Frontline
Season 15
TV-MA
Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.
Where to Watch Season 15
18 Episodes
- The Choice '96E1
The Choice '96FRONTLINE opens its fifteenth season on PBS with a dual biography of the 1996 presidential candidates, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. Interweaving their public careers and private lives, the two-hour report offers an illuminating portrait of each candidate's record and, most importantly, his character, to help voters understand what kind of president each might be. - The Navy BluesE2
The Navy BluesFRONTLINE examines the Navy after Tailhook, an investigation of seismic shock caused by the sex scandal involving naval aviators five years ago and its continuing impact on the Navy. The film explores the controversy over the post-Tailhook mandate to introduce women into combat roles and positions of greater authority. The report also looks at how these pressures weighed on Admiral Mike Boorda, the Navy's chief of naval operations, who committed suicide the following spring. - Why America Hates the PressE3
Why America Hates the PressFRONTLINE offers a tough, insider's examination of the culture and tactics of the national press corps. With public respect for the press at an all-time low-----on par with public regard for politicians----journalists have begun to break ranks to probe what has gone wrong. FRONTLINE follows the nation's top political journalists along the 1996 presidential campaign trail and behind the scenes of the weekly talk shows where reporters are transformed into celebrity pundits. Through the eyes of a few key journalists, this report explores the dynamics of the news business and its troubling impact on American politics. - Loose NukesE4
Loose NukesFRONTLINE investigates the new nuclear nightmare of the post-Cold War era. While the fear of nuclear annihilation has faded, the security of 1,400 tons of weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium----enough nuclear material to make roughly 100,000 weapons----is vulnerable to theft in the former Soviet Union. Top American officials call its potential diversion to rogue states or terrorist groups a major threat to U.S. national security. FRONTLINE examines the most serious case of nuclear smuggling in Russia to date and explores the perilous state of nuclear security in a country already rife with chaos and corruption. - Secret DaughterE5
Secret DaughterFRONTLINE producer June Cross tells the intricate story of her own family through the prism of the changing face of race relations in America. Cross, born to a white mother and an African-American father in the early 1950s, was given away by her mother to live with a black family in Atlantic City when she was four.She only saw her mother and stepfather, TV star Larry Storch, on visits to Hollywood during school vacations. But Cross's mother was afraid her husband's career would be destroyed if the truth about Cross was discovered, so she kept her a secret. FRONTLINE takes viewers on an epic journey across the racial divide, into the hidden world of Hollywood and deep into the complicated relationship between a daughter and the mother who gave her away. - Betting on the MarketE6
Betting on the MarketFor fourteen years, Wall Street has produced record gains and has been embraced by America as the place where hopes and dreams can be realized -- but does America understand the nature of the risk? Since the beginning of the 1980s, close to half the nation has invested in the stock market directly or through mutual funds, which now hold three trillion dollars of the American public's money. Frontline traces the seduction of an entire generation of Americans into the stock market and looks at its implications for the nation. The program follows Garrett Van Wagoner, one of the nation's hottest mutual fund managers, and tells the story of Peter Lynch, celebrated manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund. - Six O'Clock NewsE7
Six O'Clock NewsFRONTLINE showcases the latest work of filmmaker Ross McElwee, producer of the widely acclaimed 'Sherman's March' and 'Time Indefinite.' In Six O'clock News,' McElwee and his camera investigate the aftermath of the life-shattering events reported every day on the evening news. Moving beyond the graphic television images of violence and natural disasters, McElwee seeks out the individuals whose lives have been inexplicably altered by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, forest fires, and murder. The result is a thought-provoking journey across the tenuous line between order and chaos and an inquiry into how these events impact the victims' faith in God. In an introspective and sometimes humorous broadcast, McElwee explores the 'nagging metaphysical questions' behind the 'Six O'clock News.' - What Jennifer SawE8
What Jennifer SawIdentified by the victim, Ronald Cotton spent eleven years in prison for rape. But in 1995, DNA evidence proved Cotton could not have been the attacker. With unprecedented access to the central figures in the investigation, confidential police reports and legal files, FRONTLINE delves into the Cotton case, examining the reliability of eyewitness identification and the implications of DNA evidence for the American justice system. In an exclusive interview, Jennifer Thompson tells the story of her brutal rape and how, twelve years later, she must confront the consequences of her mistaken identification. - Murder, Money, and MexicoE10
Murder, Money, and MexicoFor six years, Carlos and Raul Salinas ruled Mexico -- Carlos as president, his brother Raul as his political fixer. The brothers convinced Washington, Wall Street, and the Mexican people a new age of political freedom and the prosperity had dawned for Mexico. But in 1994, within days of Salinas leaving office, the Mexican economy collapsed, throwing the world financial system into crisis and revealing a story of scandal, corruption, and murder which left Carlos in exile and Raul in prison. FRONTLINE follows this modern fable of two brothers, exploring the charges of corruption in the Salinas government and examining the fallout of Mexico's economic demise for America and the world. - The FixersE11
The FixersAs campaign finance scandals dominate the headlines, FRONTLINE correspondent Peter Boyer follows the story of how easily small-time political operators Nora and Gene Lum have used a little money and a lot of moxie to get close to the president. Boyer journeys to Hawaii in search of this husband and wife team of local political fixers, who in two years parlayed a handful of political contributions into millions of dollars of personal wealth and fourteen visits to the White House. - Nuclear ReactionE12
Nuclear ReactionSince 1978, no new nuclear power stations have been commissioned in the United States. Americans, once enthusiastic about nuclear power, now consider it one of the most serious risks to human life and health. But the American people's aversion to nuclear power has perplexed many nuclear scientists who believe it poses only trivial risks to the public. FRONTLINE correspondent and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Richard Rhodes looks at what has derailed nuclear power in the United States and at the differing national attitudes toward nuclear power. - Little CriminalsE13
Little CriminalsIt was an unthinkable crime. In California, a six-year-old boy entered the home of a neighbor to steal a tricycle and savagely beat Ignacio Bermudez, Jr., a thirty-day-old infant. The boy was arrested and became the youngest person in U.S. history ever charged with attempted murder. Today, doctors fear Ignacio may never walk, see, or care for himself. In a film of surprising candor and emotional depth, FRONTLINE explores the conscience of a community and the haunting problem of violent crimes committed by ever-younger children. - The Opium KingsE14
The Opium KingsIn a journalistic odyssey of more than three decades, filmmaker Adrian Cowell ventures into a remote corner of Burma known as Shan State, where much of the world's heroin originates. FRONTLINE chronicles the rise and fall of Khun Sa, a Shan nationalist leader and warlord who has long been a chief target of U.S. drug enforcement. In interviews with drug-war figures ranging from opium farmers to U.S. officials, Cowell unravels the complex political, economic, and diplomatic web that surrounds the heroin business. - Innocence Lost: the PleaE15
Innocence Lost: the PleaFRONTLINE producer Ofra Bikel revisits the defendants in the Little Rascals Day Care sexual abuse case and reports on how each of them, while accused of the same crimes, have met with dramatically different fates. In 1991, FRONTLINE broadcast Bikel's Emmy Award-winning profile of Edenton, North Carolina, a town torn by reports of sexual abuse emerging from its best day-care center. More than thirty people were accused, and seven were eventually indicted on hundreds of abuse charges. In 1993, 'Innocence Lost: The Verdict,' winner of a DuPont Columbia Silver Baton and the Grand Prize at the Banff Television Festival, detailed stunning courtroom events and raised serious questions about the fairness of the trials which resulted in twelve life sentences for Little Rascals owner Bob Kelly and one life sentence for day-care worker Dawn Wilson. 'Innocence Lost: The Plea' reveals what has become of those caught up in this controversial case. - Hot GunsE16
Hot GunsTwo years ago, Evelyn Garcia was shot to death. Police arrested her husband -- a twice convicted felon -- but when they tried to trace the murder weapon, the manufacturer said the gun had never been made. How could a gun that kills not exist? FRONTLINE and the Center for Investigative Reporting take viewers inside the illegal handgun market and follow federal agents as they investigate one of their biggest cases ever into stolen guns and the illicit gun market. - Easy MoneyE17
Easy MoneyCasino gambling -- once the domain of mobsters and hustlers -- has emerged as one of the most popular forms of adult entertainment. Since 1992, gaming revenues have doubled along with the number of states that have made it legal. Today, the gaming industry is no longer an outlaw business, but it is a national economic force with substantial political muscle. FRONTLINE chronicles how America's gaming industry has gone legit and examines the evolution of its political influence. The film also explores the astonishing growth of Indian gaming and the surprising role governments have played in promoting and legitimizing gambling. - Nazi GoldE18
Nazi GoldIt may be the final tragedy of the Holocaust. For years, many survivors and their families have tried in vain to collect assets deposited in Swiss banks before the war. Most were turned away empty-handed. Today, new information about Switzerland's financial relationship to the Nazi war effort has blemished its long-held reputation of neutrality. FRONTLINE examines the Swiss role in supporting Nazi Germany and explores the internal political events in Switzerland that allowed their border police to turn fleeing Jews away, into the hands of the Gestapo. The film also examines the Swiss response as they have been forced to address Holocaust survivors seeking reparations.
