Retro Report on PBS

Season 1

Understanding the present by revealing the past: Hosts Celeste Headlee and Masud Olufani uncover surprising connections between today's headlines and the past. New Yorker humorist Andy Borowitz adds a dash of wit.

8 Episodes

  • Episode 1
    E1
    Episode 1Learn social media's addictive power. Discover NFL protests’ ties to 1968. See how Wall Street women fought harassment, and a python invasion. Andy Borowitz compares politics ads to cigarettes.
  • Episode 2
    E2
    Episode 2Uncover crime evidence pulled from DNA websites. See how drug rules stem from a pill’s side effects. Learn how a screen addiction cure is rooted in the past and why Americans are ambivalent about robots. Andy Borowitz objects to “no news.”
  • Episode 3
    E3
    Episode 3Learn why crime witnesses fail to act. Meet a Naval officer who transformed the military. Psychedelic drugs like LSD are back in the lab. Follow the voyage of a trash barge that persuaded us to recycle. Andy Borowitz highlights lunar hoaxes.
  • Episode 4
    E4
    Episode 4Hear how President Trump is taking on the press with a time-tested strategy. Learn the origins of vaccine fears. Discover the story behind free agency, and a law that was meant to rescue wild horses. Andy Borowitz bemoans the no-apology apology.
  • Episode 5
    E5
    Episode 5Learn how texting could reduce suicides. See why surrogate parenthood is still being shaped by Baby M. Shine a light on lead, banned but not gone. Climate help may come from the Cold War. Andy Borowitz recalls a flaming river.
  • Episode 6
    E6
    Episode 6Discover the lessons from a 1970s public housing experiment. Understand the roots of newborn testing. Explore head injuries in pro sports. See why too few people, not too many, is a problem. Andy Borowitz takes on Space Force.
  • Episode 7
    E7
    Episode 7Understand immigration controversies that echo the past. Learn the truth about a lawsuit over hot coffee. Uncover the origin of special ops. See how risks are measured after Challenger. Andy Borowitz looks at Anita Bryant’s unintended influence.
  • Episode 8
    E8
    Episode 8Discover how sex ed programs are informed by past failures. Debunk a myth about crime. Uncover the story behind new AIDS hot spots. Learn the legacy of Napster. Andy Borowitz tackles TV bullying.

Cast of Season 1

  • Celeste HeadleeHerself
  • Masud OlufaniHimself
  • Andy BorowitzHimself

 

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