Flying Cheaper (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

It’s been 15 years since the rebellion in Syria against Bashar al-Assad’s government began. “The Regime” examined how the uprising started and the brutal crackdown that followed. (Aired 2011) On March 6, 2011, young boys painted messages on the walls of a school 60 miles south of Syria’s capital, Damascus. “Freedom, freedom and freedom, only,” read one message. “Down with the corrupt Assad,” read another. Soon after, the boys were rounded up by the government’s secret police. Their fathers went to see the police chief, a cousin of Syria’s then-president, Bashar al-Assad, and begged him to release their children. Airing later that year, “The Regime” examined what happened to the boys, and how outrage over their fate helped to fuel the Syrian uprising. “That very instance of repression, of torture, seemed to galvanize the town itself,” the late reporter Anthony Shadid said in the documentary. “And almost from that moment, the uprising seemed to gain momentum.” As Syrians took to the streets to protest and to call for more freedoms, the swift and brutal response by Assad’s security forces followed

A 2004 examination of India’s AIDS crisis through the eyes of girls and young women sold into sex work, originally aired as part of the FRONTLINE/World series. (Aired 2004) Starting with “India: The Sex Workers,” we are making episodes from FRONTLINE/World’s archive newly available here on the original video platform and on pbs.org as part of an effort to make our past reporting widely accessible. Originally developed by FRONTLINE producers in conjunction with public television stations KQED San Francisco and WGBH Boston, FRONTLINE/World launched in 2002 as a national public TV series that turned its lens on the global community, covering countries and cultures rarely seen on American television. The series completed its final broadcast season in 2010. At the time this FRONTLINE/World documentary was filmed, more than two million women and girls were working in India’s sex trade, and being forced to navigate their country’s AIDS crisis. With more than 4.5 million HIV infections across India at the time, often, the women and girls’ only defense against HIV was convincing men to wear condoms. But frequently, the documentary revealed

An investigation into the fight for justice after a deadly 1981 attack on the village of El Mozote and surrounding areas, and how the case against high-ranking military officials faltered. (Aired 2021) This short documentary from FRONTLINE, Retro Report and ProPublica examined the horrors of what happened when U.S.-trained and equipped Salvadoran soldiers killed some 1,000 civilians, many of them children, in an attack more than 40 years ago. In the documentary, Raymond Bonner — who was one of the first journalists to bear witness to the aftermath of the massacre — recounted the experience of reporting the story and spoke with survivors of the attack. This on-the-ground investigation detailed how, for decades following the tragedy, there was little movement towards holding anyone accountable, and how the case against high-ranking military officials faltered under Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. “Massacre in El Salvador” laid bare the nation’s grisly past and the decades-long struggle for justice. “Massacre in El Salvador” is a FRONTLINE and Retro Report production with ProPublica. The producer and writer is Kit R. Roane. The senior producers are Frank

A powerful and intimate look at the realities of aging in America and the burgeoning population of people who are 85+ years old. (Aired 2006) When the documentary “Living Old” was released, people over 85 were the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. While medical advances enabled an unprecedented number of Americans to live longer and healthier lives, the documentary examined how this new longevity also had unintended consequences. For millions of Americans, living longer also came to mean serious chronic illness and a protracted physical decline that could require an immense amount of care, often for years and sometimes even decades. Yet as the need for care started rising, the number of available caregivers dwindled. With families more dispersed and an overburdened healthcare system, many experts feared the country was on the threshold of a major crisis in care. “Living Old” was a FRONTLINE co-production with Mead Street Films. The documentary was written, produced and directed by Miri Navasky and Karen O’Connor. The executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning. Explore additional reporting on "Living Old" on our

FRONTLINE and NPR followed the trail of one of the final detainees released by the Obama administration from the prison at Guantanamo Bay. (Aired 2017) When President Barack Obama first took office, he signed an executive order to close the controversial military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — where the U.S. has held terror suspects for years without charges. Though he didn’t succeed in closing Gitmo, a symbol of the post-9/11 “war on terror,” Obama made a final push to clear out the camp before President Donald Trump took over. The documentary “Out of Gitmo” examines the challenges and complexities of releasing men who were once deemed “indefinite detainees” — those never charged with a crime but considered too great a risk to let go. “Out of Gitmo” was a collaboration with NPR and WGBH News. The writer and producer was James Jacoby. The correspondent was NPR/WGBH News reporter Arun Rath. The senior producer was Frank Koughan. The senior investigations editor for NPR was Robert Little. “Out of Gitmo” was a production with Left/Right Docs. The executive producers for Left/Right

As Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term, FRONTLINE took a probing look at the first four years of his presidency. (Aired 2013) From President Barack Obama’s battles with Republican opponents over health care and the economy, to his dramatic expansion of targeted killings of enemies abroad, “Inside Obama’s Presidency” examined the 44th U.S. president’s key decisions and experiences during his first term — and how they might inform his second. “Inside Obama’s Presidency” was a FRONTLINE Production with the Kirk Documentary Group. The director was Michael Kirk. The writers were Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser. The producers were Michael Kirk, Jim Gilmore and Mike Wiser. The reporter was Jim Gilmore. The deputy executive producer of FRONTLINE was Raney Aronson-Rath. The executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning. Explore additional reporting related to "Inside Obama’s Presidency" on our website: FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation