Author: Andrew Gersh

https://youtu.be/x_k-AxfpcUE?si=7q5rlCzOJazll1X8 In 2023, there were 656 mass shootings in the United States. The one in Lewiston, Maine — where an Army reservist killed 18 people and wounded 13 — was the year’s deadliest. From the PBS investigative series FRONTLINE and its Local Journalism Initiative partners the Portland Press Herald and Maine Public, Breakdown in Maine examines a series of missteps by the military, local law [...]

Generation Z: Child Soldiers of the Zetas investigates a terrifying aspect of the drug wars that have raged along the US-Mexico border: the recruitment of child soldiers by the Zetas, the notoriously violent gang of ex-military commandos. For more than a decade, drug cartels have been battling for control of smuggling routes along the border. The violence [...]

https://vimeo.com/162981039 An intimate and stirring portrait of three men on the front-lines of power and race in America, IN AN IDEAL WORLD goes deep inside a California prison to explore — and honor — the human drama at the core of America’s locked down racial order. Shot over seven years with unlimited access, IN AN IDEAL [...]

Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness is a one-hour documentary about a town coming together to take action after anti-immigrant violence devastates the community. In 2008, a series of attacks against Latino residents of Patchogue, New York culminate with the murder of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant who had lived in the Long Island village [...]

It’s an epidemic of what some call state-sanctioned torture in America: the solitary confinement of thousands of incarcerated teenagers, locked in cells the size of small bathrooms for up to 23 hours a day. ALONE: Teens in Solitary Confinement investigates New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex, where unconvicted teens often find themselves confined in ‘the box’ for [...]

While millions of Americans have been sheltering in place, FRONTLINE has been investigating the hidden toll of the pandemic of those who cannot stay home: Agricultural workers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, who have been deemed essential to the nation’s food supply. In COVID’s Hidden Toll, numerous farmworkers speak out about their experiences of having to choose [...]

https://vimeo.com/86074695 As wars rage in the Middle East, the U.S. military is eager for more recruits–unless they happen to be openly gay. ASK NOT explores the tangled political battles that led to the infamous “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and reveals the personal stories of gay Americans who serve in combat under a veil of secrecy. ITVS Community [...]

https://vimeo.com/6956776 A celebration of individuality and the spirit of the American working class, READY, SET, BAG! (premiered at festivals as “Paper or Plastic?”) is an award-winning feature documentary following eight grocery-bagging state champions as they prepare for the nationals, held in the Mecca of the American dream, Las Vegas. Rural housewives, college students, awkward teens and lower management [...]

In collaboration with National Geographic, NOVA follows the exploits of acclaimed photojournalist James Balog and a scientific team as they deploy time-lapse cameras in risky, remote locations in the Arctic, Alaska, and the Alps. Grappling with blizzards, fickle technology, and climbs up craggy precipices, the team must anchor cameras capable of withstanding sub-zero temperatures and winds [...]

SOUND TRACKS: Music Without Borders is a new magazine show dedicated to reporting unheard stories that reveal how music is transforming politics and culture around the globe. The one-hour series pilot crosses three continents and serves up a diverse menu of Russian pop, Afrobeat, Portuguese fado, and symphonic work. Produced by The Talbot Players in association with [...]