Understanding America after 9/11

Specials and Documentaries | Short Features | Live Events | Commentaries and Essays | Cultural Programs

Short Features

American Muslims Organize
KPCC - Pasadena, CA
American Muslims Organize takes a look at how many Muslim Americans became politically active post 9/11. We follow one man in particular (a Syrian) who is struggling to connect with his neighbors and business associates and, for the first time, has registered to vote. (8:19)
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Between Two Worlds: Arab American Teens after 9/11 – Ghufran’s Story
Michigan Radio - Ann Arbor, MI
Ghufran Alshemeeri is a refugee from Iraq. After 10 years in America she sports braces with pink rubber bands like a typical American teenager and a scarf around her hair and ears like a traditional Muslim woman. A first person account of growing up between two worlds in the aftermath of September 11. (7:36)
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Beyond Ground Zero
OPB - Portland, OR
Does the seemingly quick return to normal life after 9/11 mask a deeper shock, a national epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety? How have Oregonians - from the lefty college enclave of Eugene to ultra-patriotic farmers in the drought-stricken Klamath Basin - recognized the trauma and worked to heal themselves? (1:00:00)


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Blackhawk Helicopters and Ice Skates
KUER - Salt Lake City, UT
The first big test of the nation's security after 9/11 was the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Jenny Brundin reports on how Olympic security helped solidify American resolve and patriotism, but also reminded them how their notions of a free and open society have changed. (8:30)


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Civics Lessons
KQED - Northern California
Public schools in America were founded on the belief that learning about citizenship was essential to the newly created democratic union. Since then, democracy has been challenged by immigration, unpopular wars and diversity. Many schools responded by backing away from civics education, but since September 11, many are reconsidering. (8:33)


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Demanding Dignity--Salt Lake Latinos Unite
KUER - Salt Lake City, UT
After 9/11, undocumented workers were busted in a high profile security sweep at the Salt Lake City airport. Reporter Vince Pearson explores their thoughts on America as they await deportation. Listeners will hear how opposition to the raid created a new political activism in Salt Lake's Latino community. (8:34)

From Surviving to Thriving - Arab Americans after 9/11
Michigan Radio - Ann Arbor, MI
Many who emigrated from violence in the Middle East now live in fear of reprisals. Still, Arab Americans have found ways to survive and even thrive in this environment, stepping out of the shadows to re-establish themselves as rightful shareholders of the American dream. (7:42)
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Hijacking 9/11
OPB - Portland, OR
Are opponents of environmental protection "hijacking" the post-September 11th anti-terrorist fervor to destroy the environmental movement? Bills in Congress would redefine terrorism broadly, non-violent civil disobedience would carry stiffer sentences, and tree-sitting would shift from misdemeanor trespass to a felony. (7:00)

I'm Not a Terrorist - Arab Americans after 9/11
Michigan Radio - Ann Arbor, MI
After September 11th, Arabs in the U.S. suddenly found themselves victims of physical and verbal attacks by other Americans angrily searching for a scapegoat. Some Arabs sought refuge in their patriotism, while others proclaimed the religious and ideological values that distinguish them from those responsible for 9/11. (6:06)
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It's More Than a Game
WFUV - New York, NY
The National Anthem means more than ever at sporting events, and since 9/11, the meaning of the game has changed for New York's athletes and fans. Area pros talk about sports as a diversion from the threat of terrorism, and their new perspective on playing for a living. (5:00)


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Latin American Laborers in the Wake of 9/11
KQED - Northern California
For many Mexican and other Latin Americans, 9/11 represented a double shock: a battered economy and an increased sense of vulnerability living in the U.S. Tamara Keith reports amidst migrant workers, day laborers and people seeking citizenship near Fresno. (7:37)


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The Marketing of Patriotism
KQED - Northern California
These days the American flag is everywhere - car antennas, and t-shirts; lapel pins, and boxer shorts. Individuals celebrate American symbols, and large corporations are using them too: spending thousands on advertisements showing support for the nation. At first Americans embraced the message. But now critics say the message is rotten. (7:16)


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Native American View of Citizenship
KQED - Northern California
Do the original Americans see themselves any differently than they did on September 10? Cheryl Colopy will explore how an American Indian's take on citizenship might inform our wider society post-September 11. (9:58)


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Navajo Reflections on 9/11
KUER - Salt Lake City, UT
This is an audio portrait of Native American reflections on September 11 and its aftermath. Jenny Brundin allows Navajos to share the spiritual and life lessons they gained from the 9/11 tragedy. This portrait with no narration is steeped in the sounds indigenous to the reservation. (8:10)


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Pledge
KVMR - Nevada City, CA
What does allegiance mean? Should "under God" remain in the Pledge of Allegiance? How do kids feel about the pledge in light of September 11? Children ages 5 to 18 give candid responses to the question: "What do you feel and think about the Pledge of Allegiance?"


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Plugging the Border for Security
KERA-FM - Dallas-Ft.Worth-Denton, TX
Commercial traffic between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Laredo, Texas continues under increased security since September 11, but residents of "Los Dos Laredos" feel the pinch of cross-border travel hassles. Suzanne Sprague reports from Laredo. (6:42)


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A Simple Stand
WILL - Urbana, IL
Memorializing 9/11 requires something beyond a statue or plaque to be an evocative yet dignified tribute. Tom Rogers tells why Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, settled on a grove of trees in a public space to symbolize re-growth and tranquility. (7:10)


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Survival of the Fittest
KERA-FM - Dallas-Ft.Worth-Denton, TX
The nation's airlines were stunned a year ago when terrorists used four of their planes as weapons. American Airlines lost two jets on September 11th, and since then has lost more than $2 billion. Bill Zeeble reports on the carrier's and its employees' continuing efforts to recover and redefine themselves. (7:39)


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Tattooing Their Grief
WFUV - New York, NY
The arms, chests and backs of scores of New York City firefighters and police officers are now lifetime memorials to their lost colleagues. Many are choosing to get tattoos to remember September 11th -- giving them a way to silently wear their grief. (5:00)


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The Terrorist Threat to Our Nuclear Power Plants
Great Lakes Radio Consortium - Ann Arbor, MI
Just as terrorists drove planes into the World Trade Center towers, they could also crash into a nuclear power plant. If that happened, the resulting radioactive contamination could surpass that caused by the Chernobyl disaster. The environmental damage and public heath risks could be apocalyptic and could go far beyond the borders of the U.S. (5:53)

The Terrorist Threat to Our Water
Great Lakes Radio Consortium - Ann Arbor, MI
The EPA says it would take a tanker full of contaminants to hurt a community's water supply - others say an amount that fits in a backpack could cause death and panic. While agencies disagree, experts say much more needs to be done to protect our drinking water against the possibility of terrorism. (4:29)
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Treated Like Criminals - Arab Americans after 9/11
Michigan Radio - Ann Arbor, MI
Arabs and others of Middle Eastern descent have long feared that cases of Arab terrorism in the world would put their civil rights in America in jeopardy. Since 9/11, Arab Americans in Michigan, one of the largest Arab communities in the country, say they are increasingly singled out by airport security, police and the U.S. government because of their ethnicity. (7:33)
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Voices from the Far Left
WILL - Urbana, IL
The aftermath of 9/11 presents new challenges to those on the political left, many of whom deeply oppose how the Bush administration handles domestic safety, foreign policy and patriotic fervor. Yet the opinions of progressives are not unanimous. Jim Meadows explores how the left in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois are reacting. (7:45)



The following stories are not available on the Internet. Contact your local public radio station to see if or when they will be broadcast in your area.

Disaster in Every Direction
WITF - Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA
Elysburg, a village in central Pennsylvania is the same distance from Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and the field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. Find out how life has changed since the attacks for small-town and big-city folks passing through this crossroads one summer afternoon.(6:26)

Guardsmen in College
KCUR - Kansas City, MO
Federal law protects employees who serve part-time in the U.S. military reserves from penalties at work if they're called to serve. But no such law exists to protect students. We'll hear about how a new government report may help student reservists. (5:00)

The Impact of Terror
KCUR - Kansas City, MO
Polls show that racial minorities are about three times more likely than whites to be very worried about terrorism, but in the Kansas City region, whites and blacks seem equally at ease about the threat of attack, though for very different reasons. (4:08)

The Ones Left Behind
Empowerment Productions - Denver, CO
No one knows exactly how many people were trapped in the World Trade Center because of disabilities or because evacuation plans didn't include them. This program describes the experiences of people with disabilities during and after the 9/11 crisis and how policies can change to maximize survival chances for everyone. (8:30)

Shanksville, A Year Later
Pennsylvania Public Radio - Harrisburg, PA
Shanksville, Pennsylvania, changed dramatically when hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a nearby field. Voices from this community of 250 tell of a town that has become famous for a tragic act of heroism and how the townspeople are dealing with fame, an influx of tourists, and their memories. (7:53)

When Can We Laugh Again?
KCUR - Kansas City, MO
Americans learned how to get back to normal after 9/11, in part, from comedy TV shows such as Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live. Almost a year later, in a Kansas City comedy club, Steve Walker finds that it may to be OK to laugh again. (4:04)



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  Major funding for Understanding America after 9/11 is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

UnderstandingAmerica.org is comprised of the collective work of public radio stations, producers and networks around the world. Copyright to individual programs is held by the producing entity. All other copyrights are held by Minnesota Public Radio, 2002. All right reserved.