Group items tagged

This is a video from one of my favorite series called Retro Report by the New York Times about the first artificial heart transplants

This is a Retro Report about the advancements in cloning that lead to the birth of Dolly the sheep and the social stigmas and issues the ability to clone complex life rose in societies across the world

This is another Retro Report about the controversial use of flame retardant chemicals in children's clothes and other fabrics. The only issue was that the chemicals they used were brominated and chlorinated tris, chemicals that were also mutagens and could potentially cause cancer

This is another Retro Report about a bad outbreak of E. Coli at Jackinthebox restaurants that was so severe it killed several people. The assessment of foodborne outbreaks and the handling of certain diseases and outbreaks is very interesting and a little bit alarming

This is a Retro Report on the nuclear scare at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg and the trouble nuclear power and development are facing after scares like Three Mile Island and Fukushima

This is a Retro Report on the militarization of police in the recent decades and the effects its had on both the police departments and the communities they serve

This is a Retro Report about David, a boy born with a severe immunodeficiency in the early 70's, who was kept in a series of sterile plastic "bubbles" to keep him alive until a cure was found. His life raised many questions about the ethics of his treatment, but all the publicity led to new research and advancements that stopped similar things happening to others with the same illness

This is a Retro Report about the infestation of the Mediterranean fruit fly in Southern California which attacked and devastated fruit crops. As bad as the infestation was, the bigger issue was the debate of the use of pesticides to get rid of the fruit flies, especially in areas that were more populated like neighborhoods

This is a Retro Report about Thalidomide, a miracle drug that acted as a sedative with no adverse effects. Unfortunately, this drug caused terrible birth defects, there were babies were born without limbs or severely stunted limbs despite its supposed safety. Thalidomide was somewhat blocked in the US by Doctor Kelsey of the FDA and was immediately pulled here and many other places. Now, thalidomide is back in use for cancer patients and its the most limited access drug you can get in the US

This is a Retro Report about the Niagra Falls town Love Canal where a toxic waste disaster took place when chemicals buried in their town began seeping out of the ground into people's homes. Residents were exposed to 88 different chemicals, 11 of which were cancer-causing, and began linking the increased birth defects and cancers in the area to the contamination.

This is a Retro Report on the murder trial of a British nanny who was accused of killing baby Matthew through a little known abuse syndrome called "shaken baby". "Shaken Baby Syndrome" has become a much-debated accusation as it is a huge criminal charge for a triad of signs that can come from a multitude of causes and places and are often not directly witnessed when they occur. It is difficult to diagnose with total certainty "shaken baby" and that type of child abuse

In 1982, random bottles of Tylenol across America were tampered with and laced with cyanide, killing seven people and creating a panic across America. The person who did it was never found as many people claimed they were the perpetrator. This Retro Report addresses this crisis and its impacts on both the people of America and Johnson and Johnson, the makers of Tylenol. It also touches on how major companies that have lost the trust of their patrons for whatever reason should now follow the same or a similar formula Johnson and Johnson did to regain trust in their product.

This is a video from New York Times' series Retro Report about the Covid-19 outbreak and how other outbreaks were dealt with in the past, specifically the eradication of smallpox across the world. Doctors would hold public events and campaigns to spread awareness so those infected could be quarantined and treated accordingly. Doctors offered rewards for reported cases and walked around with pictures of those affected asking if community members saw anyone who looked like the picture. This helped especially with hidden cases, or cases that were unidentified that resulted in spreading in a community unaware of what the virus really was. The video also addresses how not to deal with epidemics or disease eradication with the antivaccination campaigns based in political or religious distrust in Africa and the Middle East that lead to the rise of polio. These epidemics and how they were addressed can help with the response to Covid-19 as we learn from history instead of ignoring it.

In 1988, sixteen-year-old Tawana Brawley was found wrapped in a plastic bag with signs of being raped and sodomized. She accused a police officer in the area for her rape and multiple civil rights activists including Rev. Al Sharpton came to her side to support her case and portray it as a racial crime. The case turned out to be fake setup and many false reports and accusations arose against the police in the area. Ultimately, the accusations went too far and those entirely uninvolved were accused of heinous crimes. The biggest victim of the case was the family of the police officer she accused of raping her, Harry Christ, who killed himself briefly after her attack. Brawley and the civil rights activists who were with her were charged with defamation of some of the people they accused and all parties have yet to explain themselves in full.

This is a video about the Disappeared of Argentina, or those chosen by the militaristic dictatorship to be removed from society, and the Abuelas of la Plaza de Mayo who were searching for their grandchildren born from their daughters who were taken and relocated. The Grandmothers were a powerful force, helping prosecute those who committed the atrocities and raising world awareness against the dictatorship

This is a Retro Report about the Olympic Bombing of 1996 in Atlanta where the hero of the hour, Richard Jewell, was framed as the perpetrator despite saving lives leading to new ways of investigating incidents to keep the innocent suspects seen as innocent in the public eye

In 2007 during the Iraq War, a scandal broke out involving the Walter Reed Military Hospital and other VA hospitals across America and their mistreatment of wounded soldiers. Walter Reed contained poor living conditions in outpatient housing, overpopulation and poor tracking of patients, and issues with staff. It became a nationwide topic and pushes for changes to help support soldiers and keep them from falling into the cracks were put into place. Issues continued to prevail, though, in transitional housing and some hospitals even up to when this video was made in 2013

This is a video about the first genetically modified food to go to market in the US, the Flvr Svr tomato which had the gene removed that makes a tomato get all gross and wrinkly after a few days. It was a huge hit but it raised concerns for some scientists who believed it dangerous. Today, we eat GMOs all the time without knowing it through different grains like corn and wheat in processed foods which for some reason has some people up in arms

In the 70's antiwar movements against the Vietnam War were raging and the FBI was secretly keeping tabs on protesters. They would go through people's mail, monitor their calls, and other invasive actions to monitor people they found dangerous, even famous individuals, politicians, and diplomats. In Media PA, just outside of Philadelphia, three political protesters broke into the FBI building and took documents proving the surveillance which they distributed to newspapers. The information put the FBI and its head, J Edgar Hoover, in deep trouble with the American public and revealed illegal means. They were never found until they revealed themselves decades later. I think this was a pretty interesting story since it took place so close to home and it features regular people performing impossible feats.

During the Civil War in El Salvador in the 1980's, four American churchwomen, who were in El Salvador for human rights work and services, were brutally murdered on the side of a road. These women were later found to have been attacked by government military guardsmen due to their work with the poor. Two top El Salvadorian generals were found to have covered up their murders as well as countless other crimes committed by the El Salvadorian government and military throughout the Civil War. The US withdrew aid for El Salvador before eventually intervening in the Civil War, and worked to hold those who murdered the church women and several other Americans responsible. The two Salvadorian generals were also convicted by the US after they were found seeking asylum in Florida.