On Being Blog

ARW: A Documentary Unit Worth Exploring

Colleen Scheck, senior producer

The vital work of our talented colleagues at American RadioWorks (ARW) is on my mind for a number of reasons. It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I’m reminded of their 2008 documentary, “King’s Last March.” I thought I knew a lot about the celebrated civil rights leader, but this program offers insight into his person that I haven’t heard elsewhere. It explores why a more pessimistic King chose a path of “deeper difficulty and greater risk” in his last year of life, and includes both familiar and lesser-known archival audio (check out Trent’s reflection from a few years ago for an audio example). There are many ways to reflect on the legacy of King. For me, one way is to have a better understanding of who he really was at various points in his life. This doc does that very well.

Also, as we continue to receive many thoughtful stories in response to our show with Mike Rose about the meaning of intelligence, I’m reminded of ARW’s more recent offering “Workplace U.” It’s not a university but a movement to merge workplace and classroom that may offer low-income workers more opportunity for success than traditional educational models. There’s some real-world examples here that compliment Mike Rose’s perspective.

Finally, ARW just received one of broadcast journalism’s highest honors, a 2010 duPont-Columbia award, for “What Killed Sergeant Gray” — a doc that delves into the connection between the use of torture in Iraq to PTSD in soldiers who abuse. Darius Rejali, whose expertise on the history and impact of torture we explored in “The Long Shadow of Torture” last June, is included here too.

I know I sound overly promotional here, but I would not mention these programs if I didn’t think you would find them compelling, meaningful, and complementary to some of the topics we’ve presented in the past year. They are part of the best of documentary journalism.