James Jacoby

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.

The dramatic story of a Gitmo detainee released from the controversial U.S. prison after 14 years. With NPR, a report on the struggle over freeing prisoners once deemed international terrorists. Also, the untold history of the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Revealing, compelling and award-winning, “CNBC Originals”, takes you inside the brands, the businesses, and the visionaries that make things happen, make a difference, and make history.

Jeff Bezos is not only one of the richest men in the world, he has built a business empire that is without precedent in the history of American capitalism. His power to shape everything from the future of work to the future of commerce to the future of technology is unrivaled. As politicians and regulators around the world start to consider the global impact of Amazon — and how to rein in Bezos’ power — FRONTLINE investigates how he executed a plan to build one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world.

FRONTLINE investigates the lives and views of Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz as they run for vice president. Drawing on interviews with those who know Vance and Walz well — friends, advisors, journalists and political insiders — the documentary traces how these two men from the middle of America found their opposing political voices and explores the ideas and influences they would bring to the White House.

The documentary traces Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities and counter its proxy forces, the conflict with the Palestinians, and the role of the U.S. through decades of difficulty in the region. Drawing on new, insider interviews, this two-hour special examines how long-running and escalating tensions between Israel and Iran erupted into all-out war in June 2025. The film also explores how multiple U.S. presidents have tried to manage the volatile issues at play.

Around the country and across the world, the threat of a recession is looming and economic uncertainty is rising as markets, businesses and individuals adjust to a new reality: the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates and pulling back on its epic monetary experiment that started with the Great Financial Crisis. From the award-winning team behind "The Facebook Dilemma" and "Amazon Empire," the two-hour documentary "Age of Easy Money" investigates how the Fed’s experiment has changed the American economy and what it means that the era may be over.

Compulsive Twitterer, Elon Musk bought himself his favorite social network in 2022, and brutally shaped it according to his desires. This punchy investigation relates the stormy relations between the platform and the billionaire, and their impact on the public debate.

As the war in Gaza continues with devastating consequences, a major 90-minute documentary offers a sweeping examination of the critical moments leading up to this crisis over the course of the past three decades, and the pivotal role of a central player: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Starting with the Oslo peace accords and continuing through the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing war in Gaza, the documentary draws on years of reporting and is an incisive look at the long history of failed peace efforts and violent conflict in the region — and the increasing tensions between Israel and its ally, the U.S., over the war’s catastrophic toll and what comes next.

President Trump’s unprecedented challenges to the Federal Reserve — and what it means for the economy. FRONTLINE traces the battle between Trump and the Fed as the central bank steers the economy through an increasingly precarious moment.

A firestorm has been raging on many American college campuses. Ignited by the devastating October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the catastrophic war in Gaza, the outrage deeply divided American campuses and in some places devolved into hate-filled rhetoric and arrests. FRONTLINE and Retro Report have been following the escalating turmoil since the war began — talking to people on all sides of the divide, investigating how universities have responded, how powerful interests joined the fray, and how the conflict over the conflict ultimately spiraled out of control. From director James Jacoby (Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza, Amazon Empire, Age of Easy Money) and Retro Report producers Scott Michels and Joseph Hogan, Crisis on Campus examines how the debate over one of the world’s most intractable and complex conflicts has gripped American college campuses.

The Taliban take over Afghanistan, and the threat of ISIS and Al Qaeda intensifies. On the ground, reporter Najibullah Quraishi (Leaving Afghanistan, Taliban Country) investigates uncertainty and fear among the Afghan people and revisits the lead-up to the U.S. defeat and the Taliban’s return.

George Floyd’s killing triggered mass demonstrations nationwide calling for racial justice and police accountability in the United States. In the wake of those protests, New Yorker writer and historian Jelani Cobb returns to a troubled police department he first visited four years ago (Policing the Police) to examine whether reform can work, and how police departments can be held accountable.

When COVID-19 struck, the Federal Reserve stepped in to try to avert economic crisis. As the country's central bank continues to pump billions of dollars into the financial system daily, who is benefiting and at what cost?

George Floyd’s killing triggered mass demonstrations nationwide calling for racial justice and police accountability in the United States. In the wake of those protests, New Yorker writer and historian Jelani Cobb returns to a troubled police department he first visited four years ago (Policing the Police) to examine whether reform can work, and how police departments can be held accountable.

Original interviews and rare footage show early warnings about Facebook's impact on privacy and democracy around the world and in the U.S.

Investigates how Scott Pruit, a former state senator and minor league baseball team owner, went from fighting the Environmental Protection Agency to running it, rolling back years of policy. FRONTLINE tells the inside story of how the major reversal of the Clean Power Plan and other environmental policy rollbacks happened; how President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Scott Pruitt, went from fighting the federal agency to running it; and how the anti-regulatory and anti-climate change science movements in America reached a moment of triumph.