Podcasts by After the Fact

Save the Sharks from 2018-07-23T13:27:40

Stat: At least 63 million sharks are taken from the ocean every year.

Story: And that’s the low estimate; others range as high was 273 million. Tha...

What Is the Blue Economy? from 2018-07-13T16:08:02

Stat: The ocean generates $2.5 trillion of economic benefits around the world each year.
Story: Fisheries, tourism, and shipping are some of the ways we q...

Our Flag Is Still There: A Visit to the Star-Spangled Banner from 2018-06-29T13:15:51

Stat: The flag that inspired our national anthem has 15 stars and stripes.

Story: It flew over Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore during the War of ...

Event Rebroadcast: The Southern Ocean—Where Sport, Diplomacy, and Marine Protected Areas Meet from 2018-06-15T12:51:07

Stat: Antarctica is home to more than 9,000 species found nowhere else on Earth.
Story: They include Adélie and emperor penguins that depend on the nutrie...

Scientists at Work: 'The Jane Goodall of Penguins' from 2018-06-08T13:45:08

Stat: The penguin population in Punta Tombo, Argentina, has declined by 43 percent since 1987.
Story: Not all of those birds are dying: Many are relocatin...

Event Rebroadcast: How Today's Generations are Changing the World from 2018-06-01T16:12:18

Stat: By midcentury, there will be 2 billion elderly people in the world—and 2 billion young

Story: For the first time there will be as many of each grou...

Dental Care Gaps in America from 2018-05-25T12:15:01

Stat: 63 million Americans, many of them children, live in areas with a shortage of dental care.

Story: To help alleviate this, a new kind of dent...

Finding Facts from 2018-05-11T13:09:55

Stat: 64 percent of Americans say fake news is causing confusion over basic facts, according to the Pew Research Center.

Story: It’s becoming increasingl...

Serve the Country, Save the Parks from 2018-04-24T13:23:27

More than a third of America’s national parks are battlefields, cemeteries, and other sites that honor our military veterans. But those 156 landmarks are awaiting $6 billion in needed repairs—ac...

The Value of Non-partisanship from 2018-04-09T13:58:26

With political discourse at a stalemate, we traveled to Middle America to find some middle ground. Former Representative Lee Hamilton (D) and former Senator Richard Lugar (R) represented Indiana...

Event Rebroadcast: A Conversation With Governor Bill Haslam from 2018-03-14T13:35:12

How can states use data to make government work better? Known as a national leader for his efforts to make state government more efficient, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam shares what he’s learne...

Rising Spirituality in America from 2018-03-05T16:13:09

Americans have become less religious but more spiritual over time, with 59 percent saying they regularly feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being. Host Dan LeDuc interviews the Pew Re...

The Millennials Aren’t Kids Anymore from 2018-02-16T14:49:35

Move aside, baby boomers. Millennials are one of the largest living generations, and they are not kids anymore. The oldest millennials are now 37, and they are making their mark on the workplace...

What's Happening in the States from 2018-02-07T20:15:12

Money makes policy. As states plan for the future, tax revenue helps them decide what it can be. And nearly half the states still don’t have the revenue they did before the Great Recession. Host...

The Next Generation from 2018-01-31T14:20:52

While millennials have dominated news headlines, there is a new generation on the scene. Our guest— Jean Twenge, author and psychology professor at San Diego State University—calls this group “i...

Event Rebroadcast: Deep Seabed Mining and the Environment from 2018-01-05T14:29:31

The deepest, darkest parts of the world’s ocean are filled with abundant marine life and rich mineral deposits. But a newly forming seabed mining industry is setting its sights on exploiting the...

Technology Today and Tomorrow from 2017-12-21T14:36:39

As 2017 draws to a close, 88 percent of Americans are connected online—more than ever before—and nearly half of adults use voice assistants. This growing connectivity makes our world safer, more...

Poverty and Connecting to Opportunity in Philadelphia from 2017-12-06T16:47:02

While the national poverty rate has been declining, Philadelphia’s has remained stubbornly high. At 25.7 percent, it is the highest among the nation’s 10 largest cities. That means 400,000 city ...

Impacts of Illegal Fishing from 2017-11-28T15:10:03

Up to 1 in 5 fish taken from the sea is caught illegally, costing as much as $23.5 billion globally each year and harming ocean health and fishing communities. Through technology and coordinatio...

Bonus: Responding to the Opioid Crisis from 2017-11-02T14:04:54

President Donald Trump recently declared the nation’s opioid epidemic a public health emergency—but what will it take to connect patients with effective treatment? Our previous episode explored ...

Treating the Opioid Epidemic from 2017-10-27T14:55:43

The nation’s opioid epidemic has been making headlines, and much is required to curtail this public health crisis. In this episode, we learn more about increasing public awareness and expanding ...

Event Rebroadcast: The New Age of Invention from 2017-10-13T13:52:51

The digital revolution is transforming innovation, providing access to information in ways unheard of even a generation ago. Putting this knowledge to purpose is changing how we live, communicat...

From TV to Twitter: How Americans Get News Now from 2017-09-29T13:30:28

Although Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other sites weren’t designed as places to get news, that’s what they’ve become. Today, 67 percent of Americans report that they get at least some of thei...

Event Rebroadcast: A Tale of Two Floods from 2017-08-30T18:57:09

The devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey have left thousands of Texas residents homeless. The scenes of water spilling onto highways and rushing through neighborhoods have raised attention t...

The Financial Toll of Flooding—Part 2 from 2017-08-18T14:02:34

We’ve all seen the devastating photos in news coverage following a big storm, but what happens after the flood? Pew’s Fred Baldassaro travels to Norfolk, Virginia, a coastal U.S. city that has e...

The Financial Toll of Flooding—Part 1 from 2017-08-04T14:06:25

It’s hurricane season—and extreme weather events are on the rise. Along with the catastrophic losses that families face after the flood is the economic burden on taxpayers through the National F...

Event Rebroadcast: Can Technology Save the Earth? from 2017-07-18T14:01:27

The planet is facing increased environmental pressures—from warming oceans to species loss. At the same time, new tools such as satellite monitoring and forensic science continue to support cons...

Our Blue Planet–Protecting the Ocean from 2017-06-22T16:14:27

Three-quarters of our planet is covered with water—and it’s this water that sustains life as we know it. But our liquid planet, home to half of the world’s known creatures, isn’t getting the car...

Inventing the Future from 2017-05-23T19:26:55

Technology is transforming our world and our workplaces. With the quick pace of change, the future can be as unsettling as it is exciting. However, in this episode, Brian David Johnson says we c...

America’s National Parks: Upkeep Required from 2017-04-19T13:26:19

More than 331 million visits were made to America’s national parks last year—to hike stunning trails, drive scenic roads, and climb stairs in historic structures. But as the number of visitors h...

Public Attitudes on Childhood Vaccines from 2017-04-05T21:43:21

While concern about childhood immunization stirs debate, Pew Research Center finds that the vast majority of Americans—88 percent—believe that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks. In thi...

Less Incarceration, Less Crime from 2017-03-20T13:35:46

States are finding new ways to get smart on crime and, in the process, changing how America views crime and punishment. After decades of rising prison populations, reforms in 33 states have help...

The State of the American Dream from 2017-01-31T15:36:03

Struggling to pay bills and set aside savings? You’re in good company: 92 percent of Americans say financial stability is more important to them than moving up the economic ladder. That’s just a...

Introducing After the Fact from 2017-01-09T21:29:27

Join experts from The Pew Charitable Trusts and other special guests for the story behind the numbers and trends shaping some of society’s biggest challenges. Whether it’s data on the financial ...