The FRONTLINE Dispatch presents: Breakdown (from Maine Public Radio, The Portland Press Herald, and FRONTLINE).

When a gunman opened fire in a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, last October, he used an autoloading rifle to fire 54 rounds in less than two minutes. Eighteen were killed and 13 wounded.

Although nearly half of Maine households owns a firearm, the state is considered one of the safest in the country. Episode 4 examines the history and politics of guns and hunting in Maine, the state’s unique “yellow flag” gun laws and its powerful gun lobby, which shaped state officials’ response to the Lewiston shootings.

To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to Breakdown on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or stay tuned for more episodes on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. 

American Experience is television's most watched history series. We're bringing you an episode of their new podcast, American Experience Presents: The Birth of McCarthyism. 

Joseph McCarthy grows up on a Wisconsin farm where he learns the value of hard work. After serving in World War II, he capitalizes on his military service to launch a successful Senate campaign. As the Cold War intensifies, McCarthy seizes the opportunity to exploit public fears of communism, framing himself as a defender of American democracy. Discover how his rise coincides with a national climate of paranoia, setting the stage for the demagoguery that would define McCarthy's career—all against the backdrop of a nation grappling with its identity and values.

Learn more about American Experience 

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On December 8, 2024, Syrian rebels stunned the world when they seized Damascus and toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, more than 13 years into the country’s brutal war.  

Spearheading the rebel offensive was Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, the leader of the Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — and a man who has been designated a terrorist by the U.S. since 2013. 

In 2021, FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith became the first Western journalist to interview Jolani. Following Assad’s fall, Smith sat down with FRONTLINE editor-in-chief and executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath to talk about what he learned from his conversations with Jolani, Jolani's journey from al Qaeda commander to rebel leader seeking a new role in Syria's future, and why he will be “watching to see what Jolani actually does, not what he says” as a new chapter in Syrian history unfolds. 

Stream The Jihadist, FRONTLINE’s 2021 documentary investigating Jolani, his militant group and his ambitions for Syria, on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube Channel or the PBS App. Read more of FRONTLINE’s coverage of Syria.

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The FRONTLINE Dispatch presents: Breakdown (from Maine Public Radio, The Portland Press Herald, and FRONTLINE).

How did leaders of the Army Reserve respond to the many, clear warning signs about the Lewiston shooter, a part-time soldier who was in a dangerous, downward spiral? And why didn’t they take further action?

The Army has acknowledged some failures but also cast blame elsewhere. In Episode 3, we look at questionable medical decisions, missed communication and lack of follow up by the Army.

Finally, we’ll learn why the shooter’s family believes the military could do more to prevent brain injuries in troops.

To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to Breakdown on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or stay tuned for more episodes on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. 

The FRONTLINE Dispatch presents: Breakdown (from Maine Public Radio, The Portland Press Herald, and FRONTLINE).

Months before the mass shooting in Lewiston that claimed 18 lives, the gunman’s family and friends were desperately trying to get him help.

His mental health was deteriorating. He was experiencing auditory delusions. And there were multiple warnings about his potential for violence, his access to guns and his threats to do harm.

Six weeks before the attacks, his best friend warned the Army Reserve that he might snap and commit a mass shooting.

Episode 2 begins a two-part examination into the numerous opportunities for intervention that could have changed everything.

To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to Breakdown on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or stay tuned for more episodes on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. 

In this audio-only version of FRONTLINE's documentary The VP Choice: Vance vs. Walz, FRONTLINE investigates the lives and views of Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz as they run for vice president. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal the influences and ideas they would bring to the White House.

Stream the documentary on FRONTLINE's website, FRONTLINE's YouTube channel, or the PBS app. 

Plus, read additional interviews from the making of this documentary as part of the FRONTLINE Transparency Project.

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What does it mean to be a victim? Or a survivor? In a few brief moments in October 2023, 18 lives were lost in Lewiston — and Maine was changed.

For the victims, their loved ones and everyone affected by this tragedy, the ability to heal means understanding what happened.

In Episode 1, we meet several people who are trying to recover — from the trauma of losing a loved one, from being critically injured and from being psychologically wounded. And we learn about the fallout for members of the shooter’s family, who must also contend with his painful legacy.

This is also a story about the possibility for change — how the lessons of Lewiston might help make us safer.

To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to Breakdown on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or stay tuned for more episodes on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. 

“Mass shooting.” Two words heard all too often in the United States.

There were 656 mass shootings in the U.S in 2023. The one in Lewiston, Maine on October 25, 2023 was the year’s deadliest — and it may have also been the most preventable.

For the last year, the newsroom at Maine Public Radio has been on the ground investigating, combing through documents, listening to testimony and interviewing dozens of people.

Over six episodes, Breakdown explores the missed opportunities to prevent the shooting, the role of guns and hunting in Maine’s politics, and the aftermath for shooting victims, some of whom were deaf and hard of hearing.

Breakdown is a new podcast series from Maine Public Radio, the Portland Press Herald, and FRONTLINE.

To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to Breakdown on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or stay tuned for more episodes on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. 

FRONTLINE investigates the lives and characters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they seek the presidency. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal key moments that shape how they would lead America.

Award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, who have made five prior installments of The Choice over the past 25 years, sat down with Trump and Harris’ friends, advisors and critics, as well as authors, journalists and political insiders to present deeply reported narrative arcs of both candidates’ lives, going all the way back to their childhoods.

What emerges in The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump is the story of two fighters: One seeking vindication and promising a return to greatness, and the other seeking to move beyond the past and promising a greater future.

Read more than 30 extended interviews from the making of this documentary as part of the FRONTLINE Transparency Project.

Stream the documentary on FRONTLINE's website, FRONTLINE's YouTube Channel, and the PBS App. 

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In the decades after the Korean war, around 200,000 children born in South Korea were adopted by families in Western countries. As adults, some of those adoptees have returned to South Korea to learn about their origins — only to discover that what they had been told wasn’t true.

A new documentary from FRONTLINE and The Associated Press, South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning, details the stories of adoptees and birth parents searching for answers, charts the history of foreign adoption out of South Korea, investigates allegations of wrongdoing including falsified papers and switched identities, and reveals the forces that helped to drive an unprecedented international adoption boom.

Together with director Lora Moftah, AP reporters Kim Tong-hyung and Claire Galofaro join The FRONTLINE Dispatch to talk about their investigation.

“Korea constantly tailored its policies and laws to meet the child demands of the West, while it was also trying to reduce the number of mouths to feed,” Kim says. “I think our reporting and the FRONTLINE documentary established that dynamic of supply and demand in a deeper way than the previous reports on the subject.”

Stream South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, or the PBS App. Read and listen to more accounts from Korean adoptees in the interactive story, “Who Am I, Then?: Stories from South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning.”

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