOW. Carole King is unconvinced, and says the Gem State's wilderness "is a rare and precious jewel. It's Idaho's Hope Diamond. And if you cut it up into little tiny pieces, just like the Hope Diamond, the little pieces aren't worth anything." Can the red state stay green? (First aired January 5, 2007)
Download File - 8.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Home At Last?
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Dec 21, 2007
What do homeless people most need to reenter the fabric of society? Some say the answer is right there in the question: homes. NOW investigates a program that secures apartments for the long-term homeless, even if they haven't kicked their bad habits. If you think that sounds crazy, think again. Advocates say this approach reduces costs, encourages self-help and counseling participation, and restores self-esteem. The evidence seems to be with them, and the program is spreading to hundreds of cities across the country. NOW follows a man nicknamed 'Footie' who invited us to see this idea in action. (First aired February 2, 2007)
Download File - 7.6 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Ron Paul and Internet Politics
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Fri, Dec 14, 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?
Download File - 7.9 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Talking About War
Author: NOW on PBSnow@thirteen.org (NOW on PBS)
Thu, Dec 07, 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.
Download File - 6.7 MB
|