Frontline - Season 39 / Year 2021

With press freedom under threat in the Philippines, A Thousand Cuts goes inside the escalating war between the government and the press. The documentary follows Maria Ressa, a renowned journalist who has become a top target of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown on the news media.

FRONTLINE tells the story of how crisis and tragedy prepared Joe Biden to become America's next president. Those who know him best describe the searing moments that shaped President-elect Biden and what those challenges reveal about how he will govern.

From his first days as president to his last, how Trump stoked division, violence and insurrection. FRONTLINE investigates Trump's siege on his enemies, the media and even the leaders of his own party, who for years ignored the warning signs of what was to come.

The untold story of the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and how China responded: Chinese scientists and doctors, international disease experts, and health officials reveal missed opportunities to suppress the outbreak and lessons for the world.

How Iranian-backed Shia militias are terrorizing Iraq. FRONTLINE investigates allegations that militias are threatening and killing critics with impunity and targeting U.S. interests. Also in this hour, how COVID is worsening Yemen's humanitarian crisis.

At Black-owned funeral homes in New Orleans, COVID-19 reshapes the grieving process. How the pandemic has transformed mourning in a city known for its jazz-filled funerals. Also in this hour, the story of a mom's fight to survive the virus and see her newborn.

Over the last three years, FRONTLINE has collaborated with ProPublica to investigate the rise of extremism in America. In the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, FRONTLINE, ProPublica, and Berkeley Journalism's Investigative Reporting Program team up to examine how far-right extremist groups have evolved in the wake of the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally — and the threat they pose today.

The epic story of how people around the world lived through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, from lockdowns to funerals to protests. Filming across the globe and using extensive personal video and local footage, FRONTLINE documented how people and countries responded to COVID-19 across cultures, races, faiths and privilege.

The epic story of how people around the world lived through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, from lockdowns to funerals to protests. Filming across the globe and using extensive personal video and local footage, FRONTLINE documented how people and countries responded to COVID-19 across cultures, races, faiths, and privilege.

An unprecedented undercover investigation into one of the world's most repressive regimes — Eritrea. Exclusive secret footage and testimony shed new light on shocking allegations of torture, arbitrary detention, and indefinite forced conscription.

FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the growing inequities in American healthcare exposed by COVID-19. The Healthcare Divide examines how the pressure to increase profits and uneven government support widen the divide between rich and poor hospitals, endangering care for low-income populations.

Over most of two decades, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani's life has been a roadmap of Islamist militancy in Iraq and Syria. Designated a terrorist by the United States, the powerful Syrian militant now seeks a new relationship with the West. In his first interview with a Western journalist, the former Al Qaeda commander tells FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith his fight is with Syrian President Assad, not the U.S.

FRONTLINE investigates the rise of far-right extremism and violence in Germany. The documentary traces how extremists have carried out terror plots and attacks on Jews and migrants, infiltrated the security services, and what authorities are doing to confront the growing problem.

When COVID-19 struck, the Federal Reserve stepped in to try to avert economic crisis. As the country's central bank continues to pump billions of dollars into the financial system daily, who is benefiting and at what cost?

Leaving Afghanistan: FRONTLINE investigates the consequences of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan. With exclusive access to a militant wing of the Taliban, correspondent Najibullah Quraishi tells the story of Iran's growing influence across Afghanistan.

India's Rape Scandal: FRONTLINE correspondent Ramita Navai investigates a wave of shocking rape cases in India and allegations of cover-ups, even though the country's government has vowed zero tolerance.

How seven men in Miami (the Liberty City Seven) were indicted for the biggest alleged Al Qaeda plot since 9/11. From the director of Leaving Neverland, the bizarre story of an FBI sting that led to a terror prosecution, though the men had no weapons or connection to Al Qaeda.

From veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker and chronicler of U.S. politics Michael Kirk and his team, this documentary traces the U.S. response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the devastating consequences that unfolded across four presidencies.

Drawing on both new interviews and those from the dozens of documentaries Kirk and his award-winning team made in the years after 9/11, this two-hour special offers an epic re-examination of the decisions that changed the world and transformed America. From the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the January 6 insurrection, America After 9/11 exposes the legacy of September 11 — and the ongoing challenge it poses for the president and the country.

In an investigation with The New York Times, FRONTLINE examines the commercial pressures, flawed design, and failed oversight behind Boeing's 737 Max jet and the crashes that killed 346 people.

FRONTLINE released an updated version of this documentary on March 12, 2024.

The Taliban take over Afghanistan, and the threat of ISIS and Al Qaeda intensifies. On the ground, reporter Najibullah Quraishi (Leaving Afghanistan, Taliban Country) investigates uncertainty and fear among the Afghan people and revisits the lead-up to the U.S. defeat and the Taliban's return.

Pandora Papers: 

A trove of nearly 12 million confidential documents, collectively known as the Pandora Papers, reveals the hidden assets and secret deals of some of the world's wealthiest and most influential people, including 130 billionaires, 35 current and former world leaders, and more than 330 politicians and public officials.

The documents — shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) by an anonymous source — include records from 14 financial service providers worldwide. The leaked files illustrate the global entanglement of political power and secretive offshore finance and how U.S. trusts are sheltering millions in controversial assets. For close to two years, ICIJ led an investigation into these documents with 150 media organizations, including FRONTLINE. 

Massacre in El Salvador: 

This film examines the horrors of what happened when U.S.-trained and -equipped Salvadoran soldiers killed some 1,000 civilians, many of them children. FRONTLINE, Retro Report, and ProPublica's investigation follows the ongoing fight for justice for the horrific 1981 attack on the village of El Mozote and surrounding areas, and how today the case against high-ranking military officials is faltering under Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

Amid record police shootings in Utah, an investigation into the use of deadly force in the state. With local journalism partner The Salt Lake Tribune, FRONTLINE examines police training, tactics, and accountability, as well as racial disparities in the use of force.