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NOW | PBS
A weekly television news program on PBS

• Obama in Danger? & Is the Evangelical Vote in Play?
  The Republican Party has long used wedge issues like abortion, gun control, and gay rights to its advantage in rallying conservative voters, but a shifting agenda amongst political evangelicals and new thinking about Democratic Party tactics might be changing the game. David Brancaccio discusses these issues and their implications with Bishop Harry Jackson and Author Drew Westen. Bishop Jackson, an influential voice among the nation's 100 million evangelicals, has shown a willingness to open his mind to opposing views, especially on climate control. Westen, author of "The Political Brain," talks about how appealing to voters' emotions reaps bigger electoral rewards than hammering home policy proposals.
• 2008: A Republican Reinvention?
  John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate in part to appease his party's strongly conservative base. With the Republican right wing weighing so much influence even in the waning days of the Bush presidency, where does that leave prominent moderate Republicans? Is there room for them in the GOP? David Brancaccio sits down with former New Jersey Governor and EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman to discuss the political tolerance of the modern Republican Party, and her perspective on the current race.
• Attacking Affirmative Action
  With Barack Obama officially nominated as the Democrats' Presidential nominee, is it time to re-think affirmative action? NOW on PBS looks at some state ballot measures that would eliminate race or gender considerations in public hiring, contracting and education programs. The controversial initiatives are being spearheaded by Ward Connerly, a long-time affirmative action opponent who some are accusing of ballot fraud. NOW also posed the question to leading thinkers at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. "I think that in some quarters, many parts of the country, a white male is really disadvantaged," Connerly, who considers himself multi-racial, tells NOW. "Because we have developed this notion of women and minorities being so disadvantaged and we have to help them, that we have, in many cases, twisted the thing so that it's no longer a case of equal opportunity. It's a case of putting a fist on the scale."
• Health Care Solutions
  Can the quality of healthcare in developing nations be transformed by the same principle that makes fast food such a success here? NOW travels to Kenya to continue ongoing coverage of an enterprising idea: franchising not burger and donut shops, but health services and drugs in rural Africa. American businessmen have been teaming with African entrepreneurs to spread for-profit clinics around the country in the hopes of providing quality, affordable medical care to even Kenya's poorest people. In this show, NOW chronicles how the Kenyan facilities weathered recent violent unrest, as well as the program's expansion into Rwanda. Also on the show, a massive program to dispense medicine for people with HIV/AIDS in poor countries is changing lives and restoring hope. A small team of photographers is capturing those amazing transformations on film, hoping their compelling images will bring attention to the importance of drug access in the developing world.
• The Border Fence
  In 2006, Congress authorized the Secure Fence Act, a multi-billion dollar plan to build hundreds of miles of fencing along the southern border of the United States to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants and provide security from potential terrorism. But what was built to fight illegal immigration has turned into a nightmare for many Americans living along the U.S.-Mexico border. Turns out the fence -- which will cover less than half of the actual border -- inexplicably cuts through the middle of some properties, while leaving others untouched. Many question if it can keep people from sneaking in at all. NOW senior correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels to Texas to meet border families who fear losing their property, their safety, and their way of life. We also follow an investigative reporter who questions whether certain landowners are getting preferential treatment.
• Dinner With the President
  When Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar chose to make a film about democracy in her country, she didn't just request a traditional interview with President Musharraf: she insisted on a formal dinner. To her surprise, the man who ran Pakistan for nearly eight years agreed, and Sumar spent the evening grilling Musharraf about the state of affairs in their sharply polarized culture. Sumar's documentary "My Dinner with the President," intercuts the dinner discourse with candid interviews with a wide range Pakistanis, from religious fundamentalists to partiers on a Pakistani beach. On Friday, August 8 at 8:30 pm (check local listings), NOW's David Brancaccio talks with Sumar about the film, about our cultural and political relationship with Pakistan, and about Musharraf's desire to democratize his nation while functioning as its dictator.
• Alaska: The Senator and the Oil Man
  On Tuesday, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was indicted for failing to disclose gifts he received from VECO Corporation, an Alaska-based oil services company. But his indictment is only the latest news -- and perhaps the tip of the iceberg -- in an ongoing political scandal that's rocking the state. NOW goes behind the breaking headlines to shine a bright light on the scandalous connection between VECO and Alaska's old-boy political network. Three state legislators have already been convicted in Federal court for accepting bribes from VECO, and the FBI has video and audio evidence that reveal VECO executives shockingly handing out cash to those legislators in exchange for promises to roll back a tax on the oil industry. And more lawmakers -- including Senator Stevens' own son, former Alaska State Senate President Ben Stevens -- are being eyed in the growing scandal.
• John Edwards' War on Poverty
  Even though he's no longer running for president, John Edwards is still a man with a mission: to cut poverty in the United States by 50 percent in 10 years. The current economic crisis has him and his followers more committed than ever, but will their efforts gain enough momentum to make a difference? NOW's David Brancaccio talks with Edwards about how he plans to achieve this ambitious goal and what role it may and should have on the upcoming presidential election. Will the issue of poverty in America finally be addressed with more than just lip service?
• Afghanistan: The Forgotten War
  America thought it had won the war in Afghanistan six years ago, but a recent escalation in violence and instability -- including the death of nine U.S. soldiers this past weekend -- has given rise to the question: Have we allowed the Taliban to come back? NOW Correspondent Bill Gentile reports from Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province, where he was embedded for nearly three weeks in May and June with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU). The 24th MEU are among 60,000 foreign troops on the ground in Afghanistan -- more than half of them American. They face an ominous challenge as the Taliban attempts a return to power, in some cases merging with other insurgent groups, and potentially providing safe haven for Al-Qaeda and other anti-American terrorists. Reporting from the front lines, NOW provides a soldier's-eye look into what some consider America's "forgotten war." Are we still winning it?
• Jobs for Jordan
  NOW travels to Jordan to explore the implications of -- and possible solutions to -- having millions of young people out of work in the Middle East. Staggering unemployment rates among the region's massive youth population is fueling anger, frustration and resentment. To combat the problem, Jordan's Queen Rania has made job creation a top priority. "To me the Middle East is about young people. And if we fail to create opportunities for them then you're going to see a lot of frustrated hope," she tells NOW. Another initiative comes from an unlikely source: a Brooklyn, New York businessman who has set up programs across the region to give young people the real world skills they desperately need to gain employment. Both have their work cut out for them: nearly 70 million jobs are needed in the Middle East by the year 2020, according to the World Bank. Can these training programs help stem the tide or are they just a drop in the bucket?
• Subprime Solution?
  After the subprime mortgage debacle, have we learned that quick-turnaround mortgages to customers with low credit scores are always too good to be true? One enterprising entrepreneur says NO, and he has some suc