Frontline (Season 30)

The Anthrax Files (Episode 1)

Writer: Michael Kirk

Air date: 2011-10-11

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

Lost in Detention (Episode 2)

Writer: Rick Young

Air date: 2011-10-18

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

Syria Undercover (Episode 3)

Air date: 2011-11-08

Overview: 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.

A Perfect Terrorist (Episode 4)

Air date: 2011-11-22

Overview: Life of a Pakistani-American David Headley.

Opium Brides (Episode 5)

Air date: 2012-01-03

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

Nuclear Aftershocks (Episode 6)

Air date: 2012-01-17

Overview: 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?

The Interrupters (Episode 7)

Air date: 2012-02-14

Overview: 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.

Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown (Episode 8)

Air date: 2012-02-28

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

Murdoch's Scandal (Episode 9)

Air date: 2012-03-27

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

The Real CSI (Episode 10)

Air date: 2012-04-17

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

Money, Power and Wall Street Parts I-IV (Episode 11)

Air date: 2012-04-24

Runtime: 53 min

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

Cell Tower Deaths / Six Billion Dollar Bet (Episode 12)

Writer: Travis Fox

Air date: 2012-05-22

Overview: 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.

Al Qaeda in Yemen (Episode 13)

Air date: 2012-05-29

Overview: 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.

Dollars and Dentists (Episode 14)

Air date: 2012-06-26

Overview: 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.

Endgame: Aids in Black America (Episode 15)

Air date: 2012-07-10

Overview: 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.

Fast Times at West Philly High / Middle School Moment (Episode 16)

Air date: 2012-07-07

Overview: 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.

The Battle for Syria (Episode 17)

Air date: 2012-09-18

Overview: 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.

Alaska Gold (Episode 18)

Air date: 2012-07-24

Overview: 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]

Dropout Nation (Episode 19)

Air date: 2012-09-25

Overview: What does it take to save a student?

The Choice 2012 (Episode 20)

Air date: 2012-10-09

Runtime: 114 min

Overview: 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.

Climate of Doubt (Episode 21)

Air date: 2012-10-23

Runtime: 113 min

Overview: 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.

Big Sky, Big Money (Episode 22)

Air date: 2012-10-29

Overview: 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.

The Suicide Plan (Episode 23)

Air date: 2012-11-13

Runtime: 83 min

Overview: 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.

Poor Kids (Episode 24)

Air date: 2012-11-20

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