Political Science


Are Primary Elections Ruining Democracy?: A Debate 52 min.

The U.S. Constitution has a lot to say about government and how Americans choose their leaders. But nowhere in the document is there any mention of primary elections, the process by which voters winnow down the field of candidates for president and other offices ahead of a general election. Though primary elections may seem integral to the U.S. political system, they are in fact relatively new, ar...

Formats: DVDStreaming Copyright Date: 2022

Pelosi in the House 110 min.

In her 14th documentary film for HBO, acclaimed documentarian Alexandra Pelosi offers a candid, behind-the-scenes chronicle of the life of her mother and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, through her career milestones leading up to the inauguration of President Joseph Biden in January 2021. Filmed in a cinéma vérité style over the course of three decades, Pelosi...

Formats: DVDStreaming Copyright Date: 2022

Putin's Attack on Ukraine: Documenting War Crimes 84 min.

Documenting evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine and the pursuit of justice. With the Associated Press, tracing Vladimir Putin’s pattern of atrocities in Ukraine and other conflicts, and the challenge of holding him to account.

Formats: Streaming Copyright Date: 2022

Putin's Road to War 54 min.

The inside story of what led to Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. The events that shaped the Russian leader, the grievances that drive him, and how a growing conflict with the West exploded into war in Europe.

Formats: Streaming Copyright Date: 2022

Taken Hostage 240 min.

Unfolding like a political thriller, Taken Hostage revisits the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran. For the next 444 days, the world watched as the U.S. endured humiliation, vitriol and hatred from a country that had long been a close ally. The crisis would transform both the U.S. and Iran and forever upend the focus and direction of American foreign policy.

Formats: Streaming Copyright Date: 2022

Taken Hostage: Episode 1 113 min.

Explore how America’s quarter-century of unwavering support for its ally, the Shah of Iran, and the violent Islamic revolution that overthrew him in 1979, set the stage for the Iran hostage crisis.

Formats: Streaming Copyright Date: 2022

Taken Hostage: Episode 2 112 min.

Through riveting accounts from hostages, journalists and officials, learn how Iranian students held 52 hostages at the American embassy in Tehran from November 1979 to January 1981—a defining crisis of Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

Formats: Streaming Copyright Date: 2022

Zelenskyy: The Man Who Took on Putin 26 min.

This documentary charts the rise of the comedian, actor and entertainer who became the improbable wartime leader. Explore the man behind the series of game-changing media appearances which have encapsulated the defiant response of a nation. What motivates him? How did he transform from joker to leader and what is the next chapter of his story?

Formats: Streaming Copyright Date: 2022

Long Live the British Monarchy?: A Debate 51 min.

In 2022, King Charles III ascended the British throne after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who had reigned for 76 years. For more than a millennium, England has had a monarchy, a form of government in which a king or queen serves as head of state. Unlike in centuries past, however, the royal family today holds little formal power and serves a largely ceremonial function. Some wonder i...

Formats: DVDStreaming Copyright Date: 2022

Vot-ER 5 min.

According to census data, fewer than three-quarters of eligible Americans are registered to vote. Since 2019, a non-partisan nonprofit called Vot-ER has taken voter registration efforts into medical exam rooms across the country. In this NewsHour segment, Tionya Lawrence, a family nurse practitioner in Georgia, joins John Yang to discuss the initiative.

Formats: Streaming Copyright Date: 2022