Season 30

FrontlineSeason 30

2011
24 Episodes

Episodes

The Anthrax Files
S30E01

The Anthrax Files

Frontline, with ProPublica and McClatchy Newspapers, takes a hard look at the FBI's investigation of the country's most notorious act of bioterrorism.

11 Oct 2011
Lost in Detention
S30E02

Lost in Detention

Frontline investigates President Obama's enforcement strategies and immigrant detention - who is being detained and what is happening to these detainees.

18 Oct 2011
Syria Undercover
S30E03

Syria Undercover

Reporter Ramita Navai goes undercover for a rare look at the uprising from inside Syria. Plus a profile of the dictator who has managed to hold on longer than any amidst the Arab unrest—President Bashar al-Assad.

08 Nov 2011
A Perfect Terrorist
S30E04

A Perfect Terrorist

Life of a Pakistani-American David Headley.

22 Nov 2011
Opium Brides
S30E05

Opium Brides

Frontline reports on the unexpected collateral damage of the counter-narcotics effort in Afghanistan.

03 Jan 2012
Nuclear Aftershocks
S30E06

Nuclear Aftershocks

It’s been almost a year since a devastating earthquake and tsunami crippled Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, leaving the country’s once popular energy program in shambles. In response, Germany decided to abandon nuclear energy entirely. Should the U.S. follow suit? FRONTLINE correspondent Miles O’Brien examines the implications of the Fukushima accident for U.S. nuclear safety, and asks how this disaster will affect the future of nuclear energy around the world. In particular, he visits one emerging battleground: The controversial relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear plant, located only 38 miles from Manhattan. What lessons can be learned from the disaster in Japan?

17 Jan 2012
The Interrupters
S30E07

The Interrupters

The Interrupters presents unforgettable profiles in courage, as three former street criminals in Chicago place themselves in the line of fire to protect their communities. The two-hour film follows the lives of these “Violence Interrupters,” who include the charismatic daughter of one of the city’s most notorious former gang leaders, the son of a murdered father, and a man haunted by a killing he committed as a teenager. As they intervene in disputes to prevent violence, they reveal their own inspired journeys of struggle and redemption.

14 Feb 2012
Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown
S30E08

Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown

An unprecedented account of the crisis inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

28 Feb 2012
Murdoch's Scandal
S30E09

Murdoch's Scandal

Accounts of bribery, blackmail, and privacy invasions has prompted criminal investigations on both sides of the Atlantic.

27 Mar 2012
The Real CSI
S30E10

The Real CSI

How reliable is the science behind forensics? A Frontline investigation finds serious flaws in some of the best-known tools of forensic science.

17 Apr 2012
Money, Power and Wall Street Parts I-IV
S30E11

Money, Power and Wall Street Parts I-IV

Frontline tells the inside story of the global financial crisis. (four one-hour episodes, May 4 premier concluded).

24 Apr 201253m
Cell Tower Deaths / Six Billion Dollar Bet
S30E12

Cell Tower Deaths / Six Billion Dollar Bet

Learn about the hidden cost of better and faster cell phone service, and about unreliable medical evidence in several child death cases. Six Billion Dollar Bet: Jon Corzine, former head of Goldman Sachs and political power broker, took over MF Global in the spring of 2010 and lost a massive bet on European debt, with more than a billion dollars of customer funds missing. FRONTLINE investigates how Corzine’s traders went around MF Global’s risk officers and how he swayed regulators in Washington to allow risky practices to continue.

22 May 2012
Al Qaeda in Yemen
S30E13

Al Qaeda in Yemen

Frontline travels into the heart of Yemen's radical heartland, and shows how Al Queda is taking control of towns and cities in an attempt to establish its own state.

29 May 2012
Dollars and Dentists
S30E14

Dollars and Dentists

Dental care can be a matter of life and death. Yet millions of Americans cannot afford a visit to the dentist. An investigation by Frontline and the Center for Public Integrity reveals the shocking consequences of a broken safety net.

26 Jun 2012
Endgame: Aids in Black America
S30E15

Endgame: Aids in Black America

Nearly half of the one million people in the United States infected with HIV are black men, women and children. Trace the history of the AIDS epidemic through the experiences of individuals who tell their stories.

10 Jul 2012
Fast Times at West Philly High / Middle School Moment
S30E16

Fast Times at West Philly High / Middle School Moment

Fast Times at West Philly High: Students and teachers from West Philadelphia High School, a public high school serving one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in Philadelphia, defy expectations as they design and build two super-hybrid cars for international competition and compete for the chance to be part of a technological revolution. Middle School Moment: New evidence that suggests the make-or-break moment for high school dropouts may actually occur in middle school. The film explores how one Bronx school is using a novel form of data collection and analysis to predict and prevent dropouts before they happen.

07 Jul 2012
The Battle for Syria
S30E17

The Battle for Syria

Frontline takes you inside the heart of the insurgency, where rebel groups are waging a full-scale assault on the forces of President Bashar al Assad.

18 Sept 2012
Alaska Gold
S30E18

Alaska Gold

Frontline probes the fault lines of a growing battle in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, home to the world's last great wild sockeye salmon fishery-and enormous mineral deposits.[24]

24 Jul 2012
Dropout Nation
S30E20

Dropout Nation

What does it take to save a student?

25 Sept 2012
The Choice 2012
S30E21

The Choice 2012

A journey into the places, people, and decisive moments that made the men who are competing for the presidency. Hundreds of hours of research and dozens of original interviews reveal new details and fresh insights about the two candidates — and our choice this November.

09 Oct 2012114m
Climate of Doubt
S30E22

Climate of Doubt

Four years ago, climate change was a hot issue and politicians from both sides seemed poised to act. Today public opinion on the climate issue has cooled considerably. Politicians either ignore it or proclaim their skepticism. What’s behind this massive reversal? FRONTLINE goes inside the organizations that fought the scientific establishment to shift the direction of the climate debate.

23 Oct 2012113m
Big Sky, Big Money
S30E23

Big Sky, Big Money

FRONTLINE travels to the remote epicenter of the campaign finance debate for a tale of money, politics, and intrigue. How has the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision changed campaigns in America? Ask Montana, which has tried to challenge the ruling in court, is investigating alleged campaign abuses and is playing host to a bitter race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate.

29 Oct 2012
The Suicide Plan
S30E24

The Suicide Plan

FRONTLINE explores the underground world of assisted suicide and takes viewers inside one of the most polarizing social issues of our time – told not only by the people choosing to die, but also by their "assisters," individuals and right-to-die organizations that put themselves in legal jeopardy by helping others to die.

13 Nov 201283m
Poor Kids
S30E26

Poor Kids

Through the stories of three families told over the course of half a decade, FRONTLINE explores what poverty means to children in America.

20 Nov 2012