The FRONTLINE Dispatch

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FRONTLINE Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath sits down with journalists and filmmakers for probing conversations about the investigative journalism that drives each FRONTLINE documentary and the stories that shape our time.

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Produced by Joel Patterson at FRONTLINE’s headquarters at GBH and powered by PRX.

The FRONTLINE Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation Journalism Initiative.

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22 episodes
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Avg 31 min
English

Episodes 22

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Tuesday · 44 min
National Interest vs. Human Rights: John Bolton on U.S.-Saudi Ties
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton talks with Martin Smith about U.S.-Saudi relations and balancing national security interests with human rights. The interview was originally filmed for Smith’s 2026 documentary The Crown Prince & the President and has been edited for length and clarity.
August 18 · 1 hr
Saudi Exile Khalid Aljabri on the Rise of MBS and the Cost of Dissent
Exiled Saudi national Khalid Aljabri discusses the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's crackdown on dissent and the impact on his family.
August 10 · 49 min
Former Trump Envoy Jason Greenblatt on U.S.-Saudi Relations
Trump Organization lawyer turned Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt talks with Martin Smith about the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
August 5 · 15 min
Black Lung Rates Rise Among Veteran Appalachian Coal Miners
As many as one in three longtime miners in Appalachia have tested positive for black lung disease, according to new federal research. On this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, a replay of reporter Howard Berkes' 2019 interviews with several miners experiencing varying stages of black lung disease about how it has irrevocably changed their lives.
August 3 · 25 min
After The Flood, Episode 5: The Flood After the Flood
A year after historic flooding killed more than 130 people in the Texas Hill Country, another flood hits the region. Was the community prepared this time around?
July 30 · 24 min
Inside the Trump-MBS Alliance
Veteran correspondent and filmmaker Martin Smith discusses the evolution of the Saudi-U.S. relationship and how Trump and MBS bypassed diplomatic norms to form a new kind of alliance.
July 22 · 5 min
After The Flood: A Note on Episode 5
As the teams from The Texas Newsroom and FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative were putting the finishing touches on the fifth and final episode of After the Flood, another devastating flood hit the Texas Hill Country. So, we decided to pivot. How were these two floods different? Were elected officials better prepared? Did residents get timely information? That's going to take some time to figure out, so the release of the final episode will be postponed a week. In the meantime, we caught up with Bob Canales and Lorena Guillen, owners of the Blue Oak RV Park in Kerrville. You heard from them in episode one. We wanted to know how yet another historic flood hitting this part of Texas was affecting them and their community. After the Flood is a collaboration between FRONTLINE and The Texas Newsroom.
July 15 · 37 min
After The Flood, Episode 4: Feeling Forgotten
On July 5th, one day after the deadly floods in Kerr County, another flood hit the community of Sandy Creek 100 miles away. Nine people died and more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. In the months that followed, survivors discovered what many disaster victims confront: just how complicated recovering can be. After the Flood is a collaboration between FRONTLINE and The Texas Newsroom.
July 8 · 34 min
After The Flood, Episode 3: Who, When, Where … and Now What?
In this episode, Camp Mystic families head to the Capitol in Austin to fight for stronger regulations around summer camps. And the Childress family finally learns what really happened the night their 18-year-old daughter Chloe died in the flood. After the Flood is a collaboration between FRONTLINE and The Texas Newsroom.
July 1 · 33 min
After The Flood, Episode 2: A Place Where Memories Are Made
What makes the Texas Hill Country so vulnerable to flooding? And Matthew and Wendie Childress process earth-shattering news about their daughter, Chloe, a counselor at Camp Mystic.
June 30 · 28 min
Economist Stephen Moore's Supply-Side Critique of the Fed
In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, an extended interview from the documentary The President vs. the Fed. Director James Jacoby sits down with prominent conservative economist Stephen Moore, a senior economic adviser during Donald Trump’s first administration and an architect of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Moore offers an insider’s perspective on the friction between the Trump White House and the central bank, presenting a sharp supply-side critique of the Fed's traditional economic models.
June 24 · 32 min
After The Flood, Episode 1: The Day Of
Matthew Childress and his wife, Wendie, learn that their daughter, Chloe, an 18-year-old counselor at Camp Mystic, is missing. And residents in Kerr County recount how they survived the grueling initial hours of the flood.
June 16 · 31 min
Economist Kenneth Rogoff on the Threat to the Federal Reserve
Former IMF Chief Economist Kenneth Rogoff on the importance of Fed independence.
June 4 · 26 min
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on the Importance of Fed Independence
President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, Neel Kashkari, warns that Fed independence and inflation rates could be directly linked.
May 21 · 19 min
Inside Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate the treatment of protesters and bystanders during the Trump administration’s recent immigration sweeps.
April 30 · 21 min
“Silence Is Not an Option”
Something to ponder in connection with World Press Freedom Day: If you faced serious punishment for doing your job, would you quit and look for a new one? Or would you continue pursuing your chosen calling? Releasing in the leadup to World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2026, this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch revisits the reporting at the center of the film The Deal: Trump, Bukele & the Gangs of El Salvador, and explores the risks facing independent journalists. Among them: The team at the Salvadoran news outlet El Faro, whose work anchors the documentary. In conversation with FRONTLINE Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath, El Faro Editor-in-Chief Carlos Dada reflects on the outlet’s investigation that exposed evidence of negotiations between President Nayib Bukele’s government and gang leaders — and that drew intense backlash. Dada, now working in exile like much of El Faro’s staff, describes the escalating pressure on his newsroom: accusations from Bukele, surveillance using Pegasus spyware, and sustained harassment of reporters. Despite those challenges, Dada frames the decision to keep reporting as a mission and a mantra: “Silence is not an option.” The conversation also explores the broader stakes of the film’s reporting — from the history and evolution of gangs like MS-13 to the consequences of Bukele’s sweeping security policies, including mass incarceration under a prolonged state of emergency. For Dada, the story is not only about his home country, but about the pressure journalists worldwide are under. As governments consolidate power and restrict access to information, he argues, independent reporting becomes both more difficult and more essential — offering verified facts in the face of propaganda and ensuring the public can still scrutinize those in power. The Deal: Trump, Bukele & the Gangs of El Salvador is available to stream now on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, the PBS App and PBS Documentaries on Prime.
April 3 · 20 min
The Unanswered Questions After Strikes on Iran
As the war with Iran intensifies, key questions remain unanswered about Iran’s nuclear capabilities, especially for the man tasked with monitoring them. A conversation with filmmaker and correspondent Sebastian Walker about his recent interview with Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Grossi says inspectors no longer have visibility into Iran’s nuclear program.
March 20 · 1 hr 4 min
From the Archives: Jesse Jackson on the Rise of Barack Obama
In an extended interview from 2008 that we’ve released for the first time, the Rev. Jesse Jackson offered a firsthand account of the political and cultural forces that shaped Barack Obama’s rise.
March 6 · 25 min
The Escalating War With Iran
Filmmakers James Jacoby and Sebastian Walker discuss the dramatic escalation of the conflict between the U.S. and Israel and Iran, and the implications for the region.
February 6 · 33 min
Investigating Iran's Nuclear Ambitions
A recent FRONTLINE documentary investigates the aftermath of the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran's nuclear program. In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, the filmmakers discuss combining on-the-ground reporting with cutting-edge visual forensics to understand the precision of the strikes, the civilian toll and the status of Iran's nuclear expertise.

Showing 1–20 of 22 episodes