FRONTLINE: Obama’s War, Economic Meltdown, Middleclass Blues

Thu, October 1, 2009
Posted in Program Highlights, Schedule Updates

FRONTLINE

OBAMA’S WAR: FIGHTING IN AFGHANISTAN

“Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counter-insurgency plan that builds on the lessons of Iraq. But can U.S. forces succeed in a land long known as the “graveyard of empires?” Through interviews with the top U.S. commanders on the ground, embeds with U.S. forces and fresh reporting from Washington, FRONTLINE examines U.S. counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a fight that promises to be longer and more costly than most Americans understand.”

Tuesday, October 13. 8-9 p.m.

THE WARNING: THE ECONOMIC MELTDOWN

In the devastating aftermath of the economic meltdown, FRONTLINE sifts the ashes for clues about why it happened and examines critical moments when it might have gone much differently. Looking back into the 1990s, producer/director Michael Kirk (“Inside the Meltdown,” “Breaking the Bank”) discovers early warnings of the crash, reveals an intense battle among high-ranking members of the Clinton administration and uncovers a concerted effort not to regulate the emerging, highly complex and lucrative derivatives markets, which would become the ticking time-bomb within the American economy.

Tuesday, October, 20. 8-9 p.m.

CLOSE TO HOME: THE STRUGGLING MIDDLE CLASS.

Producer Ofra Bikel chronicles how the middle class is faring in this recession through the stories of the people whom she’s come to know at the hair salon she’s frequented for the past 20 years. The film reveals the struggles of a small business owner to stay afloat, her sister’s risk of imminent foreclosure on her Florida home and the various clients whose lives intersect at this New York City salon — from well-to-do bankers to struggling actors, each with a story to tell about how they’re getting by in these turbulent times.